Cunard has had to cancel an upcoming cruise onboard Queen Victoria after the ship suffered partial propulsion system failure on Monday.

The ship is currently just off the coast of Portugal and is en-route back to Southampton; however she is sailing at less than 10% of her top speed which is 23.7 Knots. Although her situation is unusual (sailing on just one engine and one propeller) there is no danger to her crew or passengers.

Cunard have confirmed that Queen Victoria’s Adriatic cruise on October 16^th has been cancelled. Her next cruise however is currently scheduled to go ahead as planned before she enters dry-dock.

A Cunard spokesperson said “Cunard needs to carry out some essential maintenance work on Queen Victoria and has therefore taken the regrettable but unavoidable decision to cancel a 16 night Mediterranean voyage due to depart from Southampton on October 3.

The work relates to one of Queen Victoria’s propulsion units. Although there are no safety issues relating to this maintenance, it does preclude the ship achieving the speeds required to deliver the voyage itinerary and therefore it is necessary to take the ship out of service for a short period.”

Repairs to Queen Victoria will take place at a dry dock in Bremerhaven, Germany, before she is returned to sea on Wednesday 17th October.

Affected passengers are being offered an alternative cruise or a full refund. An additional 15% future cruise credit is also being offered in both cases, Cunard said.

Author: Danielle