[3] Unlike many previous Cunard ships, Queen Victoria is not a traditional ocean liner, as she does not have the heavy plating throughout the hull.

Nonetheless, Ian McNaught, who was Queen Victoria's captain in 2009, has asserted that the ship is a liner based on her classic décor.

[4] An order for a Vista-class vessel was transferred by Carnival Corporation & plc, parent company to Holland America, Cunard and P&O from its Holland America Line to Cunard with the intent that the vessel would become the Queen Victoria[5] Fincantieri laid down the keel in 2003, but Carnival reassigned the hull again to become the P&O ship Arcadia.

[6] The new Queen Victoria ordered from Fincantieri in 2004 was 11 metres (36 ft 1 in) longer, 5,000 tons larger, with an increased passenger capacity of 2,000.

Eighty prefabricated steel "blocks", each complete with interior structure, cabling, and ducts, and each weighing 325 tons, were then added.

[9] Queen Victoria departed the Port of Venice on 24 August 2007 to commence her sea trials,[10] and, after handover to Cunard, arrived in Southampton, United Kingdom, to fanfare and media attention on 7 December; much of the coverage was focused on the ship's superlatives, and represented Queen Victoria as "Cunard's most luxurious ship.

[12] The bottle of champagne failed to break upon impact with Queen Victoria's hull, which according to nautical superstition is a bad omen.

However the damage was minimal, allowing the ship to continue operating, but repairs resulted in her missing a port of call in La Goulette.

[24] At the end of October 2011 Queen Victoria and her fleet mates changed their registries to Hamilton, Bermuda, to host weddings on board.

[30] Queen Victoria's exterior design closely resembles that of Vista-class ships built for various cruise companies.

A feature which distinguishes her from her younger fleet mate, Queen Elizabeth, is the more angled sloping stern, as compared to the newer ship's vertical one.

On 2 Deck can be found the mid-level of the Royal Court Theatre, casino, Golden Lion Pub, Queen's Room, Verandah à la carte restaurant, Chart Room bar, and lower level of both the library and Britannia Restaurant.

There is also has a Winter Garden lounge with a retractable glass roof and a two-story library with a connecting spiral staircase.

The outbreak was also popularly attributed to the Duchess of Cornwall's initial failure to break the champagne bottle during the ship's christening, which is a bad omen in naval tradition.

[37] On 14 May 2008, on Queen Victoria's first visit to Grand Harbour, Valletta, Malta, the throttles malfunctioned during berthing, resulting in the vessel colliding with the pier.