January 6th - Southampton

Ahhh...finally, here she is....Queen Victoria!

It was a splendid send-off from Southampton! Just before departure there was a spectacular fireworks display from a barge off the starboard side of the ship. There were lots of small pleasure boats milling about in the water and camera bulbs flashing from the shoreline. We sipped champagne and listened to an orchestra on deck playing British patriotic music as the Queen Victoria slipped her mooring lines and started to move up toward the Solent. There was a cacophony of goosebump-inducing ships' whistles and horns as we passed sister leviathans at their moorings. The deepest and most sonorous of all in this maritime orchestra was the Queen Elizabeth 2 who already had smoke pouring from her signature Cunard funnel in readiness to join Queen Victoria in her first transatlantic crossing. It's easy to see why they say that these ships have souls...QE2 is clearly the "grande dame" of this fleet. It seems that the young whippersnapper should be deferring to the grand old lady, but the excitement today is all about the brand new Queen Victoria on her maiden transatlantic and world cruise.