Events

Queen Victoria sailed into Southampton's City Cruise Terminal bright and early on Friday 7 December 2007 for a five day stay.

Queen Victoria arriving

Tuesday 11 December saw the chic new liner sail away amidst a dazzling fireworks display on her 10-day maiden voyage around northern Europe

Thousands of people gathered in Mayflower Park - and at the vantage points along Southampton Water to watch the display and the elegant liner depart.

On Monday 10 December Queen Victoria was named by HRH the Duchess of Cornwall. The ceremony watched by over 2,000 guests, saw the ship named with a bottle of champagne, which failed to break against the 90,000-tonne ship.

To celebrate the liner's launch, Mayflower Park was transformed into a Victorian festival.

The Queen Victoria Carnival

One of the highlights was the Christmas carnival parade created by local school children and community groups, whose costumes reflected the ship's exotic destinations.

Hundreds of people lined the city centre streets to watch the parade which wove its way from the Civic Centre to Mayflower Park, with the skyline dominated by the illuminated giant liner.

Queen Victoria will be back in Southampton at 07:00 on 21 December