Queen Victoria, Cunard's magnificent new ocean liner, was named by Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall, in the presence of His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, during a spectacular ceremony held in Southampton on Monday 10 December.

More than 2,000 invited guests witnessed the ceremony in a specially-built auditorium next to the City Cruise Terminal where Queen Victoria will be berthed.

Queen Victoria arrived in Southampton for the first time on Friday 7 December and members of the press - and Cunard's best customers, were invited on board for a sneak preview.

The ship is truly spectacular and captures the atmosphere and style of the golden age of sea travel - with all the mod cons of today.

Reminiscent of a grand West End theatre, the 830-seat Royal Court Theatre is classically elegant in style and features a passenger ship first - West End-style private boxes.

Cunard aficionados are able to while away the hours viewing the unique collection of Cunard memorabilia and artefacts in Cunardia Musem' while adding to their Cunard home collections by visiting the adjacent Cunardia Museum shop.

In the grand tradition of ocean liners, Queen Victoria offers distinctive elegance and luxury throughout, combined with an impressive sense of volume and height, including the dramatic three-storey Grand Lobby, the two deck high Queen's Room, with its 1,000 square-foot dance floor, the Royal Arcade shopping area spanning two decks complete with Casino and traditional London pub and the spectacular art deco influenced two-storey Britannia Restaurant.

The famous Cunard Grill experience has been taken to new heights with alfresco Grill dining in the Tuscan inspired The Courtyard' in addition to exclusive access to the Grill Lounge and Bar and Grills Upper Terrace with dedicated staff in attendance.

She boasts a two-storey wood-panelled library, connected by a beautiful spiral staircase, with 6000 books and two full-time librarians.

Hemispheres - a spectacular circular lounge with 270-degree windows is an ideal venue for classes, lectures or simply relaxing by day before transforming into a stunning nightclub in the evening.

127 Queens and Princess Grill suites ranging from 335 to 2,131 square feet.

A British conservatory style room, The Winter Garden, with a retractable glass roof and glass doors leading out to the Pavilion Pool area. Colonial style ceiling fans, rattan furniture and greenery provide a great venue for afternoon tea, strawberries and cream or an exotic juice from the Juice Bar.

Not surprisingly voyages on this spectacular ship are already getting booked up.

Check out the Cunard website www.cunard.com for more information.

3:39pm Monday 10th December 2007

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