(for the Mail on Sunday, by Christopher Leake)
She may have indicated her displeasure by pronouncing 'we are not amused', but even the famously stern Queen Victoria would have been delighted by the magnificent new ship named in her honour.
Having been given an exclusive tour of Cunard's new MV Queen Victoria - which is being named by the Duchess of Cornwall next week - I can confirm that there is simply no finer liner.
Two years after the keel was laid at Fincantieri's Marghera shipyard near Venice, the 90,000 ton queen of the seas is ready to become a floating five-star hotel.
Smaller than her sister ship, the 150,000-ton Queen Mary 2, but bigger than the 70,000-ton QE2, the latest Queen is described by veteran Cunard Captain Paul Wright as 'intimate'.
Captain Wright, 59, who has previously commanded the QM2 and QE2, said: "Queen Victoria is a superb ship and I can't wait to take her to sea. I am sure our guests will be impressed with her quality and fine workmanship.
"She's a classic and I'm confident she will command a local following"
This is truly a ship fit for a queen.
£300 million is the cost of building the Queen Victoria. She has taken two years to construct, with up to 3,000 people working on her at a time.
All the ship's facilities are accessible for disabled guests and many of the parts have been made in Britain.
£1 million worth of art adorns the walls of the liner. Although much of the artwork is contemporary, among the most treasured works are three etchings in the Queen's Room of Victoria's favourite dogs
One is by the Queen herself, another by her husband Prince Albert and the third is by the couple together. Passengers will be offered a museum-style guided art tour at sea using Apple iPods.
440,310lb of potatoes will be eaten by passengers on the Queen Victoria each year. They will also eat 1,528,707 fresh eggs, 371,955lb of breakfast cereal and 12,940lb of smoked salmon. Passengers will then use 141,600 toothpicks.
59,060lb of coffee, 954,681 tea bags, 3,691,009 fluid ounces of fruit juice, 218,600 bottles of wine and 351,900 bottles of champagne will be drunk by passengers aboard the Queen Victoria each year.
£19,999 is the cost per person for a world cruise in a standard cabin, of which there are 1,007, on the Queen Victoria.
2,131sq ft is the floor space of each of the four grand suites. There are also two master suites, which are 1,110sq ft.
In addition to the marble bathrooms, the suites have a lounge, a balcony, 24-hour butler service, satellite TV, a DVD player, phones, a fridge stocked to the guest's preference, books, an atlas, fresh fruit and flowers, canapes, champagne, and wi-fi connection.
2,000 passengers will be looked after by 1,000 crew, whose own quarters are pleasant but considerably smaller than those of the guests.
The crew will also have to share one cabin between two. 1,000sq ft is the size of the dancefloor in the Queen's Room, There is also a casino on board.
106 days is the length of the Queen Victoria's world cruise, which sets off from her home port of Southampton on January 6, 2008.
She will sail to New York, the Panama Canal, Los Angeles, Hawaii, New Zealand, Australia, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Bombay, Dubai, the Suez Canal, Athens, Rome and Gibraltar before returning to Britain on April 22, 2008.
18 resident musicians have a free-roaming brief to entertain guests throughout the ship. The Queen Victoria has eight grand pianos on board. There are also 12 dancers, four singers and an eight-piece orchestra assigned to the Royal Court Theatre company.
16 lifeboats and 51 liferaft units will be on board in case of emergency. 12 is the number of passenger decks in the Queen Victoria. There are also a dozen passenger lifts and eight service lifts on the 964ft 6in-long ship.
10 days is the duration of the Queen Victoria's maiden voyage to the Baltic, which departs on December 11 – the day after the Duchess of Cornwall, accompanied by the Prince ofWales, names the vessel.
Prices start at £999 per person for a standard cabin, rising to £15,779 per person for the best suites.
8 is the number of butlers who will be on board, as well as eight assistant butlers, who will be assigned exclusively to the most prestigious suites.
7 restaurants will be the focus of fine cuisine. In the grand tradition of ocean liners, the Queen Victoria will feature high-class dining venues, including a restaurant created by celebrity chef Todd English.
The main restaurant, the Art Deco-style Britannia, is set on two storeys. Guests in the best suites have their own grill rooms or they can dine alfresco on a private terrace.
2 is the number of outside pools on board the Queen Victoria.
1 conservatory filled with exotic plants and with a retractable roof will be on board.
