 The flagship embarks on her first passenger voyage in January |
The world's biggest and most expensive cruise liner has set sail for the first time. Cunard's 150,000-tonne Queen Mary 2, whose home port will be Southampton, sailed from the French port of Saint-Nazaire for sea trials.
The new Cunard flagship cost �540m and will accommodate some 2,600 passengers and 1,250 crew members.
Hundreds of spectators gathered on the shore to applaud the ship as it set off for four days of sailing along the French coast.
Like its predecessor the Queen Mary, the ship will undertake a measured mile speed trial and is expected to get up to 34 mph, or 30 knots.
Naming ceremony
About 450 technicians and engineers are on board to assess the liner's seaworthiness in preparation for its maiden voyage in January.
Peter Shanks, Cunard's senior vice-president in Europe, said: "QM2 heading to sea for the first time marks a major milestone in the construction of the greatest ocean liner ever.
"We are confident QM2 will live up to expectations and we look forward to taking delivery of the vessel in December."
The QM2 is due to sail into Southampton for the first time at Christmas and will be named in a lavish ceremony on 8 January 2004.
The ship leaves the Hampshire port on its maiden passenger voyage to Fort Lauderdale in Florida four days later.
Penthouse suites
The massive ship, which is as tall as a 23-storey building, towers 60 metres (200 feet) above the waterline and produces enough energy to provide electricity for a city of 300,000 residents.
It is 345 metres long and 41 metres wide - dwarfing the Queen Elizabeth II, which weighs 70,000 tonnes, and the ill-fated Titanic, which measured 269 metres in length.
The ship is expected to be the last word in luxury with facilities including a 1,000-seat theatre, a ballroom, five swimming pools, a spa, six restaurants, 14 bars, a disco, a library, a casino and even a planetarium.
The choice of accommodation for passengers includes duplex apartments with private gymnasiums and penthouse suites with butler service.
Lining the walls will be 300 works of art worth an estimated $3m.
Needless to say, tickets for the maiden voyage to Fort Lauderdale, Florida have prices to match - ranging from �2,145 for an interior cabin with no view to �28,500 for a duplex.
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It's an exceptional boat. I get a strong feeling looking at this cathedral that moves on the water 
