5 JULY 2002
Work began on Thursday on possibly the most luxurious ocean liner in maritime history. The Queen Mary II, which will make her maiden Atlantic crossing in January 2004, is designed to be the tallest, longest and widest passenger ship ever built and be last word in opulence. Costing a total of £538 million, she will also be the most expensive.

As the traditional “keel laying” ceremony was held at the shipyard in Saint-Nazaire in southern France, drawings were released revealing what guests can expect. The ship, which is being constructed by the Cunard firm, is to comprise 17 decks with passengers accommodated in nine classes of cabin including penthouses complete with their own butlers.

Corridors and lounges linking the vessel will be decorated with over 300 specially commissioned artworks and tapestries and passengers will sip afternoon tea beneath crystal chandeliers among the greenery and flowers of the Winter Garden. The ship includes fine restaurants, a grand ballroom, a theatre with a stage large enough for West End shows, and a pub supplied by its own on-board micro-brewery. It will also have several swimming pools on the promenade deck and the world’s only sea-going planetarium.

Twice the size of a the QEII, Queen Mary II will tower above the Statue of Liberty when she sails into New York on her maiden voyage, for which almost 2,000 people have tried to reserve cabins. She is due to arrive in her home port of Southampton in December next year for the naming ceremony and go into service a month later.