Queen names luxury ocean liner
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Spectators watch as the Queen Mary 2 arrives at its new home port of Southampton, England.
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LONDON, England (Reuters) -- Britain's Queen Elizabeth has named a new $800 million-dollar cruise ship, the Queen Mary 2 -- billed by its owner Cunard as the largest passenger ship of its type ever made.
The French-built ship is 1,132 feet (345 meters) long -- the equivalent of 41 London double-decker buses -- and over 236 feet (72 meters) high. She can take 2,620 passengers.
The QM2 has all the hallmarks of a luxury ocean liner, with sweeping staircases, soaring public rooms, a grand ballroom, a 360-degree promenade deck and a host of luxury shops.
Three quarters of her staterooms have balconies, and duplex accommodation even has its own private exercise equipment.
The QM2 will be capable of crossing the North Atlantic at a brisk 30 knots (34.5 mph).
After the naming ceremony at her home port of Southampton, the QM2 was due to start her 14-day maiden voyage to Fort Lauderdale in the United States on January 12.
Cunard said the trip had sold out months ago.
A special highlight of the ship's inaugural schedule will be her maiden eastbound crossing from New York on 25 April when she sails in tandem with the Queen Elizabeth 2.
That day will be the first time two Cunard "Queens" will have berthed in the port together since March 1940.
A one-way passage from Southampton to New York starts from 999 pounds ($1,817) rising to 15,500 per head, plus a daily service charge.
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