WHEN "kissin' cousins'' meet for the first time it is always a special occasion and there was no exception in Southampton yesterday.

Liberty of the Seas and Navigator of the Seas, two of the world's largest cruise ships, greeted each other with a noisy welcome from each of the vessels' whistles that boomed out across the city.

Hundreds of spectators packed the nearby Mayflower Park for a grandstand view of the breathtaking sight as these two enormous ships came together.

For a few brief moments it was an amazing sight as it looked as if the bows of the two Royal Caribbean International superliners gently kissed each other, but in fact strict safety regulations meant that the ships were kept apart.

Early in the morning both the ships had arrived in port - Navigator of the Seas at the start of her summer season in Southampton and Liberty of the Seas returning from a short two-night mini-cruise.

After Liberty of the Seas had disembarked passengers it was time for the vast vessel to begin her long journey out across the Atlantic to America where she will be based.

As soon as her bright blue mooring ropes were taken on board, Liberty of the Seas, using her powerful set of thrusters, eased away from the Mayflower Terminal and turned off the Western Docks.

Slowly she made her way down Southampton Water towards the City Cruise Terminal where Navigator of the Seas was berthed and gradually the two ships came closer and closer.

When it seemed they were just feet apart, Liberty of the Seas came to a stop right in front of Navigator of the Seas and the vessels saluted each other with a series of blasts from their whistles. After a short time Liberty of the Seas moved out into the main channel and made her way past Town Quay, also full of people watching the spectacle, to be greeted by the liners Saga Rose and Saga Ruby berthed at the Queen Elizabeth II Terminal in the Western Docks.

Liberty of the Seas, with just her crew on board, then set a course into the Solent and the English Channel before heading out into the Atlantic for the five-day crossing to New York where the ship will be officially named.

Together with her identical twin-sister, Freedom of the Seas, which made a short visit to Southampton last year, Liberty of the Seas jointly claims the title of the world's biggest cruise ship with capacity to carry more than 3,600 passengers.

Third ship Next year the third, and final, ship in the Freedom class of vessels, Independence of the Seas, still under construction in Finland, will join the Royal Caribbean International fleet and be based in Southampton throughout the summer of 2008.

Navigator of the Seas, only slightly smaller than Liberty of the Seas, first entered service in the spring of 2003 and it was from her highly-successful design that the bigger Freedom class ships evolved.

While all this activity was taking place on the Southampton waterfront an official inauguration ceremony was taking place ashore to mark the reopening of the City Cruise Terminal.

Associated British Ports, owners and operators of the docks, have invested £9m in upgrading the dockside passenger facility so it can handle the new, larger generation of cruise ships with their increased passenger capacity.