SOUTHAMPTON had its most deafening early morning wake-up call ever when the world's largest cruise ship Independence of the Seas arrived in her first home port yesterday.

At 5.50am the vast, £300m megaship announced her presence in port with three mighty blasts from her whistle that echoed across Southampton.

Towering high over the waterfront the Royal Caribbean International ship, unmissable on the city's skyline, will now be at the centre of seven days of star-studded inaugural celebrations including an exclusive performance by pop band Scouting for Girls plus personal appearances by comedians Nick Hancock, Norman Pace and Jimmy Tarbuck.

Sporting superstars Sir Steve Redgrave, the five-time Olympic gold medallist, and former athlete Steve Cram are also expected on board.

Click here to watch a behind the scenes video of the ship

Mayflower Park has been transformed for a weekend-long Caribbean Fest-ival with organisers even importing tons of sand to create a temporary beach from where visitors have a grandstand view of the ship.

Tomorrow evening, just after 8.45pm, as the finale for the Caribbean Festival, the night sky over the vessel will be lit by a spectacular firework display.

Even at a record-breaking 160,000 tons the ocean-going giant was at first difficult to spot in the grey dawn light as she arrived in Southampton, but as the vessel made a sweeping turn off Calshot her sheer size suddenly became clear.

Independence of the Seas is simply enormous, longer than three-and-a-half football pitches. She is the equivalent weight of 80,000 family cars and has enough cabins to accommodate more than 4,300 passengers.

Travelling at a sedate nine to ten knots Independence of the Seas dwarfed the two tugs and the Harbour Master launch that escorted her up Southampton Water to her berth at the City Cruise Terminal next to Mayflower Park.

Just a handful of dedicated ship enthusiasts had made their way to Town Quay and Mayflower Park for the arrival, but far larger crowds are expected to flock to the waterfront in the coming days.

Click here for a gallery of Independence of the Seas

Independence of the Seas will be officially named in a ceremony in front of hundreds of guests in the ship's West End-style Alambrah Theatre on Wednesday.

The largest cruise ship ever to operate from the UK, Independence of the Seas is spending the next six months based in the city, taking passengers to the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands and Ireland.

It is expected that she will leave Southampton for a short two-night voyage at about 6pm on Monday and again on Wednesday at the same time.

She will leave on her maiden voyage on Friday, May 2.