WITH style and just a little flamboyance, befitting such a great liner, Queen Mary 2 set sail from Southampton on her maiden voyage this week, but plans are already well under way for the next new Cunard ship to sail into port.

Fireworks soared high into the night sky, lighting up QM2 in spectacular fashion and bathing the mighty vessel's decks in colour as thousands watched the historic departure of this next generation of transatlantic liner for Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

In Southampton the packing up after the memorable dockside celebrations might still be under way but at Cunard's headquarters in the city's Grosvenor Square a detailed schedule of events is now being drawn up for the arrival of the shipping line's next addition to its fleet in April next year.

Queen Victoria will be an 85,000-ton cruise ship, as opposed to QM2 that was constructed as a true passenger liner, and will be the second biggest Cunarder in the company's history.

Queen Victoria, now emerging at the Italian shipyard of Fincantieri near Venice, is set to make her dramatic entrance in Southampton Water for the first time next spring.

Her presence in Southampton will not only underline the continued and rapid growth of the British cruising industry, which saw one million people take a ship-borne holiday last year, but also highlights and strengthens the port's role as the UK's premier centre for this multi-million-pound trade.

More and more cruise ships are opting to be based in the city's docks with around 210 separate passenger vessels booked for this year, and already there are suggestions that 2005 will see further companies picking Southampton for their programme of voyages.

Echoing the design of QM2, the new cruise vessel will have a capacity of 1,968 passengers and will feature a covered wrap-around promenade, a forward- facing observation lounge, a large lido pool with retractable roof, and ten of the 12 public decks will be served by exterior glass-walled lifts.

Like Queen Elizabeth 2 and QM2, the ship will have a Queen's Grill, offering single-seating gourmet dining.

She will fly the Red Ensign, have the name of her home of Southampton on her stern, and she will be crewed by a British captain and officers.

Pamela Conover, Cunard's president and chief operating officer, said: "The line was founded just after Queen Victoria came to the throne, and her reign saw the company develop hugely in every sense.

"Throughout her reign Cunard built more and better ships. We embraced radical new technology and we carried more passengers in greater comfort.

"Today, with more capacity than we have had for 40 years, Cunard is entering a new phase of expansion commensurate with that experienced under Queen Victoria, so it seems entirely appropriate for the new ship to bear the name. It is also fitting that the second largest Cunarder should also bear a Queen name.''

The naming of the ship does, however, lay to rest one of the most long lasting, although some say apocryphal, stories connected to the naming of the original Queen Mary.

During the construction back in the 1930s it was decided that the ship should be called after "Britain's most loved Queen'' and a letter was written to Buckingham Palace to use the royal name.

The King was delighted and said that Queen Mary would be delighted for her name to be used, although Cunard actually meant Queen Victoria.

Go to www.qm2southampton.co.uk for all our stories and news on Queen mary 2