Southampton is to be the venue for another cruise ship-naming ceremony, the fifth event of its kind to be held in the port this year.

The 12,500-ton Saga Pearl, formerly known as Minerva, will be officially renamed alongside the Queen Eliabeth II Terminal in the Eastern Docks next month.

Broadcaster and writer Angela Rippon will be the guest of honour and perform the ceremony on board the ship on Wednesday, May 14.

Confirmation by Saga Shipping that it has picked Southampton docks for the event again underlines and strengthens the port's number one position as the centre of the British cruising industry.

Saga Pearl will operate alongside the company's other vessel, Saga Rose, and offer cruises for passengers over the age of 50.

The 1989-built ship had an unlikely beginning as the vessel was initially intended to be a spy ship for the Soviet navy but instead was sold and taken to Italy where she was converted for cruising.

Now Saga Shipping has signed a deal that sees the company chartering the vessel for six months, from May to November annually for the next two years, with an option for a third year. Due to her relatively small size, Saga Pearl will be able to call at ports that the bigger 24,474-ton Saga Rose is not able to come alongside.

Later this month, on Monday, April 28, the first naming ceremony of the year is due to take place at the newly redeveloped Mayflower Cruise Terminal in the Western Docks when television personality Ulrika Jonsson names P&O's new venture, the 63,524-ton Ocean Village that previously sailed as the Southampton-based Arcadia.

Then it will be the turn of the Princess Royal and her daughter, Zara Phillips, to perform the twin naming ceremony for Oceana and Adonia, both 77,499 tons, the latest addition to P&O's fleet operating in and out of Southampton.

The princess, who previously visited the port to name the 76,152-ton Aurora when it entered service in spring 2000, will christen Oceana while her daughter will send a bottle of champagne crashing over the hull of Adonia.

Already dubbed Southampton's "White Sisters", the two vessels will be bow to bow for the spectacular occasion, the first time an event of this type has taken place in the UK.

Film star Julie Andrews will be in the city's docks on Thursday, July 3 when she takes on the role of godmother to the new 68,000-ton Crystal Serenity and names the ship in the Eastern Docks.

Now almost nearing completion at the French shipyard of Chantiers de l'Atlantique in Saint Nazaire, Crystal Serenity will have 550 cabins and a crew of 635.