Like all final farewells, the departure from Southampton next Tuesday is going to be a sad occasion as the city says bon voyage for the last time to one of the port's most enduring ships.

For decades the 27,670-ton cruise ship Victoria has been a familiar sight making her way up and down Southampton Water, but now her time in P&O's city-based fleet has come to an end.

Next week, the much-loved vessel will ease herself away from the Western Docks to begin a one-way voyage to the Mediterranean where she will be taken over by Italians and renamed Mona Lisa.

Victoria is set to leave at 5pm and then pass Mayflower Park and Town Quay before making her way down Southampton Water and out to the Nab Tower in the Solent.

As Victoria makes her exit, preparations will be well underway for the arrival ofOceana, the ship that will take her place in Southampton.

It is almost impossible to compare the classic, sedate Victoria with the 77,499-ton Oceana, one of the new breed of modern cruise ships equipped with all the latest facilities.

In her wake Victoria will leave a chequered career stretching back to 1966 when she first entered service as the passenger liner called Kungsholm under the Swedish-American Line flag.

When she first emerged from the John Brown shipyard on the Clyde she had a very different profile to the one recognised these days by Southampton as Victoria.

She started life with two yellow funnels, the forward of which was a dummy and included for purely cosmetic reasons and also featured two masts of a similar colour.

Her time as a passenger liner was relatively short lived as jet aircraft were becoming a more and more popular way of travel so she swapped her role to cruising.

In 1975 she was sold to an American shipping line. Three years later the ship was acquired by P&O who spent £12million on a wide-ranging refit and gave her the new name of Sea Princess.

There then followed years of great success for the vessel as she built up a fierce loyal army of followers who simply refused to sail on any other ship.

The years passed by and in 1995 the ship was given her present name to link her more closely with the British market.

Victoria, smaller than many of her contemporaries, acted as a pathfinder for P&O Cruises sailing to some of the more far-flung and unusual locations creating new exotic itineraries.

David Dingle, managing director of P&O Cruises in Southampton said: "All fine ships reach a point when it is time to retire and it is only right to say farewell to them when they are still able to meet the standards which their passengers expect. In doing so we remember not just Victoria but all those who have served on her - the ship's companies who have brought her to life, proudly maintained her and provided the services and experiences which her passengers have cherished,''

On Friday, November 1 British cruising will take on a whole new dimension as Oceana, Britain's latest superliner, makes her debut in the P&O Cruises' fleet.At eight o'clock that evening, she will let go her ropes from Fort Lauderdale in Florida with a spectacular sail away. Celebrations will include a stunning fireworks display, created by Wilfred Scott, mastermind of the Queen's spectacular Golden Jubilee fireworks, and a steel band to get passengers in the mood for a 15-night Caribbean cruise holiday.

Oceana makes her way to the Caribbean for the first of 13 different cruises until next spring when she will make her first arrival in Southampton on May 3. Oceana's arrival means that P&O Cruises will have the largest ship in the Caribbean dedicated to the UK market.

In May, 2003 Oceana will also be meeting up with another new Southampton ship, Adonia, which is also starting operations to and from the port for P&O Cruises together with the existing superliners, Aurora and Oriana.

During Oceana's Caribbean season, ports of call will include the islands of St Thomas, Antigua, Barbados, St Lucia, Grenada, Trinidad, Grand Cayman, Aruba and Princess Cays in The Bahamas, as well as some more off the beaten track destinations such as Cartagena in Colombia, Cozumel and Costa Maya in Mexico together with Limon in Costa Rica.

TIT

Titanic medals go under the hammer

Echo reporter newsdesk@soton-echo.co.uk

LOT 391: Captain Benjamin Steel's medals.

BIDDERS from around the world were today due to vie for a rare set of medals that once belonged to a man reputed to be the last person to have stepped off Titanic before the liner's ill-fated maiden voyage.

The medals, which could fetch up to £40,000, were the property of Captain Benjamin Steel, who was marine superintendent at Southampton for the White Star Line in April 1912.

He is believed to have been the last person to leave the doomed vessel when he handed over the ship to Captain Smith before her maiden voyage to New York.

Captain Steel also appeared before the Wreck Commissioner's Inquiry into the Titanic.

According to the minutes of the inquiry, when asked by Mr Raymond Asquith: "Did you inspect the boats to see whether they were properly equipped?", he replied: "I did in a general way, yes."

He died in 1944, aged 81, having been marine superintendent at Southamp-ton for 18 years and a commander in the Royal Navy Reserve.

Captain Steel first came into contact with Southampton at the outbreak of the Boer War, sailing from the port in the transport ship Britannic, in which he was chief officer.

He lived with his wife Kate in West End for many years. They had three sons and a daughter.

The medals are being sold by a private source at Cameo fine art auctioneers in Midgham, West Berkshire.

Chris Hart, a partner in the auction house, said there would be a considerable number of people looking at the lot.

He added: "There's a lot of interest in Titanic memorabilia as they can't bring anything up from the ship because it's classed as a graveyard.

"The medals are quite an important set to come on to the market.

"You just don't know how much it will go for. It just depends on how much somebody is willing to pay."