Queen Mary 2, Cunard's first major liner for more than three decades, is the tallest, longest, widest, heaviest and most expensive passenger ship ever built. Her inauguration by HM Queen Elizabeth 2 was at Southampton on 12 January 2004 - thirty-seven years since the same monarch launched Cunard liner Queen Elizabeth 2.

Cabin prices for her maiden voyage from Southampton to Fort Lauderdale (Florida, US) start at £ 2499 for inner cabins, up to £ 10,989 for suites.

Fact file

Length 345 m - as long as 41 double-deck buses and five times the length of Cunard's first ship Britannia and 34 m longer than the original Queen Mary

Height 72 m - the height of a 23-storey building

Beam (width) 41 m

Passengers 2620

Crew 1250

Whistle can be heard for 10 miles around, taken from the original Queen Mary

Gross tonnage 150,000 tons - three times the tonnage of Titanic

Top speed 30 knots (34.5 mph or 55.5 kph)

Cost Estimated at £550 million

Power Her onboard power plant can produce 157,000 horsepower - enough electricity to light the whole of Southampton

Expected lifetime 40 years - long enough to travel the equivalent of 12 return journeys to the Moon

Features Theatre, cinema, casino, five pools, art gallery containing £3 million worth of art, learning centre, fifteen restaurants and bars, spa boasting twenty-four treatment rooms and a children's play zone. QM2 is the only ship with an onboard planetarium.

Accommodation Standard staterooms feature at least 200 square feet of space, digital TV and internet connection. Most have a balcony and sea view. The highest class of accommodation features a concierge and personal butler, marble baths, private exercise equipment, private elevator access and pre-dinner canapés