The Queen Mary 2 can carry 2,620 passengers in 1,310 staterooms, including four royal suites and six penthouses. She has a multi-national crew of 1,253 .

* The Canyon Ranch health spa is manned by 51 health experts who work in a 20,000 sq ft facility comprising a mud therapy pool, 24 treatment rooms, a waterfall, saunas and reflexology basins.

* The ship boasts eight galleys, 14 buffet outlets, 43 walk-in style pantries and 14 bars. The three-deck high main dining room holds 1,300, spanning the width of the ship, with a central staircase. A library holding 10,000 books has a bookshop adjacent. Other attractions for passengers include five swimming pools, a disco, a 500-seat theatre, art gallery, maritime museum, casino, and a planetarium - the first on any liner.

* Four diesel engines and two gas turbines give a top speed of 30.25 knots.

* QM 2 has four propulsion units mounted on the hull, each weighing 350 tonnes. Two of the units are fixed and the other two can be used in conjunction with three bow thrusters to turn the ship in its own length.

* The liner has its own internet cafs and state-of-the-art computer centre. Via satellite, all the liner's staterooms are connected to the internet.

* Passengers have a temporary onboard e-mail address, allowing them access to the net 24 hours a day, seven days a week, via a high-speed internet satellite link.

STATISTICS

* There are 2,000 bathrooms, 2,500 kilometres of electrical wiring, 3,000 telephones, 25,000 sq metres of carpet and 4,339 steps.

* It takes 250 tonnes of paint cover the ship's 550,000 sq metres.

* From the keel to the top of the funnel is 236 feet.

* QM 2 is 147ft longer than the Eiffel Tower is tall and 117 feet shorter than the Empire State Building.

* She has a top speed of 30 knots.

* QM 2 is the most expensive liner ever built. The ship is 113 feet longer than the original Queen Mary.