Cruise ship arrives in home port

The ship will set sail on its maiden voyage on 18 April

A new 115,000-tonne cruise ship has arrived in its home port of Southampton ahead of its official entry into passenger service.

The £300m Ventura, which can carry up to 3,600 passengers, will be named by actress Dame Helen Mirren at the Hampshire port on Wednesday 16 April.

The vessel was built by P&O Cruises at the Fincantieri shipyard near Venice in Italy and arrived in England on Sunday. It is due to leave on its maiden voyage to the Mediterranean on 18 April.

But because the cruise ship has been built ahead of schedule, it will first depart on a two-night "welcome party" cruise from Southampton to Zeebrugge and back.

Ventura is equipped with five swimming pools, 11 restaurants, 12 bars and lounges, five shops, a library, casino and theatre, and will be staffed by 1,200 crew.

Also, it has thousands of works of contemporary art. At 290 metres (317yds) in length, the ship is longer than Tower Bridge and has 15 passenger decks.