Impeccable White Star Service, fine dining and unrivalled accommodation are the key attributes associated with Cunard Line.

With the departure of QE2 after almost 40 years of service to become a luxury floating hotel in Dubai, Cunard will operate flagship Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria in 2009-10.

A £250 million sister ship to 2,014-passenger Queen Victoria, to be named Queen Elizabeth, is due to join the fleet in the autumn of 2010.

Famed for the transatlantic ocean liner service between Southampton and New York for almost 170 years, Cunard also runs winter fly-cruises on QM2 in the Caribbean while Queen Victoria mainly sails from Southampton to the Mediterranean, Scandinavia and Canary Islands.   

Both ships also run world voyages, with QM2 setting off on a new world cruise itinerary in January 2010.

The 2,600-passenger Cunard flagship QM2 will sail on a 101-day eastbound-westbound "Royal Route of Exploration" featuring calls at 19 new ports and its first visit to South Africa.

QM2 will make overnight stays in Cape Town, Hong Kong and Sydney as part of the voyage.   

Queen Victoria will depart in the same month on a 99-day "Voyage of Discovery" circumnavigation including 11 maiden ports of call and three overnight stops in Sydney, Hong Kong and Dubai.

The two vessels will visit a combined 31 countries, 57 ports and make 30 maiden calls.

Each world cruise can be split into shorter voyages for travellers wanting to explore a specific part of the world.

Cunard tradition is maintained on board its two modern ships, with restaurants assigned based on the level of cabin booked across three tiers – Queens Grill, Princess Grill and the Britannia Restaurant.

A range of other places to eat are available including the signature Todd English restaurant.