LONDON, Dec. 21 (UPI) -- Final preparations were under way in Saint-Nazaire, France, Sunday for the launch of the largest, most luxurious cruise ship in history, the Queen Mary 2.
The first ocean liner built in 34 years for the British shipping line Cunard has five swimming pools, 14 restaurants, 24 massage parlors, an art gallery and enough power to light a city of 300,000 people, the Independent reported.
The ship sets sail on the French Atlantic coast Monday with an orchestra playing "God Save the Queen" and "Marseillaise," fighter planes flying overhead and up to 100,000 well-wishers.
The Queen Mary 2 is the longest, tallest, widest and heaviest passenger ship ever constructed -- double the weight of the Queen Elizabeth 2 and three times the weight of Titanic. It can cross the Atlantic in six days.
The celebration surrounding the launch will be tempered somewhat by the deaths of 15 people last month when a gangway collapsed.
