Catherine Masters reports from the internet room on an ocean liner worthy of its regal title, while a string quartet plays at the door.

When Captain Paul Wright, skipper of the Cunard Line's newest liner the Queen Victoria, was asked by his school guidance counsellor what he enjoyed doing, he responded "looking out the window".

Tourists to Antarctica are unlikely to be deterred by the sinking of a cruise ship last week because there is strong curiosity about the region, travel experts said.