Queen Mary 2 to embark on last round trip crossing of the year in December.

Cunards recently refurbished flagship, Queen Mary 2, will sail on a final pair of back to back transatlantic crossings next month before spending winter in the Caribbean.

The giant Cunarder-the only ship offering a regular transatlantic schedule- will leave New York on December 8th on a seven day, eastbound crossing to Southampton, arriving there on the 15th. Later that same day, she turns around for the westbound crossing, with scheduled arrival back in New York on December 22nd.

Highlights of the eastbound crossing include a series of top grade lecturers, among them Johhny Beerling. Beerling was the producer of the first ever live broadcast on Radio One in 1967, and will be regaling passengers with tales of his tenure at the station, culminating with his retirement in the 1990's.

A similar full roster of lecturers will fill the days at sea on the westbound crossing. Probably the most well known among these is Nicky Chapman, former television star turned music PR, famous for her work with Simon Cowell. Acts she has worked with include the Spice Girls, S Club &, and Will Young.

These festive crossings are especially enjoyable, with on board carol singers and a whole armada of beautiful Christmas decorations, including an entire miniature 'village' that seems to grow as the crossing progresses. And seven straight days at sea allows passengers to truly experience the extensively refurbished liner to the hilt.

The changes included the complete reconfiguation of the Kings Court buffet, faciliated by the removal of two centrally located lfts, the addition of an extra charge, French accented Verandah Restaurant to replace the former Todd English, the addition of some very popular single outside cabins, and the construction of several upper deck Britannia Club balcony cabins. More dog kennels were also added on the upper deck, aft.

While most of these changes have been well received, there are still a few minor complaints, revolving mainly around the food in the Britannia Restaurant. This two level room operates in two sittings for dinner, and is the main dining venue on the liner. On the subject of food, both the Queens and Princess grills also benefitted from a complete update during the June dry docking.

Cruise Compare will be on board the Queen Mary 2 on the westbound leg of the crossing next month, and we'll be bringing you the inside scoop on just how this extraordinary ship- quite literally the only one of her kind- has matured to meet the needs of today's cruising public.