The spirit of Cunard is one which has endured intense competition, two world wars, a great depression and especially the giant strides made by aviation in mass travel.

Even when the primary purpose was the efficient transport of mail between continents, Cunard’s first ships, Britannia, Acadia, Columbia and Caledonia, attracted many a traveller intent on a speedy two-week passage.

While today’s cruise passengers might turn up their noses at less than fresh fruit for breakfast after three days at sea, Cunard’s first guests suffered somewhat harsher privations.

Tight quarters, candles out at 9pm and a ride that see-sawed a wooden frame and hull around the centred weight of an engine and paddle wheels were just a few of the discomforts to be anticipated.

A stiff headwind, meanwhile, lifted waves over the deck and the relief of a following wind brought with it sooty exhaust from the coal fire that burned in the heart of the ship.

Thankfully Cunard proved at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century that privation and discomfort were not a vital part of the spirit of adventure.

The incorporation of twin screw-driven propellers enabled the line to create the first versions of the classic steamship design, Campania and Lucania.

While the paddle steamers had required a design that incorporated wind assistance in the form of masts and sails, the twin-prop technology opened up the deck to include public rooms for entertainment and relaxation.

The tradition of formal, black tie dinners was born, a convention still observed on Cunard ships to this day.

As the size of steamships increased and the numbers of emigrants to the New World swelled, Cunard was faced with the social problems of class.

How could the shipping company continue to carry its passengers who were willing to pay the price for elegance and still serve the needs of the expanding masses who were intent on brightening their horizons across the sea?

The answer came out of the same innovative spirit that Samuel Cunard had exhibited when he first launched Britannia for her inaugural sailing from Liverpool to Halifax and Boston on July 4, 1840. Cunard created the concept of three classes of service on a single ship.

The levels of efficiency and luxury required to maintain a variety of options at sea were enhanced by the introduction of the marine steam turbine, which powered what were to be the fastest and largest ocean liners yet to ply the high sea: RMS Lusitania and Mauretania.

These speeding giants were introduced in 1907. Both almost 32,000 tons, they could travel at speeds in excess of 23 knots, and each carried more than 1,000 passengers in record crossing times.

Seven years later, literally on the eve of the First World War, they were joined by Aquitania.

Shortly after, in 1915, the world was shaken by the harshest tragedy in Cunard history, when an enemy German U-boat sent the majestic Lusitania to the bottom of the sea with the loss of 1,198 lives in 300ft of water off Kinsale, Ireland.

This was to be the ultimate test of the shipping line’s spirit.

Though the sinking of Lusitania is remembered and talked about even now, it is not commonly known that Cunard lost a total of 22 ships.

Yet this proud company returned almost immediately to peacetime service following the armistice.

Ironically, Cunard’s newest flagship was German. The 52,226-ton Imperator had been captured by the United States and handed over to Cunard in reparation for the loss of Lusitania. She was to be renamed Berengaria.

New shipbuilding was resumed with fervour, and soon the precursors to modern cruise ships, Franconia and Laconia, were in service with Cunard.

The line’s heyday was eagerly awaited as production began on the original Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth.