SOUTHAMPTON'S latest luxury superliner, the £200m Arcadia, is due to make a dramatic entrance into her home port on Wednesday.

After a week-long voyage from the builders' yard in Italy, Arcadia will make her way up Southampton Water to give the city a spectacular grandstand view of her arrival.

Arcadia, the largest cruise ship ever to be built exclusively for British passengers, will be named next week by Athens Olympics double gold medal athlete Dame Kelly Holmes and the ship's operators P&O Cruises is inviting everyone to join in the celebrations which will feature a huge firework finale.

The 83,000-ton vessel is a further addition to P&O Cruises' growing fleet of ships based in the docks which also includes Oriana, Aurora, Oceana and later this year Artemis.

To help you be one of the first to catch a glimpse of the world's newest superliner P&O Cruises say Arcadia is due to arrive at the Nab Tower in the Solent at 8.30am and then pass Lee-on-Solent and Cowes at about 9.40am.

At 10am Arcadia should be off Calshot Spit before passing Victoria Country Park at Netley at 10.20am and Hythe Marina 15 minutes later.

By 10.40am the massive white cruise ship should be easing herself past Dock Head ready for her grand sail-past of Town Quay and Mayflower Park, where crowds are expected to be at their greatest, before Arcadia continues up river into the Western Docks.

There the ship is set to undertake a series of manoeuvres before coming alongside the Mayflower Cruise Terminal at 106 berth at noon.

On the bridge will be the ship's first master, Captain Steve Burgoine, one of P&O Cruises' most senior and experienced officers.

Before leaving the shipyard near Venice last Wednesday at the start of the ship's journey through the Adriatic, the Mediterranean and the Bay of Biscay to Southampton, Captain Burgoine said: "I am really looking forward to taking command of Arcadia.

"I have served on more than a dozen ships with P&O Cruises, including six as captain, and it's clear she will be quite different to command than any of the others.

"We'll be on the edge of a new cruise revolution and its great to be part of it.''

P&O Cruises is being tight-lipped over exact details of the naming ceremony on the evening of Tuesday, April 12.

"Dame Kelly will perform the customary naming but it will be a departure from tradition and the event will encompass grand scale theatre, surprise, evolution and adventure,'' said David Dingle, the Southampton-based managing director of P&O Cruises.

"It promises to be an event to remember and we would like as many people as possible to be part of the celebrations. Together with Southampton City Council, we are delighted to invite everyone to watch a live broadcast of Arcadia's naming ceremony on a giant screen in Mayflower Park.

"With the silhouette of Arcadia forming an impressive backdrop, the event will conclude with a thrilling firework display, which is sure to make for an unforgettable evening. Entrance is free and the broadcast will begin at 7.15pm.''

Hundreds of P&O Cruises' guests will also be on the quayside in the Western Docks to take part in the ceremony before boarding Arcadia for a gala evening to mark her official entry into service.

Arcadia is scheduled to depart on her maiden voyage on Thursday, April 14, when she sets sail for a 16-night voyage to the Mediterranean.