FORMER crew members of one of the most iconic ocean liners ever built will gather for their first reunion since the ship was brought out of service.

Two hundred former sailors and staff of QE2 have snapped up tickets to get aboard a night to remember at the Grand Harbour Hotel in Southampton tomorrow.

The evening is set to be a blast from the past with crew from four decades of the liner’s illustrious past gathering for the event. Organiser Janice Jeffrey, who used to work in the pursers’ office, said what was first envisaged as a small get-together morphed into a sell-out event.

The 48-year-old said: “It was quite incredible how it grew. It blew me away.

“I think it is because everyone who worked on QE2 still feels part of her family. We all loved her.”

She said some “interesting characters” will be reunited, many of whom spent years together, unlike modern crews whom, she said, can be shifted to different vessels.

They would also share a busy social life tucked away from the passengers. “There were parties every night if you wanted to go to one,” recalled Janice.

QE2 retired from service in 2008, and left Southampton for the last time in November that year, having been acquired by Dubai’s state investment company Istithmar World.

Plans are now under way to turn the ship into a floating hotel in the Far East after a previous plan hit the rocks following the world economic downturn.

The evening is only open to crew. A charity box is being set up to raise money for typhoon-ravaged areas in the Philippines in tribute to the many Filipino crew who served.