The port of Southampton's record-breaking 2003 cruise ship season moves into gear with the return of the 76,152-ton Aurora to the docks today.

This is big business for Southampton as in the coming months well in excess of 200 separate calls will be made by cruise ships, generating millions of pounds for the local economy and safeguarding thousands of jobs across the region.

Now the cruise ship capital of Great Britain and the base for leading operators, Southampton will also see a spectacular series of dockside naming ceremonies and the arrival of the much-awaited, 150,000-ton giant liner Queen Mary 2 later in the year.

Work is also at an advanced stage on the development and refurbishment of the port's Mayflower and Queen Elizabeth II passenger terminals, with the new facility at 101 berth, to cope with the growing demand of cruise traffic.

Fred Olsen Cruise Lines ship Black Prince was in port before and after her dry-docking in the Western Docks earlier this month but now the arrivals

and departures of Southampton-based vessels are beginning in earnest.

P&O Cruises' Aurora, which has returned from her round-the-world voyage, will be

alongside for just a few hours before setting off again for the beginning of a programme of

20 cruises between now and December.

She begins her cruise calendar with a 20-night voyage to Madeira, the Caribbean Islands and the Azores, returning to Southampton on Monday, April 28.

This is the same date as the official naming ceremony in the port of the 63,524-ton Ocean Village, formerly better known in Southampton as Arcadia.

Ocean Village is a new venture by parent company P&O, offering casual-style cruising based in the Mediterranean during the summer and the Caribbean in the winter.

Tomorrow it's the turn of P&O Cruises' 69,153-ton Oriana to sail back up Southampton Water at the end of her annual circumnavigation before leaving for a 14-night voyage to Gibraltar, Corsica, Monaco and Spain.

On Thursday, April 17 Cunard's Queen Elizabeth 2 is back in port as she completes her world cruise and begins a passage to New York before heading for the Caribbean.

Wednesday, May 21 sees Southampton's twin White Sisters, Oceana and Adonia, join the P&O Cruises' city-based fleet and their official naming by the Princess Royal and her daughter, Zara Philips.

In July film star Julie Andrews will be in the docks to name the 68,000-ton Crystal Serenity, which will be in and out of Southampton this year.