Cruising in the Adriatic

Because she had notched up 1,080 days at sea. Yes, let me say that again: one thousand and eighty days of holiday cruising spread over 15 years.

And to put her achievement in context, this extraordinarily quiet, unassuming soul - she wanted her identity kept secret - has journeyed thousands of miles across the world's seas and oceans from the gentle comfort of the same ship.

Here, under bright spotlights of The Caronia's ballroom, she stepped forward, just like a school prize presentation, to receive a special gold pin from the ship's captain Nick Berry.

It was just one of the highly-prized pins doled out that night to travellers who - against the welter of new, sleek cruisers - remain loyal to Cunard's unpretentious ship: more a dowager duchess than a sea sprite.

But there is cruising and cruisers. Sailing Caronia is uniquely different.

For starters, she actually looks and feels like a cruise ship. Built on solid, sensible, soberly understated lines, there is not a hint of the gaudy, overblown obscenities that wallow and waddle across the world's seaways.

And, although she is just over half the size of her famous sister, QE2, Caronia is, in every sense, a vessel for grown-up travellers who want the very best of holidays.

These guests seriously enjoy dressing up in very posh frocks and stylish black ties for dinner.

You can, of course, chill out at most mealtimes in smart casuals. But regular, formal dinners during the cruise programme give guests, particularly the ladies, a chance to show off the latest chic evening wear.

Now if this sounds all a bit too snobbish and uppercrust, forget it. It only took me a few hours to discover the real strength of the Caronia's uniqueness lies in its slightly rarefied, but open, atmosphere.

It is, in fact, very, very cosy. A comfortable, chummy club where many of the guests deliberately choose to travel with friends they have made on previous voyages.

And this open-handed warmth equally encompasses the friendly, obliging ship's crew. Arriving passengers greet their cabin stewards and table waiters like long-lost family friends with smiling handshakes, hugs and much backslapping.

Newcomers, myself included, were quickly recruited for a quiet, but aggressive team, purposefully trying to scoop up the deck quoits championship.

Then, we were hauled off to join the cerebral general knowledge quiz fought out over sedate plates of cakes, sandwiches and demure cups of fine China tea.

Of course, there was plenty of time to rest and take the air from one of the handsome teak loungers dotting the upper deck... but beware. Before you know it, you could easily find your self in a tangle of elderly people on their daily constitutional'.

I strode out with Sam, a businessman from the Midlands, making his forth trip; Angus, a retired accountant from the Borders recovering from a recent bereavement; and Annie and Joyce, two middle-aged friends who always holiday together.

The day had been overcast and squally as we skittled round the upper deck, bracing ourselves as Caronia ploughed along a steady 18 knots from Malta to Venice on our Adriatic Adventure.

A blustery wind carried conversation out over the foam-tipped grey waves until, in the lee of the ship's bridge, we made a welcome pit stop' for a piping hot coffee-laced with a fine cognac.

"Cruising is just about the best way to relax," said Sam with a contended smile. "After all, back home, where can you take a brisk walk, down a liqueur coffee - all without the chance of being knocked down by a car?"

Later, when I joined Captain Berry, a bright-eyed Ulsterman, on the ship's bridge, he explained: "Walking the decks is just like strolling through a very friendly village.

"All the passengers speak to you. Some have sailed so many times with us that they actually remind me of trips when we first met that I had forgotten."

Of course, many travellers come for the culture. And there are oodles of it. Lectures, film shows and small gatherings on every kind of subject from Venetian art to the inside story of how ITN produces its news and documentary output.

But, much later in my voyage, after another memorable dinner in the ship's exclusive Italian restaurant, I mused that perhaps the biggest reason passengers are so loyal is the seamless quality and quantity of the meals.

By my reckoning, starting at breakfast, I counted 11 opportunities of taking a full-blown feed or elegant snack in any one 24-hour cycle. Why, you can even share two classes of high tea.

Now, let me see: 11 meals a day, plus one thousand and eighty days at sea... Hmmm, it all adds up to a fascinating calculation - no wonder the champion travellers are smiling!

Ken Bennett travelled on Caronia as guest of Cunard Line. Caronia's Adriatic Adventure sails from Southampton and visits Cadiz, Malta, Venice and other historical ports. It is just one of the ship's exciting cruise programmes operating from Southampton. For a brochure or reservations, call 0800-052-3840, click on to website: www.cunard.co.uk, or write to: Cunard Line, Mountbatten House, Grosvenor Square, Southampton S015 2BF.