All good things come to an end, and this year one of the best things in the world of cruising reaches hers. The Queen Elizabeth 2 - the most famous, most prestigious and best-loved of all liners - will sail away gracefully to a happy retirement in Dubai.  Conceived in the late Fifties and in service by the end of the Sixties, the QE2 was the first liner designed not to compete with the ascendant airlines, but to complement them, offering a civilised alternative way to cross the Atlantic; indeed, for many years its symbiotic relationship with Concorde offered travellers the best of both worlds.  Its debut provoked controversy. On the day that the Queen launched it on Clydebank, she herself added the "2" to the ship's name. Cunard had intended it to be plain Queen Elizabeth. And the reason that the name has an Arabic "2" rather than a Roman "II" is to reassure the Scots - the monarch is their first Queen Elizabeth - that the ship was named as the successor to the previous liner Queen Elizabeth and not after the Queen herself.  The launch ads said "Ships have been boring long enough!" and it broke with tradition in many ways. It was the first British liner to offer en suite facilities in every cabin; the first to site the restaurants high in the superstructure, guaranteeing panoramic ocean views; the first to boast an on-board computer system to monitor stock-control and fuel consumption; the first major liner designed to be equally suitable for crossings and cruising; and the largest, most powerful and fastest twin-screw ship ever built.  Its career turned out to be every bit as colourful as its design. Since 1969, it has been subject to bomb-threats and war service, sailing with the Expeditionary Force to the Falklands. It carried out the last-ever Cunard steam-powered crossing on October 26, 1986, ending a Cunard tradition dating back to 1840. It has steamed farther and carried more passengers than any other liner. It recently became the longest-serving Cunarder, eclipsing the record of its forebear, the stately four-funnelled Aquitania.  The first time I sailed on it, I was 16 years old and had never been on a liner before. Back in 1972, QE2 was still the epitome of swinging Britain. Its interiors were dazzling 1 the patriotically red, white and blue Britannia Restaurant, the chic, David Hicks-designed Q4 Nightclub and the mutedly murky Midships Bar. Over the years, all these rooms (and many more) have been swept away in the course of numerous refits. In fact, Cunard has spent more than 10 times the ship's original cost on keeping it contemporary.  Initially, the ship's crew was entirely British, which proved problematic. On one of my earliest cruises aboard it, two barmen stood behind their bar, loudly debating the next round of fruitless industrial action against Cunard while a horde of parched passengers stood gasping for a drink.  Eventually, one of the stewards turned grumpily to the first guest in line. "I suppose you want serving?" he asked. "Oh, no," said the passenger. "I want a piece of cardboard and a marker pen." "Why's that then?" asked the confounded steward. "Why, so that I can make you a placard that reads 'I am an ignorant pig and I hate my job.' You can wear it round your neck!" said the passenger, to a riotous round of applause from his fellow guests. Later, the QE2 gained a non-unionised and multi‑national crew and service was transformed.  The biggest investment came in 1986 when, in the nautical equivalent of a heart transplant, the QE2's increasingly unreliable and budget-bustingly thirsty steam turbines were replaced by nine diesel engines to maintain its speed and slash its voracious fuel consumption. A fortunate side-effect of the change was to give it a stockier and altogether more majestic funnel in place of the pencil‑thin structure it was built with.  Cruising on the ship today is a marvellous throwback to a more stately era. No matter that it's a bit frayed around the edges – leaky windows and downpours from ceilings both feature – it remains unique. And who cares that the original two-class design means that the cabin decks are labyrinthine, or that certain lifts, once designed to segregate the elite from the rest, mystifyingly refuse to stop at certain decks?  The cheapest cabins - formerly tourist-class rooms - are diminutive: my mother once occupied a minimum-grade outside room and told me it was the most convenient cabin she'd ever had. "Darling," she told me, "I can switch the TV on, start a shower, go through my clothes in the wardrobe and answer the door – all without getting out of bed."  The vestigial class system - your restaurant is allocated based upon the amount you pay for your cruise - does not mean that the ship is restrictive. The only public room denied to all but the elite is the Queen's Grill, a long and narrow space that has always reminded me of a railway carriage. But when someone asks which restaurant you're dining in, it actually means "How much did you pay for your holiday?"  In fact, even the Mauretania Restaurant, the least expensive on board, offers perfectly fine food and service. Niceties like groaning trays of petits fours prevail even here. From this base, things culminate in the Queen's Grill, with its off‑menu ordering, lavish à la carte menu and superb sommeliers.  Elsewhere, the informal Lido offers a huge breakfast buffet, casual lunches, afternoon tea, candlelit dinners and some of the last surviving nightly midnight buffets. And prompt and complimentary room service is always a telephone call away.  The ship is still the fastest passenger liner afloat. It remains the longest-serving Cunarder and continues to dismiss unfriendly weather with greater élan than almost any other ship. It boasts one of the most extensive and best-run libraries afloat. It is still loved by passengers and crew alike. Every arrival and departure still draws a crowd. And - as the phalanx of white-gloved stewards who appear at precisely 4pm to serve afternoon tea testifies - it is still run with metronomic precision.  To step ashore from one of its immaculate tenders, to watch the long cabin corridors flex in a transatlantic storm, to sip Champagne in evening dress, to pause near the Chart Room and try to fit a piece into the vast jigsaw that is set out there on every trip: this is the essence of the cruise experience.  Like a fine wine, the QE2 improves with age. It has outlived the miniskirt, several prime ministers and even its one-time consort Concorde. But sadly, its elegant lines and lack of balcony cabins immediately define it as a ship of yesteryear. The period when it was the world's largest liner is long gone - in today's cruise industry it doesn't even make it into the ocean-going Top 50.  Yet its designers, charged with creating a ship that could successfully anticipate the needs of a yet-unborn generation of passengers, have succeeded beyond their wildest dreams. It is a great machine, but a machine with a soul.  The QE2's last season in active service concludes this October with a pair of transatlantic crossings in tandem with its younger sister, Queen Mary 2. Then it sails off into the sunset for the last time on a cruise to Dubai (demand for this trip was so enormous, every cabin was sold within 36 minutes of the reservation lines opening). But in the intervening period, you still have a chance to sample the delights of this most classic of ships, with a full programme of cruises operating out of Southampton. However space is already limited.  So the simple advice is to hurry if you want to sample the unique ambience of a ship that represents the culmination of the transatlantic liner.  And if you do sail aboard it, look out for the hideous spelling mistake incorporated into the Art-Deco map of the Atlantic behind the bar in the intimate Chart Room.  The QE2’s final sailings in September and October are sold out, having been snapped up by devotees of the ship almost as soon as they went on sale. However, there’s still limited availability on earlier cruises, including a classic transatlantic crossing from New York to Southampton on April 12 for six nights: fly-cruise fares start from £799.  A three-night sampler sailing from Southampton on July 17 to Amsterdam (from Rotterdam) and Bruges (from Zeebrugge) starts at £689. The 20-night Autumn Colours cruise to New England and Canada sails round-trip from Southampton on September 10 with ports including New York, Newport, Boston and Québec City. Fares begin at £3,569.  These are the official fares but many agents are offering significant reductions. All fares include all meals, accommodation, a full programme of entertainment and flights where applicable.  For full details, contact Cunard (0845 678 0013; www.cunard.co.uk).
Stately as ever, the Queen Elizabeth 2 will retire from cruising this year.    Mike Court has fond memories of a grand old lady.