Cunard Line, one of the oldest names in shipping but with the youngest fleet at sea, is to offer its guests the opportunity to be married on board for the first time in its 171-year history.

Peter Shanks, Cunard president and managing director, explained: “Most of our competitors have been developing increasingly popular and lucrative ‘Weddings at Sea’ programmes, and these are now very big business in the cruise industry.

“We receive a lot of enquiries about the possibility of being married on one of our ships – particularly about weddings in mid-Atlantic on board Queen Mary 2, which no other company can offer.”

Cunard will now offer a ‘Weddings at Sea’ programme following the completion of the World Voyages series in the spring of 2012.

The programme will offer a number of packages on all three ships presently operated by the line – Queen Mary 2, Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth.

A brochure detailing the programme will be issued in November, and the programme will go on sale in December 2011.

Cunard is a subsidiary of the Carnival Corporation.