American talk show diva Oprah Winfrey arrives in Malta this morning aboard a cruise liner accompanied by her staff and their families whom she is treating to an all-expenses paid holiday.

The Norwegian Gem, chartered by the billionaire, is expected to spend the day here.

Last week, the luxury liner called at Barcelona where the group toured the city. Their 10-day Mediterranean cruise includes stops in Italy, Turkey and Greece.

With the cruise tickets costing about €4,000 per person, Ms Winfrey is believed to be paying over €583,000 in accommodation fees for her staff members and their families, according to The Daily Mail.

Ms Winfrey is well known for her self-titled, multi-award winning talk show, where she employs over 100 people.

Her Chicago-based television production has catapulted her into fame and riches. In fact, Forbes lists her as the highest paid celebrity in the world and the second most powerful after Beyonce Knowels.

She has a personal fortune estimated at over €1.7 billion and her annual income tops €233 million.

She is known for her generosity - as reported in the Daily Mail, four years ago she took her staff on a trip to Hawaii.

Norwegian Cruise Liner's local representative Cruises International would not comment about the itinerary of the Norwegian Gem or who it had on board. However, the spokesman said the company had been informed that it was chartered two years ago and, therefore, no bookings were taken for the days in question.