Britain's most iconic cruise ship, the Queen Elizabeth 2, is expected to berth in Grand Harbour for the last time tomorrow as it sails to a new life as a floating hotel in Dubai.

The ship was given a grand farewell attended by Queen Elizabeth's husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, when it set sail from Southampton for the last time last Wednesday.

The liner was sold last year to the Dubai World Company for some €65 million.

The company, which manages projects for the government in Dubai, plans to turn it into a floating hotel and tourist attraction, with retail and entertainment space, at the Palm Jumeirah, the enormous palm-shaped, artificial island being developed as a complex of tourist hotels and apartments.

Besides being the pride of British shipbuilding when first launched in 1967, the ocean liner had briefly served as a trans-Atlantic troop hauler during the Falklands war in 1982, etching itself further as a symbol of national pride.

On Wednesday, she set sail for Dubai in the evening as a spectacular fireworks display was let off. Earlier, one million Remembrance Day poppies were dropped over it before a Harrier jet dipped its nose in tribute.

She seemed reluctant to leave, though, as she ran aground in a sand bank shortly after departing in an embarrassing incident which saw several tug boats scrambled to her rescue in no time.

Locally, Maltapost will be commemorating the event with an issue of four stamps in its maritime series, which will feature four world-class liners that have regularly visited the Grand Harbour: the MSC Musica, MS Voyager of the Seas, MS Westerdam and the RMS Queen Elizabeth 2.