My grandmother named many and my mother did a few, so christening a ship is something that I’ve always wanted to do too. So I was thrilled to be asked to christen our new cruise ship Saga Pearl II. It provided me with a glorious excuse to go shopping for a christening outfit, as well as getting to go onboard the ravishing Saga Pearl II before she takes her first passengers to Norway in search of the Northern Lights next week.

There's something very romantic about christening a ship and to those who work on them it is an important ceremony - crews won't work on an unchristened ship. My grandmother was kept busy during the war naming lots of new battleships which couldn't go into service before this had happened. More recently my mother was flown out to America to name an absolutely huge, nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. The Winston Churchill has a crew of 20,000 men and is now serving in the American Navy.

Saga Pearl II is not quite on the same scale as that, but she's a lovely ship recognisable from her very distinctively shaped funnel and large picture windows. (Whatever happened to portholes?). I inspected some of the cabins which are prettily decorated in blue and white, right down to the crisp, new bedlinen. There's a large swimming pool and a rather beautiful library which is already stocked with brand new books and atlases. Alongside the Archdeacon of Bournemouth I named the ship and blessed 'all who sail on her', before we all toasted her with champagne. Due to her sea readiness, sadly I didn't get to crack a bottle on her bow, but made do with pulling aside a curtain to reveal a plaque that confirms the fact that she is now christened and ready for the high seas.

Oh yes, and to perform this all-important and glamorous task, I wore an Anne Louise Roswald cream dress and a short Balenciaga jacket. All very shipshape.