Passengers who sail on one of Cunard’s three ships – the Queen Elizabeth, Queen Victoria and Queen Mary 2 – will during this time enjoy the privilege of sipping cocktails specially created in partnership with London gin maker Bombay Sapphire.

The cocktails will all be available in the Commodore Club – the ships’ lounge bar. Passengers will be able to choose from among the Queen’s Bouquet, the Windsor Tonic and the Middleton Fiz.

The Royal Cocktail range were specially designed to coincide with the 250th birthday celebrations of Bombay Sapphire, the brand with the trademark light blue bottles that are nowadays found in drinking holes all over the world.

Other cruise lines of course also offer some pretty exotic cocktails. Cruisers on Celebrity Cruises’ ships can nowadays enjoy the Eureka, a concoction based on a mixture of white cranberry juice and Bacardi with cucumber and basil leaves.

On Disney’s new Dream, the very upmarket Remy restaurant now offers cruise passengers its signature cocktail – the Balsamic Grande. This consists of sparkling prosecco (made specially for the ship) mixed with vodka, fresh muddled strawberries and balsamic vinegar.

Norwegian Cruise Line’s ships have the trademark Cagney’s steakhouses – where one can enjoy a potent cocktail made from apricot brandy, Southern Comfort, sparkling wine and Grand Marnier.

Figures published last month showed that holidaymakers drink considerably more at sea than on dry land. No explanation has so far been provided for this phenomenon.