Master patissier Eric Lanlard is on-stage recalling how he once refused to bake a 'very rude ' cake for Naomi Campbell . 'Her PA said : `` But it 's for Naomi ! '' I told her that I did n't care if it was for the Queen , ' says Eric . Learning from the master : Tamara shows off the cooking skills she has picked up from Eric Lanlard . As it happens , when HM toured the cruise ship Britannia after the naming ceremony last month , one of the areas she was most impressed with was Eric 's atrium-based Market Café , where the centrepiece is a beautiful , mouth-watering display : dainty , neon-hued raspberry macaroons , Eton Mess served with popping candy and chocolate salted caramel mille-feuilles . Atul Kochhar and Mary Berry are some of the other foodies Britannia 's owners , P & O , have enlisted . At a dinner hosted by Eric in the Cookery Club , I watch my canard à l'orange being prepared on a screen while Eric reels off anecdotes about baking one-ton cakes for sheikhs and having his bottom pinched by Mary Berry . Then I sign up for a cookery lesson with him in the Cookery Club , where wall-mounted screens are connected to cameras positioned over Eric 's workspace , allowing us to follow his every move . I whip up a chocolate soufflé , although sadly , I later drop it face-down on the floor of my cabin . The 3,600-passenger , Union Jack-adorned Britannia is the largest ship built for the UK market . My shore excursions on a dash around the Mediterranean include a coach tour through Corsica 's snowy mountains above Ajaccio , where we sample wild boar meat . All aboard : With a 3600 capacity , Britannia is the biggest cruise ship built for the British market . In Cartagena in Spain , guide Pedro teaches us about traditional Spanish cuisine on a wine and tapas tour , then shows us around the city 's Roman theatre . Britannia basks in its Britishness . In Brodie 's , the pub , there are beers from 56 UK counties and in the library an entire shelf is dedicated to the British monarchy . A handful of guests bemoan the lack of a wrap-around prom deck ( to walk off some of those calories ) but the intimate Limelight Club , where you dine to a soundtrack of performances by singers such as Kiki Dee , and the Oasis spa , with its hydrotherapy centre and fruit-scented showers , are hugely popular . I love the wood-panelled Crow 's Nest , with its sumptuous armchairs and tinkling piano music . Put through her paces : Tamara 's gourmet tuition continues as Britannia sails the Mediterranean . Passengers can sample gins from 20 British counties . When sugar cravings strike , I head for the quirky afternoon teas in Epicurean . Dinners there are just as much fun - my palette cleanser is a lipstick-shaped sorbet which the elderly passenger next to me mistakes for actual make-up . The entertainment is as varied as the cuisine : I cringe at the jokes by mononymous comedian Tucker , whose opener mocks his 'half-Taliban ' neighbour , but love Dickie Arbiter 's talk about life as the Queen 's press secretary . The final stop is the Spanish port of Cadiz , where boats spouting water fountains accompany our arrival . That evening , I join my fellow passengers for a glass of something fizzy . The band strikes up . The tune ? Rule Britannia , naturally . A seven-night cruise to Norway 's fjords on Britannia , sailing round-trip from Southampton , costs from £699pp , departing on May 16 , 2015 ( 0843 374 0111 ; www.pocruises.com ) .
With room for 3600 , Britannia is the largest ship built for the UK market . P & O 's new ship has a gourmet edge , with a host of restaurants on board . Top chefs working with the ship include Eric Lanlard and Mary Berry .