Cunard Line announced Oct. 10th it has ordered a new 92,000-ton cruise ship, to be named "Queen Elizabeth," scheduled to enter service in the fall of 2010.

At 92,000 tons, the 2,092-passenger ship will be considerably larger than Queen Elizabeth 2 -- which is being retired from the Cunard fleet in November 2008 -- and slightly larger than the new Queen Victoria, which will debut in December of this year.

Both the Queen Elizabeth 3 and the Queen Victoria will be far smaller than Cunard's third ship, the Queen Mary 2.

In its announcement, Cunard said Her Majesty The Queen had given her blessing to calling this new Cunarder "Queen Elizabeth" after the previous ships of that name.

"We are extremely pleased that Cunard will once again become a three-ship fleet so soon after the departure of the much-celebrated Queen Elizabeth 2," said Carol Marlow, president of Cunard Line.

The new cruise ship will be built by Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri, which is presently completing work on Queen Victoria, at its Monfalcone yard at a cost of approximately $700 million, Cunard said.