A HUGE nuclear powered aircraft carrier, one of the world's biggest warships, is difficult to upstage.

But a star performer just as impressive and even more grand is due to arrive at Phuket on Wednesday, when the cruise liner Queen Mary 2 docks.

Her visit will be fleeting but as the Cunard vessel is described as ''the grandest, most magnificent ocean liner ever built,'' a few gawping onlookers may gather as she arrives.

No doubt the local taxis and the souvenir shops around Phuket's Cape Panwa docks will boost their prices a little. And who could blame them?

Wealth and opulence are already part of the legend of the Queen Mary 2, even though she's a relatively new ship.

As Cunard reports: ''She's a true heir to the timeless elegance, legacy and inspiration of the great Cunard liners of legend.''

The USS Nimitz arrived off Phuket at the weekend and began sending the first of thousands of sailors to shore for what's known as MWR (morale, welfare, recreation) on Sunday.

To have a US aircraft carrier, a couple of warships and one of the grand modern cruise liners in Phuket waters all at once later this week should be quite something.

How do they compare? Well the Queen Mary 2 can hold 3056 guests and 1253 crew and cost $800 million to build.

That's a paltry sum, though, compared to the USS Nimitz, which cost between $3 billion and $4 billion and holds a crew of more than 4600 men and women.

Perhaps the US Government was overcharged by the ship-building equivalent of a Patong tuk-tuk driver, we hear you say.

Ah, but does the Nimitz have a kennel program overseen by a fulltime kennel master (travelling cats and dogs receive an animal gift pack and other amenities)? Or a 157,000 horsepower, environmentally friendly, gas turbine/diesel electric plant?

Huh, that's nothing.The Nimitz has two nuclear-powered reactors and can stay at sea for decades if needs be.

Well then, look at sheer, impressive length. At 1132 feet the Queen Mary 2 actually nudges out the Nimitz, which is a mere 1115 feet.

However, the aircraft carrier does have about 4.5 acres of flight deck . . . more than enough for a few dogs and cats to do the business.

And there are 62 fighter planes on the Nimitz, which the Queen Mary 2 could surely use if a rival cruise liner happened to hove into sight.

Ah, but does the Nimitz have a Veuve Clicquot Champagne Bar? Or an Empire Casino with 13 gaming tables, over 120 slot machines, even video poker?

Got you there, eh? And there's the Canyon Ranch Spa Club and the Art Gallery, plus five swimming pools including the Terrace Pool on Deck 8, The Minnows Pool especially for children on Deck 9, the Sun Deck Splash Pool on the top of the ship, and the most popular Pavilion Pool on Deck 12, which features a retractable dome for any weather.

Those on board the 13-deck Queen Mary 2, the guests that is, miss out on the free uniforms that come with a role on the Nimitz. Some QM2 guests have even opted for a far-from-inexpensive round the world journey that began in New York and will not end for months and months yet.

The Nimitz crew are seeing the world a little more cheaply . . . and being paid for the pleasure.

Far more fortunate, the crew of the Nimitz and the USS Pinckney and the USS Rentz will have spent five days on Phuket.

The Queen Mary 2, now crossing the Indian Ocean, will dock at Phuket on Wednesday for just a day before moving on to Penang. She is on the Dubai-Hong Kong leg of the journey, to be followed by Hong Kong-Sydney, Sydney-Cape Town, and Cape Town-New York.

On board the Nimitz yesterday, Captain Paul Monger said that volunteers from his crew would paint and renovate three schools while off Phuket.

From Phuket, the Nimitz will head home to San Diego. But first, there's a pleasant few days of liberty leave to negotiate.

''We heard what happened when sailors from the USS Ronald Reagan had an altercation with a jet-ski operator, and our sailors have been ordered not to rent mechanical vehicles of any sort while they are here,'' he told the media on a tour of the carrier.

He said the sailors were each expected to spend about $200 a day while off Phuket.

One person excited about going ashore was Airman Ampika ''Trace'' Raktabut, 20, who joined the US Navy six months ago.

''I moved to live in the US and my mom thought joining the navy was a good idea, because she knew I love to travel. And I knew that one day i would come to Thailand.''

Her chance to catch up with her parents, who are are flying from Bangkok, will come today.

Airman Trace is detailed to move fighter planes around the flight deck, but she says she has no plans to marry an American sailor.

''I work with them every day and I know what they are like,'' she said.

At one stage on Sunday, the liberty line stretched almost the full length of the 1115-feet long ship.

Once ashore, the thirsty sailors boarded a fleet of buses which whisked them to Patong and the bright lights of Phuket's tourist district.

Most of the sailors said they were hanging out for a cold beer after more than a month at sea on the ''dry'' ship. Alcohol has been banned on US warships since World War II..