Uniworld launched its latest ship in Paris this week, in a vow of defiance against the terror attacks which the city has suffered in recent years.

Joie de Vivre, docked in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, was christened by Dame Joan Collins, who spoke of her love of the French capital.

“It really is the City of Light,” she told an audience of trade partners and repeat guests of the line. “It hasn’t escaped me that we stand here in between the Eiffel Tower – a symbol of progress – and Lady Liberty [France’s Statue of Liberty], which symbolises freedom. The Joie de Vivre, which is the joy of living, celebrates that.”

Owner Stanley Tollman had considered cancelling the building of the ship, as he revealed that he was in Paris the night of the Bataclan attack in November 2015.

But he added: “A week later, I said, that isn’t right. We’ve been bringing people to Paris for so long. This has always been a City of Light for my wife and I… and we wanted to support France. It’s so important that people keep coming.”

Uniworld president and chief executive Ellen Bettridge said the ship, which has a French-themed decor to reflect its Seine itineraries, became “even more French” in its design following the terror attacks in Paris.

Onboard features include a French Bistro in the ship’s Salon area and a swimming pool at the stern, which transforms into a cinema showing French-themed films in the evening, and a bar named Claude’s at night.

 Asked whether the ship might be moved should the French capital be targeted by terror attacks again, Bettridge insisted: “Absolutely not. This ship is a statement about Paris and France. It is here to stay whatever. We live in a scary place right now, but we don’t stop living.”

Kathryn Beadle, Uniworld UK managing director, added that security had been stepped up across the fleet since autumn last year, with 24-hour security guards now standing on watch outside all of its ships.