P&O’s newest vessel set to rule the waves

P&O Cruises has just announced that its forthcoming cruise ship, due to enter service for the line in 2015, will be named Britannia.

Britannia is set to boost P&O’s total passenger capacity by almost a quarter. Weighing in at 141,000 tons and catering for over 3,600 passengers, she will be 25,000 tons larger than Ventura, the line’s previous newest ship, which entered service in 2008.

Dave Dingle, P&O Cruises and Carnival UK Chief Executive officer, was enthusiastic about the choice of name for the ship, saying: “Britannia is a most fitting name for the newest addition to P&O Cruises, which, with its long and famous heritage, remains Britain’s favourite cruise line. Britannia will capture both the contemporary spirit of P&O Cruises and the spirit of Britain today”.

Explaining a little more about the ship’s look, Dingle stated: “Britannia will underpin P&O Cruises unique commitment to building ships specifically designed to anticipate the tastes of today’s Britain. It will be a modern classic, a ship for this and future generations offering authentic travel by sea in an enduringly contemporary setting.”

That “contemporary setting” will be created with the help of London-based Richmond International, who have created a flowing interior design with a coherent feel but one in which each public area still has its own identity. Britannia is set to combine the most popular features of the line’s Oriana and Aurora vessels with a number of new technological and entertainment concepts.

There’s good news for solo cruisers too, as the ship is set to have more single cabins than any other cruise ship, with a number of them offering balconies. Accommodation for the single traveller is something which the line considers to be important, as it already offers single accommodation on its Azura, Aurora, Oriana and Ventura vessels.

Dingle was keen to point out Britannia’s eco-friendly credentials, too, saying: “The ship will be our greenest yet and will be designed to deliver much greater levels of operational and environmental efficiency.  A new hull form will reduce unit fuel consumption by up to 20 per cent.”

Here’s the low-down on Britannia’s vital statistics:

By Simon Brotherton
Google