Speaking today in London, P&O Cruises & Carnival UK chief executive officer David Dingle said: “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.
“Today’s Britain is a place of increasing style and sophistication, optimism and excitement. Britannia will reflect that feeling and will mark a new era of growth and success for the cruise industry. It will also underpin P&O's 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.”
Britannia will boost P&O Cruises capacity by 24%. With a length of 1,082ft, it will carry more than 3,600 passengers and, at 141,000 tons, will be 25,000 tons larger than P&O's previous biggest, the 2008-built Ventura.
The new vessel will offer "the best of British contemporary design, with an unprecedented number of passenger facilities. It is being designed throughout by London-based Richmond International, creating “flowing” interiors which have a coherent feel while each area will have an individual identity, look and feel through shape, space and soft furnishings."
The ship will also be designed to both attract both newcomers to resonate and resonate with existing passengers. It will offer the “best of the best”, combining favourite classic features of ships such as Oriana and Aurora, the wide choice and contemporary variety of Ventura and Azura as well as many yet-to-be-announced new concepts in technology and entertainment. Dining options will reflect the continuing rise of British cooking on the world stage.
Following travelling trends and customer research it will also have more single cabins than any other cruise ship, many of them with balconies.
Dingle (pictured right with Captain Paul Brown, Carnival chairman Micky Arison and CEO Arnold Donald) continued: “At the same time, 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%. And, whilst the name Britannia has great historical resonance with P&O Cruises, most importantly, the ship will celebrate the forward-looking Britain of today and the future.”
There have been two previous ships named Britannia connected to the company. The first entered service in 1835 for the General Steam Navigation Company, which went on to become The Peninsular Steam Navigation Company. The second, which entered service in 1887, was one of four ships ordered by the company to mark the Golden Jubilee of both Queen Victoria and P&O itself.
There have been two previous ships named Britannia connected to the company. The first entered service in 1835 for the General Steam Navigation Company, which went on to become The Peninsular Steam Navigation Company. The second, which entered service in 1887, was one of four ships ordered by the company to mark the Golden Jubilee of both Queen Victoria and P&O itself.
This Golden Jubilee class ship carried 250 first-class passengers and 160 second-class passengers and had a cargo capacity of approximately 4,000 tons. The young Winston Churchill sailed on this Britannia with his hussar regiment to Bombay in 1888 and then went on to fight on the North West Frontier.
Britannia was also, of course, the name of the Royal Yacht for 44 years from her launch on Clydesdale in 1953. She is now docked in the Port of Leith (Edinburgh) as a major tourist attraction.
Now see our new Poll question on our home page and let us know what you think about the name for P&O's new ship!
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