P&O Cruises new vessel Britannia is  a “mega step change” for the company, according to chairman David Dingle.

Speaking as the ship was presented to the company by the Italian Fincantieri shipyard near Trieste, Dingle said the ship would propel the line forward to meet the needs of new and returning customers alike.

Before vowing that “Britannia will once again rule the waves”, Dingle said: “This not just a ship for Britain, it’s a ship for a new Britain. A more vibrant, more exciting Britain.”

Dingle congratulated Fincantieri for their hard work and said the partnership between the shipyard and Carnival had helped to shape the cruise industry.

“Cruising has become a vibrant expanding part of the mainstream holiday business and our two businesses, Fincanteiri and Carnival, as market leaders in our different industry sectors, have played a role in this.

“Taking delivery of a ship is just the beginning for now we must attract passengers to Britannia not only this year but for the next 30 years and we will, because we know it’s contemporary, groundbreaking ships which attract others into cruising.”

He said he believed the new ship would help push the number of UK cruisers to the two million mark, as well as showing that the “UK was an established part of Carnival’s continuing growth.”

Britannia is the fifth P&O Cruises ship to be built by Fincanteiri, and the largest ship built for the brand.