Tag Archives: P&O Cruises

New P&O UK Ship Named Iona

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P&O Cruises Iona

P&O Cruises today revealed Iona will be the name of its LNG-powered 5,200-passenger newbuild.

The ship will debut in Southampton in spring 2020, making it the biggest vessel to sail out of the UK at 183,900 tons.

The name came from a contest as P&O asked its guests and fans to submit names, receiving over 30,000 entries.

“We can trace our history and roots back to Scotland,” said Paul Ludlow, senior vice president.

“We couldn’t think of a more fitting name for our new ship than after an island that is one of the UK’s most beautiful places: Iona.”

The name combines the company’s historic links with Scotland with the celebration of “our island nation’s connection to the sea.”

Ludlow called the name selection process challenging

“The ship is the next stage of the future of P&O Cruises,” he added.

P&O Cuts Steel for 2020 Newbuild

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From left: Paul_Ludlow, Josh_Weinstein, Tim_Meyer, and Stephan Schmees

P&O Cruises marked a  milestone recently as it cut the first piece of steel for its newest ship being built at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg.

The steel cutting ceremony was attended by P&O Cruises senior vice president, Paul Ludlow; Carnival UK president Josh Weinstein and managing director of Meyer Werft, Tim Meyer.

The company said it will announce the name of the ship later this week.

The 183,900-ton ship is being built at a cost of $950 million and has the capacity for 5,200 guests.

Josh Weinstein said: “This is the first time in 20 years that P&O Cruises has had a ship built by Meyer Werft and I’d like to thank everyone who has worked so hard to get us to the first stage in the life of this ground-breaking vessel. Meyer Werft has an enviable track record of producing genuinely innovative ships which also deliver tremendous levels of operational efficiency and we look forward to continuing our successful partnership over the next couple of years to this ship’s completion in 2020 and beyond.”

Paul Ludlow added: “This is a very exciting and momentous day. Our new ship will be the largest ship ever operated by the brand and the largest ever to be dedicated exclusively to the UK cruise industry. It will also be the first ship in our market to be powered by LNG, the most environmentally-friendly power source yet for large-scale cruise ships. With UK passengers numbers set to top two million for the first time this year, we are confident in cruising’s future and believe that there will be an exceptionally positive UK response to this ship and the innovations it will bring. We also expect this ship to persuade many UK consumers to take that all important first cruise.”

Cruise ship passenger jailed after £200,000 of cocaine found in suitcases

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Image result for MV Arcadia

A cruise ship passenger has been jailed for using a Caribbean holiday as cover to bring cocaine worth more than £200,000 into the UK.

Kevin Enright, 55, was arrested as he disembarked a ship at Southampton Docks on October 31.

Almost three kilos of cocaine was found in his suitcases when he was stopped by Border Force officers.

Enright was sentenced to nine years and six months in prison for importing a class A drug, following a trial at Southampton Crown Court, the BBC reported.

National Crime Agency investigators said Enright, from Dunstable, Bedfordshire, claimed the cruise on P&O Cruises ship Arcadia had been paid for following a win on the horses, and that he had innocently purchased the suitcases.

When officers searched his luggage, they found traces of drugs within a false lining of two suitcases, one of which had been inside the other.

The NCA was able to prove he had collected the cases in St Lucia, and that he had been in contact with others suspected of involvement in the importation.

Enright, who was found guilty of importing class A drugs, had a previous conviction for drug dealing for which he was sentenced to four years in prison in 2005.

NCA senior officer Bob Holness said: “Our investigation involved liaison with law enforcement partners in the Caribbean, and through that, we were able to prove that Enright’s story was made up.

“It became clear that he had contacts with others involved in drug trafficking on both sides of the Atlantic.”