Tag Archives: P&O

Britannia Facts

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Britannia will sail on her maiden voyage in March 2015. © P&O Cruises.

Britannia is a cruise liner constructed by Fincantieri for the British cruise line Peninsular and Oriental (P&O) Cruises. P&O Cruises is owned by Carnival Group, the world’s biggest cruise ship operator. The ship was christened in a naming ceremony held in September 2013. The estimated investment for the cruise vessel is £500m (approximately $825m).

The ship will sail on its maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to the Mediterranean in March 2015. She can accommodate a total of approximately 5,600 passengers. The inaugural itineraries include a voyage covering the Norwegian Fjords, the Canary Islands and the Baltic Sea.

The ship will be transferred to the Caribbean during winter, sailing for 15-night fly/cruise itineraries from Barbados.

Construction of Carnival’s cruise ship


The 400t keel was laid at a ceremony in May 2013 at Fincantieri’s Monfalcone shipyard. © P&O Cruises.

Carnival awarded the contract to build the new cruise ship to Fincantieri in June 2011. The first steel was cut in November 2012 and her 400t keel was laid in May 2013.

She was launched in Fincantieri’s Monfalcone shipyard in February 2014, and is scheduled to be delivered to her owner in March 2015.

Design details of the Britannia

Richmond International designed the interiors and all of the public areas including passenger cabins, restaurants and entertainment areas. An art collection worth over £1m is displayed onboard.

Britannia will measure 330m in length and 38.4m in width. The length between perpendiculars of the ship will be 306m and gross tonnage capacity will be 142,000t.

The cruise ship will feature 15 passenger decks comprising 1,819 passenger cabins, which will be categorised into suites, deluxe balcony cabins, outside and balcony cabins, inside cabins and 27 single inside cabins.

Entertainment and relaxation aboard Britannia

The most eye-catching and remarkable feature of Britannia’s three tier atrium is the Starburst chandelier at the centre.

The ship features a studio, which is a multi-purpose venue for talks, guest speakers, cookery demos, films, plays, game shows and music recitals. The ship has a theatre with an impressive LED backdrop for shows with the slickest production values.

It has four pools including the main pool, featuring pop jets and plenty of space for sun bathing, as well as the Lido Pool, the Riviera Pool, Serenity Pool and Bar at the top deck, and a children’s splash area. The top deck also features a range of services and relaxation treatments, such as the Oasis Spa and an alfresco spa terrace surrounded by private cabanas.

The three-tier Atrium featuring a Starbust chandelier. © P&O Cruises.

A separate space is also available to the guests for dance lessons, night clubs, film bars, a gym and an arena for short tennis, cricket or football games. The Live Lounge will host tribute acts, live bands and stage performances by singers during the day and at night will transform into a nightclub. Similarly, the Crystal Room hosts evening shows, such as cabaret and live music, and transforms into a dance venue at night.

Large facilities are present for children and teens, including a dedicated teens-only pool deck and the Reef children’s club featuring a night nursery and activity zone.

Restaurants aboard the cruise ship

The new cruise liner has a variety of dining options, including 13 bars and 13 restaurants and cafés.

The ship features four deck bars and three signature restaurants. The Peninsular restaurant and the Meridian restaurant do not have fixed seating or dining times, whereas the Oriental restaurant offers club dining.


“The new cruise liner has a variety of dining options, including 13 bars and 13 restaurants and cafés.”

Specialty dining venues include Lanlard Patisserie by Eric Lanlard, Sindhu by celebrity chef Atul Kochhar, the Blue Bar, the Limelight Club, the Java Café, and British and European cuisine by Marco Pierre White on special evenings.

The other ten eateries include the Glass House, serving wines by Olly Smith, and Grab & Go outlets providing sandwiches, healthy snacks, salads, grills, pizzas and more.

Another unique feature onboard the vessel is a cookery club, where guests can create their own cuisine with British celebrity chef James Martin.

Britannia’s engine and propulsion system

Britannia runs on a diesel-electric propulsion system. The vessel will be fitted with five tier II-type engines supplied by MAN Diesel & Turbo. Two of the five engines are V48/60CR-type and have a power capacity of 14V each, whereas the remaining three are of 8L48/60CR-type. The engines will have a total power capacity of 62,400kW and can cruise at a speed of 22k.

Other features of the ship include two membrane bioreactor (MBR) wastewater systems supplied by Wärtsilä Hamworthy.

Plans to revamp a cruise ship terminal in Southampton have been unveiled.

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Plans to revamp a cruise ship terminal in Southampton have been unveiled.

In a bid to ensure Southampton remains the UK cruise port of choice, Associated British Ports (ABP) has announced its £6 million investment into renovating the Mayflower cruise terminal.

The work follows ABP signing an agreement with Carnival Cruise Lines – the operator of P&O Cruises and Cunard.

It will include a complete redesign of the check-in, departure, security and passenger lounges, as well as the drop-off and pick-up areas.

Not only this, but the internal space of the terminal will also be revamped by undergoing an expansion. This will involve the removal of 100 tonnes of blockwork walls and floors, and the installation of 500 tonnes of steelwork frames to create a reception area of 35,000 sq ft.

Furthermore, a 46-person capacity lift, ten new toilet facilities and heating ventilation will benefit the thousands of passengers who enter the terminal each hour.

The renovation will be carried out by more than 200 staff, who will have a time period of 22 weeks to complete the project between the last ship departing from the terminal and the first vessel returning.

Steven Young, director of port services and government affairs at Carnival Cruise Lines, said: “Cruising out of Southampton forms the core part of our offering to the UK cruise market which in terms of volume is second only to the US.

“This particularly appeals to those who prefer not to fly and who appreciate the ability of being able to drive to the terminal door, hand their keys to a valet parker and then have their luggage delivered to them, for a stress-free travel experience.”

The turnaround of each cruise ship is estimated to deliver around £2 million to the economy.

Nick Ridehalgh, director of ABP Southampton, believes that the new improvements will not only serve frequent and new cruise passengers, but will also benefit groups and businesses across the city, including taxis, hotels and restaurants.

The renovation is due for completion by April next year, in time for the start of the summer cruise season.

£2.4bn poured into Britain’s coffers last year

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Cruise news

: £2.4bn poured into Britain’s coffers last year with more than 1m passengers getting on boardIndustry’s

contribution to country’s economy highlighted at Barcelona convention

Ship shape: the port at Southampton welcomes a cruise liner

The cruise industry contributed £2.4billion to Britain’s economy last year, with passengers spending an average of £80 a day each during visits to UK ports such as Southampton and Dover

Latest figures compiled by CruiseBritain show that in 2013 there was a 10% year-on-year increase in cruise embarkations, to 1.04 million, and a 20% increase in day visits, to 866,000. The spend includes crew expenditure, cruise line purchases, ship repair, and employee salaries.

“Cruise tourism is a valuable source of income to ports and destinations across Britain and is increasingly being factored into local and regional tourism,” said Daren Taylor, chair of CruiseBritain, speaking at the Seatrade Med convention in Barcelona.

In the Mediterranean, while other tourism sectors have seen no increase in performance, cruising has grown in volume by 43% since the global recession struck in 2008.

Across the region, there were 27 million passenger movements: 19 million in the Western Med, five million in the Adriatic, and – reduced by concerns over violence in the Middle East – three million in the Eastern Med.

Referring to the fact that most cruise calls to ports in Ukraine have been cancelled this summer, David Dingle, chairman of Carnival UK, said political conflict in the Black Sea area dates back centuries. “They are a fact if life we just live with,” he said.

A proposal to provide an alternative to dredging a new channel for cruise ships visiting Venice was submitted to the Italian government this week.

Lagoon show: a cruise ship sails past St Mark’s Square in Venice

A £101million floating jetty, capable of handling up to five ships at a time, would be set up in the sea near Bocca di Lido, and passengers would be transported into the city’s cruise terminal by a large, environmentally-friendly catamaran.

Carnival’s David Dingle still believes the deep channel proposal to be the preferred option, and told Seatrade Med: “What we want is certainty, but we want to do the right thing by all the stakeholders in this debate.”