P&O says it will enter into the history books in 2020 when it introduces “Britain’s biggest cruise ship”, the operator’s first vessel to be powered by LNG.
When completed, the 18,000-tonne ship will dwarf the line's 3,647-passenger, 141,000-tonne Britannia ship that launched in 2015.
P&O said that with the new vessel, “Design innovation is being taken to new levels by collaborations with award-winning architectural and interior design teams.”
These include the builder Meyer Werft (Papenburg), a leading builder of luxury passenger ships which has built ships for AIDA, RCI, Disney, HAL, NCL, Celebrity, Saga and Dream.
Other partners include the maritime architecture and specialist,Partner Ship Design (Hamburg), architect Jestico+Whiles (London) and hotel architecture and interior expert, Richmond International (London), which also worked with P&O on Britannia and whose luxury hotel portfolio includes The Langham Hotel in London and Chicago.
The new ship is one of three LNG-powered vessels ordered by P&O Cruises’ parent company Carnival Corporation. The other two, also for 5,200 passengers, will be the biggest ships ever built for Carnival and the first “green” ships based in North America. They are due for delivery in 2020 and 2022.
These ships are in addition to four LNG-powered ships that will start sailing for Carnival’s Costa and AIDA brands over the next five years.
P&O is running a public competition to name the new ferry with the chance to win two VIP places at the ship's naming ceremony in Spring 2020. Suggestions need to be received by 31 July 2017.
