I name this ship…….Iona

You what?…… I hear you say!

After months of anticipation, P&O Cruises has finally revealed the name of its brand new ship.

The cruise line has revealed that the new 180,000 ton ship will be called ‘Iona’, in a “celebration of the sea and our island nation”.  Many of you thought it was going to be Canberra!

Inspired by the island of the same name in the Inner Hebrides off the coast of Scotland, it keeps in tradition with the rest of P&O Cruises’ ships, all of which whose names also end in an ‘A’.

TV presenter Stephen Mulhern announced the winning name with a magical card trick on the island itself, which is protected by the National Trust for Scotland.

Iona is set to join the P&O fleet in May 2020, with construction having kicked off at the steel cutting ceremony held earlier this month.

A shortlist was drawn, and eventually the name ‘Iona’ was chosen. I’ll be honest i’d never heard of the place and i’m sure many of you didn’t either.

P&O Cruises senior vice-president Paul Ludlow said: “We are an island nation and as Britain’s favourite cruise line it seems very fitting to highlight one of our most notable islands and celebrate the geographic diversity of the UK, especially as we can trace back our roots to the Scottish Isles.

“Iona played a significant part in shaping the history of our nation and we hope that with this very special name our new ship will shape the future of holidays at sea for generations.

This ship will be the largest in the P&O fleet and can accommodate over 5000 passengers.

She will be the most enviromentally efficient yet.

She’s set to go on sale this September, and more exciting news will be released in the coming months.

I’m sure she will prove to be very popular but speaking to many of my customers most are wanting P&O to bring back a smaller adult only ship like Adonia but I think P&O are hoping these passengers now move to Oriana since she was made adult only.  Only time will tell.  

Good Luck to P&O for this, i’m sure she’ll be a popular addition to the fleet.

Haydn