Did anyone see this coming? I didn’t.
The oldest ship, the Oriana is leaving the fleet in August 2019. It joined the fleet back in 1995, which seems such a long time ago. I always find it a bit sad when I hear news such as this. this now leaves only Aurora and Arcadia exclusively for adults.
I haven’t been fortunate to have sailed on the Oriana and she was last refurbished in December 2016 so I’m guessing she was still in top condition. I know like other ships that have been sold she was another favourite, especially to the ‘adult only’ market. It seems that P&O are selling all of their smaller ships, with the Oriana carrying 1828 passengers, on today’s standards she is a lovely size. As I’ve mentioned before, not everyone likes the bigger ships and with the likes of P&O selling theirs off the only alternative will be Fred Olsen, Cruise & maritime and the more expensive luxury brand.
They have a new ship on order for 2020 the Iona, however, the capacity for this is 5200. Do you think this is a good or bad thing/ Should they also be ordering a small ship and try and be original, unlike their competitors? I think ‘yes’.
Let me know your thoughts.
Emily