Another One Bites The Dust!!!

It has just announced that P&O have made a decision for their oldest ship in their fleet Oriana is to leave the line in August 2019. The 69,840 gross ton Oriana was built by Meyer Werft and introduced in 1995, the 1,880-passenger ship has been a pivotal vessel for P&O. Oriana  begun the modernization and expansion of its U.K. cruise program, becoming the successor to the much-loved Canberra and setting the stage for newer and larger ships. The Oriana had undergone a significant modernization in 2011 that included new cabins and the addition of new restaurants as part of a repositioning as an adults-only cruise ship.

Only  last year P&O smallest ship Adonia was sold to the Royal Caribbean Group as Azamara Pursuit for the destination-focused line Azamara Club Cruises. With Oriana being the oldest and smallest ship leaving the P&O fleet, 76,152 gross ton Aurora, built in 2000, will become the oldest and smallest ship in the P&O fleet. Early in 2019, the Aurora will be shifting to the adults-only segment as P&O prepares for the 2020 launch of the Iona, its new 180,000 gross ton LNG-powered cruise ship that will accommodate 5,200 passengers, and a sister ship to follow in 2022.

P&O Cruises senior vice president Paul Ludlow said: “Oriana is an original, and a much loved P&O Cruises ship. Whilst we will miss her, her departure will allow us to focus on our remaining mid-sized and larger ships as the fleet expands with Iona and her sister ship in 2020 and 2022 respectively. Oriana will be with us until August next year so there will be plenty of opportunity to celebrate her time with us.“Those guests who have sailed on Oriana will then be able to enjoy holidays on Aurora and Arcadia, both of which are exclusively for adults and have a very similar on board feel, and experience the re-vitalisation taking place over the next year.”

Although Oriana is leaving the fleet there has been no rumours of who will be buying this ship. I know for a fact there is going to be a lot of dissapointed people especially loyal P&O customers as they don’t want these bigger ships as they prefere the more traditional, smaller and intimate feel of a cruise ship.

What are you thoughts of Oriana leaving the fleet? Do you prefer the smaller mid-sized ships or do you like the larger vessels?

Please share your comments….