P&O Cruises has announced it now plans to take delivery of Iona “before the autumn” and the launch of the second new yet to be named vessel will be delivered in December 2022, with cruises going on sale in spring 2021.
P&O Cruises president, Paul Ludlow, said: “Whilst our operations are currently paused, we are delighted that we have more clarity on the arrival of these two new ships.
“The final outfitting of Iona is almost complete and is looking stunning and we will take delivery of her before the autumn. We also now know that her sister ship will join the fleet at the end of 2022.
“Both ships are eagerly anticipated by our guests and we are seeing strong demand for the future. The space on these two ships will allow for extraordinary experiences; visual entertainment displays; new dining concepts and many new areas for relaxation and indulgence.”
Iona will be the latest addition to the P&O Cruises fleet and the largest cruise ship ever built for the UK market. At 185,000 tonnes, Iona will also be the first British cruise ship to be powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG).
A few weeks back P&O Cruises confirmed, despite the new tonnage, it was not looking to remove any more ships from its fleet stating “Aurora and Arcadia are much loved mid-sized ships and will remain in the P&O Cruises fleet.”
Recently, P&O Cruises sold Oceana to Greek ferry operator, Seajets, as part of capacity adjustments to better “focus on our other mid-sized ships Arcadia and Aurora as well as the three larger ships and our new flagship Iona as well as her sister ship, scheduled for delivery in 2022.”