Iona, home to first at sea gin distillery, will offer bespoke P&O gin and Marco Pierre White cuisineIona, home to first at sea gin distillery, will offer bespoke P&O gin and Marco Pierre White cuisine

Marabelle Gin will be bottled and labelled on board with bottles available to purchase and take home, with Salcombe Distilling Co. distilling the gin for P&O Cruises post-launch, to be served across the entire P&O fleet.

‘The world’s first gin distillery at sea will be one of the stand-out star attractions on our new ship,' offered Paul Ludlow, president, P&O Cruises. ‘Marabelle means star of the sea so this is a perfectly apt name for our unique-recipe gin created on board Iona.’

Inspiration

Marabelle Gin is inspired by Scotland, with heather among the 18 botanicals used in its creation, and citrus, green apple, blackberry, rose petals, mint and sea kelp added.

Angus Lugsdin, co-founder, Salcombe Distilling Co, said, ‘Iona and the sea have been the inspiration for every element of Marabelle Gin from the name and the design of the bottle label, with the star formations in the night sky overhead, to the flora native to the island of Iona, juniper and heather, used in the recipe.

‘The bottle label is the shape of a gin pennant flag, a symbol of hospitality flown by sailors for years.’

Partnership with Salcombe Distilling Co.

P&O Cruises is set to continue working with Salcombe Distilling Co. to develop further varieties of gin inspired by destinations visited.

Two gin-oriented master classes will also be offered on board Iona, to be delivered by the distilling company. 

30 on board bars and restaurants

Iona’s bars and restaurants will offer Marco Pierre White menus, as well as dishes inspired by Spain and Norway, countries Iona is set to visit. 

P&O Cruises will collaborate with Spanish chef José Pizarro to create tapas, with Norwegian food served by chef Kjartan Skjelde and Marte Marie Forsberg in restuarants Epicurean and Taste 360, respectively.

The Olive Grove will offer Mediterranean food such as antipasti, paella, tagines and sharing platters, while The Beach House will serve grilled dishes and seafood inspired by Latin America and the Caribbean.

Ripples, created in cooperation with Snowflake Luxury Gelato, will offer sundaes, ice cream cookies and a gelato afternoon tea.