P&O Cruises welcomes Iona to its fleet

At 185,000gt, 345mtr in length with 17 guest decks Iona is the first British cruise ship to be powered by liquefied natural gas.

P&O Cruises President Paul Ludlow, who was present at the event in Papenburg. said: ‘Iona is now officially part of the P&O Cruises fleet and we are focused on readying her to welcome guests during her new maiden season to Northern Europe, Spain, Portugal and the Canary Islands from our home port of Southampton.'

Iona is the first of two new ships for P&O Cruises.

20-year link

Shipyard Managing Director Jan Meyer commented, ‘This is really a very special delivery for us for a variety of reasons. Not only because of the current corona crisis, but also because we delivered Aurora to P&O Cruises exactly 20 years ago.’

P&O Cruises has paused operations until early 2021 so Iona will not be sailing for the moment.

Gin distillery

Features include the two-deck SkyDome with glass dome roof and spacious layout, a gin distillery, eight speciality restaurants including yet to be unveiled concepts, as well as 13 entertainment venues, four swimming pools including an infinity pool at the aft of the ship and 16 whirlpools.