While Australia’s cruise sector continues to wallow in the dark, with no plan, no protocols and no decisions, just vacillation by the Federal and State Governments, over in the UK, P&O Cruises UK’s new 5,200 guest LNG powered Iona sailed into Southampton on a rather grey Sunday ahead of her naming ceremony.
Dame Irene Hays, chair of Hays Travel, Britain’s largest independent travel agency named Iona, with the name chosen after a nationwide competition, and a specially produced Nebuchadnezzar (equivalent to 20x 750ml bottles) of Alex James’s Britpop cider smashing against Iona’s hull to bring her good fortune in the future.
P&O Cruises president Paul Ludlow said, “It is a landmark day for both P&O Cruises and for the travel industry as a whole”, adding, “We are on the cusp of a bright new beginning and Iona’s arrival into Southampton this morning is very visible evidence of this much anticipated future”.
He added, “Our guests are longing to get back to sea and Iona’s summer season of UK coastal cruises, including her maiden voyage on August 7 up to her namesake island of Iona, have seen overwhelming demand.”
A report by John Alwyn-Jones, Cruise Editor
