Britain’s largest and most environmentally-friendly cruise ship, P&O Cruises’ ‘Iona’, has been officially named in a contemporary ceremony with a record-breaking virtual audience.
Iona arrived for the first time into her home port of Southampton yesterday morning (Sunday) having sailed up the Solent and past the Isle of Wight.
The ship was officially named last night by Dame Irene Hays, chair of Hays Travel, in a glittering quayside ceremony by the bow of the ship. The event was hosted by Jo Whiley and broadcast to a virtual audience of 25,000 guests, all of whom enjoyed 2 performances by Gary Barlow against the backdrop of a spectacular laser show.
A specially produced Nebuchadnezzar (equivalent to 20x 750ml bottles) of Alex James’s Britpop cider smashed against the hull of the ship in spectacular style to bring it good fortune in the future.
Iona, which is powered by liquefied natural gas, boasts no less than 30 bars and restaurants with entertainment venues such as the ‘SkyDome’ – an extraordinary glass structure that will be a relaxed poolside environment by day and then transformed at night into a spectacular venue with DJs, stage and aerial acrobatic shows.
Paul Ludlow, P&O Cruises president, said:
“It is 427 days since we have been able to do what we do best – welcome our guests on board and give them unforgettable, joyous holidays where they make memories on board and see the sights of the world.”
“With our invited audience and millions more watching the ceremony on social media, today heralds a new beginning and new hope for the cruise industry. Iona is indeed a very visible symbol of our future.”
Red Funnel customers travelling to the Isle of Wight were treated to front row seats as Iona travelled up Southampton Water on Sunday morning, as captured on video…
Iona’s maiden voyage will be on 7th August with a trip to her namesake island as part of P&O’s season of UK coastal cruises.
“environmentally friendly”? Yeah right…….
I guess its a bit less of a polluter than the big cargo ships? the 20 biggest apparently create as much pollution yearly as every car on the planet, so it must be relative. I would imagine even that chugging down the solent pollutes more in an hour than the whole weekend of the scooter rally? I know which I would rather watch though!
West Quay on Sea might be a more apt name.
It’ll never be a patch on RMS Titanic