ORIANA's new look

As the end of the year draws near so does the end of an era for ORIANA and P&O Cruises, following in the wake of fleet mate and "half sister" AURORA and foreshadowing the arrival BRITANNIA, ORIANA will receive the new look livery featuring the new look blue funnel with P&O rising sun logo Union Flag hull art and larger blue "P&O CRUISES" lettering on the hull as demonstated on this on board poster featuring the fleet.

Briefly on the 18th December ORIANA met AURORA in Southampton during the wind swept early hours of the morning ORIANA passed AURORA fresh from her refit berthed in the Queen Elizabeth II terminal showing ORIANA what is to come for her.

AURORA docked in Southampton seen from ORIANA.

Provisionally scheduled to receive the new look late next month/ early February along with OCEANA it seems that P&O have started early with ORIANA's crew already repainting the famed CANBERRA inspired funnel blue during her current Christmas/New Year cruise.

 Time to say goodbye...ORIANA's buff funnel proudly illuminated in Lisbon, 15th December 2014.

As is expected when a long standing feature such as a livery is changed it causes a fair amount of discussion among cruise fans and ship fans alike, mostly from cruise fans there has been a fair amount of  praise the new look feeling the older livery needed renewing after its use for over 8 decades, while others mainly fans of the ships them selves are more resereved about the look feeling it is in some ways a loss of  P&O's identity and not in keeping with the lines of ORIANA and AURORA both having been designed with the clean lines not featuring any hull art.
Whatever peoples views are one thing is for certain it can be hoped that P&O sort out the lettering used in the livery otherwise they will end up spending a lot more having them reapplied regularly.

A winter cruise with ORIANA

When the cold of Winter sets what better way to escape than on a cruise to warmer climes to escape the pre Christmas rush and this year ORIANA on the 6th December,did just that heading South to the Atlantic Isles and Lisbon,
Thrusting off from the Queen Elizabeth II termianl shortly after 4:40 pm ORIANA headed towards south and out towards the English Channel and towards the open sea like she has done many times over the last 19 years.
As is always the case when boarding ORIANA it is alway a pleasure and no surprise to see that P&O's proud flagship is still looking pristine and well maintained showing hardly any of her 19 years of age. 
Here we share some photos from ORIANA during her cruise beginning with images from the first 3 days at sea on board the most sea worthy of modern cruise liners as she headed to the Pearl of the Atlantic, Madeira and it's charming capital Madeira a journey she has made many times over her career.

 Deck chairs line the deck rails where passengers had spent hours the Atlanic breeze.

The terrece pool closed as the swells start to increase.....

.....Meanwhile some brave passengers enjoy a dip in the Riviera  Pool and it's Jacuzzis.

And a drink is always on hand from the bar.

Even if the sunbathers have disappered from the generous sized decks.

With many passengers getting ready for dinner a few linger on deck to enjoy a beer and wine.

In the late evening sunlight ORIANA's buff funnel makes an impressive sight.

While below decks ORIANA's passenger also settle into life on board.

 The Crow's Nest with it's sweeping views and and ample space always proves a popular choice.

Often from it's full hight windows another ship will come into view such as BLACK WATCH.

While no holiday would be complete without shopping and ORIANA's shops and Photo Gallery make sure passengers take home many fitting souvenirs from their time onboard.

Elsewhere on borad as the first sitting passengers going to dinner have time to admire the culinary delights on offer on board and the read what will be offer the next day either in the Peninsular and Oriental Restaurants or the select dining venues.

With the sun setting and the sea state calming ORIANA's proud bow plows onward through the Atlantic, beyond the horizon lies the first port of call, Funchal, Madeira where a warm welcome awaits her.

Photo Copyrights : Steve Martin

A brawl on board

It has been reported this week in the local press that during a 3 night cruise last weekend 5 passengers were removed from ORIANA in Zeebrugge after they began fighting on board.
According to the Hampshire based Daily Echo "reports from other guests on board the 69,000 ton vessel, a disturbance involving fighting and arguments among a family party broke out between late Saturday evening and the early hours of Sunday."

The group which are said to be from one family were interviewed by the local police were later refused permission to board the ship and had to make their own way back to the UK.
A P&O's spokesman later commented on the incident "We can confirm five passengers were asked to disembark ORIANA following an incident during the early hours of Sunday morning."
While it is never good to hear such news a cruise is of course meant to be an enjoyable event for all it is none the less good to see the crew took the stance to refuse their return to the ship.

Two generations of cruising

Often while cruise ships are in refit they meet with other ships and ORIANA is no exception such as May 2004 while she was undergoing a fairly short refit at the Lloyd Werft shipyard she was in the company of some very famous names from the end of the Transatlantic liner days Cunard's QUEEN ELIZABETH 2 undergoing her own refit and NORWAY, having been towed from Miami the previous year the former FRANCE was performing her final role as accommodation for the crew of PRIDE OF AMERICA who was nearing completion elsewhere in the yard at the time.

In the image below ORIANA devoid of her lifeboats is seen being maneuvered by tugs at her stern while the venerable NORWAY awaits her fate in the background.

 

 Just over 7 years later in 2011 while in Drydock in the Blohm & Voss undergoing her major refit and adult only conversion ORIANA met with QE2's successor on the Atlantic QUEEN MARY 2 .

A Maiden Call

Almost 20 years after her Maiden Voyage tomorrow ORIANA will once again make a Maiden call this time ORIANA will grace port of  Antwerp, Belgium as part of a 4 night Europe city break cruise, she will overnight in the port before proceeding to Zeebrugge at midday on the 25th.
Over the years ORIANA has indeed visited Belgium many times over the years it has been Zeebrugge she has visited either as part often the favoured destination on  2 night mini cruises
 More infomation can about the call  can be found here http://cruiseschepeninantwerpen.blogspot.be/2014/10/ms-oriana-in-antwerpen-leopolddok.html an excllent blog run by local ship enthusiast Sebastiaan Peeters.
 For almost 20 years ORIANA has been a recognisable sight on the oceans and ports of the world and tomorrow adds a new port to that impressive list.

A Comic Complaint

While ORIANA's crew try as hard as possible to ensure her passengers have the best cruise possible it is a reality that despite their efforts there will be complaints from some often over the most minor problems they can find from.
At the other end of the scale the Customer Service team based at Carnival House receive some often bizarre letters from passengers.
One such recent case has become somewhat popular on social site Facebook.
The below letter was sent to P&O regarding some "issues" the passenger had with his cruise on board ORIANA

This wannabe comedian begins in a strange way and then continues to point out what the numerous issues he had with the cruise.
To begin with he upset with the fact he had spent his hard earned money on a "timeshare cabin" and when ever he left the cabin in a mess the other "passenger" of the cabin would clean it up for them other issues he found included  "the outrageous prices" of the confectionery in the on board shop and the disgrace that not all passenger are allowed "to drive the ship" despite having asked the wine waiter several times, carrying on with the suggestion that the expensive art auctions should be replaced with "mobility scooters racing on the Prom deck along with other some strange activities.

While many companies would have simpley ignored the letter P&O went one better by playing along with the joke taking the time to reply to each of the points made in the letter.

Not surprisingly in the response the reply was taking any disciplinary action against the ship's crew for the issues raisesd.
Indeed sometimes passengers humour can be a little perplexing !

19 years of Popularity

For almost 20 years ORIANA has taken her passengers to her various ports of call in her signature high class and style, following in the wake of her namesake and famed 'mother' CANBERRA she has visited ports all round the world from ports closer to home such as Bruges to ports of call on the far side of the world such as those in Australia and New Zealand.
And during that time much like CANBERRA before her she has gained her fans who regularly cruise on board.

ORIANA arrives in Funchal, Madeira

Much has changed since ORIANA entered service both in the cruise industry and beyond but in a sure sign that ORIANA is still as popuar in this modern age of the "mega ships", as she ever has been  she continues to receive excellent reviews from her passengers: with comments from her passengers saying that ORIANA is "the friendly cruise ship ,she was immaculate and all Staff looked well turned out" the same reviewer also saying that " We found dining in the Oriental Restaurant was excellent and the waiting staff were very efficient and courteous."
Another cruiser commented that " we had a wonderful time first class service cant wait to go again on ORIANA." while another experienced cruise went as far to say "Cruise on ORIANA, I can honestly say one of the best we have done".
All going to prove that in the age of bigger is better, with ships including all types of novel and often ridiculous features in order to gain new custom, ORIANA still has her place in the heart of British cruising offering her traditional style with great service in elegant suroundings.

Photo Copyright: João Abreu

A cruise of meetings

During ORIANA's current cruise she has had several meetings with her fleetmates firstly OCEANA in Funchal, Santa Cruz de La Palma and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
On the last occasion to the ships sailed towards Gran Canaria almost in tamdem sailing 2.5 nautical miles (4.63 km) as can be seen from the AIS image below.

Today ORIANA was calling in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon where she met with another fleet mate this time AZURA as seen below, the Crown class ship was moored ahead of ORIANA.

To round off the cruise ORIANA is currently on route to Southampton where again she will meet with her fleet mates this time in the form of ARCADIA and ADONIA.

Another day, Another meeting

Today ORIANA once again had the company of her fleet mate OCEANA this time decorating the port of Santa Cruz de La Palma.
ORIANA arriving first despite the fact she departed Funchal yesterday later than OCEANA.
As OCEANA the proud flagship was already docked and was gleaming in the morning sun and was visible via OCEANA's webcam as can be seen in the webcam images below

Tomorrow the ships will again meet as their cruises take them both to Las Palmas Gran Canaria.

A meeting for ORIANA in Madeira

Today finds ORIANA once again docked in the Atlantic Garden which is Madeira where she is joined by fleet mate OCEANA both on Atlantic Isle cruises arriving.

Arriving at 7:30am ORIANA is due to depart a 4:30pm with OCEANA departing half an hour later at 5pm.

Launched in 2000 as OCEAN PRINCESS for Princess Cruises where served until 2002 she is the 4th and last ship of the Sun Class ships.
Transferred to P&O in 2002 with class mate SEA PRINCESS  as ADONIA both were named by HRH Princess Anne, The Princess Royal and her daughter Zara Philips at a world first of a double naming.
Larger than ORIANA  at 77,499 tons OCEANA lacks ORIANA's finess of lines her profile gives a overall less elegant and distinctive look than her fleet mate.

This is the first meeting of P&O's ships in Funchal since 31st December 2010 when ORIANA joined ARTEMIS, now ARTANIA, for Madeira's famed New Year fireworks display.

ORIANA arrives in Funchal with ARTEMIS already docked 31st December 2010.

ORIANA will be joined by OCEANA again tomorrow when both dock in La Palma together.

Photo Copyright: João Abreu

ORIANA the video star

ORIANA always makes a stunning sight when arriving or departing in a port even when the weather is not up to the occasion below is a example filmed during P&O's Grand Event where a rowing boat's crew get a close look at P&O's proud flagship which along with her fleetmates made sure it would be a day to remember.

Meanwhile due to a change in the order of her current Atlantic Island itinerary ORIANA will return to her one of favourite ports Funchal Madeira earlier than planned on the 30th July where she will share the city with fleetmate OCEANA, making the first P&O meeting in the city since the 31st December 2010 when ORIANA met ARTEMIS for the New Year's celebrations.

Advertising a new arrival

The arrival of a new cruise ship into service is for any cruise line's marketing department a massive task which involves many different phases of advertising and often different methods.
When a ship is as CANBERRA as popular was with her passengers  it is obvious that much of that effort would be introducing them to ORIANA the ship which would ultimately be her successor, to ensure that they would continue to cruise with P&O when The Great White Whale was gone.
A rather interesting way P&O did this was by using dining room menus more specifically the covers being adorned with a computer generated image of ORIANA on the front menu and some information and technical details about the ship 
Below is one such menu dated 2nd May 1994.

ORIANA the video star

Like many subjects ships and shipspotting features in many videos on video shareing sites such as Youtube and of those many feature our very own ORIANA one such video is featured below and shows ORIANA departing Geiranger, Norway on the 12th June 2012  and was filmed from the then brand new AIDA MAR.  It offers a great view of the ship as slides serenely past the AIDA MAR and even features the authors and founder of this blog among the passengers standing above the bridge forward of the Oasis Spa and Hair Salon.

 Meanwhile back in the present today sees ORIANA returning to one of P&O's favourite ports of call Funchal in Madeira and makes the second Portuguese call in so many days having sailed from Lisbon on Monday.

ORIANA's passangers watch the approch to the Ponte 25 de Abril (25th of April Bridge) departing Lisbon.

Webcams showing ORIANA in Funchal.

ORIANA is due to depart Funchal at 17:30  when she sails for La Palma.

An upcoming meeting for ORIANA.

For a ship enthusiast there is nothing better than witnessing a meeiting of cruise ships of a favoured company for fans of P&O when one of those present is ORIANA the company's flagship it is always a welcome sight.
One such meeting will be taking place in Southampton on the 25th July when ORIANA will be meeting with AURORA and ARCADIA.

ORIANA with AURORA and ARCADIA in Southampton 

Since ORIANA's introduction in to service in April 1995 ORIANA has continued the P&O tradition of meeting fleet mates, firstly meeting with her famed predecessor and 'mother' CANBERRA during her stay in Southampton prior to he Maiden Voyage.

Two years later she met and anchored with CANBERRA in Cannes at the hand over the
Golden Cockerel trophy as the elder ship headed for retirement.

The two would later meet as CANBERRA lay alongside in Southampton awaiting her last sailing to the beaches of Pakistan.

Since then ORIANA has met with her fleet mates in many different ports including some of ORIANA's favouritesFunchal and Lisbon.

ORIANA and AZURA in Lisbon seen from VENTURA

ORIANA with ARTEMIS at dusk in Funchal

Photo Copyrights: João Abreu & P&O Cruises.

ORIANA in Madeira

Today once again ORIANA and her passengers are enjoying a call in Funchal, Madeira the second port of call on her current Atlantic Island cruise she arrived early this morning from the Portuguese capital Lisbon.

As mentioned previously ORIANA shares a long history with Madeira from her Maiden arrival in April 1995 which saw her treated as an honoured guest with people turining to welcome her in small boats and many more of all ages to see the great ship sail the following day undoubtedly a event which left an impression on those who watched.
More information can be found about the call here
Over the years ORIANA has also been present on many occasions for New Year's Eve to witness Madeira's award winning fireworks display a P&O tradition which started with ORIANA's predecessor CANBERRA in the 1980's.
Presently ORIANA's last New Years call was 2010.

  Oriana arrives in Funchal 31st December 2010

Also it can be noted that ORIANA holds the record for the largest ship to have visited Madeira's neighbouring Island Porto Santo.

Photo Copyright : João Abreu

19 years and going strong

19 years ago today ORIANA the new P&O flagship slipped her Southampton moorings for the first time and triumphantly sailed on her Maiden Cruise escorted by a flotilla of  boats the new flagship and her proud crew and first passengers headed for a number of 'firsts' in her career.

Departing from Southampton

Her first landfall after Southampton was Funchal, Madeira where her greeting was as warm as it had been when she had arrived in Southampton and had included a fireworks display arranged for her by the local authorities.

A brief clip of this call can be seen here

Leaving Madeira ORIANA's other ports included calls in the Canary Islands, Casablanca, Gibraltar Praia da Rocha and Lisbon.

The years since her introduction to service have seen many changes within the cruise industry and passengers cruising trends have changed as well but it is reassuring that in these days of the floating mega ship domintated market ORIANA is still a popular choice among cruise passengers with her regular passengers returning year after year to once again embark on seagoing experience on board P&O's finest liner.

ORIANA's Northern Adventures

One of the truly spectacular cruises undertaken in europe during the winter months is up the coast of Norway and deep into the Arctic Circle in search of one of nature's most amazing specticales the Northern Lights, an experience that those who have been lucky enough to do it never forget.
At present ORIANA is on the last leg of one such cruise which has seen sailing into many remarkable ports along the way such as Tromsø the second largest city in the Arctic Circle and Alta on of the North most settlements in the world and famed for it's Ice hotel.

The often elusive Northern Lights make an appearance.

The cruise has been blogged online by cruise critic Danielle Fear known as CruiseMiss who has been on board for the cruise her blog can be found here.

ORIANA returns to Southampton on the13th March and will depart once more for the Northern latitudes in search of the Aurora Borealis.

Business as usual

After her 3 day repair on her propeller shaft seal along side Southampton's Ocean Terminal ORIANA finally departed later than planned around 4:30 AM yesterday.
In order to make lost time ORIANA headed across the North Sea at over 26 knots peaking at 26.4 yesterday morning.

 ORIANA's course and speed yesterday morning.

Considering the length of delay it is very impressive that she managed to arrive in Stavanger just under 4 hours behind schedule.

It stands as testament to the commitment of P&O and it's parent company to keep the proud flagship well maintained, it is also goes to show the versatility and ability of ORIANA her self to be able to atain higer than her offical top speed so soon after repairs were completed.

Although she has gone faster ,on occasion in excess of 30 knots due to the price of fuel and various other factors it has been very rare for ORIANA to exceed 22 to 23 knots.

With the need now for cruise lines to built bigger to create a mass market appeal the ships no longer require the higher speeds there are therefore very few other ships which are capable of reaching these higher speeds.

  

An early return

Three days earlier than planned ORIANA is due to arrive in Southampton later this afternoon due to a seal that needs replacing on one of her propeller shafts.
As reported last week ORIANA had been sailing to Funchal, Madeira at reduced speed due to a combination of the seal problem and the rough sea conditions.
Having stayed overnight in Funchal ORIANA called at two further ports Gran Canaria and Tenerife.
The repairs are expected to be completed in time for her next cruise on the 1st March, with her current passengers being offered the chance to remain onboard for the 3 days she'll be docked in Southampton.
At present ORIANA is near Bembridge on The Isle Wight she is estiamted to dock at the Ocean Terminal  at 17:20.

 On P&O's Facebook page they announced the change of itinerary on  20th Feb with the following post
"We would like to let you know that ORIANA's current cruise will be returning to Southampton three days earlier than planned to conduct some necessary repairs to one of the ship's two propeller shaft seals. The repairs, whilst required, have no impact on the ship's safety.

Captain Camby has kept passengers fully informed of the situation and all passengers will be able to remain on board and enjoy the dining and entertainment offering on ORIANA whilst in Southampton until March 1, 2014 as planned.

All customers will have the choice of receiving a credit of 100% of their current cruise to use on a future ORIANA Cruise in 2014 or 2015, or a 40% cash refund.

Our decision to bring the ship back early has not been taken lightly and we are deeply sorry that customers' holiday plans have been impacted.

ORIANA's next cruise will still depart as planned on 1 March " 
P&O's decision has been met by a mostly  positive response and shows that despite some  comments from critics the company is putting the safety of their passengers and the maintenance of fleet before profits.