ORIANA First call in Funchal 16 years ago...

"12th April of 1995. The date was long awaited in Madeira, that by the years was used to welcome P&O passenger ships. CANBERRA''s withdrawn was prominent, so the sucessor that would continue the legacy of one of the most popular ships in the world. But both still sailed together and visited Madeira simultaneously, on 18th December 1996. The press, radio and TV reported frequently about this inaugural call, of a passenger ship highly expected by the british cruise market.Funchal was selected for first port of call in her maiden cruise, after departure from her homeport of Southampton. It was a beautiful day, blue skies and flat seas with dolphins jumping welcoming the brand new ORIANA as she approached the harbour by midday. From the city pier, sea avenue and Santa Catarina park, hundreads or even thousands of locals and tourists were admiring the first call of the british cruise ship. Dressed in arc, ORIANA made it's way between the many tugboats, small craft and yachts that were dressed as well for this inaugural, on a gathering of boats promoted by the Clube de Entusiastas de Navios.

A dolphin jumps out of the water at ORIANA's stern, on a grand and memorable event in Funchal.

In the designated berth, the folk group of Boa Nova welcomed the maiden voyage passengers of ORIANA, offering local souvenirs as they were leaving the gangway. Onboard ORIANA, Commodore Ian Gibb welcomed some local entities and one group of the CEN, that honered this inaugural call on a beloved destination for P&O. The following day, ORIANA made it's farewell from Madeira, with many horn blasts and yet again, between a large fleet of small craft in the area.When she entered service in 1995, ORIANA marked a new generation of passenger ships, the resurgence of Meyer Werft shipyards of Papenburg, today an icon in the cruise shipbuilding industry, and inspired the british cruise market, that since then hasn't stopped growing. It was for all this, that ORIANA was one of the most expected ships of all time."Photos & Text: © Courtesy of Luís Filipe Jardim.
Journalist by profession, Luís Jardim has showned by now his great enthusiasm for the ships and the sea in several ways. 17 years ago, he was one of the founding members of Clube de Entusiastas de Navios, the first cultural association of it's kind in Portugal. Some years ago he produced and hosted a local mini TV series, about cruise ships and their life onboard. More recently, in 2010, he launched the Cruzeiros magazine, again the first project of it's thematic in Portugal. Also he writes frequently on his own blog, dedicated to cruise ship activity in Funchal- CruzeirosMadeira.