ORIANA's Final Voyage: Svalbard and Glaciers

Today as ORIANA makes her last call in Norway with only 4 days left in P&O's service we continue our look at ORIANA's final adventure.
A medical emergancy on board a cruise can sadly be a fact of life and on this last outing for ORIANA was no exception as she headed towards Svalbard a passenger was taken ill even requesting registered blood donors to come forward while ORIANA herself was turned around to sail near Bear Island (also known as Bird Island) in the Barents Sea allowing the passenger to be trasfered to shore.
Resuming her planned course Captain Breton increased ORIANA's speed to 20kts faster than P&O's fleet tend to sail these days and arrived in Longyearbyen in the Svalbard archipelago at around 6am local time on the 31st July

A cloudy approch seen from the Sun Deck

Low Cloud around the mountain tops

Heading to her berth

Captain Breton guides ORIANA into her berth

Being a remote and out of the way destination the port area has little in the way of  large structures and as such ORIANA as a mid-sized ship dominated the berth she towered over.

ORIANA alongside her berth

Seeing past the much derieded current P&O livery and the ducktail added in 2011 ORIANA is still the impressive and beautiful vessel that entered service in April 1995 and it brings to mind The Ballad Of Oriana a poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson some of which was quoted in P&O's ORIANA From Dream to Reality book first published to coincide with ORIANA's Maiden Voyage:
 "My heart is wasted with my woe, Oriana.
There is no rest for me below, Oriana.
And then the tears run down my cheek, Oriana:
I hear the roaring of the sea, Oriana."
Now in her twilight days the words take on a poignancy not present in 1995.

ORIANA seen from a slightly elevated position

Departing from Longyearbyen ORIANA headed up to Templefjord to glacier located there.

ORIANA's bow faces the glacier

For a further 2 hours sailed onwards towards the Nordenskiöld Glacier arriving at around 11pm local time.

ORIANA arrives at the Nordenskiöld Glacier

Details of the glacier

 ORIANA remaind at the Glacier for around an hour allowing her passengers to photograph of the "Land of the Midnight Sun".

The Midnight Sun

Continuing on her way ORIANA next sailed past the abandoned Russian mining settlement of Pyramiden.
Following a memorable experience for passengers ORIANA made her way onwards to her next port of call Tromsø.

Views from ORIANA as she heads to Tromsø

We once again thank Bob Bowler for sending us his photos.


All Photos Copyright: Bob Bowler