Celebrating ORIANA - The Maiden Voyage begins

9th April 1995, Berth 106 Southampton - With all the celebrations around ORIANA's naming behind them her crew now faced their and ORIANA's first true test, her first true meeting with the public as her first passengers made their way on board.
Despite the overcast sky it didn't dampen the excitement of those making their way to Southampton to board the first British superliner among them many P&O cruising veterans from both CANBERRA and almost 200 who had sailed as passnegers and crew on the previous ORIANA including one couple who had first met while working on board the older ship.
From the experienced  passengers to the youngest 8 month old Stephanie Donahoe.
For these passengers were not only leaving British shores for 2 weeks to enjoy the sun in the Atlantic Islands and the Iberian Peninsula, they were sailing on the Maiden Voyage of ORIANA not only the new flagship of the P&O fleet and the British merchant navy but the first ship custom built for the rapidly growing UK market she was P&O's £200 million gamble into the future of cruising.
On a technical level ORIANA was also a masterpiece of martime design being the fastest passenger ship built for 25 years and the fastest purpose built cruise liner in the world while at the same time her design remained somewhat traditional giving her passengers the best of both worlds.
Boarding ORIANA a letter awaited in each cabin a welcome from Commodore Gibb and a first opportunity to share a little of the affection that he and the crew had already developed for the ship.

Commodore Gibb's welcome letter

And for regular passengers  there was also a welcome from P&O's loyalty club

"The P.O.S.H Club" welcome

It wasn't only for those on boarding who were anticapting ORIANA's sailing ship spotters and enthusiasts were eager to see her sail and to that end P&O published the times at which they estimated ORIANA pass certain points on her journey down the Solent and to the sea as shown
below.

Route and estimated times of ORIANA's departure

 With passengers boarding at 4pm the first entertainment held onboard ORIANA for her passengers began with Piano music on offer in The Crow's Nest some or for different tastes there was also music being played in both Harlequins and The Pacific Lounge.
The obligatory safety drill was held at 5pm and shortly after 6pm as The Band of the Royal Corps of Signals played as ORIANA sounded her horn lifting off the berth
Streamers flew and cheers from both the ship and shore could be heard as ORIANA, once again was  joined by small flotilla of little boats, made her way down Southampton water.

To begin ORIANA's sea going career her first port of call would reflect P&O's history and heritage, leaving Southampton behind ORIANA 2 days at sea would follow before reaching Funchal, Madeira one of P&O's most popular ports call, here she would spend overnight allowing the passengers to take in the beauty of the city and islands while a local Folkloric group would be boarding to entertain the passengers with local dance and tradition.

Celebrating ORIANA - "I name this ship"

The Dawn of the 6th April 1995 brought the next milestone in ORIANA's life, having arrived spectacularly 3 days before the new Queen of the Seas was ready to meet another royal as Queen Elizabeth II was to name her in a carefully choreographed ceremony later that day.
For the occasion ORIANA was docked alongside berth 44 the former Ocean Terminal where seating had been erected for those present to observe from.
On board ORIANA herself for guests who had stayed on board overnight there was a classical music presentation held in The Crows Nest followed by recitals in the Pacific Lounge before joining those those assembling dockside.
The guests were all seated by 11am as they waited for the Queen and her entourage  the Band of HM Royal Marines provided musical entertainment.
As the Royal train arrived the sound of The Choir of Westminster Abby performed Fair Oriana, Beauty’s Queen.
With the Queen and Prince Philip The Duke of Edinburgh taking their place in front of ORIANA's bow alongside Lord Sterling and Commodore Gibb the Choir performed God save the Queen as ORIANA 's officers watched on.
Next followed an introduction by the master of ceremonies and a perfomance of Fanfare to ORIANA a piece of music which had been composed by the famed composer Benjamin Britten for the launch of the previous ORIANA.
The Bishop of Basingstoke gave the blessing with holy water before Her Majesty gave a short speech and uttered the words which had last been spoken by her cousin Princess Alexandra 35 years earlier.
"I name this ship ORIANA may god bless her and all who sail in her" as she pulled the leaver that sent a bottle of champagne smashing against the I in the ship's name.

ORIANA's horn blew wildly  as the band played and many in the crowd admitted having a tear in their eye as events went as planned.
It wasn't only those on the dockside watching in the new age of mass media ORIANA's naming became an international event that would be seen by millions around the world

 With the naming over with the royal party boarded for lunch and a tour of the ship Her Majesty also  meeting a young girl named Oriana.

Commodore Gibb shows The Queen ORIANA's bridge

 Remembering the visit Commodore Gibb recalled "I think she was impressed with the ship, she certainly appeared to be. There are two memories in particular I have while touring the ship, the first was while she looking round the Spa & Fitness areas she joked while observing the Exercise Machines that “we have these in the dungeon at Windsor Castle!” and sometime later while touring the ship's Galley the executive Purser had selected 10 or 11 members of the restaurant crew to introduce to her to and as it turned out they all had the surname of Gomez so I was walking down the line introducing each saying “This is Mr Gomez and this is Mr Gomez and this is Mr Gomez as well”
To end what had been the perfect day a fireworks display saluted the worlds newest ship.

While the celebrations continued Commodore Gibb looked forward to the maiden voyage beginning in 3 days time “ Funchal in Madeira is one of our favourite ports of call, there’ll be a great welcome, with a half a bottle of Madeira wine for every passenger and corsages of local flowers- and the weather is almost always sunny too.”
  To sum up the journey ORIANA had already taken and the ships that would follow her John McNeece one of the design team behind the liner's public spaces said "She will be the benchmark by which all others will be measured"

Celebrating ORIANA - Southampton arrival

Amongst the grey overcast sky of the 3rd April 1995 a mist shrouded ORIANA made her way for the first time up Southampton water despite the weather conditions the welcome couldn't be warmer.
Pleasure craft and tugs and swarmed around to give the traditional firehose welcome.

Jets of water welcome ORIANA into her home port for the first time.

As with any such occasion the mood was positive and the welcome only fitting for the new ship who was not only P&O's new flagship but also of the British merchant fleet.
 The atmosphere on board was also a positive one from Commodore Gibb and officers on the bridge whose delight was most evident as was the rest of the crew who had spent the first short trip from Germany familiarizing themselves with the workings of the new ship.
Alongside the crew Lord Sterling also was extremely pleased and brimming with pride as he took a moment to savour the emotion of the event which his cameras were on hand to capture.

Such was the national importance of the event that press and media  had descended upon the port to watch ORIANA's arrival as she was subject to their every scrutiny.

ORIANA had well and truely arrived in style and for the next days she would play host to many visitors from within the cruise and travel industry before her naming by Queen Elizabeth II on the 6th of April.

Celebrating ORIANA - Handover

2nd April 1995, Emden
After many years of planning and 2 years of building P&O were finally ready to take delivery of their new flagship ORIANA.
ORIANA's commander Commodore Gibb had been with the ship throughout her trials but strictly as an observer now at last he and the rest of the crew took up their postions on board ready for the moment the company took ownership of it's latest investment.
Joing the ship for the event was P&O chairman Lord Sterling, P&O Cruises chairman Tim Harris and P&O Cruises managing director Gwyn Hughes.
To mark the event ORIANA was dressed overall and the crew all in uniform turned out on the terrace decks to watch as Bernard Meyer, CEO of  Meyer Werft handed over the ship's papers to Tim Harris.
As seen below the moment was caught by the ship's photographer in an image which would be available for passengers to purchase during the maiden season.

ORIANA's crew turn out for the handover

Along with the formalites of handing over the papers the German flag which had flown over her stern and the Meyer Werft flag which had flown from her mast were lowered for the last time and replaced with the red ensign and P&O house flag respectivly.

For both companies ORIANA was ansignifcent milestone, for P&O she represented a new era in the rapidly growing UK cruise market and being the largest ship built in Germany in 80 years it brought Meyer Werft prestige.
With a good mood on board ORIANA following the handover with Commodore Gibb in command  she sailed for Southampton where a warm welcome awaited.  

Celebrating ORIANA - A lady on trials

In late March 1995, fresh from her builders ORIANA headed out to sea for the first time to undertake her sea trials.
Heading out into the North Sea ORIANA's sea keeping abilities were immediately put to the test as she sailed into a force 10 gale which would prove the effectivness of the world's largest stabilisers.
Still techninally a Meyer Werft's porperty and under the commnad of the yard's Captain one by one  the ships technical systems were 'put through their paces'
For the first time her engines controls were set to Full ahead and as the engines came up to speed she reached her cruising speed of 24 knots, next she quickly surpassed her maximum service speed of 25 knots and then onwards she passed 26 knots until she reached 27.7 knots far higher than her projected maximum speeds and impressive for a first run.       
In the years to come ORIANA would acheive higher speeds of up to 30 knots

ORIANA on her trials

During the trials ORIANA was also to make a brief detour to Hamburg for one last drydocking and inspection of the hull before her trip to

It was during the trials that an issue was found with the ship's propellers it was discovered that at higher speeds they produced servre vibration in the stern.
As Commodore Gibb recalled "the vibrations were a major problem the decibels that were being produced in the aft end were truly awful in the aft (Oriental) Restaurant crockery and cutlery was vibrating off of tables, after further trials we found the vibration was caused by the propellers at high speed and for a while it was not even certain we would accept the ship but we were assured the problem could be remedied by having the propellers replaced and in the short term by operating at slower speeds around 22 to 24 knots so we could control the situation."
 With the trials complete and the ship's equipment signed off ORIANA headed for her first engagement, her hand over to P&O.

Still the Norwegian Fjords

As ORIANA is currently underway back to Norway and to the port of Andalsnes, we share some more images from her previous cruise, depicting her last call in the destination mentioned above on 25 February, where she is seen during a snow shower, and also a stern shot taken at dusk while berthed in Alta three days later. The author describes the temperature being -18º at that moment!

ORIANA is currently performing the exact same itinerary as the previous one, a 12 night cruise calling in Andalsnes, then Tromso, Alta and finally Stavanger, before returning to Southampton on the 18 March, where she will once again prepare to cross the Atlantic Ocean westbound to the Caribbean on a 24 night voyage.

Images: MattyBoy

ORIANA's stay in Alta

Arriving on the afternoon of 28th February in the port of Alta often refered to as 'The City of the Northern Lights" in their search of the elusive light display.

ORIANA alongside in Alta

 With a full day and 2 nights in port there is no better place and plenty of time for ORIANA's come face to face with the Northern lights.
Although it was a highlight other activities on offer while ORIANA was in Alta included visiting or even staying overnight in a igloo style ice hotel, taking a ride on a huskey pulled sledge or for something a lttle different a chance to ride a snow mobile .
ORIANA departed Alta shortly after 3am this morning and is now on route to Stavanger where she will arrive on the 4th March.