ORIANA in Northern Spain

ORIANA seen recently in two northern Spanish ports during her previous cruise to the Iberian Peninsula. The first two photographs were taken while berthed and then leaving Santander, on 13th April, and on the last image she is seen departing the following day from El Ferrol bound to Leixões, Oporto.

This 12-night round trip Spain, Portugal and France left Southampton on 11st April, and also saw her calling afterwards in ports such as Cadiz, Gibraltar, Lisbon and La Rochelle, before returning to her homeport on 23rd April.

Images Santander: Chiminuel.

Image El Ferrol: José Ricardo Montero.

Celebrating ORIANA - A successful debut

After 14 nights away on the 23rd April 1995 ORIANA returned to Southampton to complete her Maiden Voyage and prepare for her next passengers to embark.
The previous evening was one that vetern cruisers knew with the feeling of farewells and of saying goodbyes to friends made over the preceding days and nights but also that of celebration as the ship's company did their upmost to ensure the last night of would be a memorable one.
 During the last days of the cruise P&O's cameras spoke with many of the passengers on board to sound out their opinons of the ship.

With so many P&O cruising veterns from both the previous ORIANA and CANBERRA on board it was always going to be difficult to introduce innovations and improvements to a cruising experience they saw as already perfect yet it seemed that with ORIANA the company had managed to do just that, the ship retained the company's trademark 'Britishness' and inlaid it with standards of luxury  and technology that had yet to be seen on board any other passenger ship.
For ORIANA's crew too the ship had more than proved her worth performing exactly as expected.
Commodore Gibb in particular could not praise his new command enough from her character which was already showing  to her performance.

As ORIANA departed once again on the evening of 23rd April this time bound for her maiden calls in the Mediterranean those passengers who were on their way home could look back fondly on the memories of a voyage that would last a lifetime.
Perhaps the final theatre show of cruise summed it up in the best possible way.

Celebrating ORIANA - Maiden Voyage Calling in Portugal

Following her maiden departure from Gibraltar ORIANA returned to Portuguese waters.
Firstly to  Praia da Rocha in the Algarve the famous resort region of mainland Portugal where ORIANA once again anchored.
For the final port of call ORIANA headed up the River Tagus to the Portuguese capital of Lisbon a port which P&O has a long history of visiting including the previous ORIANA on her shakedown cruise in 1960.
On this Maiden visit due to work maintaince work ORIANA made her way to the Jardim do Tabaco terminal rather than the preferred  Alcântara terminal.
While ORIANA's passengers enjoyed themselves in the historic city Commodore Gibb and ORIANA's crew played host to the local port authorities and press holding tours of the ships passenger and work spaces, and later to British Ambassador to Portugal and his wife both of whom were eager to see Britain's latest flagship.

 Making the most of the last port of call ORIANA's passengers returned to the ship ready for her early evening departure and to wish the great ship on her way a local folk group preformed on the quayside.

Celebrating ORIANA - A Call at Gibraltar

Leaving the romance of Casablanca behind her ORIANA next arrived at Gibraltar on the 18th April, for her British passengers a home away from home.
Entering the Gibraltar strait at 6am and boarding the pilot shortly after ORIANA continued her course where she arrived at her berth at 9:01 am.
For many the cruise offered the chance to explore a little of 'Britain in the sun' as many refer to the Gibraltar, from it's history including the evactation of many of it's citizens during the second world war to popular UK highstreet shops and the duty free merchandise available to purchase the port had a little of everything to offer.
However for one couple the port was  to serve as the venue a special day.

Being UK registered it was not possible to be married on board, it would be over 11 years before ORIANA's first wedding would take place but on this Maiden Voyage ORIANA had her first on board honeymoon.

Celebrating ORIANA - Maiden Ports of Call

Following her triumphant call in Funchal ORIANA made a short overnight trip of around 257 nautical miles to Tenerife the first of two ports of the cruise in the Canary Islands to be followed the next day with a call in Lanzarote the latter of which would see ORIANA on anchorage for the first time.
Both ports being popular ports for P&O's as well as British holidaymakers.
During this leg of the cruise an impromptu gathering was held where many veterans from the previous ORIANA memories and brought along many menus, price lists and many other momentos from the old ship.
So far ORIANA had lived up to the memory of her namesake and was impressing on her passengers she was a fitting as CANBERRA's replacement as P&O's flagship.

Moving away from the Atlantic Isles the cruise next brought ORIANA to Morocco and the city of Casablanca symbolic once again P&O's history and it's close ties with North Africa.

 The city, it's Spanish name coming from it's Portuguese Casa Branca, is  famous for it's mix of French, Spanish and Moorish architecture and for being the setting for the wartime Hollywood romantic drama of the same name set the perfect scene for a port of call on a great ship's Maiden Voyage

Celebrating ORIANA - Departure from Funchal

Following on what was a very special first day of ORIANA's maiden call of the inaugural voyage, the 13th April 1995 found ORIANA still berthed in Funchal for one more full day.
Scheduled to depart at 6 pm later on, the best spots along the city's coast and the harbor were being filled by a crowd of people wishing again to have the best view to the newest cruise ship afloat. Only the New Year's Eve fireworks in the capital of Madeira could compare to such a gathering.

The importance of this event would lead to the release of a small series of local postcards with aerial images of ORIANA, made to promote the destination Madeira, which could be seen for sale in every souvenir shop for many years to come.
ORIANA's maiden call in Funchal was to remain one of the biggest, if not the biggest event this port ever had, at least until Cunard's QUEEN MARY 2 made her inaugural call on 15th January 2004.

Video: Paulo Camacho

Celebrating ORIANA - Funchal, Madeira

First landfall of the Maiden Voyage

On a sunny morning of 12 April 1995, a maiden visitor could be seen approaching the breakwater of Funchal, Madeira on her inaugural voyage. A maiden visitor that had been the highlight and subject of great expectation worldwide, in the years prior to her launch. 

Known at the time as the largest ship built in Germany in the last 80 years, the largest ship exclusively dedicated to the British cruise market, and the newest flagship of Britain's Merchant Fleet, it was none other than P&O Cruises' brand new ORIANA!

Apart from all of these features, which were more than enough to make this a very special call in Funchal,

ORIANA was also seen as the successor of the venerable CANBERRA, at the time a ship that had been calling in this port frequently for a long time, thus being a well known visitor among the locals. 

Besides we can also refer to another important factor surrounding this maiden call, at the time it was not common to observe brand new ships like ORIANA in Funchal. After the great "boom" of the cruise industry in the late 70's/80's, most of the larger and new ships were being built in Europe as well but for the North-American market, cruising essentially in the Caribbean, during the Winter, and Alaska on the Summer months, as depicted by the most famous companies, Carnival, Royal Caribbean, NCL, and Princess...
Eventually ORIANA would operate on a different schedule, not on a turn-around basis in a specific region, but on distinct cruises to Med, Northern Europe, Canary Isles and also Caribbean and World voyages based in Southampton, as she still does nowadays.

Therefore at around noon, ORIANA was “sliding” through the flat seas on her way to the harbor, and much like what happened in her homeport days before, a flotilla of small craft went to sea welcoming the new superliner in great style, along with the local tugs dressed overall for the occasion. Even the dolphins were jumping out of the water to have a good glimpse of ORIANA.

On shore thousands of people gathered at seaside to witness this grand event. In the previous days she had been already a huge highlight among the local Press.

After docking at her designated berth, the passengers were presented with a performance from a local folkloric group, while leaving the ship’s gangway, being at the same time, offered with typical souvenirs from Madeira.

Later on, Commodore Gibb welcomed onboard several authorities and entities for the traditional plaque exchange ceremony, and kindly invited everyone for a tour around his brand new ship.

With the day nearly at its end, and as ORIANA prepared to overnight in Funchal, there was still place for a fireworks display, a final special touch truly placing her inaugural call among the most memorable moments this port ever had.

Images: Luís Filipe Jardim

Video: Paulo Camacho