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.
 

Stormy seas for ORIANA

With the severe weather which has been causing havoc across Atlantic coast of Europe it is perhaps unsurprising that cruise ship calls have been affected considerably with early arrivals and later departures in attempt to ride out the passing storms This was the case with ORIANA on her previous cruise when she arrived early in Southampton to avoid the worst of the weather.
Although she did indeed  encounter bad weather off the coast of Spain last month as captured in this video.

Due to the weather and a minor technical problem with the bearings in one of her Propeller shafts ORIANA had sailed at a reduced speed of 14 knots to Funchal, Madeira  where she is making an over night call and is due to depart tomorrow at 15.45.
 

ORIANA docked in Funchal 20/02/2014.

A new look on the horizon

Along with her distinctive elegant lines ORIANA is as famous for for featureing the white hull and buff funnel, that is soon change when the P&O brand is given a overhaul and the traditional livery is dropped in favour of a new patriotic featuring a the Union Jack painted upon the ship's bows and the funnel repainted blue with the company's famed rising sun logo.
AURORA will be the first ship to feature the new look when she goes for refit later this year, next will be the P&O's new ship BRITANNIA launching next year.
ORIANA and the rest of the fleet are to follow suit shortly afterwards.
Needless to say reaction the planned changes have been mixed at best with the image of P&O standing for time honoured traditions.
Below is artist's impression of how ORIANA, AURORA  and ARCADIA might look from cruise critic and blogger John Honeywell

Time of course will tell if this brave decision to rebrand will be a success or not.

An Italian diversion

As ORIANA is enjoying the festive season on a 19 night cruise around the Central Mediterranean, she recently had to make a slight alteration to her itinerary as reported by local online newspaper Trieste Prima ORIANA was due to dock in Venice on the 22nd for an overnight stay she however had to alter her call to Trieste due to heavy fog around the Venice area.

A foggy night for ORIANA in Italy.

After departure the following afternoon ORIANA headed to the historical port of Dubrovnik,Croatia famed for among other things it's walled old city.

Her current cruise being both a Christmas and New Year the last  port of call will be Lisbon where she will overnight for New year to enjoy the Portuguese capital's celebrations before departing the following morning,

Elsewhere ORIANA's fleet mate and "half sister" AURORA will also be seeing in New Year in Portuguese waters with the world famous firework display in Funchal, Madeira.

The Italian artical relating to ORIANA 's change of port as well as some more photos can be seen here http://www.triesteprima.it/trieste/44-cronaca/9302-troppa-nebbia-a-venezia-qorianaq-attracca-a-trieste.html

Photo Copyright : Trieste Prima

ORIANA's operatic city break.

Tomorrow ORIANA sets off from Southampton on the second of two City break cruises of the year with Welsh classical-crossover singer Katherine Jenkins on board.
The 4 night cruise calls in Zeebrugge, Belgium and Amsterdam, Netherlands where ORIANA will stay overnight.
With P&O constantly finding new acts and perfomers to showcase on board Katherine becomes the latest in a line celebrities to feature on board, as mentioned before in last year ORIANA also introduced the world of the BBC hit television programme Strictly Come Dancing to the high seas.

 Giving a driscription of the cruise P&O state "ORIANA provides the perfect backdrop for you to enjoy an extra special performance by the Welsh Mezzo Soprano, who is best known for her unique interpretations of popular songs, operatic arias and hymns. Be among the first to see Katherine in her debut on board performances."
The first cruise having been a success with positive reviews it is perhaps not surprising that ORIANA will be sailing fully booked.

ORIANA departing from Funchal

To complete our post yesterday we present some excellent images of ORIANA's departure from Funchal yesterday, a scene which the port has seen many times over the last 18 years and will see again soon when she retrurns in December.

Photo Copyrights: João Abreu.

ORIANA back at the Garden Isle

Today ORIANA returns again to the beautiful Island of Madeira as the last port of call of her current 13 night Atlantic Island cruise.

Although a well known fact it is always worth mentioning is that it was in Funchal where she made her first port of call during her Maiden Voyage 18 years ago.

Arriving at approximately 7am ORIANA is due to depart at 5pm, she will make one further call in Madeira this year on the 5th December as the fisrt port of call of another Atlantic Island Cruise.

On another point of interest today also sees ORIANA's "half sister" AURORA in the other Portuguese Atlantic archipelago being docked in Ponta Delgada in the Azores.