As Oriana retires from the fleet today (9 August 2019) we’ll be looking at milestones which the ship and its excellent crew have achieved over the past quarter of a century.
A few facts and figures about Oriana…
- 1,880 Guests
- 760 crew
- 69840 Gross Tonnage
- 853 ft long
- Called at over 130 ports
A few more key dates…
- March 1993 – Plans to commission Oriana are announced, making Oriana the first cruise ship designed especially for the British cruise market
- 12 April 1995 – maiden call into Funchal, Madeira
- March 1996 – Cruise: A Novel of Murder and Romance is published, set on Oriana
- December 1996 – Oriana featured in the Christmas special of 2point4 Children
- December 1998 – Masterchef Judge, Gregg Wallace, experiences his first ever cruise on board Oriana
- December 2011 – after a major refit, Oriana is launched as an adult-only ship
- May – October 2013 – the first Strictly Come Dancing cruise is launched on Oriana
- October 2013 – Welsh opera singer Katherine Jenkins entertains Guests on Oriana for the first time
- June 2014 – The Earl of Wessex makes a special visit to the Port of Southampton and meets Guests embarking on Oriana
- January 2017 – Oriana embarks on a 50-night celebration cruise, marking P&O Cruises’ 180 anniversary
- March 2017 – Oriana’s Deck 6 receives awards from World of Cruises for one of the best promenade decks on cruise ships. 1 mile = 3.5 laps!
And finally, here’s what Paul had to say about Oriana in our latest quarterly fleet update…
Do you have any memories of Oriana you want to share? Why not leave them in the comments below.
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