Today Oceana is officially handed over to her new owners. A much-loved ship, she’d been part of the P&O Cruises fleet for almost 18 years.
Born a Princess
When Oceana first set sail, in February 2000, she was actually part of the Princess Cruises fleet. Sailing as Ocean Princess, she enjoyed the warm waters of the southern Caribbean in summer and the colder climes of Alaska in winter.
A royal celebration
Oceana and her sister ship, Adonia
Oceana joined the P&O Cruises fleet in November 2002, and was officially welcomed by Anne, Princess Royal, and her daughter Zara Phillips, alongside a second new arrival, Adonia, at their joint Southampton naming ceremony in May 2003. Oceana and Adonia affectionately became known as the White Sisters and, at the time, were the height of sophistication, heralding a new era for P&O Cruises and British cruising.
The fun all-rounder
Oceana was a mid-sized, family-friendly ship with a sociable feel. A gleaming four deck high Atrium set the tone from the off, with easy to navigate interiors and open decks made for the sunshine. And hidden in her funnel; a sports court for ball games!
A fond farewell
After clocking up an impressive 1,732,000 nautical miles with P&O Cruises, on 8 June 2020 Oceana reset the clock and began a new adventure, setting sail from Southampton en route to her new owners. As she sailed out of port, she was bid farewell by Red Funnel Group’s vessels ‘Red Kestrel’ and ‘Red Jet 6’. Colleagues Katrina Raynsford, Dave Varty and Andrew Baldwin also also waved her goodbye from the shore.
Red Jet 2 paying her respects. Photo taken by Andrew Sassoli-Walker and shared by Graham Barnetson, Chief Financial Officer, Red Funnel Group
Katrina, Dave and Andrew bidding a fond farewell to Oceana
To ensure safe delivery to her new owners, a small team of colleagues remained on board – here’s Oceana’s final Bridge team.
Official handover was a moving moment for everyone on board; watch below as the last two Captains to have command of Oceana finish with engines for the final time, and the stem Jack (flag) is lowered.
We asked you to share your memories of Oceana and, unsurprisingly, there were lots! See some of them here.