September 26, 2023

P&O Cruises takes delivery of its largest cruise ship

P&O Cruises received their new flagship, the Britannia, with its double funnel and Union Jack over the bow.


P&O Cruises took delivery of its new flagship, “Britannia”, this week at a ceremony at the Fincantieri shipyard in Trieste, Italy.

The 144,000 tone cruise ship is the largest ever built by Fincantieri and now the largest ship for P&O, Carnival Corp’s British line.

The handover ceremony was attended by Enrico Morando, Italian Deputy Minister of Economy and Finance, Micky Arison, Chairman of Carnival Corporation, David Dingle, Executive Chairman of Carnival UK and David Noyes, CEO of P&O Cruises.

“Britannia” will be the first P&O cruise ship with a new livery with blue funnels and a stylized 97 meters long Union Jack draped over the bow. It will also be the first cruise ship built in Monfalcone with two funnels. The last liner which has been delivered by Monfalcone shipyard with this feature was the Eugenio C in the far 1966.

With the construction of “Britannia”, Fincantieri consolidates its leadership in building the largest passenger ships in the Italian shipbuilding history. At 144,000 gross tons, 330 meters long and 38 meters wide, the new unit will be the largest one ever built by Fincantieri and the largest one made for this historic cruise operator founded in 1837. It has 1,837 cabins, of which 75% have a balcony, and it is able to accommodate 4,324 passengers on board, with total capacity of over 5,700 people, including the crew.

An innovative ship for a new grounbreaking class which looks at the future, “Britannia” stands out for its new “future-proof design”, not only in terms of layout and state-of-the-art performance, but also because it complies with the most recent regulations for big passenger units, among which the “Safe return to port” security system.
These ships will represent a new technological benchmark, in Europe and worldwide, for extremely high performance and for the high quality of the technical solutions. They are the best proof that innovation and customer care, like the one established with the Carnival Group, market leader, are essential levers for tackling a crisis like the present one.

Fincantieri has built 68 cruise ships since 1990 and other 16 ships are currently being designed or built in the Group’s yards.

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