P&O Unveils Name of Its New Cruise Vessel

P&O Cruises has revealed the name of its newest cruise ship joining the company’s fleet in May 2020.

The newbuild will be named Iona and the name has been selected from over 30,000 entries to name the vessel.

Exactly one month ago, the steel cutting ceremony for the ship was held at Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany.

With a gross tonnage of 180,000 tons and a capacity of 5,200 passengers, the ship has been described as Britain’s biggest cruise ship.

“Our new ship will be the largest ship ever operated by the brand and the largest ever to be dedicated exclusively to the UK cruise industry. It will also be the first ship in our market to be powered by LNG, the most environmentally friendly power source yet for large-scale cruise ships,” Paul Ludlow, P&O Cruises senior vice president, said at the steel cutting ceremony.