"ceremonial float out took place on Friday 26 June 2009, in which she was blessed by a priest, with Amanda Dowds, wife of the ship's captain, acting as her Godmother. The formal handover took place on 26 March 2010. ""Azura's"" maiden voyage began on 31 March 2010, when she departed from the Fincantieri shipyard en route to Southampton. She arrived in the UK on 7 April 2010 at 9:12am. ""Azura"" cruise with passengers began on 12 April 2010. ""Azura"" was christened at 08:20 pm on 10 April 2010, by godmother Darcey Bussell. As well as performing the traditional bottle breaking"
"MV Aurora (2000) MV ""Aurora"" is a cruise ship of the P&O Cruises fleet. The ship was built by Meyer Werft at their shipyard in Papenburg, Germany. At over 76,000 tonnes, ""Aurora"" is the sixth largest of seven ships currently in service with P&O Cruises. She officially entered service with the company in April 2000 and was named by Anne, Princess Royal in Southampton, United Kingdom. ""Aurora"" was refitted in 2014, during which the ship is the first of P&O's ships to receive an updated British Union flag design on her bow and her funnel repainted from yellow to blue."
"and operated by P&O Cruises. The ship entered service in April 2008, and is one of the largest cruise ships built for the British market, at 116,017 tonnes. ""Ventura"" can accommodate 3,192 passengers, and has 1,550 cabins, of which about 60% possess private balconies. It has fourteen public decks, eight restaurants, six boutiques, five pools and three show lounges, including the largest theatre on a British ship. Passengers are able to walk to the bow, which is not possible on any other P&O ship except Azura. The ship is intended to be family-friendly; facilities include The Reef youth club, and"
"ceremony, as a former principal dancer of the Royal Ballet, Bussell presented a dance performance by Royal Ballet School as part of the celebrations. ""Azura"" was originally registered in her homeport of Southampton, UK, but in November 2011 she was flagged-out to Hamilton, Bermuda, bringing her in line with her other P&O fleetmates and enabling wedding ceremonies to be conducted on board. ""Azura"" is designed to appeal more to P&O's traditional client base and returning customers, whereas sister ship ""Ventura"" is more family orientated, and attracts new, often younger clients. For the first time in the P&O Cruises fleet, ""Azura"""
"Dominica, on her way to Barbados as part of the 2016 winter transatlantic season, a bus, carrying ten Azura passengers as well as a local driver and guide, was involved in a collision. The passengers were taken to a local hospital for treatment but one later died of their injuries at the hospital. MS Azura MV ""Azura"" is a cruise ship operated by P&O Cruises and owned by Carnival plc. The ship was built by Fincantieri at their shipyard in Monfalcone, Italy. At over 115,000 tonnes, ""Azura"" is the third largest of seven ships currently in service with P&O Cruises."
"moved to Phoenix Reisen's fleet and was renamed ""Artania"". ""Royal Princess"" was named by Diana, Princess of Wales at a ceremony in Southampton, Hampshire on 15 November 1984. The ceremony was attended by members of the public, employees of the P&O Princess Group and local and international dignitaries including Mauno Koivisto, President of Finland. The Bishop of Southampton performed a blessing prior to the naming. She was transferred to the P&O fleet in April 2005 and renamed ""Artemis"" by Prunella Scales. ""Artemis"" is one of the few cruise ships that do not have any inside cabins. Artemis was the smallest"
"was increased in the process, and Birka therefore refused to take delivery. Instead, the build contact was sold to Majesty Cruise Line, who took delivery of the ship on July 2, 1992, renaming her ""Royal Majesty"". Due to her past, the ship has some features uncommon for cruise ships, such as the highest Finnish-Swedish ice class. Following delivery, ""Royal Majesty"" set on her maiden voyage, a transatlantic crossing from Southampton to New York City, on July 7, 1992. She was officially christened in New York City on July 21, 1992. She was christened by Liza Minnelli. Following this, she was"
"Pacific Jewel Pacific Jewel (IMO number 8521220) is a cruise ship currently owned by Carnival Corporation and operated by P&O Cruises Australia, and home ported at Sydney, Australia. She was built for Sitmar Cruises by Fincantieri in Monfalcone, Italy, and launched in 1989. Before she entered service, she was transferred to P&O Princess Cruises after P&O acquired Sitmar. She cruised as Crown Princess until 2002, when she was renamed A'Rosa Blu and transferred to A'Rosa Cruises. In 2003, the ship was reassigned to the AIDA Cruises fleet, following the acquisition of P&O by Carnival Corporation & plc. After a refit,"
"also given the ""Adonia"" name later in 2011, and as of 2018 is named ""MV Azamara Pursuit ""). The Princess Royal and her daughter Zara Phillips renamed the vessel to ""Adonia"" at a launching ceremony with sister ship ""Oceana"", in the first double ship naming ceremony ever in the UK. ""Adonia"" filled the gap left in the P&O Cruises fleet in the period between ""Arcadia"" leaving the fleet to become ""Ocean Village"" and the launch of the new ""Arcadia"" in 2005, when the vessel was transferred back to Princess Cruises. The ship also received the ""Movies Under The Stars"" feature."
"by Meyer Werft in Germany. Her keel was laid in December 1998 and she was launched in January 2000. She was delivered to P&O Cruises in April 2000.. The ship was christened on 27 April 2000, by HRH Princess Anne. The champagne bottle did not shatter when it hit the ship's side and fell unopened into the sea. This type of occurrence is considered a bad omen among seafarers, and this incident has been blamed for the numerous setbacks that ""Aurora"" has encountered throughout her career. ""Aurora"" departed on her maiden voyage on 1 May 2000—a 14-night cruise to various"
"in Ålesund on 15 June 2018. The following day, 16 June 2018, ""Le Lapérouse"" departed for Reykjavík, Iceland, where she commenced her maiden cruise on 19 June 2018. She was christened by Maryvonne Pinault, the wife of French billionaire businessman François Pinault, at a ceremony in Hafnarfjörður, Iceland, on 10 July 2018. Le Lapérouse Le Lapérouse is the lead ship of the of cruise ships operated by Ponant. Each member of the class has been allocated the name of a famous French explorer, and ""Le Lapérouse"" is named after naval officer Jean-François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse. Built by VARD,"
"and balcony treatment rooms. Azura completed a minor refit in April 2015 at Blohm and Voss's shipyard in Hamburg. This included painting P&O's large Union flag design on to the bow, repainting the funnel in blue with P&O's ""sunburst"" logo plus other minor interior updates including replacing speciality restaurant ""Seventeen"" with ""The Epicurean at Seventeen"". On 6 May 2015 whilst the ship was berthed in Flåm, Norway it was reported that the ship was delayed leaving by five hours due to a number of electrical issues. Prior to this, it was reported by passengers that the ship briefly ran aground"
"whilst continuing to serve in the Princess Cruises fleet. In November 2002, ""Ocean Princess"" entered service with P&O Cruises, operating from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Her official naming ceremony took place in Southampton, England on 21 May 2003. The naming ceremony was the first double ship naming in history and saw ""Ocean Princess"" renamed ""Oceana"", with sister ship ""Sea Princess"" becoming ""Adonia"". The naming was performed by HRH the Princess Royal. and her daughter Zara Philips. In 2003, P&O Princess Cruises merged with Carnival Corporation. As a result, ""Oceana"" came under the ownership of Carnival UK, but continued to operate with"
"1:47 am in the Ruber International Hospital in Madrid by means of a caesarean section necessitated by non-progression of labour. Her birth was announced by the Royal Family to the press via SMS. Her umbilical cord was clipped and sent for storage to Cord Blood Registry based in Arizona. Leonor left the Ruber International Hospital with her parents on 7 November 2005. She was baptised in the Zarzuela Palace by the Cardinal Archbishop of Madrid, Antonio Rouco Varela, on 14 January 2006. Like her father, Leonor was christened with water from the Jordan River. Leonor's education began at the daycare"
"The first was to be named ""Andrea Doria"", after the 16th-century Genoese admiral Andrea Doria. The second vessel, which was launched in 1953, was to be named ""Cristoforo Colombo"" after explorer Christopher Columbus. Construction of ""Andrea Doria"" started as Yard No. 918 at Ansaldo Shipyard in Genoa. On 9 February 1950, the ship's keel was laid on the No. 1 slipway, and on 16 June 1951, ""Andrea Doria"" was launched. During the ceremony, the ship's hull was blessed by Giuseppe Siri, Cardinal Archbishop of Genoa, and christened by Mrs. Giuseppina Saragat, wife of the former Minister of the Merchant Marine"
"and the itinerary was not changed. On October 7, 2015, Carnival announced that ""Dawn Princess"" would be transferred in May 2017 to its Australian subsidiary P&O Cruises Australia as the ""Pacific Explorer"". The ""Dawn Princess"" entered drydock on 26 May 2017 in Singapore (Sembawang) for conversion to ""Pacific Explorer"" to be released for cruises on 22 June. It was re-registered to the United Kingdom and arrived in Sydney, New South Wales on 19 June for a 3-day stay before conducting its maiden voyage to the Pacific Islands. She was christened by Dora The Explorer on 2 July 2017 at Sydney"
"was commissioned on 8 July 1914, ten days after Archduke Franz Ferdinand's assassination in Sarajevo. Expansion of the Graz-Danubius shipyards in Fiume delayed the launching and christening of ""Szent István"" until 17 January 1914. Though it was customary for either the Emperor or his heir to be present at the launching of a major warship, Franz Joseph was too feeble and his heir, Franz Ferdinand, refused to be there due to his anti-Hungarian attitudes. Franz Joseph sent a telegram of congratulations to avoid controversy, and the ceremony was presided over by Archduchess Maria Theresa who launched it with the words:"
"MS Marella Celebration MS ""Marella Celebration is a cruise ship owned by TUI UK, and operated by their United Kingdom-based Marella Cruises. She was built in 1984 by the Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard in St. Nazaire, France for Holland America Line as MS ""Noordam. It was announced on 9 October 2017, that ""Thomson Cruises"" would be renamed Marella Cruises. TUI Group also announced that ""Thomson Celebration"" would be renamed ""Marella Celebration"" at the end of October 2017. The ""Marella Celebration"" was built by Chantiers de l'Atlantique in 1984 for Holland America Line as MS ""Noordam"" at a cost of $160million,"
"MV Arcadia (2004) MS ""Arcadia"" is a cruise ship in the P&O Cruises fleet. The ship was built by Fincantieri at their shipyard in Marghera, Italy. At over 84,000 tonnes, ""Arcadia"" is the fourth largest of seven ships currently in service with P&O Cruises. The ship officially entered service with the company in April 2005 and was named by Dame Kelly Holmes. ""Arcadia"" was ordered by Holland America Line in 2000 as their fifth Vista class vessel. In 2003 she was allocated to Cunard Line to become their ""Queen Victoria"". Shortly before her launch the decision was made to transfer"
"ship has a cruising speed of , and a top speed of . Around 3,000 people worked on the construction of ""Costa Deliziosa"" which cost more than €450 million . ""Costa Deliziosa"" was christened at Port Rashid in the United Arab Emirates on 23 February, during her inaugural voyage, which started from Savona on 5 February; the first cruise ship in the world to be christened in an Arabian city. In deference to the Muslim faith of Dubai a bottle of special date juice was used rather than the traditional sparkling wine, champagne, or prosecco usually used to christen ships."
"MV Spirit of Chartwell MV ""Spirit of Chartwell"" is a hotel barge owned and operated by Portuguese holiday company Douro Azul for luxury cruises along the Douro river, Porto, Portugal. Previously owned and operated by the Magna Carta Steamship Company for luxury cruises along the River Thames, she was selected in late 2011 to be the royal barge as part of Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee celebrations, and carried the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh in a flotilla of more than 1,000 vessels during the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant on 3 June 2012. The ship was sold in June"
"2017. MV Arcadia (2004) MS ""Arcadia"" is a cruise ship in the P&O Cruises fleet. The ship was built by Fincantieri at their shipyard in Marghera, Italy. At over 84,000 tonnes, ""Arcadia"" is the fourth largest of seven ships currently in service with P&O Cruises. The ship officially entered service with the company in April 2005 and was named by Dame Kelly Holmes. ""Arcadia"" was ordered by Holland America Line in 2000 as their fifth Vista class vessel. In 2003 she was allocated to Cunard Line to become their ""Queen Victoria"". Shortly before her launch the decision was made to"
"HMS Aurochs (P426) HMS ""Aurochs"" (P426), was an of the Royal Navy, built by Vickers Armstrong and launched 28 July 1945. Her namesake was the aurochs (""Bos primigenius""), an extinct Eurasian wild ox ancestral to domestic cattle and often portrayed in cave art and heraldry. In 1953 she took part in the Fleet Review to celebrate the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. On 17 May 1958 ""Aurochs"" was patrolling the Molucca Sea off Indonesia when an unidentified aircraft machine-gunned her. The aircraft remained at high altitude and ""Aurochs"" sustained no casualties or damage. President Sukarno's Indonesian government told the UK's"
"and oldest ship in the P&O cruises fleet. In 2010 British woman Sarah Breton took charge of ""Artemis"", becoming only the second female in the world to command a major cruise ship and the first for P&O, following Swedish woman Karin Stahre-Janson, who took charge of MS ""Monarch of the Seas"" of Royal Caribbean Cruises in 2007. On 22 September 2009, after numerous rumours, it was announced by P&O Cruises that the ship has been sold to Artania Shipping for an undisclosed sum of money. She continued to sail for P&O Cruises until 22 April 2011, when she passed to"
"beginning of 2015 saw Christos entertain on the P&O Cruises Oriana in the Caribbean and for Warner Leisure Hotels. On July 4, 2015 Christos performed at the Anglican Liverpool Cathedral to celebrate the Cunard Line 175th anniversary of the first ship to set out on a pioneering voyage to North America. Amongst the guest list was Thelma Barlow and Roy Barraclough, best known for their performances in Coronation Street, broadcasters Jennie Bond, one time royal correspondent for the BBC, Michael Buerk, Lord Prescott, who, before his political career, worked as a steward on a number of Cunard vessels, and Lord"
"MV Britannia (2015) MV ""Britannia"" is a cruise ship of the P&O Cruises fleet. She was built by Fincantieri at its shipyard in Monfalcone, Italy. At , ""Britannia"" is the largest of seven ships currently in service with P&O Cruises and she is also the flagship of the fleet, taking the honour from ""Oriana"". She officially entered service on 14 March 2015, and was named by Queen Elizabeth II. Her first captain was Paul Brown. ""Britannia"" features a Union Flag on her bow, the largest of its kind in the world. ""Britannia"" was ordered in 2011 and was laid down"
"as the ship's namesake. She was launched on 22 August 1938, in a ceremony attended by the Governor (""Reichsstatthalter"") of the Ostmark, Arthur Seyss-Inquart, who made the christening speech. Also present at the launch were Adolf Hitler, the Regent of Hungary, Admiral Miklós Horthy (who had commanded the battleship from 24 November 1917 to 1 March 1918), and his wife Magdolna Purgly, who performed the christening. As built, the ship had a straight stem, though after her launch this was replaced with a clipper bow. A raked funnel cap was also installed. Commissioning was delayed slightly due to light damage"
"a 44-story tower designed by London-based architects Foster and Partners. Today, Ofer’s portfolio includes more than 50 properties in four countries. Ofer started his career in international maritime transportation in all the major shipping segments in the 1980s. He is the chairman of Zodiac Group, a privately held Monaco-based shipping company with a fleet of more than 150 vessels. It is the largest operator of vessels under the Red Ensign by tonnage. Ofer has been a director of Royal Caribbean Cruises, the second largest cruise company in the world, since May 1995 and holds a significant stake in the company."
"(Naufal), later her name was registered as 'Azonia'. Ausonia (Azonia) was delivered by Doctor Viviani Leonardo. Ausonia was baptized the same day, the godfather was Captain Gino Fabbro. Witness was Vianello Francesco. The couple were immigrating from Lebanon to Canada. Her birth was registered at the Lebanese Consulat in Napoli on January 8, 1959. She never entered service with her original owners right away, as she was chartered to First Choice Holidays for about four years, before entering service for Louis. She was then in 2005 renamed ""Ivory"" by Louis and continued to operate under Louis Cruise Lines until the"
"overall cost was estimated to be over £3 million, making ""Ark Royal"" the most expensive ship ordered by the Royal Navy. Construction began on Job No. 1012 when ""Ark Royal""s keel was laid down on 16 September 1935. ""Ark Royal"" spent nearly two years in the builder's yard before being launched on 13 April 1937 by Lady Maud Hoare, wife of Sir Samuel Hoare, then First Lord of the Admiralty. The bottle of champagne thrown against ""Ark Royal""s bows did not smash until the fourth attempt. The carrier spent a year fitting out, was handed over to her first commander,"
"features eighteen single staterooms, however sister ship Ventura received this feature after her 2013 refit. There are 900 cabins with private balconies and a number of spa staterooms with access to the Oasis Spa. Azura is the only Grand Class ship to feature a ""Duck Tail"" stern. The ship also features a dance floor in the atrium, a New York City styled show lounge and a modern interpretation on a London pub. For the first time in the P&O Cruises fleet, ""Azura"" features an open-air cinema screen similar to those found on Princess Cruises ships such as ""Caribbean Princess"". The"
"Cruises and are marketed as ""Grand"" class, although they were given the ""Ventura"" class designation because they are not owned by Princess and are totally modified internally and externally. Ventura is also the largest ship in the ""Grand"" class. The second ""Ventura"" class ship is MS ""Azura"", launched in March 2010. ""Azura"" has a modified stern and features amenities designed for the general public as compared to ""Ventura"", which is more family oriented. ""Azura"" is also the only P&O Cruises ship to feature a 'Movies Under the Stars' style outdoor screen, branded by P&O Cruises as 'SeaScreen'. This class, for"
"Resorts was founded in 2002 and has grown to be the world's largest and best destination club. Philippe Bourguignon has been named Chevalier of the Legion of Honor and Officer in the Ordre national du Mérite in France, and received the Moroccan Wissam Al Alaoui Order. Philippe Bourguignon is married, and the father of two children. He races yachts with Bruno Peyron and set a record for crossing the English Channel. He also won the Bermuda World Series America’s Cup with Team New Zealand I in May 2016. Philippe Bourguignon Philippe Bourguignon (born 1948) is a French businessman who served"