MV ''Britannia'' is a cruise ship of the
P&O Cruises
P&O Cruises is a British cruise line based at Carnival House in Southampton, England, operated by Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. It was originally a subsidiary of the shipping company P&O and was founded in 1977. Along ...
fleet. She was built by
Fincantieri
Fincantieri S.p.A. () is an Italian shipbuilding company based in Trieste, Italy. Already the largest shipbuilder in Europe, after the acquisition of Vard in 2013, Fincantieri group doubled in size to become the fourth largest in the world (2014 ...
at its shipyard in
Monfalcone
Monfalcone (; Bisiacco: ; fur, Monfalcon; sl, Tržič; archaic german: Falkenberg) is a town and ''comune'' of the province of Gorizia in Friuli Venezia Giulia, northern Italy, located on the Gulf of Trieste. Monfalcone means 'falcon mountain ...
, Italy.
''Britannia'' is the
flagship of the fleet, taking the honour from . She was temporarily superseded by from 2020 to 2022 while under refit. She officially entered service on 14 March 2015, and was named by Queen
Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...
. Her first
captain was Paul Brown.
''Britannia'' features a
Union Flag
The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. Although no law has been passed making the Union Flag the official national flag of the United Kingdom, it has effectively become such through precedent. ...
on her
bow, the largest of its kind in the world.
Naming and construction
''Britannia'' was ordered in 2011 and was
laid down
Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship.
Keel laying is one o ...
on 15 May 2013. The ship was built at the
Fincantieri
Fincantieri S.p.A. () is an Italian shipbuilding company based in Trieste, Italy. Already the largest shipbuilder in Europe, after the acquisition of Vard in 2013, Fincantieri group doubled in size to become the fourth largest in the world (2014 ...
yard at
Monfalcone
Monfalcone (; Bisiacco: ; fur, Monfalcon; sl, Tržič; archaic german: Falkenberg) is a town and ''comune'' of the province of Gorizia in Friuli Venezia Giulia, northern Italy, located on the Gulf of Trieste. Monfalcone means 'falcon mountain ...
in Italy.
The name ''Britannia'' was announced on 24 September 2013 and has historical importance for P&O, as there have been two previous ships named Britannia connected with the company.
The first entered service in 1835 for the
General Steam Navigation Company
The General Steam Navigation Company (GSN), incorporated in 1824, was London's foremost short sea shipping line for almost 150 years. It was the oldest shipping company in the world to begin business with seagoing steam vessels.
Foundation
...
, which went on to become the Peninsular Steam Navigation Company.
The second
''The Second'' is the second studio album by Canadian-American rock band Steppenwolf, released in October 1968 on ABC Dunhill Records. The album contains one of Steppenwolf's most famous songs, " Magic Carpet Ride". The background of the orig ...
, which entered service in 1887, was one of four ships ordered by the company to mark the golden jubilee of both
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...
and P&O itself. The ceremonial float out of the third ''Britannia'' took place on the afternoon of 14 February 2014, with the traditional
champagne
Champagne (, ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, that demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, ...
bottle smashed against the vessel's hull. ''Britannia'' departed the
Fincantieri
Fincantieri S.p.A. () is an Italian shipbuilding company based in Trieste, Italy. Already the largest shipbuilder in Europe, after the acquisition of Vard in 2013, Fincantieri group doubled in size to become the fourth largest in the world (2014 ...
ship yard on 27 February 2015 for
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
via
Gibraltar
)
, anthem = " God Save the King"
, song = " Gibraltar Anthem"
, image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg
, map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe
, map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green
, mapsize =
, image_map2 = Gib ...
. ''Britannia'' was officially named on 10 March 2015 by
Queen Elizabeth II at the Ocean Terminal.
Facilities
On board, ''Britannia'' features 13 bars as well as 13 restaurants and cafés.
TV chef
James Martin developed "The Cookery Club" on board ''Britannia.'' The venue features celebrity chefs/cooks such as
Mary Berry
Dame Mary Rosa Alleyne Hunnings (; born 24 March 1935), known professionally as Mary Berry, is an English food writer, chef, baker and television presenter. After being encouraged in domestic science classes at school, she studied catering at ...
,
James Tanner
James Tanner is an English chef and television personality, best known for co-owning the Tanners Restaurant in Plymouth and cooking on various TV programmes.
In 1999, Tanner and his brother Chris set up Tanners Restaurant in Plymouth. Sinc ...
,
Antonio Carluccio
Antonio Carluccio, OBE OMRI (; 19 April 1937 – 8 November 2017) was an Italian chef, restaurateur and food expert, based in London. He was called "the godfather of Italian gastronomy", with a career of more than 50 years. He is perhaps best re ...
,
Paul Rankin
Paul Rankin (born 1 October 1959 in Glasgow, Scotland) is a celebrity chef from Ballywalter, County Down, Northern Ireland. Rankin's parents moved back to Ballywalter, where he grew up, some time after he was born. This was stated when he was t ...
and
Pierre Koffman.
Eric Lanlard has his own patisserie, Market Café, in the ship's atrium. He also created an upgraded afternoon tea service in the Epicurean restaurant.
Atul Kochhar, of the
Michelin-starred
The Michelin Guides ( ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The Guide awards up to three Michelin stars for excellence to a select few establishments. The acquisition or loss of a ...
Benares restaurant in London, supervises menus in ''Sindhu'' (as also seen on fleetmates and ).
Marco Pierre White
Marco Pierre White (born 11 December 1961) is a British chef, restaurateur, and television personality. He has been dubbed "the first celebrity chef" and the ''enfant terrible'' of the UK restaurant scene. In January 1995, aged 33, White became ...
creates menu items served in the main restaurants on gala nights. The ship has a 936-seat theatre.
''Britannia'' has a total of 1,837 cabins with 27 of those being single cabins (inside and balcony), in addition to conventional inside and balcony cabins; 64 of the cabins are designated as suites. For the first time on a P&O Cruises ship, all outside cabins have balconies. ''Britannia'' has four pools including a dedicated pool for teenagers, and the Oasis Spa.
In October 2019, ''Britannia'' entered dry dock to undergo a major refit and refurbishment. The changes included the addition of a new art gallery, new shopping outlets and a redesigned Atrium.
Maiden voyage and itineraries
![MV Britannia La Rochelle-a](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/MV_Britannia_La_Rochelle-a.jpg)
''Britannia''s maiden voyage took place 14–28 March 2015, and included visits to Spain, Italy and France.
During her summer season, ''Britannia'' sails to the Mediterranean, Norwegian fjords, the Baltic, Canary Islands and Atlantic Islands. In winter, the ship operates 14-night Caribbean itineraries.
![Flåm Norway P&O MV Britannia](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/82/Fl%C3%A5m_Norway_P%26O_MV_Britannia.jpg)
''
Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway
''Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway'' (referred to simply as ''Saturday Night Takeaway'' or ''SNT'') is a British television variety show, created and presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloquially known as Ant & Dec), an ...
'' was recorded and shown live on board as the final show of the 13th series, on 2 April 2016.
Similar ships
In 2013,
Princess Cruises
Princess Cruises is an American cruise line owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. The company is incorporated in Bermuda and its headquarters are in Santa Clarita, California. As of 2021, it is the second largest cruise line by net revenue. It w ...
began operating the lead vessel in its , . ''Britannia'' is built to the same template, but its character and exterior appearance is tailored for P&O. The second ship of the ''Royal'' class, , was delivered 11 May 2014 to Princess Cruises.
Incidents
In 2019, there was a brawl on board. Six people, including a member of staff, were injured in the late-night fight in one of the restaurants.
References
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Britannia (2014)
Ships of P&O Cruises
Ships built in Monfalcone
Ships built by Fincantieri
2014 ships