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MS Iona

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Iona
Iona in Cádiz, 2022
History
United Kingdom
NameIona
Owner Carnival Corporation & plc
Operator P&O Cruises
Port of registryUnited Kingdom Southampton, U.K.
Ordered6 September 2016
Builder
Yard numberS. 710[1]
Laid down29 May 2019
Launched18 February 2020
Sponsored byDame Irene Hays
Christened16 May 2021
Completed9 October 2020[2]
Acquired9 October 2020
Maiden voyage7 August 2021
Identification
StatusIn service
General characteristics
Class and typeExcellence-class cruise ship
Tonnage184,089 GT[2]
Displacement87,306 t (85,927 long tons; 96,238 short tons)[2]
Length344.5 m (1,130 ft 3 in)[3]
Beam42 m (137 ft 10 in)[2]
Height69.3 m (227 ft 4 in)
Draft11.8 m (38 ft 9 in)[2]
Decks19 [2]
Installed powerTotal Installed Power: 61.7 MW (82,700 hp)[3]
Propulsion2 × 18.5 MW (24,800 hp)[3][2]
SpeedService speed: 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)[3]
Capacity5,206 passengers
Crew1,762

MS Iona is an Excellence-class cruise ship in service for P&O Cruises, a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc. Built by German shipbuilder Meyer Werft in Papenburg,[4] she was delivered in October 2020 at a cost of £730 million. At 184,089 GT,[2] Iona became the largest cruise ship commissioned for P&O and the British market upon delivery until sister ship Arvia (measuring 184,700 GT[5][6]) was delivered in 2022. Iona was floated out on 18 February 2020 and delivered eight months later on 9 October amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which delayed her debut by more than a year until 7 August 2021, when she sailed her maiden voyage from Southampton.

Design

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Iona has 17 different eateries, including eight restaurants designated as 'select dining', and 12 different bars.[7] She also has 16 whirlpools and 4 swimming pools, one of which is housed under SkyDome, an entertainment venue topped by a 105-ton, 340-pane, 970-square-metre glass dome with a retractable stage for shows.[8] The ship's centre also includes a three-deck atrium flanked by triple-deck glass panels projecting outwards.[7]

Iona has 19 total decks, a length of 344.5 metres (1,130 ft), and a beam of 42 metres (138 ft).[3] Maximum power is rated at 61.7 megawatts (82,700 hp).[3] Total propulsion power is rated at 37 megawatts (50,000 hp).[3] Together, the power system gives the vessel a service speed of 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph).[3] Iona will have a passenger capacity of 5,206 guests and 1,762 crew.[3] Powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG), Iona is designed to not emit sulphur dioxide emissions and soot particles.[3]

Construction

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On 6 September 2016, Carnival Corporation announced that it had signed an agreement with Meyer Werft for a 5,200-passenger vessel for P&O, scheduled for a 2020 debut.[9] The vessel, planned to be the largest in P&O's history, at approximately 180,000 GT, would also be powered by LNG, making her the first LNG-powered ship dedicated for the British market.[9] It was later reported that the engine room unit for the LNG tanks for Iona was constructed separately at Meyer Werft's sister yard, Neptun Werft, in Rostock.[3] On 27 October 2016, P&O announced that the public would be invited to name the new ship.[10] On 24 May 2018, it was announced that the name Iona, after the Scottish island of Iona, had been chosen from 30,000 submissions.[11]

On 25 April 2018, construction for the ship began with the steel-cutting ceremony in Papenburg.[12] On 29 May 2019, the ship's keel was laid to mark the official assembly of the hull.[1] At the ceremony, a bronze coin from Iona Abbey and a piece of green marble from Iona was laid under a keel block[13] that measured 21.5 metres (71 ft) long, 19.4 metres (64 ft) wide, and 9.8 metres (32 ft) high, and weighed 461 tonnes (1,016,000 lb).[1] The block was then lowered into the building dock.[13] In August 2019, the 105-ton, 340-pane glass dome set to become the "Skydome" was raised onto the ship.[14] By the end of the month, the bow and midsections were joined together.[15]

Iona was floated out of the dry dock on 14 February 2020.[16] She went through final outfitting in wet dock before her River Ems conveyance to Eemshaven on 18 March 2020 and her sea trials in the North Sea were set to follow shortly after.[16][17][18] However, on 20 March 2020, Meyer Werft announced that the ship had been moored in Bremerhaven and all interior work and trials would be halted, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[19] Later, on 26 March 2020, following discussions with Bremerhaven port and medical authorities, Meyer Werft explained that work would resume, but at a reduced pace, given the reduction in crew and resources.[20] On 30 May 2020, Iona departed from Bremerhaven for Rotterdam for a sea trial and entered dry dock at Damen's Rotterdam shipyard on 2 June for continued inspection work.[21][22] A second round of sea trials was later performed along the Norwegian coast following the dry dock.[23] Originally scheduled for spring 2020, the delivery date was further postponed to June 2020[22][24] and August 2020[23] before Iona was ultimately delivered on 9 October 2020.[25]

Service history

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Iona was originally scheduled to perform her maiden voyage on 14 May 2020.[26] The nine-night round-trip voyage from Southampton was to sail to the Norwegian fjords, calling in Stavanger, Olden, Hellesylt, Geiranger, and Bergen.[26] The ship was scheduled to be christened on 4 July 2020 in Southampton before inaugurating a week-long celebration on the ship.[27] However, on 23 April 2020, P&O announced that the pandemic forced the suspension of its operations and postponed the ship's debut and inaugural festivities.[28] A year later, Iona was christened by Dame Irene Hays on 16 May 2021 in Southampton at a ceremony led by Gary Barlow and Jo Whiley.[29]

Iona was originally scheduled to sail cruises to the Norwegian fjords from Southampton for her maiden season.[30] In March 2021, P&O announced that the ship's maiden voyage would be 7 August 2021 along the Inner Hebrides before operating week-long voyages through September.[31][32] Due to the United Kingdom's pandemic travel restrictions, all voyages during the inaugural season were exclusive to UK residents.[32] Iona later spent her maiden winter months in the Canary Islands and Northern Europe before transitioning to the Norwegian fjords during the following summer and subsequent summers.[33][34]

In October 2023, following the Heligoland ship collision, P&O Cruises confirmed that Iona had been in the area, and was involved in the subsequent search.

In January 2025, she will make her inaugural visit to the Caribbean from Southampton, in between her regular winter deployment to the Canary Islands and Northern Europe.[35]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Laying the keel for the new cruise ship Iona". Meyer Werft. 14 June 2019. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "MS Iona (9826548)". LeonardoInfo. Registro Italiano Navale. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Iona". Meyer Werft. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  4. ^ "P&O Cruises marks first construction milestone for newest ship with steel cutting ceremony in Papenburg". Meyer Werft. 21 May 2018. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
  5. ^ "Arvia Cruise Ship". P&O Cruises.
  6. ^ "Arvia Itinerary, Current Position, Ship Review". CruiseMapper. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  7. ^ a b Coulter, Adam (27 October 2016). "P&O Cruises Reveals More Details of its New Megaship". Cruise Critic. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
  8. ^ Kemble, Harry (24 August 2018). "Pictures of P&O Cruises' SkyDome on Iona released". Travel Weekly. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  9. ^ a b Davies, Phil (6 September 2016). "P&O Cruises announces order for biggest ever ship". Travel Weekly. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
  10. ^ Morris, Hugh (27 October 2016). "The return of Boaty McBoatface? P&O asks public to name new ship". The Telegraph. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
  11. ^ Coulter, Adam (24 May 2018). "P&O Cruises Reveals Name of New Ship: Iona". Cruise Critic. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
  12. ^ Peters, Gary (24 May 2018). "P&O Cruises' new ship to be called Iona". Cruise Trade News. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
  13. ^ a b Gibson, Rebecca (14 June 2019). "Meyer Werft lays keel for P&O Cruises' Iona". CruiseandFerry.net. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  14. ^ Ebelthite, Shaun (5 August 2019). "P&O's new ship Iona gets her massive 970-square-meter SkyDome". Cruise Arabia Online. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  15. ^ Ebelthite, Shaun (26 August 2019). "P&O's new ship Iona takes another leap toward completion with complex joining procedure". Cruise Arabia Online. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  16. ^ a b Coulter, Adam (14 February 2020). "P&O Cruises' New Ship Iona Floats Out For First Time". Cruise Critic. Archived from the original on 10 September 2021. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
  17. ^ "P&O Cruises' New LNG-Fueled Vessel Leaves Shipyard in Germany". World Maritime News. 19 March 2020. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  18. ^ "New P&O Iona Set to Leave Meyer Werft". Cruise Industry News. 18 March 2020.
  19. ^ "Cruise ship Iona: work on board pauses". Meyer Werft. 20 March 2020.
  20. ^ "Cruise ship Iona: Work can continue in reduced form". Meyer Werft. 26 March 2020.
  21. ^ "Iona comes to Rotterdam". Meyer Werft. 27 May 2020.
  22. ^ a b "New P&O Iona to Drydock Before Delivery". Cruise Industry News. 28 May 2020. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  23. ^ a b Bailey, Jordan (30 June 2020). "Delivery of P&O Cruises Iona Postponed". Cruise Capital. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  24. ^ "Iona Nears Delivery as First Cruise Ship Completed After COVID-19". The Maritime Executive. 28 May 2020.
  25. ^ "MEYER WERFT hands over Iona to P&O Cruises". 12 October 2020. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  26. ^ a b Hughes, Chris (9 September 2018). "P&O Iona Norwegian Fjord Itineraries in Detail". BeyondCruise.com. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  27. ^ Williamson, Jeannine (11 February 2020). "P&O Cruises Announces The Script and Pixie Lott Will Join "Ionafest" Line-up". Cruise Critic. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  28. ^ Spencer, Kerry (30 March 2020). "P&O Cruises Reveals Maiden Voyage of New Ship Iona Will be Delayed". Cruise Critic. Archived from the original on 16 January 2023. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  29. ^ Payne, Holly (17 May 2021). "P&O Cruises' Iona 'heralds new beginning,' says Paul Ludlow at ship's naming ceremony". Seatrade Cruise News. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  30. ^ Peters, Gary (10 August 2018). "Iona to sail to Norwegian Fjords for inaugural season". Cruise Trade News. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  31. ^ Bond, Mary (16 May 2021). "P&O Cruises and Southampton welcome Iona ahead of naming ceremony". Seatrade Cruise News. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  32. ^ a b Payne, Holly (17 March 2021). "P&O Cruises announces UK summer sailings". Seatrade Cruise News. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  33. ^ "P&O Cruises celebrates full return to service" (Press release). Carnival Corporation & plc. 25 March 2022. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  34. ^ "P&O Cruises launches summer '24 programme with "instagram" holidays to Ibiza, and Mykonos and Amsterdam short breaks" (Press release). Carnival Corporation & plc. 23 March 2022. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  35. ^ "P&O Cruises announces winter 2024 / 2025 holidays with Arvia's first ever short break itinerary and 35-night Caribbean cruise on Iona" (Press release). Carnival Corporation & plc. 24 October 2022. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
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