Britainís largest and most environmentally-friendly cruise ship, P&O Cruises Iona, heads towards the south coast as she makes her way towards her home port of Southampton this morning ahead of tonightís official naming ceremony.
Iona is powered by liquefied natural gas, ground-breaking for the UK cruise industry and one of the cleanest fuels in the world.
The ship will be named this evening in a glittering quayside ceremony hosted by Jo Whiley and broadcast to a ìvirtualî audience, the highlight of which will be a performance by Ionaís music director Gary Barlow.
Dame Irene Hays, chair of Hays Travel, Britainís largest independent travel agency, will name the ship and a specially produced Nebuchadnezzar (equivalent to 20x 750ml bottles) of Alex Jamesís Britpop cider will smash against the hull of the ship to bring it good fortune in the future.
Iona will have 30 bars and restaurants with many new speciality dining options including tapas from award-winning Spanish chef JosÈ Pizarro paired with wines selected by Olly Smith. Entertainment venues include the first ìSkyDomeî – an extraordinary glass structure which will be a relaxed poolside environment by day and then transform at night into a spectacular venue with DJs, stage and aerial acrobatic shows.
There will also be the first gin still on a cruise ship, created in association with Salcombe Gin, distilling tailor made spirit on board. The ginís maiden production will take place in Ionaís custom-made still named ìColumbaî and will be distilled, bottled and labelled on board.
Picture date Sunday 16th May, 2021.
Picture by Christopher Ison. Contact +447544 044177 chris@christopherison.com
For further press information please contact:
Michele Andjel, michele.andjel@carnivalukgroup.com 023 8065 6653 / 07730 732 072
Laura Tattam, laura.tattam@pocruises.com 02380 656651 / 07771 283 845
Jenny Hadley, jenny.hadley@pocruises.com 023 8065 6650 / 07825 120 088
