P&O celebrates cruising history

The event, which took nine months of planning, was organised by P&O and FTF Worldwide Event Management. During which all seven P&O cruise liners – Adonia, Azura, Oceana, Ventura, Aurora, Arcadia and Oriana, docked together to form a flotilla in their home port before setting off for more exotic locations.

Following a visit by HRH the Princess Royal and Darcey Bussell OBE, 15,000 passengers embarked onto one of the seven ships as they formed a flotilla. An evening of confetti, streamers and a three-cannon salute followed with specially designed firework displays topped off the evening celebrating the P&O corporate colours – red, blue, yellow and white.

Tracey de Vere White, event co-ordinator, said: “We’ve been working with the team at P&O Cruise Liners for nearly a year, considering every aspect, from security through all the logistics. It’s rewarding to see it become reality and see the seven ships with their gleaming white hulls and signature buff funnels leave the docks to such ceremony and process down through the fireworks.”

All that was missing was the planned RAF Red Arrows display, which was to be held over the heads of the departing passengers as they headed out to open sea in the Solent. Due to adverse weather conditions, visibility was just too poor for the display to take place.

P&O’s story began in 1837 when the Peninsular Steam Navigation Company was awarded the British Government contract for a weekly mail service to the Iberian Peninsula.