P&O Cruises new mega ship Arvia arrives in new homeport of Southampton

Arvia, the newest cruise ship in the P&O Cruises fleet, has arrived at her homeport of Southampton prior to her maiden voyage to the Canary Islands on Friday.

Arvia arrived Sunday in the UK’s primary cruise port ahead of her winter season of Atlantic and Caribbean voyages, accompanied by a traditional tugboat water cannon salute.

The ship is the second in the P&O fleet to be powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG), the marine industry’s most environmentally friendly to date.

P&O Cruises president, Paul Ludlow, was on board for the arrival of Arvia as she sailed up Southampton Water.

“It was a truly remarkable moment as, after the years of design and build, Arvia arrived into Southampton ahead of the maiden voyage and then departure for the Caribbean season,” he said.

“As the latest evolution in the P&O Cruises experience, Arvia embodies the newest trends in travel, dining and entertainment and is the epitome of a sunshine resort sailing year-round to the warmest climates,” he added.

Arvia is a sister ship to Iona, the first of this new class of vessels for P&O Cruises, but while Iona was designed for summer and winter cruising in Northern Europe and the Mediterranean, Arvia has been designed with the Caribbean in mind.

It takes its sister ship Iona’s design aesthetic and general arrangement but provides new and exciting outside and inside spaces which make the most of Arvia’s deployment to the Caribbean and the Mediterranean.

“We cannot wait for our first guests to be on board this week to see the extraordinary attention to detail, design of the restaurants and bars, scale of the theatre, the layout and new brands in the retail area and the exhilarating top deck activities,” said Ludlow.

“We are seeing a new generation recognising the value for money and individuality of a holiday at sea,” he added.

Arvia brings to a close P&O Cruises’ years-long fleet expansion and modernisation program that saw the addition of Britannia in 2015, Iona in 2020 and Arvia this year.

The ship features the first escape room in the P&O fleet, as well as 30 dining and bar venues, several of which are new-to-the-line, and a range of entertainment firsts, including WaveLength, a new interactive gameshow, a Take That stage musical, an outdoor adventure zone and more.

Arvia also features a dedicated men’s barber for haircuts and male grooming, a range of new wellness experiences in the Oasis Spa & Health Club, and new shopping zones and retail brands in The Avenue.