Cruise news / P&O Cruises’ Britannia Handover Ceremony in Photographs

P&O Cruises’ Britannia Handover Ceremony in Photographs

Published on: 23 February 2015

Updated on: 13 November 2020

Yesterday the official Britannia handover ceremony took place at the Fincantieri shipyard in Trieste. P&O Cruises officially took delivery of Britannia – the largest cruise ship ever designed specifically for the British holiday market – in a ceremony that was attended by Carnival UK executive chairman, David Dingle, senior executives from P&O Cruises, as well

Yesterday the official Britannia handover ceremony took place at the Fincantieri shipyard in Trieste.

P&O Cruises officially took delivery of Britannia – the largest cruise ship ever designed specifically for the British holiday market – in a ceremony that was attended by Carnival UK executive chairman, David Dingle, senior executives from P&O Cruises, as well as senior teams from the shipyard Fincantieri, where Britannia was built.

The traditional ceremony included the exchange of flags, in which the shipyard flag is taken down and the P&O Cruises flag is flown. Britannia’s Captain Paul Brown was also presented with the first water to touch the hull of Britannia during the official float out ceremony.

Here are some photos from the event courtesy of P&O Cruises.

Ship Exteriors

Britannia's Bow — Here we can see Britannia’s imposing hull artwork.

Britannia's Pools — The Pool Deck on Britannia, albeit on an overcast day in Trieste, Italy.

The Atrium

Atrium Furniture — The Atrium is somewhere to linger and relax in and so this seating space offers some secluded tranquillity.

Starburst from below — The Star Burst art sculpture is the show-piece in the Atrium and this unique photo showcases it from directly beneath it.

Dining

Blue Bar Room — The Blue Bar room offers a cosy environment.

Captain Brown — Captain Paul Brown in the chic Epicurean restaurant.

Atul Kochhar’s Sindhu restaurant on-board.

Celebrities

Chefs in Cookery Club — Food Heroes Charlie Turnbull, Olly Smith and Eric Lanlard assembled together with Lizzie Kennedy in The Cookery Club venue.

Eric Lanlard and Charlie Turnbull — Pâtissier Eric Lanlard together with cheese expert Charlie Turnbull.

Eric Lanlard at the Market Cafe — Pâtissier Eric Lanlard outside the Market Café.

Wine expert Olly Smith at the Glass House bar on-board

Ship Interiors

Ship signage — The signage on-board the ship is geared around finding dining and entrainment venues more so than cabins.

Here is the first official photograph of a Superior Deluxe Balcony Cabin on-board.

Handover ceremony

Captain Brown Thanking The Workforce — Captain Paul Brown thanked the workforce during the ceremony.

David Dingle's Speech — David Dingle, CEO of Carnival UK, gave a speech at the ceremony.

Flag Exchange Commemoration Gift — A symbolic flag exchange commemoration gift was presented.

Britannia will leave the Fincantieri shipyard at the end of this week and will arrive in Southampton on Friday 6 March. She will be officially named on Tuesday 10 March before embarking on her maiden voyage to the Mediterranean on Saturday 14 March.

Yesterday we took a look at the initial social media reaction to Britannia which you can read here.