Arcadia is now ready for the world

More problems for Arcadia, which was still tied up at her berth in Southampton this morning instead of being at sea for the first day of her 101-night world cruise.
Repairs were being made to the P&O ship’s emergency electrical back-up system, and the 1,860 passengers took been free shuttle buses into Southampton to make up for the fact that they were not sailing towards their first stop in Palma, Majorca.
I reported last week that a generator had failed on the ship, entailing an extended stay in Barcelona, and a rush back to the UK without making a planned call in Vigo.
Today, P&O say they were waiting for replacement parts to be flown from Italy.
Arcadia came out of a dry-dock re-fit, which included the addition of extra cabins at the stern, in December.
Throughout much of 2008 she had suffered propulsion problems which slowed her down and led to the re-scheduling of a number of cruises.
A P&O spokeswoman said this morning they were confident Arcadia would sail later today.
UPDATE: And indeed she did. Arcadia left her berth shortly after 4.00 pm, just 23 hours behind schedule.
Bon voyage !
Arcadia’s Executive Purser, James Cusick, says port calls are being re-scheduled a day later until a planned half day at Salalah in Oman, which has now been dropped. The cruise will be back on schedule by the time they arrive in Mumbai on January 23.
Read his account of the past couple of days’ hectic events here.