Adonia will be P&O’s pathfinder

Cruise ships come in all shapes and sizes, from mega-liners to super-yachts; boutique vessels to expedition ships – just never call them boats, all right?
Now P&O have invented a new classification for Adonia, which joins their fleet next year. Carrying just 710 passengers, this will be the fleet’s “pathfinder ship,” managing director Carol Marlow announced yesterday.
In less than three weeks, Marlow will be watching proudly as Darcey Bussell smashes the Champagne to launch super-liner Azura, but there’s just time before that to announce Adonia’s 2011 programme of cruises.
“Adonia is an exciting introduction to our fleet and one that enables us to diversify the range of cruise destinations that we offer.
“She is a small ship and her size enables her to visit off the beaten track destinations and lesser known ports of call. Adonia will be our pathfinder ship, but she will, of course offer our tried and tested P&O Cruises experience,
“We know that many of our passengers prefer a cruise experience exclusively for adults and also the intimate atmosphere and sense of camaraderie that comes with a smaller ship. Adonia will fit the bill perfectly and we are confident that she is going to be a much-loved addition to the P&O Cruises fleet.”
Adonia will be the fourth name to be carried by the ship. Originally built as the eighth and last of Renaissance Cruises’ R-class ships before the company went bust, it then became Minerva II, sailing under the Swan Hellenic flag until that company was sold off.
The ship then joined the Princess fleet, and I was on board in the Italian resort of Portofino when she was re-named Royal Princess. My picture of her in Princess colours (above), was taken as she left the port of Kepez, Turkey, in 2007.
Almost-identical ships from the former Renaissance fleet are currently sailing under the flags of Azamara and Oceania Cruises, which tend to describe them as luxury “boutique” vessels.
There will be a few tweaks before Adonia joins P&O in May 2011. The Royal Lounge, one of eight bars, will become the Crow’s Nest, and another bar will be re-named Anderson’s, in P&O tradition.
Sabatini’s Italian restaurant will become Sorrento, and the Sterling Steakhouse becomes Ocean Grill.
The ship will be based in Southampton between May and October 2011, offering cruises from seven to 26 nights in duration to the Mediterranean and Northern Europe. The itineraries will feature overnight calls in Athens and St. Petersburg, as well as a round-Britain cruise.
In October, Adonia will reposition to the Mediterranean and offer six open-jaw Central and Eastern Mediterranean fly-cruises, departing from Savona, Athens, Trieste and Naples. Itinerary highlights include a Christmas and New Year cruise to the Holy Land.
The ship will be visiting ports which, in some cases, have not seen a P&O ship for 30 years. These smaller destinations include Antalya and Bodrum, Turkey; Bodo, Norway; Patmos and Symos, Greece; Salerno and Trieste, Italy; and Waterford in Ireland.
Prices on Adonia start from £1,924 for the 16-night Western Mediterranean maiden cruise from Southampton in May 2011, £899 for a seven night ex-Southampton Norwegian Fjords cruise, and £1,399 cruise only, for a 14 night Central Mediterranean holiday from Trieste to Athens in December 2011.