Oriana goes adults-only

There can’t be too many kids desperate to sample Peter Pan’s, Decibels or Outer Space, the clubs for younger family members on P&O cruise ship Oriana. If there are, they’d better get mum and dad to book a cruise within the next 12 months, because from the end of November 2011, the ship will become a child-free zone.
There are currently two adult-only ships in the P&O fleet; the 2,064-passenger Arcadia and the 1,200-passenger Artemis. In May, Artemis sails off to join a German cruise line, to be replaced by Adonia, which will carry 710 passengers.
Because their all-adult capacity is being reduced – and because their family capacity has increased hugely with the launch of Ventura and Azura in the last couple of years – Oriana, carrying 1,800, will become another ship exclusively for adults, and there will no longer be a need for notices like this (left) , which I spotted during a Mediterranean cruise.
In truth, although it has those kids’ clubs, Chaplin’s cinema and Harlequins disco, Oriana feels like a ship for grown-ups. The Lord’s Tavern does its best to provide a pub atmosphere, Andersons bar has a clubby feel, and the Thackeray Room is a peaceful haven reminiscent of a waiting room in an exclusive private hospital. In addition, Crichton’s is a large card-room which under different management might have been converted to a bowling alley.
It will be interesting to see how P&O plans to adapt the children’s space during next October’s scheduled dry-dock. Passengers with families who have already booked on one of the five post-refit cruises will be offered alternative sailings on Aurora, Oceana, Ventura or Azura.