Paul Ludlow: ‘We’re making cruising cool’

P&O Cruises is ‘making cruising cool’ with its latest ship Iona, which includes a range of entertainment and itineraries specifically designed to pull first-timer cruisers into the market, according to the line’s senior vice president Paul Ludlow.

Making her debut in May 2020, the ship opened for pre-registrations this week and in the first 24 hours attracted double the amount of interest as P&O’s Britannia when she went on sale in 2014.

But with a capacity for more than 5,000 passengers, Iona dwarfs Britannia, which has 3,500 berths, and Ludlow acknowledged that bringing more cruises into the market was key to filling P&O’s ships in the future. "This is a massive step change for P&O; this is the biggest capacity increase this brand has ever seen," he said.

"Getting new-to-cruise customers was integral in our thinking."

New ‘cool’ features include an entertainment space, SkyDome, with a huge glass-domed ceiling – the first at sea – and a swimming pool with a retractable stage, which will host aerial performances in the evening.

There will also be an infinity pool, a multi-screen cinema, and over 15 places to eat, including eight speciality restaurants. Accommodation includes 95 conservatory mini-suites following market research which showed that Britons like a sense of being outdoors.

Iona will spend summer 2020 cruising the Norwegian Fjords, a ‘bucket list destination’ according to Ludlow, which will help to lure first-time cruisers. Voyages have also been limited to seven nights from Southampton to give newbies a taste of cruising.

"Seven nights is a great duration for people to see if they like cruising," said Ludlow, "it’s a great opportunity for people to try P&O for the first time.

"What’s cool is the variety of things you can do there in one day; you can go skiing in the morning and attend a cookery demonstration in the afternoon."

Removing the discretionary service charge for cruises from May 2019, which P&O announced last month, will also remove one of the barriers to cruising, he added. "When you ask people why they have not taken a cruise, the discretionary service charge is something that people aren’t used to paying for other holidays, so now we are saying our great service is included in the price."

P&O has not yet revealed where Iona will sail in winter 2021, which will go on sale next March.

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