Photographing ARCADIA, one of the highlights of this year

I have a soft spot for P & O CRUISES "ARCADIA", the ship visited the city of Liverpool last August and I really enjoyed the experience, she ranks amongst my favourite cruise ships at the moment, she doesn't have the elegant lines of AURORA or ORIANA, but she is a ship of her own with a distinctive personality. She is due back in Liverpool next June, please visit my CRUISE SHIPS AND LINERS blog for other posts and photos about ARCADIA, photo included taken on the 26th August 2011 at the city of Liverpool

ORIANA at Blohm & Voss for a major refit

P & O CRUISES "ORIANA" arrived this wednesday at the famous Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg for one of the most talked about refits of the last few years, the ship will undergo an overhaul and technical upgrades as well as conversion to adult only cruising, please visit my CRUISE SHIPS AND LINERS blog for other posts and pictures of this beautiful passenger ship, if you have a particular interest on the day to day life of the vessel, please visit one of the most accomplished blogs on the subject, ORIANAOF1995.BLOGSPOT.COM

Two photos of ORIANA, the first in September 1995, only four months old and at Calshot on the 27th September 2011, the last time I saw the ship before the refit that will certainly bring changes to her profile

Cruise ships at Calshot last week

The 27th of September was another busy day for Southampton as far as cruise ships were concerned, VENTURA, AZURA, ORIANA and BALMORAL were in port, it was a splendid day, warm temperature, the beginning of the heat wave that hit the UK last week, I was on my way to Portsmouth to take the night sailing to Le Havre, my main goal was to see ORIANA, not just because is one of my favourite ships but also because she is due to a refit that will inevitably change the appearance of the stern of the vessel, I just hope I won´t be disappointed next time I see her. Photos here of the AZURA, VENTURA and ORIANA, BALMORAL would come later already pitch black, it is quite evident the beauty of ORIANA´s beautiful lines compared to the newest additions to P&O CRUISES fleet

All P & O CRUISES passenger ships together at Southampton next year

To celebrate 175 years of P & O, the company is bringing together into port all seven passenger ships, the date will be the 3rd July 2012, not to be missed, photos of ORIANA and AURORA at Southampton, two of my favourite ships

P&O CRUISES "VENTURA" the largest of the fleet

the M.S. "VENTURA" is the largest ship of the P&O CRUISES fleet, she has 116.017 GRT and a cruising speed of 21 knots, she was built in Italy by Fincantieri and can accommodate 3100 passengers, 60% of the cabins possess balconies, the ship is seen here on her way out from Southampton at Calshot beach, 3rd September 2011

P&O CRUISES "OCEANA" at Southampton

The M.S. "OCEANA" is the fourth largest ship of the current P&O CRUISES fleet, the ship was built by FINCANTIERI and has a GT of just over 77.000, she started her seagoing life as the OCEAN PRINCESS operated by PRINCESS CRUISES back in 2000, just after two years she was incorporated on the P&O CRUISES fleet and renamed "OCEANA", I remember thinking comparing her to ORIANA and AURORA that she had a futuristic profile, today she looks dated compared to new cruise ships, maybe we will see her as classic in ten years time, photos taken at Calshot on the 3rd September

P & O CRUISES to build their biggest passenger ship ever

Great news this week from P & O, the cruise company is to build their largest ship ever, the new vessel will be built in Italy by FINCANTIERI and at 141.000 GT is to be launched in 2015, the ship remains unnamed. Two photos of the P & O cruises ship OCEANA in Lisbon in 2008

VENTURA IN LISBON

During my last visit to Lisbon, I had the opportunity to photograph the VENTURA, here she is bathed in sunshine, April 2011