P&O Cruises sell Artemis to MS Artania Shipping
There has been a rumour going round for a few days, that P&O Cruises was about to sell the smallest ship in it's fleet Artemis. Well this little whisper has now been confirmed in a statement by P&O Cruises.
It appears that P&O Cruises has decided to cash in on an offer for Artemis, which is also P&O Cruises oldest ship.
Artemis is a 1,200-passenger ship, formerly the Royal Princess, and she joined the P&O Cruises’ fleet in June 2005.
She has been sold for an undisclosed sum to MS Artania Shipping, according to sources at P&O Cruises.
A statement from P&O Cruises said: “The sale will be completed on October 6, 2009 but P&O Cruises will continue to operate Artemis and her series of cruises as published until April 12, 2011.”
Phil's comment: I wonder if this leaves a gap for Oriana to move into. I think she is the best placed ship in the fleet to carry the mantle of a tradional British cruise ship, she is also quite specious and has lovely public rooms and a crows nest bar.
Then there is the question of whether P&O Cruises believe there is potential for another new build, following on from Azura?
I am more confident that Oriana will position herself as the new favourite in the fleet for the more mature P&O cruiser and I also believe that she could be made adult only and her aft pool area could be made into a real feature area. But let's see...it will be interesting to hear what you think about this and if you agree with me that Oriana is best placed to replace Artemis.
Send me your thoughts.
This is a cruise blog entry by Phil
