- Launched
- March 2015
- Gross tonnage
- 143,730 GT
- Passengers
- 4,372 (max), 3,647 (double occupancy)
- Crew
- 1,398
- Length
- 330 m
- Home port
- Southampton (summer) / Barbados (winter)
Britannia entered service in March 2015 named by HM Queen Elizabeth II at a state-level ceremony in Southampton. She was the largest ship ever built for the British market at delivery and remains one of the two flagship large ships in the current P&O fleet.
Britannia introduced the modern P&O signature venues — Epicurean, Sindhu, The Limelight Club (a supper-and-cabaret venue), and The Glass House — most of which have since been rolled out fleet-wide. She is the single most heavily booked ship in the fleet.
Deployment splits summer Mediterranean and Norwegian sailings from Southampton with a winter Caribbean fly-cruise season out of Barbados, matching Arvia's model on a slightly smaller and more traditional ship.
For families and couples who want the modern P&O onboard product without the Excel-class scale of Iona or Arvia, Britannia remains the most balanced ship in the fleet.
Highlights
Named by the Queen
The only ship in the current P&O fleet named by HM Queen Elizabeth II — at a state-level ceremony in Southampton, March 2015.
Signature dining
Introduced Epicurean, Sindhu, The Limelight Club, and The Glass House — most now rolled out fleet-wide.
Dual deployment
Summer Mediterranean and Norway from Southampton; winter Caribbean fly-cruise from Barbados.
Family and couples mix
Meaningful adults-only spaces (Serenity Deck) alongside a full family programme — the balanced ship in the P&O fleet.
Also in P&O Cruises
Other ships in the fleet
Launched 2020
Iona
P&O's first LNG-powered flagship — a Norwegian Fjords and Northern Europe specialist sailing exclusively from Southampton.
Launched 2022
Arvia
P&O's Caribbean-tuned Excel-class sister — SkyDome, Altitude Skywalk rope course, and P&O's most complete fly-cruise product from Barbados.
Launched 2008
Ventura
P&O's original modern family flagship — refurbished mid-life and still one of the fleet's core round-Britain family ships.
Launched 2010
Azura
Ventura's sister — refurbished, family-oriented, and P&O's second Caribbean fly-cruise ship alongside Arvia.
Launched 2005
Arcadia
P&O's adults-only mid-size flagship — the fleet's dedicated long-haul and world-voyage ship.
Launched 2000
Aurora
The smallest and most classic ship in the P&O fleet — adults-only, port-intensive, and the closest thing to a traditional ocean liner in modern British cruising.
Available on this ship
Onboard experiences
Cruise line
Explore the brand
P&O Cruises
The UK-sourced British-market leader — Southampton-departing, sterling-priced, and split between family flagships and adults-only classics.
Carnival Corporation & plc (parent group)
Carnival Corporation is the world's largest cruise operator by fleet and passenger volume, parent of nine cruise brands spanning contemporary to ultra-luxury — including Carnival, Princess, Holland America, Cunard, Costa, AIDA, Seabourn, and Britain's P&O Cruises.
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