P&O Cruises has declared its latest ship Arvia is in its “final sprint” to completion ahead of its maiden voyage in December.
Arvia, sister ship to Iona, will arrive at Southampton on December 3 and depart on its first Mediterranean sailing on December 9.
On October 5, staff from the cruise line, as well as five agents and media partners, were welcomed on board the Excel-class ship, which is being built at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany.
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Guided by the ship’s captain Robert Camby, they were given a tour of the ship’s atrium, swim-up bar and infinity pool which are in the final stages of being built.
They were also shown the room which will become home to the line’s first escape room at sea named Mission Control, as well as the bridge, restaurants and rum distillery.
The 5,200-passenger ship has been designed to travel to sunny destinations year-round and maximises views of the ocean from everywhere on board.
Robert Scott, vice-president of sales, marketing and brand for P&O Cruises, attended the shipyard visit and saw Arvia for the first time.
He told Travel Weekly: “We are in the final sprint now and it’s great to come on board and see how the work is going.
”It’s very reassuring to see that the drawings of the ship are so close to the reality.
“You can see the amount of work that has gone into it and it’s clear that it’s the combination of thousands of hours of work by hundreds of people.”
The five agents invited to the visit were the winners of P&O Cruises’ Arvia insiders competition which saw agents create videos explaining why they should be an ambassador for the line, with the winners given exclusive access to Arvia as well as a free two-week voyage to be taken in 2023.
Sam Mitchell, a homeworker for The Holiday Village, said: “I can’t believe I’m here, I feel completely privileged.
”I haven’t been on a cruise ship since 2010 and it’s easy to forget how grand they are and the scale of them, let alone on a P&O Excel class ship.
“This experience will make me so much better at selling Arvia holidays as I can give customers my genuine insight into the ship and all the details they need to know about it.”
Sam Costi, an agent with Tui, said: “This is an amazing opportunity that is unheard of for agents.
”I will be able to tell customers so much. This isn’t just a ship plan, some glossy pictures or a brochure, I have experienced the ship and know so much about it which will make it much easier to sell.”
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