An auspicious occasion
3 weeks ago, I flew out to Italy for the official handover of Britannia from the Fincantieri ship yard to P&O. Captain Paul Brown and Terry McGillicuddy (the designer) gave me a tour of my lovely ship, I can’t recall how many times that I said ‘wow’. The stand out feature and centre piece of the whole ship is the Starburst, which dangles like one of Beyonce’s earrings (Rob Brydon’s words, not mine) in the 3 storey 1920’s inspired atrium. The atrium hosts the Market Café, the Glass House and tempting shops, as well as welcoming sofas perfect for resting your dancing feet or meeting up with friends for a drink.
Fast forward two weeks, and I was back on board, this time in Southampton and Britannia was getting ready for her first passengers. The week was a whirlwind, but I had plenty of time to explore, from the chill out area of the Oasis spa on deck 5, right to the top of deck 17 with the Cookery Club and Reef zone for kids of all ages ….. as well as a few of the Food Heroes!
The gala dinner, the night before the naming, was particularly special, and was attended by a host of well wishers, from Darcy Bussell and the Strictly team, to Sir Steve Redgrave and Mark Foster, and not forgetting several cheffy characters. I even spotted James Tanner who will be hosting the Cookery Club when I holiday on Britannia in the summer.
The special celebration dinner had been created by the Food Heroes. The Chicken tikka Makhan Masala starter was packed with warm spice and really kicked off dinner in style. Marco’s Romney Salt Marsh lamb main course was cooked to perfection and the wonderful creamed truffle potato croustade didn’t detract from the gentle flavour of the lamb. In summary, dinner was a triumph of the efforts of Britannia’s food heroes.
The trio of desserts by Eric Lanlard was a wonderful challenge, which would not defeat me. 3 truly scrumptious desserts, and I didn’t leave a crumb of the lemon cheesecake, dark Maracaibo chocolate teardrop or the quenelle of red berry parfait!
My 8am alarm on the 10th March was performed by the Band of Her Majesty’s Royal Marines and the Regimental Band of the Irish Guards. We had breakfast on our balcony watching and listening to the preparation and rehearsals for the exciting day ahead.
We proudly walked on the red carpet, took a few sneaky pictures and took our places for the ceremony. We sat in front of an excited family of winemakers. Wiston Estate sparkling wine had been chosen by Olly Smith and P&O to be used at the inaugural celebrations. We were seated opposite the caged and ribboned nebuchadnezzar, which the queen would later send whizzing towards Britannia.
The ceremony was hosted by Rob Brydon, the music was toe tappingly good and the speeches very flattering to my god baby cruise ship and her P&O pedigree. By far the most tear jerking and emotional part, was when Captain Paul Brown said “Your Majesty, may I invite you to name our ship?”
Not long after, the Queen named the ship, and released the Wiston Estate wine which exploded between the ‘R’ and the ‘I’ of Britannia. The Wiston faces were a picture, I’ve never seen such relief and joy, at a bottle of wine been so royally destroyed!
I love being Britannia’s Madrina, it is so special being linked to this wonderful modern classic ship. Thank you P&O.
God bless Britannia and all who sail on her.
