(5:40 p.m. BST) -- Construction has started on P&O Cruises’ second Excel-class cruise ship, Arvia, at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Warnemunde, Germany.
Debuting in December 2022, the liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered ship’s floating engine room unit -- or FERU for short -- has been moved into the shed at the Meyer Werft shipyard. The FERU, made by Neptun Werft -- at 140m long, 42m wide and weighing roughly 12,000 tons -- will house Arvia's engines and LNG tanks.
Arvia will offer new-to-the-line features including the high-ropes experience Altitude Skywalk; Altitude Minigolf; a swim-up bar and a new plant and fish-led restaurant called Green & Co.
Arvia, which means "from the seashore", will sail a maiden season of Caribbean fly-cruise holidays from Barbados.
The ship is the follow up to P&O Cruises' eagerly-awaited Iona, which will finally set sail on its first passenger voyage on August 7, 2021.