Piano Land accidents and incidents

09 August 2019Other Incidents

(P&O Oriana) On August 9, 2019, after completing its final cruise for P&O, on the docked in Southampton liner was held the farewell ceremony. It was attended by ship's first and last Captains (Ian Gibb and Sarah Bretton) and P&O UK's President Paul Ludlow.

Next table shows the vessel's last P&O cruise itinerary (18-day roundtrip) themed "Norway and North Cape".

01 January 2019Propulsion / Power Loss

(P&O Oriana / CruiseMapper emailed accident report by Steve Bennett) P&O Oriana suffered a catastrophic power loss at 8:30am on New Years Day 1st Jan 2019 after leaving Tenerife (Canary Islands) just after midnight the previous day. After several attempts to restart the engines the ship drifted on a very calm sunny day for over 8 hours without power in the middle of the Atlantic approx 200 miles (320 km) due west of Casablanca (Morocco).

Power was restored to one engine late on the 1st Jan, the ship limped in to Lisbon (Portugal) where it was visited by engineers from P&O and recertified by Lloyds of London the following day, she sailed direct to Southampton arriving on berth around just after midnight on 6th Jan 2019. We were on the ship, so first hand knowledge.

08 November 2016Crew / Passenger Crimes

(P&O Oriana) On November 8, 2016, while returning to the ship, two cruise passengers (a married couple) successfully fought off an armed robber. The incident occurred around midnight at Canal Street, when the couple was approached by a man in dark clothing and armed with a semi-automatic pistol. No injuries were reported.

During the incident, the ship was docked at Julia Street Cruise Terminal (port NOLA, New Orleans), with a scheduled overnight stay. It left the port around noon on Nov 9.

18 April 2015Fire Accident

(P&O Oriana) On April 18, 2015, the vessel returned to PortMiami after suffering an engine room fire accident. The fire broke out at ~7 pm on April 18, soon after departure for Key West Florida. The material damages were minor and no injuries were reported.

After the fire was extinguished, the ship requested tugboat assistance for berthing back to port. AIS tracking data showed the vessel leaving port, then shortly after turning around. Oriana left Miami at ~8:20 am on April 19.

March 2014Cruise Illness / Virus Outbreaks

(P&O Oriana) On March 3, 2014, due to propeller/propulsion problems, the ship ended the Canary Islands cruise early. Passengers were permitted to stay onboard and use all facilities.

However, during that time, a total of 57 passengers reported to the infirmary Norovirus symptoms (stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea). As compensation, the cruise company offered onboard credits and refunds.

Note: When the itinerary doesn’t include US cruise ports, the ship is not required to report to CDC, thus no official illness report would be issued.

18 February 2014Propulsion / Power Loss

(P&O Oriana) On February 18, 2014, while at sea, the ship experienced technical issue (overheated shaft bearing). The accident resulted in reduced cruising speed and itinerary changes - longer stay in call port Funchal (Madeira Island) and call port Santa Cruz de la Palma was dropped.

The ship was on 14-day Canary Islands cruise (itinerary February 15 - )March 1,  roundtrip from homeport Southampton England. The liner returned to Southampton 3 days earlier for repairs. As compensation, passengers received an optional full refund (if booking future 2015 cruise) or 40% cash back.

May 2009Cruise Illness / Virus Outbreaks

(P&O Oriana) On May 29, 2009, after leaving Port Funchal (Madeira  Island), the ship reported a Norovirus outbreak (gastrointestinal illness) with infected 50 passengers and crew (confirmed cases).

All standard emergency procedures were implemented, including quarantine to cabins for the infected, no self-service in the buffet restaurant, etc. On the next scheduled 14-day Mediterranean cruise from Southampton (itinerary June 1-15), the illness outbreak was still ongoing.

13 August 2007Crew / Passenger Injuries and Overboards

(P&O Oriana) On August 13, 2007, the ship was docked in call port Kerkyra (Corfu Island). During the stay, the crew carried out a muster drill (lifeboat exercise) involving lowering a tender boat with 5 crew in it. When winching the boat back up, one of its two lifting eyes broke. The boat swung down, broke the other lifting eye, then plunged into the water.

The accident resulted in 4 injured. One crew was hospitalized with severe injuries, three others were treated in the onboard infirmary. The tender boat had to be left in port.

March 2004Cruise Illness / Virus Outbreaks

(P&O Oriana) On March 3, 2004, the liner reported a Norovirus outbreak (gastrointestinal illness) infected 65 passengers and 9 crew. The 13-day Caribbean cruise (itinerary February 20 - March 5) started from Bridgetown Barbados and ended in New Orleans Louisiana.

02 March 2002Propulsion / Power Loss

(P&O Oriana) On March 12, 2002, while navigating in the North Pacific Ocean and en-route to San Francisco CA, ship's auxiliary engine failed. The remaining 3 main diesel engines also stopped. As a result, the vessel lost power/propulsion and drifted for ~2 hours.