Thread: Should P&O build a new Ocean Liner?

As some of you may know, P&O used to operate Ocean Liners to and from Australia via India and South Africa.

Would you like to see a new ship built on the lines of QM2 that woul be able to do a scheduled service from the UK to Australia?

Yes. Of course!

I dont know. I am all for new ships and "new routes" but why should they??? Would there be a market for a scheduled service between the UK and Australia???
Would the route be around Africa or through the Suez Canal???
How many days will the one way route be??

Good questions Lars, and one's I don't know they answer to. Maybe I should have asked "would you like" not "should" they build it.

Its a good questions and I am looking forward to hear the replies.

Here is a link to P&O sailing schedule:
P&O-Orient Lines 1966 Sailing Schedule

I voted don't know.

It would be good to see the return of some great P&O history and a classic ship. However, a service from the UK - Australia is quite a distant.

Good Poll! Interesting!

We're always meeting P&O Pax in ports (the nicest folks) ... but I don't know enough about P&O to comment.

Voted don't know, sure seems like a long way and I wouldn't want to cruise anywhere near those crazy pirates!

A new ocean liner. My big question is whether or not it will be cost effective. Ocean liners (as opposed to cruise ships) are a lot more expensive to build and have a primary advantage of speed. Is speed that important?

Originally Posted by nealberk

A new ocean liner. My big question is whether or not it will be cost effective. Ocean liners (as opposed to cruise ships) are a lot more expensive to build and have a primary advantage of speed. Is speed that important?

Speed is important if you are to run a scheduled service, like QM2 does. She can't miss a port on a transatlantic to make up for any lost time. She just has to go faster to try to make sure she arrives on time.

On her last Southampton to New York crossing she had to go a long way south to avoid a bad storm, so she lost time and had to make a dash to get to New York on time. Yes she did arrive on time.

I just want to see another ocean liner