MV Aurora is a cruise ship of the P&O Cruises fleet. The ship was built by Meyer Werft at their shipyard in Papenburg, Germany. At over 76,000 tonnes, Aurora is the smallest and oldest of seven ships currently in service with P&O Cruises. She officially entered service with the company in April 2000 and was named by Anne, Princess Royal in Southampton, United Kingdom. Aurora was refitted in 2014, during which the ship was the first of P&O's ships to receive an updated British Union flag design on her bow and her funnel repainted from yellow to blue. Specifications Aurora is a mid-sized cruise ship, with an overall length of , moulded beam of and draught of . Her gross tonnage is 76,152 and her deadweight tonnage is 8,486 tonnes. The ship can accommodate up to 1,878 passengers in 939 cabins, with a maximum crew complement of 936. Aurora is powered by 4 four-stroke 14-cylinder MAN B&W 14V48/60 (48 cm Bore, 60 cm Stroke) medium-speed diesel engines with a total power output of over 78,800 BHP. These engines provide power for various ship's services and for two STN AEG propulsion motors. The propulsion motors drive two propellers, each of which measures in diameter. Fuel consumption at 24 knots is around 300 litres of heavy oil per Nautical Mile. For manoeuvring, the ship has three bow thrusters and a stern thruster. The ship's service speed is , though during sea trials she reached a maximum speed of . Aurora was designed to appeal to the British market, and was built as an extended and improved version of P&O Cruises' Oriana. The ship's hull and superstructure were designed to be attractive to this market with features similar to more traditional ocean liners, such as her raked, tiered stern. History Construction and naming Aurora was built by Meyer Werft in Germany. Her keel was laid in December 1998 and she was launched in January 2000. She was delivered to P&O Cruises in April 2000. The ship was christened on 27 April 2000, by Princess Anne. The champagne bottle did not shatter when it hit the ship's side and fell unopened into the sea. This type of occurrence is considered a bad omen among seafarers, and this incident has been blamed for the numerous setbacks that Aurora has encountered throughout her career. Maiden voyage Aurora departed on her maiden voyage on 1 May 2000—a