The last time the British public were asked to name an oceangoing vessel, they voted overwhelmingly to call a research vessel “Boaty McBoatface”.
Undeterred, or perhaps inspired by that, P&O, the UK-based cruise line, has announced that it wants its passengers to help name its next ship.
In a tweet on October 26, accompanied by the picture reproduced here, the company said: “We’re proud to announce that the name of our new ship, launched in 2020, will be decided by YOU our guests!”
This led to a small discussion among Twitter users, questioning the wisdom of P&O’s decision, and offering some suggestions about the name.
We’ll have to wait and see whether suggestions such as Boozy McBoozeCruise and Princess Salmonella get a look in.
A later tweet says: “We’ve had some great suggestions for names for our new ship, coming in 2020! Keep an eye out for details next year on how you can enter.”
My guess is that there will be a rule that the new name will have to be compatible with those used for the rest of the fleet, which comprises the vessels Britannia, Arcadia, Aurora, Azura, Oriana, Oceania and Ventura.
And I suppose they will have the right of veto something that’s too rude or just plain silly. So, let me be the first to suggest the default name Attenborough.
Update: Suggestions from my Facebook followers include Shippy McShipface; Shippy Mc Shipfaced, The Norovirus Queen, Fluffy and Kitschy McKitschface.
