[ 88 ] THE SHIP OF THE FUTURE The conception and construction of the Ship of the Future has been a long journey with all the lessons learned from earlier generations. ‘Designed by you, built for you’ has been the mantra as P&O Ferries has carefully listened to the desires of its customers, undoubtedly making P&O Pioneer and P&O Liberté the best-in-class ferries on the Dover Strait. Twelve years separate the introduction of the first Spirit-class vessel, Spirit of Britain, and the first Fusion-class, P&O Pioneer. When the Spirits were still on the drawing board, the first iPhone hadn’t yet come onto the market so, not surprisingly, the Ship of the Future offers a totally different proposition, taking in the different habits and expectations of today’s passengers. One example is the ability to charge mobile devices at all times; throughout the vessel there are universal sockets and USB ports at almost every table with wireless charging pads at selected tables. Like the Spirit-class, the Fusion-class has two dedicated passenger decks, Deck 8 and 9. The general arrangement is a departure from the Spirit-class, being way simpler with no ‘hidden corners’. Two full-width stair lobbies divide each deck into three fire zones. As tourist cars are parked on the 3.6m-high Deck 7, their passengers have to negotiate only two short flights of stairs to reach Deck 8. Passengers with reduced mobility can use one of the five passenger elevators — this compares to three passenger elevators for the Spirit-class. P&O Ferries has gone the extra mile to make their services accessible and easy for those passengers with additional needs; all seating areas have space for wheelchairs with counters being designed to ensure wheelchair accessibility. P&O Pioneer is also the very first crossChannel ferry to boast a ‘Changing Places’ toilet, a larger-than-normal toilet facility with a changing bench and hoist to support disabled passengers needing assistance. Well-appointed sundecks with plenty of seating are wrapped around the fore and aft sections which house the duty-free supermarket and the Club Lounge on the Dover-end with The Lounge Bar, Pet Lounge and Commercial Drivers’ Lounge being located on the Calais-end. Primarily accessed from the staircase lobbies through automatic sliding doors, the fore and aft sundecks on Deck 8 are accessible to all passengers while the forward/aftmost terraces on Deck 9 are reserved for the passengers of the respective lounges. “ Well-appointed sundecks with plenty of seating are wrapped around the fore and aft sections which house the duty-free supermarket and the Club Lounge on the Dover-end with The Lounge Bar, Pet Lounge and Commercial Drivers’ Lounge being located on the Calais-end”
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