SOUTHAMPTON based P&O Cruises has unveiled the details of the inaugural season of the port's new superliner, the 85,000 ton Arcadia, due to enter service in April of next year.

Arcadia, now under construction in Italy, will also be joined in Southampton by the 44,348 tonne Artemis, now sailing in and out of the docks as Royal Princess.

To coincide with the launch of the 2005 programme, P&O Cruises has introduced its first ever online booking service for voyages by the company's city based fleet, which includes Oriana, Aurora and Oceana.

The company's other current vessel, Adonia, is due to leave the fleet in Spring, 2005 revert to its former name Sea Princess and transfer to P&O Cruises' sister operation, Princess Cruises but continue to be based in Southampton.

The 2005 programme features more departures on more ships than any other UK based cruise line, which in turn means big business for the port of Southampton.

There will be voyages to the Mediterranean, Caribbean, Norwegian fjords, the Baltic, Atlantic Islands, Canada and the US as well as the Panama Canal.

In total there is a choice of more than 60 sailings from Southampton and 23 fly cruises to the Caribbean and Latin America.

New destinations for next year are Greenland, with calls at Godthab and Julianehab and a cruise through Prins Christian Sund, plus visits to St John's in Newfoundland, Canada and Fuerte Amador in Panama.

The 1,968-berth Arcadia will be the largest cruise ship ever built for the British market while Artemis will be the only P&O Cruises' ship to accommodate passengers exclusively in outside or balcony staterooms. Both new ships will be child-free. Youngsters will be catered for on Oriana, Aurora and Oceana.

With more than 12 million households in the UK having access to the Internet, and with an estimated 7.3 million online travel sales predicted by 2007, P&O Cruises has developed E-CHO, e-cruise holidays online. Nigel Esdale, P&O Cruises' commercial director, said: "The travel industry has been making use of the Internet for many years, particularly for online flights and hotel bookings, but cruise itineraries have been perceived as difficult to book because of the range of cabins, decks and dinner seatings.

"We know that passengers feel comfortable using our website, which currently receives on average 70,000 unique visitors each month.

"Taking the initiative to introduce online bookings was a natural step for us, both for returning passengers as well as those who are new to cruising.''

E-CHO can be accessed by visiting www.pocruises.co.uk