Southampton’S P&O Cruises has officially taken delivery of the latest addition to its fleet, Adonia, which is due to arrive in the city later this month.

Adonia is currently in the Bahamas undertaking a refit before coming to Southampton for her inaugural celebrations and maiden season.

At 30,000 tons and carrying just 710 passengers, Adonia is able to reach many off-the-beaten-track ports of call, yet is big enough to provide an extensive range of modern on-board facilities.

Exclusively for adults, Adonia will be named by Dame Shirley Bassey in a glittering ceremony in Southampton on Saturday, May 21, 2011.

Dame Shirley will be joined on the stage by actor Hugh Bonneville, who played the Earl of Grantham in ITV’s Downton Abbey and was seen as a pirate captain in Saturday’s episode of Doctor Who.

P&O Cruises’ managing director Carol Marlow said: “Dame Shirley is Britain’s most successful female artiste ever, a national treasure who defines the word superstar, and Hugh is one of Britain’s most popular actors.

“We can trace our roots back further than any other line, so all in all it’s a perfect combination and one which will give Adonia the best start to her life with P&O Cruises.’’ More than 500 invited guests will witness the naming ceremony on Adonia’s Lido deck in Southampton docks, prior to the vessel’s maiden voyage the following day, a 16-night cruise to the Western Mediterranean.