P&O Line: When jets began taking over the long-haul route to Australia and oil prices shot upwards in the early 1970s, P&O was hard pressed. Her fleet consisted of 11 large and expensive to operate liners. While the newest and biggest ships, ORIANA and CANBERRA, were saved for cruising, much of the rest of the fleet was shuffled off to the bone yard. Some were barely 18 years old. This ship, the ARCADIA, lasted the longest. She soldiered on as a cruise ship throughout the 1970s until finally being sent to the breakers in 1979. Her passing marked the end of a large generation of liners built by Orient and P&O from the late 1940s to the mid 1950s. This wooden souvenir lifering is from the onboard gift shop. It is hand painted with the British and P&O flags and a date of 1965. 4 1/4" in diameter.