P&O Cruises

History, Review, Itineraries, Ships, Deck Plans, News

P&O Cruises cruise line logo
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P&O Cruises fleet

Review of P&O Cruises

This is CruiseMapper's hub for both companies - P&O UK and P&O Australia. Both P and O cruise lines belong to the world's largest cruise shipping company. P&O cruise lines deals are mainly on voyages departing from Southampton UK and Sydney NSW Australia. Both P&O companies are subsidiaries/part of the Carnival Group of companies - all of which are fully owned by Carnival Corporation & PLC. P&O UK is under the management of Carnival UK. And there is a 3rd "PandO" company (not part of Carnival plc) - the UK-based P&O Ferries.

Company history and changes

P&O Cruises UK (POcruises.com) is a British-American passenger shipping company headquartered at Carnival House (Southampton, England) and operated/managed by Carnival UK. P&O was originally a constituent of “Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company” (1797-founded/1966-defunct) which was the world's oldest cruise line that operated the first-ever passenger ships.

P&O Cruises' sister company is P&O Cruises Australia. P&O Australia's current President is Marguerite Fitzgerald. while P&O UK's (as well as Carnival UK's) current President is Paul Ludlow.

P and O Cruises (UK-Australia) logo

In 2000, "P&O Cruises" was excluded from P&O Group, becoming the subsidiary "P&O Princess Cruises". In 2003, P&O Princess merged with Carnival, forming Carnival Corporation & plc.

P&O (UK and AU) holds as market share ~5% of the worldwide cruise industry. Both companies (P&O Australia and P&O UK) were created in 1977, re-branding P&O's passenger division. Arcadia was the fleet's first adults-only liner, followed by Adonia (now Azamara Pursuit), Oriana and Aurora (April 2000).

P&O UK ships Arcadia and Aurora are currently marketed as adult-only.

In August 2017, Azura became the world's first cruise ship to perform gay weddings at sea. P&O UK's wedding package prices started from GBP 1200. For comparison, Cunard’s shipboard weddings cost starts at ~GBP 2570 (RMS Queen Mary 2) and ~GBP 2120 (Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth). On MS Azura, gay wedding ceremonies are carried out by the ship’s Captain, while marriage licenses are issued by Bermuda's Government (as the vessel is registered in Hamilton Bermuda).

In June 2018, P&O UK announced that Oriana leaves the fleet in August 2019. The liner (now named Piano Land) was sold to the Chinese company Well Star Travel Cruise (brand of CTS-China Travel Services International). The Chinese company plans short cruises from Chinese homeports to ports in Japan and Southeast Asia (Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Philippines, Indonesia).

Since May 1, 2019, P&O Cruises UK's Daily Service Charge per person (GBP 7) is no longer required. Crew tipping remains not expected or required.

In June 2021, P&O UK launched a mobile app to optimize pre-boarding and maximize onboard efficiency. The new "My Holiday" app is free of charge but available only on the ship. It allows pre-booking and making reservations onboard (dining times, restaurants, shows) via mobile phones and tablets. The app is an addition to the My Holiday (Reception Desk) which provides 24-hour assistance, including booking and how to use the application.

In summer 2023, two P&O UK ships (Iona and Arvia) introduced in their retail shops three kids' toy brands (Barbie, Hot Wheels Cars, Keycraft's Pocket Money) in addition to the always available toys from brands like Lego, Jellycat, TY (stuffed animals).

New ships

In June 2011 was announced that P&O UK will expand the fleet with a new 141,000-ton unit built by Fincantieri. The new vessel (MV Britannia) entered service in 2015. In January 2014, with Britannia was introduced a new livery based on UK's Union Flag.

P&O Cruises ships livery

On September 6, 2016, P&O UK (via Carnival Corporation) signed an MoA with Meyer Werft (Papenburg Shipyard) for building a new (company's largest) 5200-passenger vessel. In late-October 2016, P&O announced that the new ship (Iona) will have some of the largest at sea outdoor areas, glass-domed top deck, glass-walled atrium (full height) and wider and longer (approx 2600 ft / 800 m) Promenade Deck allowing multiple alfresco dining/open-air venues.

Iona was delivered in October 2020 and inaugurated in August 2021. The sistership Arvia was postponed (due to the COVID crisis) and delivered in December 2022 and inaugurated in January 2023.

P&O Cruises Britannia cruise ship

The newest P&O UK vessel has max passenger capacity 6264, volume 187500 GT-tons, 18 decks, 2610 staterooms, 17 eateries (including 7 specialty restaurants/Britannia has just 3), 12 bars/lounges, 13 entertainment venues, 4 swimming pools, 16 outdoor whirlpools. The top-deck Dome is an entertainment space, with a swimming pool, large jacuzzies, a retractable stage. This all-weather venue hosts daily entertainment and dining and nightly shows (aerial performances and light projections onto the covering glass roof).

P&O UK's newest ship is also LNG-powered (by liquefied natural gas). Two similar-design ships (180K tons) were also ordered for CCL-Carnival Cruise Line. On January 26, 2018, Carnival Corporation signed a shipbuilding contract with Meyer Werft for building a second (180,000 GT) liner for P&O, with the delivery scheduled for 2022. As of 2018, Carnival Corp’s fleet of newbuilds (on order and under construction) numbered 19 units, scheduled for deliveries in 2018-2022.

In January 2016, Carnival Corporation signed an MoA (memo of agreement) with Fincantieri to build 4 new units. Contracts were finalized in April 2016. Of these, 2 vessels were for Costa Asia (homeported in China), one for Princess and one for P&O Australia. With this shipbuilding order, the Corporation had a total of 17 new ships scheduled for deliveries between 2016 and 2020. The four vessels will be built at Fincantieri's shipyards in Monfalcone and Marghera, with scheduled deliveries in 2019-2020.

Three of the vessels are designed with gross tonnage 133,500 tons, LOA length is 323 m (1060 ft) and capacity 4000 passengers plus 1450 crew (2 are for Costa Asia, 1 for P&O AU). One ship with GT 143,700 tons and capacity 3560 passengers is for Princess. Both Costa ships are exclusively for the booming Chinese market. Each vessel is powered by two MAN diesel engines (model 14V48 / 60CR) plus three MAN diesel engines (medium-speed, model 8L48 / 60CR), providing total power output 62,400 kW. The engines are Tier-II compliant.

P&O Cruises Australia

P&O Cruises Australia Ltd is a British-American company with corporate headquarters at Carnival House (Southampton, England UK). P&O Australia is a sister company of P&O UK. Both are under Carnival UK's executive control. Currently, P&O Australia operates 3 boats deployed in the South Pacific Ocean on island-hopping itineraries - mainly roundtrips from homeports in Australia.

After numerous changes in the company’s organization, in 2000 P&O Group demerged all cruise shipping operations. Then, P&O Princess Cruises was created- a new company independent of P&O; consisting of AIDA Cruises, Princess Cruises, P&O Cruises Australia, P&O Cruises (UK), and later "Ocean Village" and A-Rosa Cruises (riverboats).

In 2003, Carnival Corporation merged with P&O Princess Cruises thus forming Carnival Corporation & plc- the largest cruise company in the world, with eleven cruise lines portfolio, including P&O AU. Official website pocruises.com.aunofollow.

Princess' oldest ship - Regal Princess, was transferred to P&O Australia in October 2007, and after a month of drydock refurbishment entered service as Pacific Dawn.

Carnival Corporation informed about the closure of Ocean Village (UK-based travel brand) on October 30, 2008. Both Ocean Village ships were transferred to P&O Australia - Ocean Village 2 (as Pacific Jewel, in December 2009) and Ocean Village 1 (as Pacific Pearl, in December 2010).

P&O ships sail on 270+ itineraries each year (with 120+ of them departing from Southampton), and visiting 90+ countries on 6 continents.

Pacific Pearl was renamed MV Columbus and in 2017 started operations for CMV. Pacific Pearl left the fleet in April 2017, after completing 294 voyages for P&O and carrying 1+ million passengers over 5 years. In November 2019, for Pacific Aria (now Celestyal Journey) and Pacific Dawn (now Ambience) were signed presale agreements with CMV and both ships were planned to start operations for the UK-based company in 2021 as "CMV Amy Johnson" (Pacific Dawn) and "CMV Ida Pfeiffer" (Pacific Aria). In September-October 2020, following CMV's bankruptcy, both vessels were acquired by new shipowners.

P&O Cruises Australia ships

On November 25, 2015: P&O AU's entire fleet (all 5 liners) gathered in Sydney Harbour to celebrate the arrival of the fleetmates Pacific Aria and Pacific Eden.

 

In June 2018, P&O Australia launched with Pacific Explorer "The Big Laugh" onboard show program - advertised as "the biggest comedy festival at sea". The program included all 14 stand-up comedy celebrities performing a total of 36 shipboard live shows (combined over 33 hours live performances). The program started with the 4-day roundtrip Sydney cruise to Moreton Island (departure June 20).

Among the guest comedians were Jimeoin (Irish), Matthew Matt Okine (AU), David Gerard Callan (Australian), Scared Weird Little Guys (Australian comedy music duo - John Fleming and Rusty Berther), David William "Hughesy" Hughes (AU), Harley Breen (AU), Claire Hooper (AU). "The Big Laugh" program comprised of all 72 comedy-themed cruises in 2018-2019. The famous Australian comedians performed during 2-, 3- and 4-night itineraries ("SeaBreaks") leaving roundtrip out of Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Cairns, Auckland NZ.

In 2019, P&O AU scheduled the ever largest "comedy cruise" program in the company's history - 38 itineraries (January through October). On March 7, 2018, was announced that Pacific Eden is sold to the UK-based company CMV, joining CMV's fleet in April 2019.

Since 2007, P&O Australia ships' onboard retail shops are managed by Harding (UK-based travel and cruise retail group). In 2020, Harding was acquired by Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP (1983-founded, NYC-based investment management firm with USD 34+ billion in managed assets). Harding has hubs in Bristol (England), Miami (Florida USA) and Sydney (NSW Australia).

New beverage packages

In May 2023, P&O UK introduced four new drink packages available fleetwide but only on longer voyages, with durations of at least 5 nights (or longer).

The beverage packages are at a fixed price per person and per day. The package's pricing is lower if purchased online and before the voyage.

  • "The Refresh Drinks" package is priced GBP 9.85 (prior to the voyage) and GBP 10.95 (if purchased onboard).  The Refresh package Includes soft drinks (lemonade, Pepsi, juices).
  • "The Alcohol-free Drinks" package is priced GBP 22.45 (before) and GBP 24.95 (onboard) and includes all The Refresh package's beverages plus Costa Coffee and sodas.
  • "The Classic Drinks" package is priced GBP 40.45 (before) and GBP 44.95 (onboard) and includes all beverages from The Refresh and The Alcohol-free packages plus alcoholic beverages (spirits, wines, cocktails).
  • "The Deluxe Drinks" package is priced GBP 49.45 (before) and GBP 54.95 (onboard) and includes all other packages' beverages plus specialty cocktails, premium spirits and wines. Additionally, passengers who buy The Deluxe Drinks package also receive 20% off on all drinks excluded from this package.

The above-listed new packages are for P&O UK ships only and introduced/first offered on the liners Iona and Ventura (starting May 20, 2023) and available fleetwide since July 2023.

P&O Cruise Personaliser

PandO Cruise Personaliser is an online service that allows passengers to update their before-sailing information and see in a concise form all their booking details. P&O Personaliser is NOT mandatory to complete but may be of great help in cases of emergency for the company to contact family members, relatives, friends.

To log in, you'll need to input your first and surname, and cruise reference number. It is received as part of your reservation confirmation (up to 120 days prior to departure, not available for 18-yo) or upon booking (up to 1 year). The same number serves all people included in the booking. On the Web page, there's information about cruise itinerary, stateroom (category and number), boarding times, contact info (including emergency contacts), passport data, medical and dietary requirements (if requested).

PO Cruise Insurance is optional. If purchased, the Insurance policy type is also shown (Standard or higher), package deal type, all kinds of pre-made reservations (shore excursions, Air, Spa), credit card number, luggage tags, etc.

  • Dining /medical requests can't be entered online - they must be specified in the manual form.
  • The accessible information about changes and updates pertains ONLY to a phone number, address, passport, emergency contacts.
  • You can't book a cruise through P&O Cruise Personaliser - booking requires full payment and immigration details.
  • Through the Personaliser you can make online reservations (shore excursions, tours, Spa, hairdresser, specialty restaurants), to update special requests and onboard preferences, or to add some additional services (babysitting, amenities, etc).
  • Itinerary changes are also listed in the Cruise Personaliser form, along with other important updates.
  • Immediately call P&O if you have forgotten or lost your booking number. Call between 7 am – 8 pm (Australian Eastern Standard Time - Monday to Friday) and Saturday (8 am - 5 pm) - phone number 1300-159-454.

PO Cruise Personaliser is accessed by both travel agents and passengers. With personal bookings (through a travel agent or P&O Reservations Centre) passengers receive reference numbers (after confirmation). On a particular booking, each passenger can access the Personaliser using the booking reference number and first name-surname. If you're not the booking person, contact the one who did it for obtaining booking reference. After log-in, note that all passengers' names in the booking party are displayed under the same reference number.

IMPORTANT - Each of the same-booking passengers is able to access the info about you and the other, i.e. you can update and provide information of all other passengers in your booking, and they can change your information. If you wish so, you could provide P&O with other passengers' personal information. Another case is when they are minors (younger than 18 years old). Then you must be a parent or legal guardian.

After providing P&O cruise company with the personal data needed on the Personaliser (and also with additional info if asked for more details), this database is used for updating pre-cruise information.

Certain information is sometimes required under maritime-customs-immigration-security laws. Personaliser info may be disclosed to P&O Cruises service providers (ticketing companies, travel, and port agents, authorities, emergency response providers, immigration, airlines, customs, shore tour operators, related entities) for Carnival Corporation's business purposes. Certain information is collected because of customs or immigration laws requirements. If you refuse to provide the information requested in the Personaliser, they may not be able to process the booking or provide certain services during the voyage.

(Coronavirus crisis) passenger shipping pause 2020-2021

Due to the COVID pandemic, P&O's entire fleet (all UK- and AU-based liners) is with an expanded cancellation policy. All bookings on pre-scheduled itineraries (departures in the period March 14 through August 31, 2020) were given the option to cancel up to 48 hours (prior departure) without penalties.

All affected bookings received a 125% refund in FCC (future cruise credit) transferred to a booking made before December 31, 2021, or 100% monetary refund. With the FCCs customers can also pay for cabin upgrades or book a second stateroom (on existing bookings). FCCs can be also gifted or transferred (options offered through December 31, 2021).

P&O UK canceled all voyages departing between March 14, 2020, and June 2021.

  • P&O UK planned to resume operations in early-February 2021 (Caribbean fly-cruises from Barbados and St Lucia) and in mid-March 2021 (roundtrips out of Southampton).
  • P&O UK's World Cruises 2021 (ships Arcadia and Aurora) were both canceled.

Next are listed P&O UK's ships and their first departure dates in 2021-2022 - AZURA (Dec 10, 2021), BRITANNIA (June 27, 2021/UK Coastal), AURORA (April 13, 2022/Mediterranean from Southampton), ARCADIA (March 27, 2022/Canaries from Southampton), IONA (Aug 7, 2021/Maiden Voyage/UK Coastal), VENTURA (Oct 3, 2021/Canaries from Southampton).

P&O Australia canceled all departures between March 14, 2020, and May 31, 2022. P&O Australia resumed operations in 2022 with the ships Pacific EXPLORER (May 31/from Sydney), Pacific ENCOUNTER (Aug 27/from Brisbane), Pacific ADVENTURE (October 22/from Sydney).

Citing the Coronavirus crisis' impact, in early-July 2020, P&O UK sold the ship Oceana. A total of 190 scheduled itineraries (departures from homeports Southampton UK and Dubai UAE) were canceled.

Itinerary of P&O Cruises

P&O Cruises ships sail on mostly round-trip itineraries leaving from UK (Southampton, April through October), Caribbean (from Barbados, during winter) and from Australia (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane - year-round departures). While most PandO UK ships remain in Europe year-round, the line's largest vessels also sail in the Caribbean (out of Barbados) and offer longer world cruise itineraries.

Citing the COVID crisis' impact on the passenger shipping industry, in early-July 2020, P&O UK sold the cruise ship Oceana. A total of 190 scheduled itineraries (departures from homeports Southampton UK and Dubai UAE) were canceled.

P&O UK'ss 2025-2026 itinerary program (opened for booking on October 18, 2023) features 12 new for the company ports (including Los Angeles CA USA, Melbourne Victoria AU, Port Chalmers/Dunedin NZ, Benoa Bali Indonesia, Bodo Norway, Tangier Morocco). MS Britannia has scheduled two new Caribbean fly-cruise itineraries visiting Jamaica, Dominicana, Grand Turk). In January 2026, MS Aurora starts a 75-night Grand Voyage while MS Arcadia starts a 100-night World Circumnavigation Cruise (28 ports/destinations). Traditionally for P&O, both World  Voyages are roundtrips from Southampton.

(UK & AU) PO cruise itinerary changes

PO AU's vessels are all UK-flagged. However, all ships are registered in Bermuda (Hamilton) to allow shipboard weddings (at sea). These ceremonies are conducted by the Captains and are pretty popular.

Our P&O cruise schedules include the ships of both brands (Australia and UK).

Ship NameHomeportsItineraries Changes

Arcadia

Southampton

  • World cruise from Southampton
  • roundtrip Transatlantic from the UK to the Caribbean
  • mini cruises from the UK
  • The UK to Iceland
  • Baltic Capitals (Russia and Scandinavia)
  • Norwegian Fjords
  • Arctic Norway
  • Western Mediterranean
  • Adriatic Sea
  • Eastern Med (Holy Land)

(2022) 55-night Grand Tour in Central America, Caribbean, Brazil's Amazon.

NOTE: P&O Arcadia is paused until March 27, 2022 (16-day Canaries from Southampton).

(2023-2024) During summer 2023, Arcadia and Aurora are scheduled to visit Norway, Russia, the Greek islands, and New York. Itineraries have been designed to include less-visited destinations, including Grundafjordur (Iceland), Palermo (Sicily), Klaipeda (Lithuania). P&O Arcadia summer itineraries include an Iceland & North Cape voyage with an overnight in Reykjavik along with scenic cruising of the North Cape (Nordkapp). Arcadia sails on a full world cruise of 99 nights, scheduled to depart on January 6, 2024, with ports of call including Auckland, Hong Kong, Sydney, Singapore. In 2024, an overnight call to Singapore was added to the overnights in Dubai, Honolulu, Sydney, and Hong Kong.

(June 25, 2024) 16-night Scandinavia and Baltic Sea

(July 30, 2024) 16-night Iceland 

(winter 2024-2025) 99-night world voyage with 2 full days in San Francisco CA, Sydney, Hong Kong, and Singapore. The Southampton roundtrip visits Madeira, Barbados, Curacao, Transit of the Panama Canal, Cabo San Lucas, San Francisco, Hilo, Honolulu, cross international date line, Apia, Nuku ‘Alofa, Tauranga, Auckland, Bay of Islands, Sydney, Brisbane, Whitsunday Island, Cairns, Bitung, Manila, Hong Kong, Nha Trang, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Colombo, Dubai, Muscat, Sharm el Sheikh, transit Suez Canal, Valetta, Seville.

Aurora

Southampton

  • mini-cruises
  • Norway Fjords
  • Scandinavia Russia
  • Iceland and Norway
  • Baltic (Belgium, Holland, Norway)
  • Adriatic Sea
  • Western Europe (Atlantic Coastal), Morocco
  • The Canary Islands.
  • Transatlantic UK to Canada.
  • Transatlantic UK to the Caribbean

CANCELLED (winter 2022) a world voyage for the first time since 2017, featuring a western circumnavigation in 99 nights: replaced with a 40-night journey to the Caribbean and a 12-night sailing to Portugal and the Canary Islands from Southampton (England UK) on February 22 and April 1, 2022.

(summer 2022) Arctic Circle voyage including an overnight in Reykjavik and North Cape scenic cruising.

NOTE: P&O Aurora is paused until April 13, 2022 (19-day Mediterranean from Southampton).

(2023-2024) During summer 2023, Arcadia and Aurora visit Norway, Russia, the Greek islands, and New York. Itineraries include less-visited destinations, like Grundafjordur (Iceland), Palermo (Sicily), Klaipeda (Lithuania). Aurora's summer program includes a 30-night Canada & USA cruise with overnights in NYC and Boston. The winter schedule includes two 12-night ‘Northern Lights’ itineraries (one over Christmas 2023). The 65-night "USA, the Caribbean, and Central America" voyage features an overnight in New Orleans and a partial Panama Canal transit/Gatun Lake. 

(May 18, 2024; August 26, 2024) 16-night Scandinavia and Baltic Sea

(January 6, 2025) 65-night Amazon & Caribbean exploration from Southampton UK. The voyage includes a visit to Parintins in the Amazon River, a partial Panama Canal transit/Gatun Lake, and 2 full days in Manaus. 

(winter 2024-2025) 12-night In search of the Northern Lights, heading to Norway. The Southampton roundtrip visits Andalsnes, Romsdalsfjord, Tromso (evening), Alta (overnight), Stavanger.

Arvia

Bridgetown Barbados

St Johns Antigua

Southampton

P&O UK's newest liner is scheduled for inauguration in December 2022.

Arvia's inaugural season is in the Caribbean, with P&O fly-cruise deals from the UK (UK-Barbados-UK flights included in the fares) and roundtrips from homeports Bridgetown Barbados and St Johns Antigua.

Two different 7-day Caribbean itineraries are scheduled for the period January-March 2023 and can be combined into 14-day long B2Bs (back-to-back cruises). The Eastern-Southern Caribbean itineraries visit as call ports La Romana Dominicana (maiden for P&O UK port), Willemstad Curacao, Fort-de-France Martinique, Basseterre St Kitts, Castries St Lucia, Philipsburg St Maarten. The 14-day B2Bs include an overnight in Bridgetown (homeport).

(2023-2024) During summer 2023, a series of 14-night roundtrips from Southampton visit La Coruna, Marseille, Cadiz-Sevilla, Barcelona, as well as Palma de Mallorca (Balearic Spain), La Spezia (Florence/Pisa), Valencia/Alicante. During the winter, Arvia offers 7- and 14-night Caribbean fly-cruises from Barbados.

(October 12, 2024) 9-night Southern Cruise visits Iberia (Spain and Portugal) roundtrip from Southampton to Le Havre/Paris, Vigo, Lisbon, and La Coruna.

(October 21, 2024) 4-night short break to Northern Europe roundtrip from Southampton visits Zeebrugge-Bruges and Cherbourg.

(winter 2024-2025) 14-night Caribbean fly-cruise itineraries visit Antigua, St Lucia, Grenada, Barbados, Martinique, St Kitts, Tortola BVI, St Maarten.

Azura

Bridgetown Barbados

Southampton

Valletta Malta

  • Transatlantic repositioning (UK to Barbados and Barbados to the UK)
  • Caribbean roundtrips from Barbados
  • to Curacao, Aruba, St Vincent, Grenada, St Maarten, BVI Tortola, Guadeloupe, St Lucia
  • to Grenada, St Lucia, Dominica, St Kitts, St Maarten, Tortola, Curacao, Bonaire
Southampton itineraries:
  • Canary Islands
  • Western Mediterranean with French Riviera
  • Adriatic Sea
  • Norwegian Fjords
  • mini cruises

(winter 2021-2022) fly-cruises from Barbados

(2022 summer) fly-cruises from Malta including Trieste (for visits to Venice), as well as Kusadasi for visits to the ruins of Ephesus. The vessel also sails to Taranto, Southern Italy – the first time the cruise company has taken passengers to the historic city.

NOTE: P&O Azura is paused until December 10, 2021 (14-day Caribbean from Bridgetown Bridgetown).

(2023-2024) During summer 2023, Azura sails on Mediterranean fly-cruises of either 7-/14-night voyages departing from Malta to iconic ports in the Western Mediterranean like Rome (Civitavecchia), Ajaccio (Corsica), and Villefranche, or alternatively Greece & Greek islands including Corfu and Mykonos in the Eastern Mediterranean. During the winter, Azura sails on the Canary Islands fly-cruises from Santa Cruz de Tenerife, consisting of 2 alternating 7-night voyages which can be combined to create a 14-night vacation.

(winter 2024-2025) 14-night Canary Islands fly-cruises out of Tenerife. Ports of call feature Madeira, La Palma, Fuerteventura, Madeira, Gran Canaria and Lanzarote with 3 full days in Tenerife and 2 full days in Madeira.

Britannia

Bridgetown Barbados

Castries St Lucia

Southampton

  • Mediterranean
  • Norway Fjords
  • Baltic Sea
  • British Isles
  • Canary Islands
  • Caribbean (from Barbados)
P&O UK operates MV Britannia with roundtrips out of St Lucia as part of the company's UK to Caribbean fly-cruise program.
  • 7d Caribbean (from St.Lucia to Barbados, visiting Dominica, Antigua, St. Maarten)
  • 14d Caribbean (from St.Lucia to St. Vincent, adding Curacao, Aruba, and Grenada).

(2021-2022) In April 2021, P&O Britannia offers 4 itineraries (Northern European City Escape, Southern Cruise Break, Short Break, Spain and Portugal). The summer 2021 season in in Western Mediterranean (May-October), prior to the Caribbean season (winter 2021-2022).

(summer 2022) The Mediterranean with destinations including La Spezia plus overnights in Barcelona. Britannia also offers Baltic holidays including 2-day calls to Saint Petersburg while also visiting Tallinn and Helsinki.

NOTE: P&O Britannia offers UK coastal voyages from Southampton (cruises to nowhere) between June 27 - September 25, 2021, and during winter 2021-2022 operates fly-cruises from Barbados.

(2023-2024) During summer 2023, the ship offers 7-night Norwegian fjords, 14-night Baltic (including 2-day calls at Saint Petersburg), and 14-night western Mediterranean cruises featuring either overnight in Palma or Palma & Ibiza. During the winter, 14-night Caribbean fly-cruises set sail from Barbados.

(May 10, 2024; August 30, 2024; September 20, 2024) 14-night Scandinavia and Baltic Sea

(June 7, 2024) 14-night British Isles

(July 5, 2024) 14-night Canary Islands 

(winter 2024-2025) 14-night fly-cruise itineraries to the Caribbean. Ports of call include Bridgetown, Curacao, Bonaire, Castries, Grenada, Kingstown, Basseterre, Antigua, and St Maarten.

Iona

Southampton

new ship for P&O UK (Maiden Voyage August 7, 2021)

P&O Iona sails from Southampton UK to mainland Spain, Portugal, the Canaries and cities in northern Europe during her first winter season.

A series of ‘day into night’ calls enable guests to take in nightlife owing to late departures from destinations like Barcelona, Valencia, Fuerteventura, Tenerife.

Overnight stays are planned for Lisbon, Barcelona, Rotterdam, and Cadiz as part of the range of 7 and 14-night voyages.

The inaugural season includes only no-fly cruise itineraries roundtrip from Southampton.

Itineraries nclude 7-day Norwegian Fjords (Olden, Bergen, Hellesylt, Geiranger, Stavanger, Alesund), with excursions like sea kayaking, river rafting, zip-lining, fishing (crayfish), high-speed boat tours (RIB), helicopter and plane tours.

(winter 2021-2022) Iona offers voyages to Iberia (Portugal, Spain) and the Canary Islands.

(2023-2024) During summer 2023, the ship offers 7-night cruises to the Norwegian fjords sailing roundtrip from Southampton UK. During the winter, voyages to Portugal, Spain, and the Canaries are offered roundtrip from Southampton UK.

(January 11, 2025) 35-night journey to the Caribbean including 2 full days in Tenerife & Barbados. The Southampton roundtrip visits Tenerife, Tortola BVI, Barbados, St Lucia, Grenada, Antigua, St Kitts, St Maarten, La Coruna.

(winter 2024-2025) 4-night itineraries to Spain, Portugal, and the Canaries. The Southampton roundtrip visits Madeira, Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Cadiz-Seville, and Lisbon (2 full days).

Oriana (Piano Land)

sold

IMPORTANT: Oriana left P&O in August 2019. The ship was sold to the Chinese company Well Star Travel Cruise (brand of CTS-China Travel Services). The Chinese company operates short-breaks from Chinese homeports to ports in Japan and Southeast Asia (Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Philippines, Indonesia).

Ventura

Bridgetown Barbados

Southampton

Caribbean from Bridgetown to 

  • St Vincent, Dominica, St Lucia, Antigua, St Kitts, Grand Turk, Tortola, St Maarten
  • Grenada, St Lucia, Dominica, St Kitts, St Maarten, Tortola, Curacao, Bonaire.

(summer 2021) replaces Azura on Baltic and Western Mediterranean cruises between May-October.

(summer 2022) Spain, Portugal and the Canaries featuring visits to Lisbon and Bilbao.

NOTE: P&O Ventura is paused until October 3, 2021 (11-day Canary Islands from Southampton).

(2023-2024) During summer 2023, the ship sails on Atlantic Coast & Canary Islands cruises along with short breaks to Amsterdam (Netherlands). In winter, Ventura sails to Iberia (Spain, Portugal) and the Canaries, as well as on Caribbean cruises with itineraries visiting NOLA/New Orleans. To celebrate New Year 2024 the vessel sails a special 5-night voyage to Amsterdam and Zeebrugge.

(winter 2024-2025) 5-night short European breaks from Southampton UK with ports of call including Amsterdam and Bruges-Zeebrugge.

Pacific Explorer (ex Dawn Princess)

Melbourne

Adelaide

Fremantle-Perth

Auckland NZ

The ship operates itineraries visiting ports in the South Pacific Islands (New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji), Tasmania, Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Solomon Islands, as well as themed cruises to nowhere from both New Zealand and Australia.

Pacific Adventure (ex Golden Princess)

Sydney NSW Australia

IMPORTANT: In 2020, Golden Princess was transferred to P&O Australia and renamed "Pacific Adventure" after a scheduled refurbishment.

  • Pacific Adventure's inaugural itinerary program through spring 2021 features longer voyages (13-nights plus) with total of 132 departures (including 57x Short Breaks of 2-3-4-days) departing from homeports Auckland, Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney NSW.
  • The ship had to start her inaugural cruise on October 12, 2020, with an 18-day "Southeast Asia and Australia" repositioning from Singapore to Sydney NSW. The maiden voyage visits ports in Malaysia (Penang, Langkawi) and Australia (Cairns, Darwin, Airlie Beach, Brisbane, Sydney).
  • From Sydney are offered cruises to New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, South Pacific Islands (also Fiji). Itineraries are themed "New Guinea Island Encounter" (11-night), "Kiwi Adventure" (13-night) and "Fiji Explorer" (14-night). Short-breaks include 3-night "comedy", 4-night Moreton Island. 6-night (Melbourne Cup, Oct 31).

Pacific Encounter (ex Star Princess)

Brisbane QLD Australia

IMPORTANT: In 2021, Star Princess will be transferred to P&O Australia's fleet and renamed Pacific Encounter after a scheduled refurbishment. The ship starts operations for P&O in November 2021.

Pacific Dawn (Ambassador Ambience)

sold in 2020 / left the fleet

IMPORTANT:  On October 1, 2020, Pacific Dawn left P&O Australia's fleet. The ship's last cruise for P&O was scheduled for February 8, 2021 (departing from Melbourne to Singapore via Brisbane). Pacific Dawn was initially sold to CMV (bankrupted in 2020) and to be renamed "Amy Johnson".

In 2021, P&O AU's fleet also left Pacific Aria.

In October 2022, P&O UK announced new "Scandinavia and Baltic Sea" itineraries debuting in 2024 summer, all of which are roundtrips from Southampton.

  • (Arcadia) 16-night from GBP 1700 pp (June 25)
  • (Aurora) 16-night from GBP 1350 pp (May 18) and 16-night from GBP 1450 pp (August 26)
  • (Britannia) 14-night from GBP 1150 pp (May 10), plus 2x 14-night from GBP 1300 pp (August 30, September 20)

Arcadia also offers a 16-night "Iceland and Norway" voyage from GBP 1650 pp (July 30), while Britannia offers a 14-night "British Isles" from GBP 1300 pp (June 7) and a 14-night "Canary Islands" from GBP 1250 pp (July 5).  The new Baltic sailings feature overnight port stays in Copenhagen (Denmark), Helsinki (Finland), and Stockholm (Sweden).

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