P & O Cruises Cruise Line

The oldest British shipping company, the Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company was founded in 1837. The company even claims that it "invented" cruising in the 1840s. Forced to concentrate on the leisure side of sea travel, P&O Cruises abolished passenger classes, acquired Los Angeles-based Princess Cruises in 1974, and Sitmar Cruises in 1988. Sitmar cruises was then merged with Princess Cruises. Since the beginning of the 1990s, Princess Cruises has embarked on a policy of growth through building new ships, bought and later built purpose-designed cruise ships and became one of the largest cruise operators in the world. In April 2004 P&O Princess plc, the parent company of P&O Cruises, joined together with Carnival Corporation, bringing together two of the best known and most successful organizations in the cruise industry. Already Britain’s market leading cruise company, P&O Cruises is now part of one of the world’s largest leisure travel companies.

• Sarah Trevillion  Oceana  Caribbean

  Oceana is an amazing ship. The atrium is spectacular. It is all lit up at night. The itinerary was great. The photograhers were fantastic and with the onboard photo packages, I didn't think the... read more

  19 users found this review helpful.
• Steve  Ventura  Caribbean

  Great ship well worth trying. few problems, though. Children jumping into pools and jacuzzis - not heeding of signs in the area. Formal night always meant formal wear in all public areas. On... read more

  23 users found this review helpful.
• Isabel  Arcadia  Norwegian Fjords and North Cape

  This review gives my personal view only. I realize that all aspects are purely subjective and that others may have a very different opinion of things. I appreciate hard work and know that I am not... read more

  20 users found this review helpful.
• Phil Harrison
  
    Oceana  Western Europe

    First of all some background. We were cruising as a family myself and my wife 3 children 17,15 and 5 and my mother in her late 70’s.we have cruised many... read more

  12 users found this review helpful.
• Jonathan Baldrey
  
    Arcadia  Barbados/Panama Canal

  Have just returned from a two week cruise on Arcadia, "Tropical Delights" from Acapulco to Barbados via the Panama Canal. I found the other reviewer's comments really helpful,... read more

  3 users found this review helpful.
• Paul Handel
  
    Arcadia  Baltic

  Well, just where do I begin? When I joined the ship in Southampton and found my cabin, it had 2 twin beds and not the double I requested. The card showing my meal seating plan... read more

  5 users found this review helpful.
• Steven Walker
  
    Arcadia  Baltic

  This was our second P&O cruise and we chose the ship as it was new and had received considerable UK press. Previously we had used Oceana and in common with others on the cruise,... read more

  5 users found this review helpful.
• Lindsey Baldwin
  
    Artemis  Canaries Explorer

  First of all there doesn’t seem to be many reviews about the Artemis, so I would assume the majority of P and O cruise goers prefer the larger ladies like Arcadia, Oriana and... read more

  17 users found this review helpful.
• Keith
  
    Arcadia  Baltic

  Review of P&O Arcadia 7-night Fjord’s Adventure Cruise 30 July 2006 This was a cruise from Southampton to Eidfjord, Flam, Olden and Bergen with a day at sea on the first... read more

  3 users found this review helpful.
• Mervyn Hancock
  
    Aurora  Canary Islands

  Passengers on the Spanish ship, moored in front of us in Madeira, probably already knew that the British are patriotic - and quite mad! Or, at least, that is what it must... read more

  15 users found this review helpful.
• Gill Mortimer
  
    Arcadia  Caribbean

  Departed Manchester on the 13th January 2006 with Thomas Cook. I agree with previous review - good plane but too small for the long distance to Barbados. Good point :- we... read more

  2 users found this review helpful.
• Dave and Mandy Spencer
  
    Arcadia  Southern Caribbean

  Hi. We have just had a cruise on P&O Arcadia. Our first cruise I must admit so not a lot to measure against although we are very well travelled. Launched in the spring of... read more

• Janice Briggs
  
    Arcadia  Caribbean Castaway

  The Arcadia ship was everything we expected it be. Big and very clean and the staff could not have been more helpful. The only downfall was the Gary Rhodes Restaurant the... read more

  1 users found this review helpful.
• Sandra Hedges
  
    Artemis  Canaries Explorer

  My husband and myself booked this cruise with another two couples, one of which we have cruised with three times previously and the other two were very old friends who. We had... read more

  19 users found this review helpful.
• Lydia
  
    Oriana  Western Mediterranean

  This was our first cruise, we departed from Southampton, and sailed around the Mediterranean. There were four of us, me(13), my brother(10), and my mum and dad. We... read more

  4 users found this review helpful.
• Gary Bembridge
  
    Arcadia  Mediterranean

  The short summary is that we LOVED this new ship to the P&O fold and we loved the cruise around the Mediterranean, finding nothing major to highlight as areas P&O could focus on... read more

  6 users found this review helpful.
• Emma Boston
  
    Arcadia  Western Europe

  My husband and I decided to take a cruise on the Arcadia as it was a new ship and we were interested to see what it was like in comparison to the other ships. We booked... read more

  3 users found this review helpful.
• Mark
  
    Oriana  Western Mediterranean

  We cast off onboard Oriana for a family holiday in 2004. We had been on a cruise the year before onboard Oceana and had a thoroughly good time. The cruising... read more

  3 users found this review helpful.
• Anthea Caruana
  
    Oriana  Norwegian Fjords

  I had seen Oriana from the outside many times as I live in Gibraltar and she often visits here. We wanted a big ship and we chose this one as the Fjords is a place we wanted to... read more

  2 users found this review helpful.
• Anniel
  
    Oriana  Canaries Islands

  Promised I would write a review so here goes. Advance apologies if anyone finds my opinions different to theirs! General Info: This was our eighth... read more

  13 users found this review helpful.
• Raoul Fiebig
  
    Aurora  Tour of ship (Skandinavienkai, Travemünde, Germany)

  On July 6th, 2000 I was given the opportunity to visit P&O Cruises' M/S "Aurora" during her call at Travemünde (Germany). This is a brand-new ship that inaugurated only two months earlier. ... read more

  3 users found this review helpful.
• Eric Yeomans
  
    Arcadia  South America

  Overview —This is a very long review as it covers two 14 night cruises back to back from Acapulco to Buenos Aires. The ship is P&O’s Arcadia (formerly star princess)... read more

  4 users found this review helpful.