P&O Cruises
Encyclopedia
P&O Cruises is a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

-American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 owned cruise line
Cruise line
A cruise line is a company that operates cruise ships. Cruise lines have a dual character; they are partly in the transportation business, and partly in the leisure entertainment business, a duality that carries down into the ships themselves, which have both a crew headed by the ship's captain,...

 based at Carnival House
Carnival House
Carnival House is a landmark office building in the city of Southampton, Hampshire, England. It is a purpose-built headquarters for Carnival UK, the United Kingdom based holding company of the Carnival Group...

 in Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...

, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, and operated by Carnival UK. Originally a constituent of the Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company, P&O Cruises is the oldest cruise line in the world, having operated the world's first passenger ships in the early 19th Century. It is the sister company of, and retains strong links with P&O Cruises Australia
P&O Cruises Australia
P&O Cruises Australia is a British-American owned cruise line with corporate headquarters at Carnival House in Southampton, England and operational headquarters in North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...

. P&O Cruises was de-merged from the P&O group in 2000, becoming a subsidiary of P&O Princess Cruises PLC
P&O Princess Cruises PLC
P&O Princess Cruises plc was a shipping company that existed between 2000 and 2003, operating the P&O Cruises, Princess Cruises, P&O Cruises Australia, A'Rosa Cruises, AIDA Cruises and Ocean Village branded cruise lines...

, which subsequently merged with Carnival Corporation in 2003, to form Carnival Corporation & plc
Carnival Corporation & plc
Carnival Corporation & plc , is a American-British Company, and the world's largest cruise ship operator. It is a dual listed company, with headquarters at Carnival Place in the Miami suburb of Doral, Florida, USA, and at Carnival House in Southampton, England, UK...

. P&O Cruises currently operates seven cruise ships with a total passenger capacity of 14,970 and a 5% market share of all cruise lines worldwide. Its most recent vessel MS Adonia joined the fleet in May 2011.

History of P&O passenger services

19th Century

P&O Cruises originates from 1822, with the formation of the Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company, which began life as a partnership between Brodie McGhie Willcox
Brodie McGhie Willcox
Brodie McGhie Willcox was a Liberal Member of Parliament and the co-founder of the Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company, one of the United Kingdom's largest shipping businesses.-Career:...

, a London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 ship broker, and Arthur Anderson
Arthur Anderson (businessman)
Arthur Anderson was a Scottish businessman and Liberal politician. He was co-founder of the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company .-Career:...

, a sailor
Sailor
A sailor, mariner, or seaman is a person who navigates water-borne vessels or assists in their operation, maintenance, or service. The term can apply to professional mariners, military personnel, and recreational sailors as well as a plethora of other uses...

 from the Shetland Isles. The company first operated a shipping line
Shipping line
-History of shipping lines:Large-scale shipping lines became widespread in the nineteenth century, after the development of the steamship in 1783. At first, Great Britain was the centr of development; in 1819, the first steamship crossing of the Atlantic Ocean took place and by 1833, shipping lines...

 with routes between England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 and the Iberian Peninsula
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...

, adopting the name Peninsular Steam Navigation Company. In 1837, the company won a contract to deliver mail to the Peninsula, with its first mail ship, RMS
Royal Mail Ship
Royal Mail Ship , usually seen in its abbreviated form RMS, a designation which dates back to 1840, is the ship prefix used for seagoing vessels that carry mail under contract by Royal Mail...

 Don Juan, departing from London on 1 September 1837. The ship collected mail from Falmouth
Falmouth, Cornwall
Falmouth is a town, civil parish and port on the River Fal on the south coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It has a total resident population of 21,635.Falmouth is the terminus of the A39, which begins some 200 miles away in Bath, Somerset....

 four days later, however it hit rocks on the homeward bound leg of the trip. The company’s reputation survived only because all objects including mail were rescued.

In 1840, the company acquired a second contract to deliver mail to Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...

, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

, via Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...

 and Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...

. The company was incorporated
Incorporation (business)
Incorporation is the forming of a new corporation . The corporation may be a business, a non-profit organisation, sports club, or a government of a new city or town...

 by Royal Charter
Royal Charter
A royal charter is a formal document issued by a monarch as letters patent, granting a right or power to an individual or a body corporate. They were, and are still, used to establish significant organizations such as cities or universities. Charters should be distinguished from warrants and...

 the same year, becoming the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company. At the time, the company had no ships available to use on the route, so agreed to merge with the Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...

 based Transatlantic Steamship Company, acquiring two ships, the 1,300-ton Great Liverpool and the newly built 1,600-ton Oriental.

P&O first introduced passenger services in 1844, advertising sea tours to destinations such as Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...

, Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...

 and Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...

, sailing from Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...

. The forerunner of modern cruise holidays
Cruising (maritime)
Cruising by boat is a lifestyle that involves living for extended time on a boat while traveling from place to place for pleasure. Cruising generally refers to trips of a few days or more, and can extend to round-the-world voyages.- History :...

, these voyages were the first of their kind, and have led to P&O Cruises being recognised as the world's oldest cruise line
Cruise line
A cruise line is a company that operates cruise ships. Cruise lines have a dual character; they are partly in the transportation business, and partly in the leisure entertainment business, a duality that carries down into the ships themselves, which have both a crew headed by the ship's captain,...

. The company later introduced round trips to destinations such as Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...

 and Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...

 and underwent rapid expansion in the later half of the 19th century, with its ships becoming larger and more luxurious. Notable ships of the era include the SS Ravenna built in 1880, which became the first ship to be built with a total steel superstructure, and the SS Valetta built in 1889, which was the first ship to use electric lights.

20th Century

In 1904 the company advertised its first cruise on the 6,000-ton
Ton
The ton is a unit of measure. It has a long history and has acquired a number of meanings and uses over the years. It is used principally as a unit of weight, and as a unit of volume. It can also be used as a measure of energy, for truck classification, or as a colloquial term.It is derived from...

 Vectis, a ship specially fitted out for the purpose of carrying 150 first-class passengers.
Ten years later the company merged with the British India Steam Navigation Company, leaving the fleet with a total of 197 ships. In the same year the company had around two-thirds of its fleet relinquished for war service. However, the company was fortunate and only lost 17 ships in the First World War, with a further 68 lost in subsidiary companies.
A major event in the company’s history took place in December 1918, when P&O purchased 51% of the Orient Steam Navigation Company
Orient Steam Navigation Company
The Orient Steam Navigation Company, also known as the Orient Line, was a British shipping company with roots going back to the late 18th century...

, which had been previously operating jointly with P&O on the Australian mail contract.
During the 1920s, P&O and Orient Line took delivery of over 20 passenger liners, allowing them to expand their operations once again.
Cruises began operating once again in 1925, when Ranchi’s maiden voyage was a cruise to Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

. During 1929, P&O offered 15 cruises, some aboard Viceroy of India, the company’s first turbo-electric ship.

The P&O Group left the Second World War with a loss of 156 ships including popular liners such as Viceroy of India, Cathay, Oronsay and Orcades. By the late 1940s commercial aviation was beginning to take hold of the industry so newer ships became larger and faster, allowing the sailing time to Australia to be cut from five to four weeks.
In 1955 P&O and Orient Lines ordered what were to be their last passenger liners — the Canberra
SS Canberra
SS Canberra was an ocean liner, which later operated on cruises, in the P&O fleet from 1961 to 1997. She was built at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, Northern Ireland at a cost of £17,000,000. The ship was named on 17 March 1958, after the federal capital of Australia, Canberra...

 and Oriana
SS Oriana (1959)
SS Oriana was the last of the Orient Steam Navigation Company's ocean liners. She was built at Vickers-Armstrong, Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria and launched on 3 November 1959 by Princess Alexandra...

. These fast ships bought the Australian run down another week to just three, with Oriana recording a top speed of just over 30 knots during trials.

P&O-Orient Lines

During 1961, P&O bought out the remaining stake in Orient Lines and renamed its passenger operations as P&O-Orient Lines. The decreasing popularity of line voyages during the 1960s and 1970s meant that cruising became an important deployment for these ships in-between line voyages. In 1971 the company reorganised its 100 subsidiaries and 239 ships into several operating divisions, one of which was The Passenger Division which began with 13 ships.
The 1970s was a grim time for the passenger liner as many young liners were sold for scrap. Princess Cruises
Princess Cruises
Princess Cruises is a British-American owned cruise line, based in Santa Clarita, California in the United States. Previously a subsidiary of P&O Princess Cruises PLC, the company is now one of ten cruise ship brands operated by Carnival Corporation & PLC and accounts for approximately 19% share...

 was acquired in 1974 which allowed the almost new Spirit of London to be transferred to the Princess fleet. This left Canberra and Oriana to serve the UK market on their own, with Arcadia
SS Arcadia (1954)
SS Arcadia was a passenger liner built for P&O in 1954 to service the UK to Australia route. Towards the end of her life she operated as a cruise ship, based in Sydney, until scrapped in 1979.-History:...

 deployed in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 and Uganda offering educational cruises.

P&O Cruises

In 1977, P&O re-branded its passenger division, creating P&O Cruises and P&O Cruises Australia. In February 1979 Kungsholm, a former Swedish American Line
Swedish American Line
Swedish American Line was a passenger and cargo shipping line. It was founded in December 1914 under the name Rederiaktiebolaget Sverige-Nordamerika, beginning ocean liner service from Gothenburg to New York in 1915...

 vessel, was acquired from Flagship Cruises and after a major refit was re-named Sea Princess. Operating out of Australia, she replaced Arcadia that was then sold to Taiwanese ship breakers. In spring 1982 Oriana replaced Sea Princess in Australia, leaving Sea Princess to be transferred to the UK. When Canberra returned from the Falklands War, Sea Princess was switched to the Princess fleet in 1986 leaving just the Canberra for the UK market.
With Canberras withdrawal becoming ever more imminent, P&O ordered its first new ship for the British market, the Oriana
MV Oriana (1995)
MV Oriana is a cruise ship of the P&O Cruises fleet. The ship was built by Meyer Werft at their shipyard in Papenburg, Germany. At 69,000 tonnes, Oriana is the sixth largest of seven ships currently in service with P&O Cruises. She officially entered service with the company in April 1995 and was...

, with her being delivered in 1995. Canberra ran alongside her for two years until she was scrapped in 1997, replaced by Star Princess that was renamed Arcadia.

Arcadia became the first ship in the P&O fleet to be dedicated for adults only, commencing a trend that was followed by the second Sea Princess, renamed as Adonia. The Adonia has since transferred back to Princess Cruises, when replaced in 2005 by the new Arcadia
Arcadia (cruise ship)
Arcadia is a cruise ship in the P&O Cruises fleet. The ship was built by Fincantieri at their shipyard in Marghera, Italy. At 83,000 tonnes, Arcadia is the third largest of seven ships currently in service with P&O Cruises...

, an original Vista class design. The previous Arcadia was transferred to the new "Ocean Village" brand and was renamed Ocean Village.

In April 2000 , a half-sister ship to Oriana entered service for P&O. Although externally Aurora is similar to her half-sister Oriana, internally she is much different. Aurora also has a larger Gross Tonnage
Gross tonnage
Gross tonnage is a unitless index related to a ship's overall internal volume. Gross tonnage is different from gross register tonnage...

 partly due to the fact that she has an enclosed centre swimming pool.

Oceana (ex Ocean Princess), a sister ship of Sea Princess, transferred to P&O at the same time as Adonia, and remains in the P&O fleet. Another former Princess ship, Artemis, joined P&O in 2005, and left the fleet in 2011 and was been replaced by the former Royal Princess and was renamed Adonia, she is even smaller than the Artemis at 30,000 gross tons and is the smallest in the fleet.

P&O Cruises announced in June 2011 that it will expand its fleet with a 141,000-ton cruise ship, built by Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri, scheduled to enter service in 2015.

P&O Princess Cruises PLC

In February 2000, it was announced that all cruise ship operations, including P&O Cruises, were to be de-merged from the P&O group, forming a new independent company, P&O Princess Cruises PLC
P&O Princess Cruises PLC
P&O Princess Cruises plc was a shipping company that existed between 2000 and 2003, operating the P&O Cruises, Princess Cruises, P&O Cruises Australia, A'Rosa Cruises, AIDA Cruises and Ocean Village branded cruise lines...

. The company operated the P&O Cruises, Princess Cruises
Princess Cruises
Princess Cruises is a British-American owned cruise line, based in Santa Clarita, California in the United States. Previously a subsidiary of P&O Princess Cruises PLC, the company is now one of ten cruise ship brands operated by Carnival Corporation & PLC and accounts for approximately 19% share...

, P&O Cruises Australia
P&O Cruises Australia
P&O Cruises Australia is a British-American owned cruise line with corporate headquarters at Carnival House in Southampton, England and operational headquarters in North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...

, AIDA Cruises
AIDA Cruises
AIDA Cruises is a British-American owned German cruise line based in Rostock, Germany.Originally founded as Deutsche Seereederei with a ship called Völkerfreundschaft , the company entered the cruise industry in the 1960s and was later acquired by P&O Princess Cruises PLC in 2000...

 and later A'Rosa Cruises
A'Rosa Cruises
-History:A'Rosa was established in 2001, as a subsidiary of P&O Princess Cruises PLC. The company was created to serve the German cruise market, alongside the AIDA Cruises fleet, which had been acquired by P&O in 1999. A'Rosa was modelled loosely on the AIDA concept, and began life with three ships...

 and Ocean Village
Ocean Village
Ocean Village was a British-American owned cruise line, based in Southampton, England. Designed to offer and alternative cruise experience, Ocean Village was founded by P&O Princess Cruises PLC, which later merged with Carnival Corporation to form Carnival Corporation & PLC...

 fleets, before merging with Carnival Corporation to form Carnival Corporation & plc
Carnival Corporation & plc
Carnival Corporation & plc , is a American-British Company, and the world's largest cruise ship operator. It is a dual listed company, with headquarters at Carnival Place in the Miami suburb of Doral, Florida, USA, and at Carnival House in Southampton, England, UK...

 in 2003.

Golden Cockerel

MV Oriana holds the Golden Cockerel trophy for the fastest ship in the P&O fleet
Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company
The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, which is usually known as P&O, is a British shipping and logistics company which dated from the early 19th century. Following its sale in March 2006 to Dubai Ports World for £3.9 billion, it became a subsidiary of DP World; however, the P&O...

. Previously held by SS Oriana
SS Oriana (1959)
SS Oriana was the last of the Orient Steam Navigation Company's ocean liners. She was built at Vickers-Armstrong, Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria and launched on 3 November 1959 by Princess Alexandra...

 it passed to SS Canberra
SS Canberra
SS Canberra was an ocean liner, which later operated on cruises, in the P&O fleet from 1961 to 1997. She was built at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, Northern Ireland at a cost of £17,000,000. The ship was named on 17 March 1958, after the federal capital of Australia, Canberra...

 on retirement of the first Oriana in 1986. On Canberra's final cruise in 1997 the Golden Cockerel was handed over to the new Oriana when both ships were anchored off Cannes
Cannes
Cannes is one of the best-known cities of the French Riviera, a busy tourist destination and host of the annual Cannes Film Festival. It is a Commune of France in the Alpes-Maritimes department....

 and sent boats out to perform the handover.

Current fleet

Ship Built Entered service
for P&O
Gross Tonnage
Gross tonnage
Gross tonnage is a unitless index related to a ship's overall internal volume. Gross tonnage is different from gross register tonnage...

 
Flag Notes
Adonia  2001 2011 30,277 GT ex-Royal Princess with Princess Cruises
Princess Cruises
Princess Cruises is a British-American owned cruise line, based in Santa Clarita, California in the United States. Previously a subsidiary of P&O Princess Cruises PLC, the company is now one of ten cruise ship brands operated by Carnival Corporation & PLC and accounts for approximately 19% share...

.
Arcadia  2005 2005 86,799 GT Originally ordered as Queen Victoria for Cunard Line
Cunard Line
Cunard Line is a British-American owned shipping company based at Carnival House in Southampton, England and operated by Carnival UK. It has been a leading operator of passenger ships on the North Atlantic for over a century...

, transferred to P&O during construction
Aurora  2000 2000 76,152 GT
Azura 2010 2010 115,000 GT
Oceana  2000 2002 77,499 GT ex-Ocean Princess with Princess Cruises
Oriana
MV Oriana (1995)
MV Oriana is a cruise ship of the P&O Cruises fleet. The ship was built by Meyer Werft at their shipyard in Papenburg, Germany. At 69,000 tonnes, Oriana is the sixth largest of seven ships currently in service with P&O Cruises. She officially entered service with the company in April 1995 and was...

 
1995 1995 69,153 GT
Ventura  2008 2008 116,017 GT

Future fleet

On 1 June 2011, Carnival Corporation & plc announced an order from Fincantieri
Fincantieri
Fincantieri - Cantieri Navali Italiani S.p.A. is a shipbuilding company based in Trieste, Italy. It was formed in 1959 and is the largest shipbuilder in the Mediterranean, and one of the largest in Europe...

 for a new 141,000 ton cruise ship for P&O. The ship, unnamed at the time of the announcement, is to have a capacity of 3,611 people, and will enter service in 2015.
Ship Will enter service
for P&O
Gross tonnage
Gross tonnage
Gross tonnage is a unitless index related to a ship's overall internal volume. Gross tonnage is different from gross register tonnage...

 
Notes
TBA 2015 141,000 GT | Largest cruise ship to be built for the UK market.

External links


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