P&O Cruises
Company type | Subsidiary |
---|---|
Industry | Hospitality and transportation |
Predecessor | P&O |
Founded | 1977[1] |
Headquarters | Southampton, England, UK |
Area served | United Kingdom |
Key people |
|
Products | Cruises |
Revenue | $1.032 billion (2018)[2] |
Parent | Carnival Corporation & plc |
Website | P&O Cruises |
P&O Cruises is a British cruise line based at Carnival House in Southampton, England, operated by Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. It was originally a subsidiary of the shipping company P&O and was founded during a restructuring of P&O's operations in 1977.[1] Along with P&O Cruises Australia, a sister company also founded by P&O, it has the oldest heritage of any cruise line in the world, dating to P&O's first passenger operations in 1837.[3][4][5]
P&O Cruises was divested from P&O in 2000, becoming a subsidiary of P&O Princess Cruises,[6] before coming under its current ownership in 2003, following a merger between P&O Princess Cruises and Carnival Corporation.[7] In 2018, the company had a 2.4% market share of all cruise lines worldwide.[2]
History
Origins
In 1834, Brodie McGhie Willcox, a ship broker from London, and Arthur Anderson, a sailor from the Shetland Islands, formed an association with Captain Richard Bourne, a steamship owner from Dublin.[8] In 1837, the trio won a contract and began transporting mail and passengers from England to the Iberian Peninsula, founding the Peninsular Steam Navigation Company.[9][5] In 1840, the company merged with the Transatlantic Steam Ship Company and expanded their operations to the Orient, becoming the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O).[10] In 1844, P&O expanded its passenger operations from transportation to leisure cruising, operating sailings from England to the Mediterranean that were the first of their kind.[5] By the mid-1900s, passenger shipping for the purposes of transportation was threatened by the increasing affordability of air travel.[11] Consequently, in the 1970s, P&O dedicated its passenger operations entirely to leisure cruising and, in 1977, relisted its passenger ships under the new subsidiary P&O Cruises.[1]
1977–1995: Early years
Initially, P&O Cruises operated Oriana and Canberra from Southampton, serving the UK market,[12][13] and Arcadia from Sydney, serving the Australian market,[14] while Uganda operated educational cruises.[15] All of these ships had previously operated for P&O and had been transferred to the new subsidiary. In 1979, Arcadia departed the Australian fleet[14] and was replaced by Sea Princess, which had previously been Kungsholm for Flagship Cruises.[16] In 1981, Oriana relocated to serve the Australian market,[12] while Sea Princess relocated to serve the UK market in 1982.[16] The same year, Canberra was requisitioned as a troopship during the Falklands War,[17] while Uganda was requisitioned as a hospital ship.[18] Uganda departed the fleet shortly thereafter, in 1983.[18] Oriana departed the Australian fleet in March 1986,[19] and Sea Princess departed the UK fleet in November 1986.[16] With only Canberra remaining, serving the UK market,[4] P&O diverged its Australian operations in 1988, acquiring Sitmar Cruises, which already operated a ship in Australia.[12] This led to the formation of P&O Cruises Australia, which would oversee Australian operations, while P&O Cruises continued to oversee UK operations.[3]
1995–2008: First newbuilds and changes of ownership
In the 1990s, P&O Cruises commissioned its first newbuild, the second Oriana, which entered service in April 1995.[20] Unlike the older ocean liners the company had inherited from P&O, which had been designed to transport passengers from one place to another, the new Oriana was a cruise ship, built purely for pleasure cruising. At 69,153 gross tons, she was one of the largest in the world.[21] Sea Princess also returned to the fleet in 1995, under the new name Victoria.[16] Canberra departed the fleet in 1997 and was replaced the same year by a second Arcadia, which had previously been Star Princess for Princess Cruises.[13] In 2000, Aurora, a newbuild of similar design to Oriana, entered service for P&O Cruises.[22] However, her service suffered an inauspicious start when she was forced to abandon her maiden voyage due to mechanical problems.[22] The same year, P&O divested all its cruise operations and formed the independent company P&O Princess Cruises, which now owned P&O Cruises.[6] In 2002, Victoria departed the fleet[16] and Oceana joined, having previously been Ocean Princess for Princess Cruises.[23]
In 2003, the ownership of P&O Cruises changed once again when P&O Princess Cruises merged with Carnival Corporation to form Carnival Corporation & plc.[7] Thereafter, Arcadia transferred to the new Ocean Village brand.[24] Adonia, previously Sea Princess and a sister to Oceana, replaced Arcadia but returned to Princess Cruises in 2005.[25] Adonia was replaced the same year by a newbuild Arcadia, which was allocated to P&O Cruises after having originally been intended for Holland America Line and thereafter Cunard Line.[26] Arcadia was joined by Artemis, previously Royal Princess for Princess Cruises.[27]
2008–present: Expansion, modernisation, and COVID-19
The fleet expanded and modernised with the addition of the 116,017-ton newbuild Ventura in 2008,[28] and her sister Azura in 2010.[29] Artemis departed the fleet in 2011[30] and was replaced by a second Adonia, which like Artemis had previously been Royal Princess for Princess Cruises.[31] In 2012, P&O Cruises celebrated the 175th anniversary of the Peninsular Steam Navigation Company by staging a 'Grand Event', in which the entire fleet was assembled in Southampton.[32] In 2014, the company introduced a new livery, based on the Union Jack, to emphasise its British heritage,[33] and in 2015, the 143,730-ton newbuild Britannia joined the fleet.[34] Adonia transferred to Carnival Corporation & plc's new Fathom brand in 2016,[35] returned in 2017,[36] and then departed the fleet permanently in 2018.[37] In 2019, the company's first newbuild, Oriana, also departed the fleet.[38]
In March 2020, P&O Cruises joined every other cruise line worldwide in suspending operations as a precaution against the emergent COVID-19 pandemic.[39][40] This resulted in the departure of Oceana from the fleet in July 2020, as Carnival sought to increase liquidity through the sale of older ships across their fleets.[41] The 184,089-ton newbuild Iona joined the fleet in October 2020, having been delayed by the pandemic from her planned May 2020 arrival.[42][43] Iona became the UK's first cruise ship to be powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG), shipping's most advanced fuel technology, with the intention of reducing air emissions.[44]
The company plans to resume operations in June 2021.[45] Arvia, a sister ship to Iona, is expected to join the fleet in December 2022.[46]
Golden Cockerel
P&O Cruises awards the company's Golden Cockerel trophy to the fastest ship in its fleet.[13] The trophy is currently held by Aurora, which achieved a speed of 25.7 knots in April 2019.[47] It was previously held by the first Oriana until her retirement in 1986,[13] Canberra until her retirement in 1997,[13] and the second Oriana until her retirement in 2019.[48]
Fleet
Current fleet
Ship | Built | Builder | In service for P&O Cruises |
Gross tonnage | Flag[49] | Notes | Image |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Aurora | 2000 | Meyer Werft | 2000–present | 76,152 | Bermuda |
Has held the Golden Cockerel trophy since 2019[47] |
|
Arcadia | 2005 | Fincantieri | 2005–present | 84,342 | Bermuda | ||
Ventura | 2008 | Fincantieri | 2008–present | 116,017 | Bermuda | ||
Azura | 2010 | Fincantieri | 2010–present | 115,055 | Bermuda | ||
Britannia | 2015 | Fincantieri | 2015–present | 143,730 | United Kingdom | ||
Iona | 2020 | Meyer Werft | 2021[45] | 184,700 | United Kingdom |
Future fleet
Ship | Built | Builder | In service for P&O Cruises |
Gross Tonnage[52] | Flag | Notes | Image |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Arvia[46] | 2022 | Meyer Werft | 2022 | 184,700 | TBC |
|
Previous fleet
Ship | Built | Builder | In service for P&O Cruises |
Gross tonnage | Flag | Notes | Image |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Arcadia | 1954 | John Brown & Company | 1977–1979 | 29,734 | United Kingdom | ||
Uganda | 1952 | Barclay Curle | 1977–1983 | 14,430 | United Kingdom |
|
|
Oriana | 1960 | Vickers-Armstrong | 1977–1986 | 41,910 | United Kingdom | ||
Canberra | 1961 | Harland and Wolff | 1977–1997 | 49,073 | United Kingdom | ||
Sea Princess/Victoria | 1965 | John Brown & Company | 1979–1986 (as Sea Princess), 1995–2002 (as Victoria) |
27,670 | United Kingdom |
|
|
Arcadia | 1988 | Chantiers de l'Atlantique | 1997–2003 | 63,500 | United Kingdom |
|
|
Adonia | 1998 | Fincantieri | 2003–2005 | 77,499 | United Kingdom |
|
|
Artemis | 1984 | Wärtsilä | 2005–2011 | 44,348 | Bermuda |
|
|
Adonia | 2001 | Chantiers de l'Atlantique | 2011–2016, 2017–2018 |
30,277 | Bermuda |
|
|
Oriana | 1995 | Meyer Werft | 1995–2019 | 69,153 | Bermuda | ||
Oceana | 2000 | Fincantieri | 2002–2020 | 77,499 | Bermuda |
|
References
- ^ a b c "From Liners to Leisure". P&O Heritage. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
- ^ a b "2018 Worldwide Cruise Line Market Share". Cruise Market Watch. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
- ^ a b "History of Our Fleet". P&O Cruises Australia. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
- ^ a b Coulter, Adam (21 December 2017). "P&O Cruises History". Cruise Critic. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
- ^ a b c "History of P&O". P&O Cruises Australia. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
- ^ a b Bennett, Neil (23 July 2000). "P&O reshapes cruise float". Telegraph. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
- ^ a b "Carnival cruises towards P&O deal". BBC. 25 October 2002. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
- ^ "Men of Steam". P&O Heritage. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
- ^ "First Mail Contract". P&O Heritage. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
- ^ "Royal Charter". P&O Heritage. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
- ^ "The Threat from Above". P&O Heritage. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
- ^ a b c Goossens, Reuben. "From Birth to Breakers". SS Maritime. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g Goossens, Reuben. "SS Canberra – Times Are 'a' Changing". SS Maritime. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
- ^ a b Messinger, Nick. "P&O ss Arcadia 1954". The Old Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
- ^ "Educational cruise ship service". SS Uganda Trust. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
- ^ a b c d e Goossens, Reuben. "From P&O's Sea Princess, Victoria, Mona Lisa, Oceanic II and Hotel Veronca to the breakers in 2015". SS Maritime. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
- ^ "South to the Falklands". P&O Heritage. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
- ^ a b "SS Uganda Trust Home Page". SS Uganda Trust. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
- ^ "Ship Fact Sheet: Oriana (1960)" (PDF). P&O Heritage. November 2009. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
- ^ "P&O Oriana – Cruise Ship". Ship Technology. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
- ^ "Oriana Ship History". Archived from the original on 21 November 2008. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
- ^ a b "Super-liner limps back to port". BBC. 3 May 2000. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
- ^ Boyle, Ian. "Oceana – Ocean Princess". Simplon Postcards. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
- ^ "CMV Columbus". CruiseMapper. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
- ^ Boyle, Ian. "Adonia – Sea Princess of P&O Princess Cruises". Simplon Postcards. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
- ^ Williamson, Jeannine. "Arcadia Review". Cruise Critic. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
- ^ Vass, Jacqueline (12 June 2004). "A great sea change". Telegraph. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
- ^ Archer, Jane (17 April 2008). "Helen Mirren's mission on the Ventura". Telegraph. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
- ^ Archer, Jane (23 November 2009). "Darcey Bussell named Godmother of Azura". Travel Weekly. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
- ^ Honeywell, John (22 September 2009). "P&O confirm sale of Artemis". Captain Greybeard. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
- ^ "Shirley Bassey names cruise ship Adonia in Southampton". BBC. 21 May 2011. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
- ^ "P&O Cruises to mark its 175th with Grand Event". Travel Weekly. 7 March 2011. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
- ^ "P&O Cruises reveals new Union Flag livery". Travel Weekly. 16 January 2014. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
- ^ Thompson, Nigel (27 February 2015). "See inside P&O Cruises' new flagship Britannia and discover why it really is such a big deal". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
- ^ Sampson, Hannah (4 June 2015). "Carnival launches fathom, a new "social impact travel" brand". Miami Herald. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
- ^ Davies, Phil (24 November 2016). "Fathom to lose only ship as Adonia rejoins P&O fleet". Travel Weekly. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
- ^ "P&O Respond And Apologise To Guests After News Of Selling Ship". Cruise. 27 September 2017. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
- ^ Davies, Phil (29 June 2018). "Oriana to leave P&O Cruises fleet in August 2019". Travel Weekly. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
- ^ Sullivan, Isabella (16 March 2020). "Coronavirus: P&O Cruises and Cunard Are Latest Lines to Suspend Operations for 30 Days". World of Cruising. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
- ^ Amos, Owen (20 April 2020). "Coronavirus journey: The 'last cruise ship on Earth' finally comes home". BBC News. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
- ^ Kalosh, Anna (10 July 2020). "Carnival Corp. to sell 9 ships, just 5 of 9 newbuilds due 2020/21 will come by end 2021". Seatrade Cruise News. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
- ^ "New Iona Delivered to P&O Cruises". Cruise Industry News. 12 October 2020. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
- ^ Spencer, Kerry (30 March 2020). "P&O Cruises Reveals Maiden Voyage of New Ship Iona Will be Delayed". Cruise Critic. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
- ^ "Carnival Corporation to Build Three New LNG-Powered Cruise Ships with Meyer Werft and Meyer Turku". Carnival Corporation & plc. 6 September 2016. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
- ^ a b "P&O to restart UK cruises this summer - but only for vaccinated passengers". The Guardian. 17 March 2021. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
- ^ a b Coulter, Adam (18 February 2021). "P&O Cruises Reveals Name of New Ship, Arvia". Cruise Critic. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
- ^ a b Ludlow, Paul (22 August 2019). "The passing of the P&O Cruises 'Golden Cockerel' trophy, from one captain to another". Twitter. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
- ^ a b "Oriana leaving P&O Cruises fleet" (PDF). Tom's Cruise Blog. 29 June 2018. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
- ^ "Vessel Database". FleetMon. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
- ^ "Meyer Werft hands over Iona to P&O Cruises". Meyer Werft. 12 October 2020. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
- ^ Coulter, Adam (24 May 2018). "P&O Cruises Reveals Name of New Ship: Iona". Cruise Critic. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
- ^ "Cruise ship orderbook". Cruise Industry News. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
- ^ "P&O Orders New Ship for 2022 Delivery". Cruise Industry News. 25 January 2018. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
- ^ "Building Overview MEYER Group" (PDF). Retrieved 29 November 2020.
- ^ "P&O Updates Newbuild Delivery Schedule". 4 August 2020. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
- ^ Coulter, Adam (22 February 2021). "P&O Cruises Cuts Steel For New Cruise Ship, Arvia". Cruise Critic. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
- ^ "CMV's Former Columbus is Latest Cruise Ship Headed to Indian Scrappers". The Maritime Executive. 23 March 2021. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
- ^ "New hull art added to the former Sea Princess by the new operator Foresee Cruises". Crew Center. 2 February 2021. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
- ^ "Astro Ocean Takes Over Piano Land as Ship Sails for China". Cruise Industry News. 17 August 2019. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
- ^ Bailey, Jordan (22 July 2020). "P&O's Former Oceana Acquired By Greek Ferry Operator". Cruise Capital. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
External links
- P&O Cruises Official Website
- P&O Cruises Australia Website
- The Last Ocean Liners (trade routes and ships of P&O-Orient Lines in the 1950s, 60s and 70s)