P&O Cruises

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P&O Cruises

 

P&O Cruises is a British-American owned cruise line based in Southampton, England, 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 was de-merged from the P&O group in 2000, becoming a subsidiary of P&O Princess Cruises, which subsequently merged with Carnival Corporation in 2003, to form Carnival Corporation & plc.

Fleet

Arcadia	Brittania
Adonia	Oceana
Aurora	Oriana
Azura	Ventura

 

Wheelchair accessible rooms - pdf

Mobility Issues? Check-out P&O's Q&A  section for more info.

Wi-Fi & Internet

Internet Connection Charges
Access to the internet is available by purchasing time packages. Time packages range from 25 pence per minute* to 35 pence per minute* depending on the amount of time purchased. An activation charge of £2.50* is also applicable. You may opt for a Pay As You Go package which works out as approximately 50 pence per minute*.
Full details on the various time packages are available on board, however you are also able to pre-purchase a time package from the gift catalogue which are available in the following amounts:
£35* - A 100 minute package of Internet time for use on board, anywhere in the world. When this package is purchased prior to your cruise, 20 minutes will be added free, totalling 120 minutes.
£62.50* - A 250 minute package of Internet time for use on board, anywhere in the world. When this package is purchased prior to your cruise, 30 minutes will be added free, totalling 280 minutes.
Please note that if purchasing a time package prior to embarkation, the activation charge is included in the cost. If purchasing a package on board, the activation charge is not included and charged separately.
To purchase an internet time plan, please call the Customer Contact Centre on 0843 374 0111**

Please contact your normal service provider for costs if you are accessing the internet via your own device using your normal service provider.

Wi Fi Services
P&O does not offer a complimentary Wi Fi service.

Each ship has full Wi Fi connectivity throughout the ship, however there may be some areas of the ship where the signal is weak, such as cabins located at the very far aft or bow of the ship. Should you find this to be the case, it is recommended that you open your cabin door or move to a more central location.

Visit the P&O Q&A for more information about wi-fi and connectivity at sea.

P&O History

Founded in 1837, P&O cruises celebrates 175 years of heritage in 2013. The Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O) first offered voyages known as 'excursions,' when passengers from England travelled with the Royal Mails to ports on the Iberian Peninsular and the Mediterranean, returning home on other P&O mail voyages.

The company really began in 1815 when Brodie McGhie Wilcox opened a ship-broking firm in Lime Street, London. After partnering with a former seaman, Arthur Anderson, the company called Wilcox and Anderson began trading between England and the Iberian Peninsular countries of Spain and Portugal.

In 1840 Wilcox and Anderson were awarded a new contract to extend their service to the Egyptian port of Alexandria via Malta. The new contract required that the voyage from England to Alexandria be accomplished in 15 days. The first vessel to open this service was the newly built 1,787-ton paddle-wheel steamship ORIENTAL, reflecting the Company's arrival in the East. Hence the title Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company.

Though P&O's main focus was mail delivery, it soon became clear to both men that there was more to a life at sea than just getting from A to B. And so leisure cruising was born, with the very first leisure cruise departing London bound for the Mediterranean in 1844.

When P&O pioneered cruising from Australia in 1932 the new 23,000-ton mail steamer STRATHAIRD carried 1,100 passengers on the first cruise to Brisbane and Norfolk Island - a sailing which sold out in just one day.

From 1945 to 1972, it was from the decks of P&O ships that over 1 million United Kingdom migrants caught their very first glimpse of their new Australian homeland. Known as Ten Pound Poms, this mass arrival was a scheme devised by the Australian and British Governments to help populate Australia.

Today P&O Cruises is Australia and New Zealand's leading cruise line to destinations in the Pacific Islands, Australia, New Zealand and Asia from Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Auckland. Our local fleet includes 70,285 ton PACIFIC DAWN with 1,950 passengers; the 70,310 ton PACIFIC JEWEL carrying 1,900 passengers; and the 63,786 ton PACIFIC PEARL carrying 1800 passengers.