How P&O Cruises scores
A mainstream, family-first British line with a genuine identity crisis in its own name — three companies, one heritage.
These are fit scores, not review scores. They measure who P&O actually suits, not whether it runs a good cruise.
Two honest notes. Name clarity scores about as low as anything on our whole site — three separate companies share the P&O name today, and only one of them runs cruises. Independence from conglomerates is a flat 1: P&O Cruises has been Carnival-owned since 2003, one of nine cruise brands under the same parent.
Which P&O do you actually mean?
Because the name outlived the company that once held it all together.
All three trace back to the same root: The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, founded in 1822. Over the past 25 years, that single company split into pieces with entirely different owners — and all three pieces kept the P&O name.
P&O Cruises (UK)
A mainstream British cruise line, seven ships, sailing mostly from Southampton. The one this guide is actually about.
Owned by Carnival Corporation, via Carnival UK, since 2003.
P&O Cruises Australia
Ran for more than 90 years. Carnival ended the brand in June 2024; final sailings ran into early 2025. Its ships were renamed into Carnival Cruise Line.
No longer exists as a separate company.
P&O Ferries
A British ferry operator — Dover-Calais, Hull-Rotterdam, and similar short-sea routes. Shares the name and heritage only.
Owned by DP World (Dubai), not Carnival, since the mid-2000s.
The confusion is real enough that P&O Cruises has publicly had to address it. When P&O Ferries made mass redundancies in March 2022, P&O Cruises ran its own advertising campaign specifically to clarify the two companies are not related — a genuine sign of how easily the shared name misleads people, not a comment on either company's business.
The UK fleet, seven ships across three eras
| Ship(s) | What they actually are |
|---|---|
| Iona & Arvia | Excellence Class, the two largest and newest ships. Iona (2020/2021) was the first ship built for the British market powered by LNG. Arvia (2022/2023) added the Altitude Skywalk, P&O's first genuine adrenaline-activity ride. |
| Britannia | Delivered 2015, still marketed as the flagship despite being smaller than Iona and Arvia. Introduced the Union Flag-based livery now used fleet-wide. |
| Ventura & Azura | Grand Class — a more classic, mid-sized ocean-liner style sitting between the newest ships and the smaller adult-only ships. |
| Arcadia | Adult-only, but not actually a P&O design at all — she was originally ordered by Holland America Line, then reassigned to Cunard as the planned Queen Victoria, and only ended up at P&O after Carnival's 2003 merger brought all three brands under one parent mid-construction. Her real close relative is Cunard's Queen Victoria, not Aurora. |
| Aurora | Adult-only, oldest and smallest ship in the fleet, delivered 2000. Her actual sister ship, Oriana, left the P&O fleet in 2019. From December 2026, Aurora becomes the first of the two adult-only ships to open select sailings to children. |
The real history, and who actually owns the name
The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company was founded in 1822 by Brodie McGhie Willcox and Arthur Anderson, and began carrying passengers in 1837 — the heritage date P&O Cruises itself claims. P&O Cruises as a distinct company was formally established in 1977. It was divested from the wider P&O group in 2000, passed briefly through P&O Princess Cruises, and came under Carnival ownership when that company merged with Carnival Corporation in 2003.
One detail most guides skip: the "P&O Cruises" trademark itself is still owned by the original Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company — now part of DP World — and Carnival uses it under license. Even the name on the ships is not fully Carnival's to keep.
New for 2026
| What's new | Detail |
|---|---|
| Aurora opens to children | From December 2026, select Aurora sailings will admit children for the first time since she went adults-only — not fleet-wide, so check the specific sailing. |
| New cabin configurations | Five-berth cabins introduced on Arvia, Britannia, and Iona, aimed at larger family groups. |
| Carnival Corporation unified | In May 2026, Carnival Corporation & plc completed unification of its dual-listed structure and redomiciled to Bermuda — a corporate change to P&O's ultimate parent, not to the ships or itineraries themselves. |
Who it fits — and who should look elsewhere
You are sailing from a UK port and want a mainstream, family-friendly line built specifically for the British market. You want a genuine choice of ship era — from Aurora's classic scale to Iona and Arvia's modern mega-ship size. You are comfortable with a Carnival-owned line and do not need independence from a larger conglomerate. Or you specifically want an adult-only sailing on Arcadia or Aurora before Aurora's policy shifts.
You were actually looking for P&O Ferries, a Dover-to-Calais crossing, or a car ferry booking — you are on the wrong kind of company entirely. You wanted P&O Cruises Australia specifically; that brand no longer exists. You want a cruise line based outside the UK market. Or independence from a major conglomerate matters to you.
If you asked us to pick
Before you book or even keep researching, confirm you are actually looking at P&O Cruises and not P&O Ferries — the URLs, names, and even some search results genuinely overlap. If you want P&O's biggest, newest ships, Iona and Arvia deliver the most current experience. If you want the more traditional, smaller-ship feel the brand built its reputation on, Aurora and Arcadia are the honest match — just confirm Aurora's current sailing policy if you specifically want it adult-only.
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Instant answers from our guides · always verified against current P&O Cruises information before you book. An independent advisory, not affiliated with or endorsed by P&O Cruises, Carnival Corporation, or DP World.
Quick answers
Is P&O Cruises the same company as P&O Ferries?
No, and the companies themselves have publicly said so. P&O Cruises is owned by Carnival Corporation. P&O Ferries is owned by DP World, a Dubai-based ports and logistics company. Both trace back to the original P&O shipping company, but they have had separate owners since the early 2000s and share nothing beyond the name and heritage.
What happened to P&O Cruises Australia?
It was discontinued. Carnival Corporation ended the brand in June 2024 after more than 90 years of Australian operations, with final sailings running into early 2025. Its ships were renamed and folded directly into Carnival Cruise Line rather than continuing under the P&O name. If you are looking for P&O Australia today, it no longer exists as a separate line.
Who owns P&O Cruises today?
Carnival Corporation, through its UK operating arm, Carnival UK — the same company that owns Cunard. P&O Cruises was divested from the original P&O shipping company in 2000, passed briefly through P&O Princess Cruises, and came under Carnival ownership when that company merged with Carnival Corporation in 2003. The "P&O Cruises" trademark itself is still owned by the original P&O company and used under license.
How old is P&O Cruises really?
It depends which milestone you mean. The parent P&O shipping company was founded in 1822. P&O's first passenger operations began in 1837, which is the heritage P&O Cruises itself claims. P&O Cruises as a distinct company was formally established in 1977, and has operated under Carnival ownership since 2003.
How many ships does P&O Cruises UK have?
Seven: Iona and Arvia (Excellence Class sisters, the two largest), Britannia (still called the flagship despite being smaller than Iona and Arvia), Ventura and Azura (Grand Class sisters), plus Arcadia and Aurora — two unrelated ships, not sisters, that currently share an adult-only policy. Aurora opens to children on select sailings from December 2026.