p&o baltic cruises cancelled

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Major cruise lines axe Russia and Baltic sailings – full list of cancelled cruises

Author: Laura Ellsessar

Published on: 03 March 2022

Updated on: 08 March 2022

The evolving situation in Russia and Ukraine has forced major cruise lines to change their plans for upcoming trips. Find out which cruise lines are making alterations to their future itineraries.

Major cruise lines are having to react and adapt to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Between security concerns and opposition to the situation, many cruise lines are either altering or cancelling cruises to Russia and the Baltic area.

Many lines are planning changes for their upcoming summer 2022 itineraries while evaluating the situation for any 2023 alterations.

These are the current changes you can expect to some of the major cruise lines.

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As of February 24, Viking cancelled all departures on their Ukraine river itinerary through 2022. On March 1, the cruise line also made the decision to cancel all operations in Russia through 2022.

A spokesperson from Viking commented: “We have cancelled all 2022 departures of our Russia river itineraries—and will replace scheduled stops in Russia for all 2022 ocean itineraries.”

Viking continues to monitor the situation and evaluate its 2023 itineraries. Guests are currently being notified of the cancellations and will be kept up to date with any further information.

- READ MORE: Inside new Viking Octantis cruise ship -

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines has made several changes to its itineraries calling in these areas, beginning in May with Balmoral .

Peter Deer, Managing Director at Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, said: “Rather than visiting the Russian city of St Petersburg as planned, we have changed our course and our guests will now call into Stockholm and Visby in Sweden .”

Deer continued: “The safety of our guests and crew is always our number one priority and we are monitoring the situation in Russia and Ukraine very closely.”

Fred. Olsen promises to keep in touch with various destinations in the Baltic area and will keep guests up to date on any changes.

MSC Cruises has made alterations to its itineraries from May through October with sailings in the Baltic Sea which include St. Petersburg. The affected cruise ships are MSC Preziosa , MSC Grandiosa , MSC Poesia and MSC Virtuosa . All will suspend their stops at St. Petersburg.

MSC has been in touch with alternative ports including Stockholm, Helsinki and Tallinn , to determine calls to replace the original stop at St. Petersburg.

Details will be communicated to guests and travel agents as soon as possible and will also be reflected on their website for anyone looking to make future bookings.

- READ MORE: Ultimate guide to MSC Virtuosa, from cabins to capacity -

Riviera Travel has announced cruise cancellations in the wake of the unrest.

A Riviera Travel spokesperson said: "We’re shocked and deeply saddened by the current situation in Ukraine. In light of these circumstances, we have taken the decision to cancel all of our tours and cruises to Russia for the foreseeable future."

Guests can expect to be contacted in the near future about their personal itineraries. Riviera Travel continues to process cancellations in the order of departure date and urge guests to wait to be contacted as they are so busy at this time.

Saga Cruises has made changes to its upcoming cruises.

A Saga spokesperson said: “Following the FCDO’s change to travel advice for Ukraine, we altered our forthcoming cruise to the Black Sea, which was due to call at Odessa. Guests are in the process of being contacted about the change, and the rest of the cruise remains unaffected.”

Saga continues to monitor the situation for their future Baltic cruises and will make any alterations should they still be necessary to ensure the best possible experience for guests.

- READ MORE: Norwegian Escape’s tranquil cruise in the Eastern Caribbean -

Norwegian Cruise Lines

Norwegian Cruise Lines will also make alterations to its upcoming itineraries which include calls at St. Petersburg, Russia.

A spokesperson for Norwegian Cruise Lines said: “Due to the escalated situation between Russia and Ukraine we have made the decision to alter itineraries and remove calls to St. Petersburg, Russia from our 2022 sailings.”

The cruise line continues to confirm replacement ports for the involved itineraries within 2022.

Guests and travel agents can expect to be contacted as soon as possible concerning any changes to their trip.

P&O Cruises will be making alterations to its Baltic Cruises for all 2022 itineraries. These changes will suspend all calls at St. Petersburg.

P&O is still confirming new ports to replace St. Petersburg.

Guests booked for holidays before June will be contacted very soon with details of a new itinerary and ports.

Itineraries later in the year will also be changed and guests will be contacted once plans are finalized by P&O.

- READ MORE: P&O Cruises celebrates milestone in delivery of new ship Arvia -

Princess has released the following statement regarding cancelled cruises: "In light of the recent attacks by Russia in Ukraine, Princess Cruises is modifying itineraries on 24 cruises that call in St Petersburg, Russia with alternative ports.

"Replacement ports will vary by itinerary, including popular destinations such as Stockholm, Sweden (overnight call); Visby, Sweden and Gdansk (Gdynia), Poland. Guests can remain booked on their long-awaited cruises, and have the opportunity to visit medieval architecture, world famous landmarks and natural beauty on these Northern Europe cruises.

"Princess will continue updating impacted guests and travel agents as more information is available."

Aurora Expeditions

Aurora expeditions will be making changes to its upcoming itineraries for summer 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

All voyages with calls in Russia will be altered in light of the circumstances.

As announced on March 8: “The team at Aurora is now reviewing our deployment in the region and will advise our travel partners and guests of those changes in the near future.”

Aurora has assured that it will continue with flexible policies to accommodate the changing itineraries.

- READ MORE: 10 amazing cruises to Antarctica - how to pick the best cruise for you -

No changes will be made by Marella cruises as they have no upcoming itineraries within the Northern Europe or Baltic Sea areas.

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Planning a Baltic cruise for 2023? Cruise lines have begun to cancel sailings more than a year out

It looks like the cruise industry's recent pullback from the Baltics will continue into 2023.

With the war in Ukraine showing no signs of ending anytime soon, Oceania Cruises this week became the first major cruise line to cancel a wide swath of 2023 sailings to the Baltics — trips that in a normal year would revolve around a stop at the Russian port of St. Petersburg. Industry watchers expect more lines to follow in Oceania's wake as Russia remains a destination that neither cruise lines nor their customers want to touch.

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"I am afraid I do see [the Baltics pullback] extended into 2023," Alex Sharpe, the president and CEO of Signature Travel Network, a network of more than 7,000 travel agents, told TPG.

Even if the conflict between Russia and Ukraine ends relatively soon, "the ramifications of the political and economic sanctions might make Russia an untenable destination even into summer of 2023," Sharpe noted. "Certainly public opinion on Russia will also play into this – will people want to go to/support Russia in the immediate wake of this?"

In the days after Russia invaded Ukraine, all major cruise lines pulled St. Petersburg from 2022 Baltic itineraries, and some lines canceled 2022 Baltic trips outright. But most lines initially stuck with plans for 2023 Baltic cruises, hoping that the conflict would be resolved relatively quickly.

Now lines are facing the possibility that the war in Ukraine could simmer for years to come with sanctions against Russia also continuing for many years. If so, itineraries that involve stops in Russia may be on hold for an extended period.

"We need St. Petersburg to come back as a destination," Sharpe said. "But my gut says it's likely [that won't happen until] 2024 and beyond."

While St. Petersburg being off the map for cruise ships "doesn't mean Baltic cruises can't exist ... I expect there will be fewer of them as St. Petersburg has always been the big draw," he added.

Operating a few, but not many, Baltic sailings without St. Petersburg as a port of call is the strategy that Oceania is planning to take for 2023. Oceania will keep a handful of Baltic sailings on its schedule with stops at such Baltic ports as Stockholm, Sweden, and Tallinn, Estonia. But the line on Tuesday began notifying customers on the majority of its 2023 Baltic sailings that it was replacing the trips with sailings to the more westerly parts of Northern Europe including the U.K, Iceland, Greenland and Norway.

An Oceania representative suggested that customer demand was a factor in the changes.

"We are taking the opportunity to offer our guests a more diverse and creative range of itineraries and destination experiences," Oceania spokesperson Tim Rubacky on Wednesday told TPG. "We have the advantage of being able to look more than a year out and follow the demand."

Rubacky suggested that port availability also was a factor in the line's itinerary changes, as the number of ports in the Baltic that can act as a substitute for St. Petersburg is limited.

"When everyone is clamoring to replace St. Petersburg with the same handful of ports, we zig and let the others zag," he said.

Sharpe suggested that changing 2023 Baltic itineraries now, more than a year in advance of when they're scheduled to take place, made sense given the uncertainty around what will happen with the war in Ukraine. It takes away the chance that the trips will have to be canceled at the last minute, which would be far more disruptive.

"Having to 'go back' and re-sell a redeployed cruise for the line and advisors [on short notice] is difficult and certainly disruptive," Sharpe noted.

Regent Seven Seas Cruises, a sister line to Oceania Cruises, also will be making changes to Baltic sailings for 2023. But a spokesperson for the line on Wednesday told TPG the brand wouldn't comment on the changes until it had notified passengers and travel agents.

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Cruise lines scrap Russian, Ukrainian ports from 2022 itineraries following invasion

Cruise lines are scrapping Russian and Ukrainian ports from their itineraries after Russian troops launched an attack on Ukraine. 

Three cruise lines owned by Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings – Norwegian Cruise Line, Regent Seven Seas Cruises and Oceania Cruises – announced Thursday that they would adjust their itineraries and remove calls to Russian ports in 2022. 

"The safety and security of our guests, crew and communities we visit is our top priority," reads an emailed statement from Norwegian Cruise Line. "We are currently working to confirm replacement ports and will advise all impacted guests and travel advisors as soon as possible."

CEO Frank Del Rio   noted Thursday morning that the company had no vessels scheduled to enter the region until late May.

Viking and Atlas Ocean Voyages are also adjusting their itineraries. 

Learn more: Best travel insurance

Which sailing itineraries are changing after Russian invasion of Ukraine? 

Norwegian Cruise Line is removing planned stops in St. Petersburg from its 2022 sailings "due to the escalated situation between Russia and Ukraine." 

Sister brand Regent Seven Seas Cruises plans to remove the Solovetsky Islands, Arkhangelsk, Murmansk and St. Petersburg, Russia, from its 2022 sailings, along with Odesa, Ukraine.

Oceania Cruises, another Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings brand, said it too would remove Russian and Ukrainian ports from its 2022 sailings, according to an emailed statement.

All three companies said they are working to confirm replacement ports and will advise impacted guests and travel advisers "as soon as possible."  

Atlas Ocean Voyages, a luxe expedition cruise line based in Florida, is adjusting two of its late-summer Baltic itineraries. Calls to St. Petersburg will be replaced by destinations in Finland and Estonia.

UKRAINE INVASION'S IMPACT ON TRAVEL: US travelers urged to leave Ukraine by ground 'immediately' if they're already there

WHAT HAPPENS TO YOUR BOOKINGS?: Crystal Cruises is reportedly shutting down US operations

"With unrest in Eastern Europe, we have adjusted our voyages," President Alberto Aliberti said in a statement. "Guests will enjoy these unique and rarely visited destinations and immersive shore excursions to take in the rich cultures and breathtaking vistas of the Baltic."

Viking, which operates both ocean and river cruises, has canceled all 2022 departures from its Kyiv, Black Sea and Bucharest itinerary . 

"We are currently evaluating itineraries that call in Russia in 2022, which will require modifications," according to a Viking statement. "When necessary changes are made, Viking Customer Relations will notify all impacted guests and their travel advisors."

Carnival Corp. spokesperson Roger Frizzell said the company is monitoring the situation. The company operates a number of cruise lines, including Carnival Cruise Line, Princess Cruises and Holland America Line. 

Expedition cruise line Hurtigruten Expeditions has just one sailing to Arctic Russia scheduled for 2022. Spokesperson Rune Thomas Ege said Friday the company is "closely monitoring the situation in Eastern Europe and Russia."

United Kingdom-based cruise line Saga has altered its itinerary for a cruise to the Black Sea, which had planned to make a stop in Odesa, Ukraine. 

"We are now looking at the impact of the latest developments on our Baltic cruises later this year which were due to call in at St. Peterburg," a Friday statement from the company reads. "We will continue to monitor the situation and if necessary make further alterations to our itineraries whilst still ensuring the best experience for our guests."

Small-ship cruise line Windstar Cruises has canceled all sailings and cruise tours in the Black Sea region and will replace calls in St. Petersburg for non-Russian ports in its Baltic itineraries. 

What's the impact on cruise bookings?

Norwegian CFO Mark Kempa said readjusting itineraries wouldn't have a "huge impact" on the company. Roughly 5% of its total capacity calls on St. Petersburg during the summer season, or about 50 sailings total. 

"There's plenty of other ports in the Scandinavian region that we have the ability to call on," he said during a Thursday earnings call.  

Kempa added that it's "way too early" to say whether the conflict will have an impact on booking trends but hadn't noticed any "red flags" as of Thursday morning.

"You'll probably see a little bit of slowdown here and there around the margin. That's normal. But it's definitely too early to indicate if there's going to be any longer-term effects," he said. "This is affecting a very small portion of Europe. And there's a lot of other areas that we can operate in."   

A spokesperson for the Cruise Lines International Association said the organization is closely monitoring the situation in Ukraine and noted that most itineraries with stops in impacted areas are not scheduled to begin until late spring or summer. 

"We share with the world the concerns over the conflict in the region," spokesperson Laziza Lambert told USA TODAY via email. "As always, the safety and security of guests, crew and the communities we visit are of utmost importance and continue to be the criteria on which our cruise line members base their itinerary decisions."

CLIA encourages travelers who have booked sailings in the area to check with their travel advisor or cruise line for more information on their cruise's status. 

Follow USA TODAY reporter Bailey Schulz on Twitter: @bailey_schulz . 

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P&O Cruises fleet

Pacific encounter, pacific adventure, pacific explorer, review of p&o cruises.

This is CruiseMapper's hub for both companies - P&O UK and P&O Australia. Both cruise lines are part of the Carnival Group of companies being subsidiaries of the world's largest cruise shipping company Carnival Corporation & PLC .

P&O UK is under the management of Carnival UK.

Note: There is a 3rd "PandO" company (not part of Carnival plc) - the UK-based P&O Ferries .

IMPORTANT : In May 2024, the parent company (Carnival Corporation) announced that in 2025 will discontinue its Australian brand "P&O Cruises Australia" (2000-founded), citing the South Pacific region's limited population and high operating costs. P&O AU's ship Pacific Explorer will be retired in February 2025 (sold or scrapped), while Pacific Encounter and Pacific Adventure will be transferred to/integrated into CCL-Carnival Cruise Line 's fleet and remain in Australia.

Company history and changes

P&O Cruises UK (POcruises.com) is a British-American passenger shipping company headquartered at Carnival House (Southampton, England) and operated/managed by Carnival UK. P&O was originally a constituent of “Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company” (1797-founded/1966-defunct) which was the world's oldest cruise line that operated the first-ever passenger ships.

P&O Cruises' sister company is P&O Cruises Australia. P&O Australia's current President is Marguerite Fitzgerald. while P&O UK's (as well as Carnival UK's) current President is Paul Ludlow.

In 2000, "P&O Cruises" was excluded from P&O Group, becoming the subsidiary "P&O Princess Cruises". In 2003, P&O Princess merged with Carnival, forming Carnival Corporation & plc.

P&O (UK and AU) holds as market share ~5% of the worldwide cruise industry. Both companies (P&O Australia and P&O UK) were created in 1977, re-branding P&O's passenger division. Arcadia was the fleet's first adults-only liner, followed by Adonia (now Azamara Pursuit ), Oriana and Aurora (April 2000).

P&O UK ships Arcadia and Aurora are currently marketed as adult-only.

In August 2017, Azura became the world's first cruise ship to perform gay weddings at sea. P&O UK's wedding package prices started from GBP 1200. For comparison, Cunard’s shipboard weddings cost starts at ~GBP 2570 ( RMS Queen Mary 2 ) and ~GBP 2120 ( Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth ). On MS Azura, gay wedding ceremonies are carried out by the ship’s Captain, while marriage licenses are issued by Bermuda's Government (as the vessel is registered in Hamilton Bermuda ).

In June 2018, P&O UK announced that Oriana leaves the fleet in August 2019. The liner (now named Piano Land ) was sold to the Chinese company Well Star Travel Cruise (brand of CTS-China Travel Services International). The Chinese company plans short cruises from Chinese homeports to ports in Japan and Southeast Asia (Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Philippines, Indonesia).

Since May 1, 2019, P&O Cruises UK's Daily Service Charge per person (GBP 7) is no longer required. Crew tipping remains not expected or required.

In June 2021, P&O UK launched a mobile app to optimize pre-boarding and maximize onboard efficiency. The new "My Holiday" app is free of charge but available only on the ship. It allows pre-booking and making reservations onboard (dining times, restaurants, shows) via mobile phones and tablets. The app is an addition to the My Holiday (Reception Desk) which provides 24-hour assistance, including booking and how to use the application.

In summer 2023, two P&O UK ships (Iona and Arvia) introduced in their retail shops three kids' toy brands (Barbie, Hot Wheels Cars, Keycraft's Pocket Money) in addition to the always available toys from brands like Lego, Jellycat, TY (stuffed animals).

In April 2024 was introduced fleetwide the new illusion show "Unbelievable" created by Stephen Mulhern (TV presenter, magician, comedian) and Jonathan Wilkes (TV presenter, singer) and with Vegas-style choreography from Paul Domaine (show director, professional choreographer).

In June 2011 was announced that P&O UK will expand the fleet with a new 141,000-ton unit built by Fincantieri. The new vessel ( MV Britannia ) entered service in 2015. In January 2014, with Britannia was introduced a new livery based on UK's Union Flag.

On September 6, 2016, P&O UK (via Carnival Corporation) signed an MoA with Meyer Werft ( Papenburg Shipyard ) for building a new (company's largest) 5200-passenger vessel. In late-October 2016, P&O announced that the new ship ( Iona ) will have some of the largest at sea outdoor areas, glass-domed top deck, glass-walled atrium (full height) and wider and longer (approx 2600 ft / 800 m) Promenade Deck allowing multiple alfresco dining/open-air venues.

Iona was delivered in October 2020 and inaugurated in August 2021. The sistership Arvia was postponed (due to the COVID crisis) and delivered in December 2022 and inaugurated in January 2023.

The newest P&O UK vessel has max passenger capacity 6264, volume 187500 GT-tons, 18 decks, 2610 staterooms, 17 eateries (including 7 specialty restaurants/ Britannia has just 3), 12 bars/lounges, 13 entertainment venues, 4 swimming pools, 16 outdoor whirlpools. The top-deck Dome is an entertainment space, with a swimming pool, large jacuzzies, a retractable stage. This all-weather venue hosts daily entertainment and dining and nightly shows (aerial performances and light projections onto the covering glass roof).

P&O UK's newest ship is also LNG-powered (by liquefied natural gas). Two similar-design ships (180K tons) were also ordered for CCL-Carnival Cruise Line . On January 26, 2018, Carnival Corporation signed a shipbuilding contract with Meyer Werft for building a second (180,000 GT) liner for P&O, with the delivery scheduled for 2022. As of 2018, Carnival Corp’s fleet of newbuilds ( on order and under construction ) numbered 19 units, scheduled for deliveries in 2018-2022.

In January 2016, Carnival Corporation signed an MoA (memo of agreement) with Fincantieri to build 4 new units. Contracts were finalized in April 2016. Of these, 2 vessels were for Costa Asia (homeported in China), one for Princess and one for P&O Australia. With this shipbuilding order, the Corporation had a total of 17 new ships scheduled for deliveries between 2016 and 2020. The four vessels will be built at Fincantieri's shipyards in Monfalcone and Marghera, with scheduled deliveries in 2019-2020.

Three of the vessels are designed with gross tonnage 133,500 tons, LOA length is 323 m (1060 ft) and capacity 4000 passengers plus 1450 crew (2 are for Costa Asia, 1 for P&O AU). One ship with GT 143,700 tons and capacity 3560 passengers is for Princess. Both Costa ships are exclusively for the booming Chinese market. Each vessel is powered by two MAN diesel engines (model 14V48 / 60CR) plus three MAN diesel engines (medium-speed, model 8L48 / 60CR), providing total power output 62,400 kW. The engines are Tier-II compliant.

P&O Cruises Australia

P&O Cruises Australia Ltd is a British-American company with corporate headquarters at Carnival House (Southampton, England UK). P&O Australia is a sister company of P&O UK. Both are under Carnival UK's executive control. Currently, P&O Australia operates 3 boats deployed in the South Pacific Ocean on island-hopping itineraries - mainly roundtrips from homeports in Australia.

After numerous changes in the company’s organization, in 2000 P&O Group demerged all cruise shipping operations. Then, P&O Princess Cruises was created- a new company independent of P&O; consisting of AIDA Cruises , Princess Cruises , P&O Cruises Australia, P&O Cruises (UK), and later "Ocean Village" and A-Rosa Cruises (riverboats).

In 2003, Carnival Corporation merged with P&O Princess Cruises thus forming Carnival Corporation & plc- the largest cruise company in the world, with eleven cruise lines portfolio, including P&O AU. Official website pocruises.com.aunofollow.

Princess' oldest ship - Regal Princess, was transferred to P&O Australia in October 2007, and after a month of drydock refurbishment entered service as Pacific Dawn.

Carnival Corporation informed about the closure of Ocean Village (UK-based travel brand) on October 30, 2008. Both Ocean Village ships were transferred to P&O Australia - Ocean Village 2 (as Pacific Jewel, in December 2009) and Ocean Village 1 (as Pacific Pearl, in December 2010).

P&O ships sail on 270+ itineraries each year (with 120+ of them departing from Southampton), and visiting 90+ countries on 6 continents.

Pacific Pearl was renamed MV Columbus and in 2017 started operations for CMV . Pacific Pearl left the fleet in April 2017, after completing 294 voyages for P&O and carrying 1+ million passengers over 5 years. In November 2019, for Pacific Aria (now Celestyal Journey) and Pacific Dawn (now Ambience) were signed presale agreements with CMV and both ships were planned to start operations for the UK-based company in 2021 as "CMV Amy Johnson" (Pacific Dawn) and "CMV Ida Pfeiffer" (Pacific Aria). In September-October 2020, following CMV's bankruptcy , both vessels were acquired by new shipowners.

On November 25, 2015: P&O AU's entire fleet (all 5 liners) gathered in Sydney Harbour to celebrate the arrival of the fleetmates Pacific Aria and Pacific Eden.

In June 2018, P&O Australia launched with  Pacific Explorer "The Big Laugh" onboard show program - advertised as "the biggest comedy festival at sea". The program included all 14 stand-up comedy celebrities performing a total of 36 shipboard live shows (combined over 33 hours live performances). The program started with the 4-day roundtrip Sydney cruise to Moreton Island (departure June 20).

Among the guest comedians were Jimeoin (Irish), Matthew Matt Okine (AU), David Gerard Callan (Australian), Scared Weird Little Guys (Australian comedy music duo - John Fleming and Rusty Berther), David William "Hughesy" Hughes (AU), Harley Breen (AU), Claire Hooper (AU). "The Big Laugh" program comprised of all 72 comedy- themed cruises in 2018-2019. The famous Australian comedians performed during 2-, 3- and 4-night itineraries ("SeaBreaks") leaving roundtrip out of Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Cairns, Auckland NZ.

In 2019, P&O AU scheduled the ever largest "comedy cruise" program in the company's history - 38 itineraries (January through October). On March 7, 2018, was announced that Pacific Eden is sold to the UK-based company CMV , joining CMV's fleet in April 2019.

Since 2007, P&O Australia ships' onboard retail shops are managed by Harding (UK-based travel and cruise retail group). In 2020, Harding was acquired by Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP (1983-founded, NYC-based investment management firm with USD 34+ billion in managed assets). Harding has hubs in Bristol (England) , Miami (Florida USA)  and Sydney (NSW Australia) .

New beverage packages

In May 2023, P&O UK introduced four new drink packages available fleetwide but only on longer voyages, with durations of at least 5 nights (or longer).

The beverage packages are at a fixed price per person and per day. The package's pricing is lower if purchased online and before the voyage.

• "The Refresh Drinks" package is priced GBP 9.85 (prior to the voyage) and GBP 10.95 (if purchased onboard).  The Refresh package Includes soft drinks (lemonade, Pepsi, juices).
• "The Alcohol-free Drinks" package is priced GBP 22.45 (before) and GBP 24.95 (onboard) and includes all The Refresh package's beverages plus Costa Coffee and sodas.
• "The Classic Drinks" package is priced GBP 40.45 (before) and GBP 44.95 (onboard) and includes all beverages from The Refresh and The Alcohol-free packages plus alcoholic beverages (spirits, wines, cocktails).
• "The Deluxe Drinks" package is priced GBP 49.45 (before) and GBP 54.95 (onboard) and includes all other packages' beverages plus specialty cocktails, premium spirits and wines. Additionally, passengers who buy The Deluxe Drinks package also receive 20% off on all drinks excluded from this package.

The above-listed new packages are for P&O UK ships only and introduced/first offered on the liners Iona and Ventura (starting May 20, 2023) and available fleetwide since July 2023.

P&O Cruise Personaliser

PandO Cruise Personaliser is an online service that allows passengers to update their before-sailing information and see in a concise form all their booking details. P&O Personaliser is NOT mandatory to complete but may be of great help in cases of emergency for the company to contact family members, relatives, friends.

To log in, you'll need to input your first and surname, and cruise reference number. It is received as part of your reservation confirmation (up to 120 days prior to departure, not available for 18-yo) or upon booking (up to 1 year). The same number serves all people included in the booking. On the Web page, there's information about cruise itinerary, stateroom (category and number), boarding times, contact info (including emergency contacts), passport data, medical and dietary requirements (if requested).

PO Cruise Insurance is optional. If purchased, the Insurance policy type is also shown (Standard or higher), package deal type, all kinds of pre-made reservations (shore excursions, Air, Spa), credit card number, luggage tags, etc.

• Dining /medical requests can't be entered online - they must be specified in the manual form.
• The accessible information about changes and updates pertains ONLY to a phone number, address, passport, emergency contacts.
• You can't book a cruise through P&O Cruise Personaliser - booking requires full payment and immigration details.
• Through the Personaliser you can make online reservations (shore excursions, tours, Spa, hairdresser, specialty restaurants), to update special requests and onboard preferences, or to add some additional services (babysitting, amenities, etc).
• Itinerary changes are also listed in the Cruise Personaliser form, along with other important updates.
• Immediately call P&O if you have forgotten or lost your booking number. Call between 7 am – 8 pm (Australian Eastern Standard Time - Monday to Friday) and Saturday (8 am - 5 pm) - phone number 1300-159-454.

PO Cruise Personaliser is accessed by both travel agents and passengers. With personal bookings (through a travel agent or P&O Reservations Centre) passengers receive reference numbers (after confirmation). On a particular booking, each passenger can access the Personaliser using the booking reference number and first name-surname. If you're not the booking person, contact the one who did it for obtaining booking reference. After log-in, note that all passengers' names in the booking party are displayed under the same reference number.

IMPORTANT - Each of the same-booking passengers is able to access the info about you and the other, i.e. you can update and provide information of all other passengers in your booking, and they can change your information. If you wish so, you could provide P&O with other passengers' personal information. Another case is when they are minors (younger than 18 years old). Then you must be a parent or legal guardian.

After providing P&O cruise company with the personal data needed on the Personaliser (and also with additional info if asked for more details), this database is used for updating pre-cruise information.

Certain information is sometimes required under maritime-customs-immigration-security laws. Personaliser info may be disclosed to P&O Cruises service providers (ticketing companies, travel, and port agents, authorities, emergency response providers, immigration, airlines, customs, shore tour operators, related entities) for Carnival Corporation's business purposes. Certain information is collected because of customs or immigration laws requirements. If you refuse to provide the information requested in the Personaliser, they may not be able to process the booking or provide certain services during the voyage.

(Coronavirus crisis) passenger shipping pause 2020-2021

Due to the COVID pandemic, P&O's entire fleet (all UK- and AU-based liners) is with an expanded cancellation policy. All bookings on pre-scheduled itineraries (departures in the period March 14 through August 31, 2020) were given the option to cancel up to 48 hours (prior departure) without penalties.

All affected bookings received a 125% refund in FCC (future cruise credit) transferred to a booking made before December 31, 2021, or 100% monetary refund. With the FCCs customers can also pay for cabin upgrades or book a second stateroom (on existing bookings). FCCs can be also gifted or transferred (options offered through December 31, 2021).

P&O UK canceled all voyages departing between March 14, 2020, and June 2021.

• P&O UK planned to resume operations in early-February 2021 (Caribbean fly-cruises from Barbados and St Lucia) and in mid-March 2021 (roundtrips out of Southampton).
• P&O UK's World Cruises 2021 (ships Arcadia and Aurora) were both canceled.

Next are listed P&O UK's ships and their first departure dates in 2021-2022 - AZURA (Dec 10, 2021), BRITANNIA (June 27, 2021/UK Coastal), AURORA (April 13, 2022/Mediterranean from Southampton), ARCADIA (March 27, 2022/Canaries from Southampton), IONA (Aug 7, 2021/ Maiden Voyage /UK Coastal), VENTURA (Oct 3, 2021/Canaries from Southampton).

P&O Australia canceled all departures between March 14, 2020, and May 31, 2022. P&O Australia resumed operations in 2022 with the ships Pacific EXPLORER (May 31/from Sydney), Pacific ENCOUNTER (Aug 27/from Brisbane), Pacific ADVENTURE (October 22/from Sydney).

Citing the Coronavirus crisis' impact, in early-July 2020, P&O UK sold the ship Oceana . A total of 190 scheduled itineraries (departures from homeports Southampton UK and Dubai UAE) were canceled.

Itinerary of P&O Cruises

P&O Cruises ships sail on mostly round-trip itineraries leaving from UK (Southampton, April through October), Caribbean (from Barbados, during winter) and from Australia (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane - year-round departures). While most PandO UK ships remain in Europe year-round, the line's largest vessels also sail in the Caribbean (out of Barbados) and offer longer world cruise itineraries.

Citing the COVID crisis' impact on the passenger shipping industry, in early-July 2020, P&O UK sold the cruise ship Oceana . A total of 190 scheduled itineraries (departures from homeports Southampton UK and  Dubai UAE ) were canceled.

P&O UK's 2025-2026 itinerary program (opened for booking on October 18, 2023) features 12 new for the company ports (including Los Angeles CA USA, Melbourne Victoria AU, Port Chalmers/Dunedin NZ, Benoa Bali Indonesia, Bodo Norway, Tangier Morocco). MS Britannia has scheduled two new Caribbean fly-cruise itineraries visiting Jamaica, Dominicana, Grand Turk). In January 2026, MS Aurora starts a 75-night Grand Voyage while MS Arcadia starts a 100-night World Circumnavigation Cruise (28 ports/destinations). Traditionally for P&O, both World  Voyages are roundtrips from Southampton.

(UK & AU) PO cruise itinerary changes

PO AU's vessels are all UK- flagged . However, all ships are registered in Bermuda ( Hamilton ) to allow shipboard weddings (at sea). These ceremonies are conducted by the Captains and are pretty popular.

Our P&O cruise schedules include the ships of both brands (Australia and UK).

In October 2022, P&O UK announced new "Scandinavia and Baltic Sea" itineraries debuting in 2024 summer, all of which are roundtrips from Southampton.

• (Arcadia) 16-night from GBP 1700 pp (June 25)
• (Aurora) 16-night from GBP 1350 pp (May 18) and 16-night from GBP 1450 pp (August 26)
• (Britannia) 14-night from GBP 1150 pp (May 10), plus 2x 14-night from GBP 1300 pp (August 30, September 20)

Arcadia also offers a 16-night "Iceland and Norway" voyage from GBP 1650 pp (July 30), while Britannia offers a 14-night "British Isles" from GBP 1300 pp (June 7) and a 14-night "Canary Islands" from GBP 1250 pp (July 5).  The new Baltic sailings feature overnight port stays in Copenhagen (Denmark), Helsinki (Finland), and Stockholm (Sweden).

P&O Cruises related cruise news

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P&O Cruises UK offers special OBC/onboard credit promo for Mediterranean itineraries

P&O Cruises UK is offering additional OBC/onboard credit (spending money) for bookings made within the next month. Up to GBP 520 per balcony...

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P&O Cruises UK denies link between Hepatitis A cases and Ventura ship

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•   show more news

• P&O Cruises ( UK )

P&O Cancelling Baltic Cruises

By Old_tilly_billy , December 5, 2022 in P&O Cruises ( UK )

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Old_tilly_billy

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terrierjohn

Not particularly enamoured with the alternatives proposed, but I guess that  without St Petersburg they are struggling to sell Baltic cruises, so it's not surprising.  However Baltic cruises in our experience generally offer warmer weather than Iceland, Norway or UK cruisers, so I think we will be opting out. Unfortunately as we need an accessible cabin I doubt we will find an alternative warm weather cruise with an available cabin.

Hmmm, interesting. That's most of the Baltic cruises between the beginning of June and the end of September...

48 minutes ago, terrierjohn said: Not particularly enamoured with the alternatives proposed, but I guess that  without St Petersburg they are struggling to sell Baltic cruises, so it's not surprising.  However Baltic cruises in our experience generally offer warmer weather than Iceland, Norway or UK cruisers, so I think we will be opting out. Unfortunately as we need an accessible cabin I doubt we will find an alternative warm weather cruise with an available cabin.

We are effected as well but we have just asked our TA to cook the replacementcruise wherever it goes. As it happens she read out the itinerary for the replacement and it sounded quite good.

4 minutes ago, Britboys said: Hmmm, interesting. That's most of the Baltic cruises between the beginning of June and the end of September...

Its the war, I suspect that it is a Carnival thing and that their insurers are not happy about any Baltic cruiswes at this time.

repeat post

6 minutes ago, daiB said: Its the war, I suspect that it is a Carnival thing and that their insurers are not happy about any Baltic cruiswes at this time.

But there is still one Britannia and an Aurora cruise going there Dai. It will be interesting to see whether other Carnival Corp Lines continue to sail. It may be just that there is low demand...

We were booked on one of these cruises and had already decided to cancel.  Fortunately our TA had suggested waiting a while before we cancelled. We have already booked a replacement (slightly lower value so unable to transfer) and have three others booked. So we will miss out on the OBS offered but at least now we will get our deposit back and not have to forfeit it by cancelling.

They have cancelled the Baltic cruise but will not have an alternative until 9th Dec. £100 on board spend offered but only if you book before end Dec. Iceland and British isles are likely replacements. I won't be going 

Just noticed it now. A shame, but I guess it is security related. Also more people will be choosing not to book the Baltics with the current situation as it is. 

Not a surprising development. I will be interested to see what the alternatives are when they are released.

Iceland is a beautiful country and is a good alternative to the Baltic's. Makes you think it was poor senior management to even consider cruising in that area and do soon.

15 minutes ago, Britboys said: But there is still one Britannia and an Aurora cruise going there Dai. It will be interesting to see whether other Carnival Corp Lines continue to sail. It may be just that there is low demand...

True but then again the low demand is due to the war.

We had a great Baltic cruise in September onboard Britannia and felt totally at ease and safe. When we booked it two years previous we were really looking forward to St Petersburg, but the current situation put paid to that.

The ship was less than 70% full, whereas the Mediterranean cruises that preceded and followed it were almost full; so I reckon folk were cautious about travelling. Probably the same next year.

molecrochip

Summer 2023 went on sale in November last year. Baltic cruises were fully available to book.

In Feb they cancelled the 2022 Baltic Cruises and all calls to Russia.

Then they withheld from sale the 2024 cruises to the Baltic in the spring when the rest of Summer 24 was released. These were later replaced with alternative cruises.

They have now taken a decision to cancel 2023 Baltic Cruises. I’m led to believe the bookings were low and lots of people had cancelled/moved their cruises to others outside of the Baltic.

Likely that the couple still going are because bookings are higher.

Can't understand lack of interest in Baltic. Loved it in August 

visiting Danish and Swedish ports plus Riga, etc. Shame.

We were booked to go on the B318, one of the cancelled ones. I believe the main problem for people booking is the lack of clarity about what is happening. This will not be helped by the cancellation of these cruises.  If this is truly because of lack of demand then I wish they would be upfront about it , or they could do a bit of advertising for these cruising. The baltics is a beautiful area to visit during the summer and I was really looking forward to going back. I'm almost afraid to rebook in case whatever I book gets cancelled again. And I'm not in the least bit excited about a British Isles cruise, whatever they pretend!

If it would not be safe in the Baltic, they would cancel all cruises. So it is clearly a lack of demand..

4 hours ago, Fionboard said: Can't understand lack of interest in Baltic. Loved it in August  visiting Danish and Swedish ports plus Riga, etc. Shame.

i can totally understand it.  It's just not safe in the Baltic.  Russia has a piece of land there.  Anything couldl happen.

Host Sharon

Having spent 3 weeks in the Baltic and Gulf of Bothnia last August, I felt totally safe. There are lots of other interesting ports in lieu of St Pete's - Riga, Tallinn, Skagen, Goteborg, Kemi, Ronne, Visby etc. and the weather was perfect. Would happily go back next year. Perhaps there are just too many Baltic cruises to fill them all. What would cause me not to book however, is the probablity the cruise would be cancelled and thus it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

13 minutes ago, jeanlyon said: i can totally understand it.  It's just not safe in the Baltic.  Russia has a piece of land there.  Anything couldl happen.

Why is it not safe? Has there been a single incident this year involving tourists or cruise ships? Other lines are still sailing there, including the ultra-cautious Saga.

1 hour ago, jeanlyon said: i can totally understand it.  It's just not safe in the Baltic.  Russia has a piece of land there.  Anything couldl happen.

Other than the tiny land locked enclave between Poland and Lithuania,  there is only St Petersberg on the Baltic and that is quite a distance along a narrow inlet that would be relatively easy to isolate with a few NATO  submarines if Putin did escalate things in the region. So I don't believe that security is the reason.

Like Moly I  think the reason is diminishing bookings, but I can't really see that extra Norway, Icland or round Britain cruises are going to be any easier to fill, unless they offer distressed pricing like Princess did last year on Enchanted Princess, which could well result  in a much lower return, than keeping the Baltic cruises.

Goosebear Mum

I wonder what will happen re: our Aurora R307 in May?   For Aurora, there are a lot of empty cabins, which is highly unusual.  I think the lack of Russia/St P on the agenda has put off a lot of the foreign bookings   

The lack of St.P didn't bother me particularly. I would like to visit it but at the moment am happy to give it a miss. There are so many other interesting places to visit around the baltic sea. 

1 hour ago, Goosebear Mum said: I wonder what will happen re: our Aurora R307 in May?   For Aurora, there are a lot of empty cabins, which is highly unusual.  I think the lack of Russia/St P on the agenda has put off a lot of the foreign bookings   

Which leads to another question - why has Aurora’s dry docking been cancelled?

4 hours ago, Host Sharon said: Which leads to another question - why has Aurora’s dry docking been cancelled?

When was she due to go in for that Sharon?

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• P&O Cruises ( UK )

P&O Cancelling Baltic Cruises

By Old_tilly_billy , December 5, 2022 in P&O Cruises ( UK )

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24 minutes ago, paulatsea said: I didn’t  know Aurora had been in dry dock and a refit earlier this year -  were any changes/refurbishments made inside ? 2 cruises next year on her - end of August  Spain Portugal and Canaries beginning of December (great price and obc). lovely ship.

We're on the December one as well and agree, the price is good (although not so much now) and the OBC is the most we've had, even on longer cruises. 

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4 minutes ago, Adawn47 said: We're on the December one as well and agree, the price is good (although not so much now) and the OBC is the most we've had, even on longer cruises.  Avril

Yes -  most OBC we have ever had - I booked it as soon as I saw it - select price.

Really looking forward to it - save on heating !

6 minutes ago, paulatsea said: Yes -  most OBC we have ever had - I booked it as soon as I saw it - select price. Really looking forward to it - save on heating ! 🤞

I've literally  just done a dummy booking and the select price balcony is now £625pp more and the OBC is only £65pp. We got a real bargain.

molecrochip

12 hours ago, carlanthony24 said: How do you know the dates of each one? Currently booked on A326P. People have been saying they have confirmed for 2023 but no date is set. Azura only went dry dock in 2021 normally every 5 years they go. Which would make it 2026 for her next one. I feel it would make more sense to do the dry dock after this cruise since they have three days in Tenerife and could head up to Cadiz for it.

Apologies - I had missed that A326P had gone on sale. This would have been a drydock likely in Cadiz however as correctly pointed out, its been put back following the 2021 dry dock.

6 hours ago, paulatsea said: I didn’t  know Aurora had been in dry dock and a refit earlier this year

Oh yes!  Our cruise to Norway and Iceland on Aurora was cancelled because she went into dry dock  🤕 !  So disappointed.  Never mind, we will now look forward to our two cruises on her next year.

carlanthony24

32 minutes ago, molecrochip said: Apologies - I had missed that A326P had gone on sale. This would have been a drydock likely in Cadiz however as correctly pointed out, its been put back following the 2021 dry dock.

So I take it this cruise will go ahead?

I don’t know what to believe so many conflicting reports

4 hours ago, carlanthony24 said: So I take it this cruise will go ahead?

I would expect so. I was looking at some out of date information.

55 minutes ago, molecrochip said: I would expect so. I was looking at some out of date information.

I will look forward to it some new places I’ve never been.

terrierjohn

Just had a glance at the replacement cruise for B315, it is a 14 nt round Britain cruise with 5 ports including 2 days in Liverpool, and the same grade cabin is higher priced than our launch booking.

Glad I didn't wait for an expected great deal ss we have booked a 14nt Sky Princess Baltic cruise which has 9 ports, most of which are new to us, and although the Princess plus price is higher than our original cruise, we are looking forward to seeing what Princess have done with their Britannia equivalent ships.

Quite surprised, but very pleased  that a 2023 cruise still had accessible cabins available.

Where did you find the replacement cruises? We were on the June Baltic cruise that was cancelled, but have not received an email about the replacement cruises. Certainly won't be going on a round Britain cruise. 

11 minutes ago, Hollers said: Where did you find the replacement cruises?

Go to P&O and search B315N

Old_tilly_billy

2 minutes ago, Pine Man said: Go to P&O and search B315N

Terrible itinerary me thinks these may be cancelled too because of lack of bookings

👏 bravo P&O

They had better hope that the Northern Europe weather doesn't cause a raft of missed ports again like it did this year.... The overall programme from Southampton is now heavily overloaded with cruises in Northern Europe (which obviously it was already before the cancellation of the Baltic ones...).

Overnight in Liverpool ... do you think they are considering embarking passengers in Liverpool?

It's unappealing for passengers who see Liverpool as something you can do on a day trip to instead travel all the way to Southampton just to spend two days down the road from home.

Itinerary of B315N for anyone curious

Host Sharon

2 hours ago, Chrish2 said: Overnight in Liverpool ... do you think they are considering embarking passengers in Liverpool?   It's unappealing for passengers who see Liverpool as something you can do on a day trip to instead travel all the way to Southampton just to spend two days down the road from home.   Itinerary of B315N for anyone curious 1 Southampton, UK 9 Jun 2023     3 Liverpool, United Kingdom Overnight 11 Jun 2023 Early Morning   4 Liverpool, United Kingdom 12 Jun 2023   Early Evening 7 Greenock, United Kingdom 15 Jun 2023 Early Morning Early Evening 10 Kirkwall, United Kingdom 18 Jun 2023 Early Morning Early Evening 11 Invergordon, United Kingdom 19 Jun 2023 Early Morning Early Evening 13 South Queensferry, Edinburgh Tender 21 Jun 2023 Early Morning Early Evening 15 Southampton, UK 23 Jun 2023    

I've really enjoyed two or three round Britain cruises but that itinerary - no way! Wonder why they are tendering at Endinburgh too? I suppose the berths are already booked.

Regards Aurora, we left her on Friday after the round trip Caribbean cruise and have three other P&O cruise booked before next October, (12, 7 and 30 nights respectively), so have good reason to see her remain for some time, preferably allowing us to book even more cruises on her.

Despite our  concerns about her, I must say we found her to be in good condition and far from the very run down state Oriana was in for a cruise we had on her a little while before she was sold, which made us a bit more optimistic Aurora will stay a while.  They were constantly plugging extra onboard spend for future cruises booked on Arcadia throughout our four week cruise though, that offer lasted over our entire cruise and was for double the normal extra OBS given for booking future cruises on the ship.  I would be interested if that Arcadia extra OBS has been offered for future bookings made on the other ships, or is it something they seem to be offering just to Aurora passengers, which could seem a little ominous......

Sorry I am a little late to this conversation, but came back with a flare up of a medical condition I have and we have also been feeling exhausted.  We have still not unpacked the cases, but I am hopeful today will be the day that will be done, at least with some of our four cases 🙂

Hi everybody, I've been following this thread because I'm going on B312, which has not been cancelled. 

I was looking through the new Moments magazine and there's a feature about new shore experiences in Helsinki. I wasn't sure if we'd be staying overnight so I checked the P&O website, only to find the filter for Baltic destinations is not available. The URL given in the article simply states 'no search results are currently available '. Nothing for 2024 or 2025.

I searched B312 and it's available, but I wouldn't be able to find it without knowing the cruise number. It confirms we are staying overnight.

I did wonder if they have been taken off the site so that anyone booked on the one of the cancelled cruises who still wants a Baltic cruise can swap to a different date?

We are also sad to hear of the cancellations of the Baltic cruises as P&O did some excellent 16 night itineraries IMO.  We would also prefer to skip SPB as we have done a river cruise from there to Moscow with a hotel stay as well, so having been able to go off on our own at will and at a far cheaper price than the organised excursions from cruise ships, we had no wish whatsoever to repeat a call there, even before the war (we had to have a full Russian visa for that of course).  There are so many wonderful ports in the Baltic without SPB though and certainly far better than the Med ports P&O keep churning around.

20 minutes ago, vitrocmax said: I searched B312 and it's available, but I wouldn't be able to find it without knowing the cruise number

You can find it by searching for May 2023 cruises on Britannia but it's a bit worrying that Baltic doesn't appear in the search option.

I noticed that the title for the cruise is now Northern Europe And Scandinavia, no mention of Baltic, so maybe they've changed it. According to My P&O Cruises it is entitled Baltic as it is on websites other than P&O.

1 minute ago, Pine Man said: You can find it by searching for May 2023 cruises on Britannia but it's a bit worrying that Baltic doesn't appear in the search option.   I noticed that the title for the cruise is now Northern Europe And Scandinavia, no mention of Baltic, so maybe they've changed it. According to My P&O Cruises it is entitled Baltic as it is on websites other than P&O.

You do not actually enter The Baltic Sea until south of Copenhagen, so perhaps a change to include all cruises to that area in the one term, even if they do not go south of the Copenhagen/Denmark area now SPB is off limits, so not included with so many cruises.   The sea north of those locations is T he Skagerrak.

46 minutes ago, tring said:   You do not actually enter The Baltic Sea until south of Copenhagen, so perhaps a change to include all cruises to that area in the one term, even if they do not go south of the Copenhagen/Denmark area now SPB is off limits, so not included with so many cruises.   The sea north of those locations is T he Skagerrak.  

 I should have said The Skagerrak and The Kattegat are north of Copenhagen.

I think what probably happened is that they had to change the web site listing as it originally showed a visit to SPB on the itinerary map. Having done that they then probably also changed the title to encourage sales.

On 'My P&O Cruises' the map still shows a visit to SPB but the written itinerary does not.

Who knows what's going to happen? Certainly not P&O!

I hadn't noticed that they renamed the cruise title since the tab label says 'B312 - Baltic Cruise'.

I think it would have been simpler to leave the Baltic option available and put a note on the search landing page to explain the itinerary name change. The Baltic Sea still exists, all the cruises in the area are passing through it, so why abandon the name?

We chose the itinerary because it doesn't go to SPB, we've still got 6 months before we sail and, as you say, anything can happen up to then. We'll have to wait and see. 

3 hours ago, Pine Man said: You can find it by searching for May 2023 cruises on Britannia but it's a bit worrying that Baltic doesn't appear in the search option.   I noticed that the title for the cruise is now Northern Europe And Scandinavia, no mention of Baltic, so maybe they've changed it. According to My P&O Cruises it is entitled Baltic as it is on websites other than P&O.

Cunard have also renamed all of the cruises to this region as Northern Europe and Scandinavia. The recently released 2024 cruises on Queen Anne also have this title. It appears to be a Carnival wide decision on name, although to date no Cunard cruise has been cancelled.

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