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P&O Cruises announces sale of Oceana cruise ship

Carnival Corporation subsidiary P&O Cruises has sold the Oceana cruise ship, which is one of the oldest ships in the fleet.

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Carnival Corporation subsidiary P&O Cruises has sold the Oceana cruise ship, which is one of the oldest ships in the fleet.

The cruise ship was built in 2000 and can accommodate 2,016 passengers onboard.

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The cruise ship operator did not disclose the buyer of the ship. The ship is scheduled to leave the fleet this month.

The company decided to sell the ship due to the ongoing global Covid-19 pandemic, which has suspended cruise ship sailings around the world due to health and travel restrictions.

Currently, all cruise ship sailings offered by P&O Cruises are suspended until mid-October.

In a tweet, P&O Cruises said: “Sadly, Oceana will leave P&O Cruises this month. We will miss Oceana, but our focus will be on our remaining ships, as well as Iona, and then, her sister ship.

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“We are so sorry for the disappointment to those who have a holiday booked on Oceana and hope we can offer an alternative.”

P&O Cruises president Paul Ludlow said: “During this pause in our operations, we need to fit the fleet for the future and ensure we have the right mix of ships once we resume sailing.”

Passengers who booked the cancelled sailings will receive a 125% future cruise credit (FCC). Customers can also choose to receive a refund.

A new 180,000t cruise ship Iona is scheduled to commence operations later this year, while a similar cruise ship will be delivered in 2022.

Last month, Carnival Corporation announced that it will sell six ships in the next 90 days to deal with a $4.4bn loss in the second quarter of this year.

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Cruise And Ferry

Greek ferry operator Seajets revealed as buyer of P&O Cruises' Oceana

Purchase by Greek ferry operator marks first foray into cruise

Greek ferry operator Seajets has been revealed as the buyer of the 77,499-gt cruiseship Oceana (built 2000), which was sold in early July by Carnival Corp’s P&O Cruises.

Vessel databases show the Fincantieri-built vessel has been renamed Queen of the Oceans.

The cruiseship is moored at the Greek port of Patras, according to its latest AIS update.

Sources with knowledge of the deal told TradeWinds that the vessel was sold to a nominee of Seajets, but the sale price remains confidential.

Clarksons' lists Seajets as the vessel's owner and manager.

Seajets is headed up by Greek shipowner Marios Iliopoulos and operates a fleet of 16 high-speed ferries and ropax vessels.

Its purchase of the Oceana marks Seajets' first foray into cruise vessels.

The ship was sold earlier this month by P&O Cruises, a UK-based brand of Carnival, in an effort to free up cash for the cruise giant following voyage cancellations and financial impacts caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Rumours in the market at the time of the transaction said the Oceana's sale price was close to its scrap value, which VesselsValue estimates at $9.23m.

Seajets did not respond to a request for comment.

Carnival's capacity cuts

On Thursday this week , Carnival Cruise Line confirmed it is placing two of its Fantasy-class cruiseships in long-term cold lay-up, with no specific timeline identified for their return to operation.

The vessels involved are the 70,500-gt Carnival Fascination (built 1994) and 70,400-gt Carnival Imagination (built 1995).

At the same time, Carnival Cruise Line confirmed the departure of two other ships that TradeWinds recently reported were sold for recycling.

The 70,400-gt Carnival Fantasy (built 1990) and Carnival Inspiration (built 1996) are currently heading to Turkey where they will be dismantled at European Union-approved shipbreaking facilities.

The removal of the ships effectively cuts Carnival’s capacity by about 15%.

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P&O Cruises Has Sold the Oceana; Buyer Not Named

• July 7, 2020

P&O Cruises announced that the Oceana has been sold and will leave the fleet.

It makes the 2000-built 2,016-guest ship the first “modern” cruise ship sold due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A buyer or a sales price was not named.

P&O Cruises president Paul Ludlow said: “Whilst we and many of our guests will miss Oceana, her departure will allow us to focus on our remaining ships in the fleet, as capacity expands with the delivery of Iona later this year followed by her sister ship, scheduled for 2022.

“During this pause in our operations we need to fit the fleet for the future and ensure we have the right mix of ships once we resume sailing.

“I am so sorry to disappoint those guests who were booked on Oceana but I hope they will be able to find a similar alternative holiday, whether that is ex UK from Southampton or a fly/cruise itinerary.”

Ship Facts:

• The ship originally launched as the Ocean Princess, making it the eighth new Princess ship in 10 years.
• The vessel was then moved under the P&O Cruises brand.
• At the time, the strategy was to reduce the premium-market capacity of Princess Cruises
• The ship was converted to P&O service at Grand Bahama. Later, a dual naming ceremony was held for both the Oceana and Adonia in May 2003.
• A major 2012 drydock over 11 days saw significant upgrades.
• GE Marine Solutions was tapped in 2017 to replace existing controllers with the new generation of power electronics controllers on the four propulsion drives during a 2017 drydock at Blohm+Voss.
• The ship’s 2019-2020 program in the Middle East was cancelled and the ship was instead reployed on long cruises from the UK to Spain, Portugal, the CAnary Islands, as well as two Northern cruise break sailings and one long Caribbean sailing.

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P&O Cruises – Oceana Leaves Fleet

Originally built in 2000 and serving as Ocean Princess, Oceana joined the P&O Cruises fleet in 2002, and quickly became a firm family favourite. Offering sailings roundtrip from Southampton was the norm, until more recently when she was redeployed to provide fly-cruise itineraries from Malta, around the Mediterranean, and Dubai for the Arabian Gulf.

Unfortunately, due to the situation created by the Covid-19 pandemic, P&O Cruises have today announced that Oceana will leave the fleet with immediate effect.

P&O Cruises president Paul Ludlow said:

Whilst we and many of our guests will miss Oceana, her departure will allow us to focus on our remaining ships in the fleet, as capacity expands with the delivery of Iona later this year followed by her sister ship, scheduled for 2022. During this pause in our operations we need to fit the fleet for the future and ensure we have the right mix of ships once we resume sailing. I am so sorry to disappoint those guests who were booked on Oceana but I hope they will be able to find a similar alternative holiday, whether that is from Southampton or a fly-cruise itinerary.

Customers who have a holiday booked on Oceana

All customers who have booked a holiday on Oceana will be offered a  125% Future Cruise Credit  or  100% refund  of monies paid to date as of  10am 7 July 2020.

Future Cruise Credits

All guests with a holiday booked on Oceana from 16 October 2020 onwards will automatically receive a 125% FCC. This can be used on any new booking made before 31 December 2021, for any holiday on sale during that period. If you had booked a City Stay, you will also receive that as an FCC to be used on another future cruise holiday. Unfortunately the FCC cannot be used to book another City Stay.

Please note you will receive either an FCC worth 125% of the monies paid to date (typically the deposit).

You can be secure in the knowledge that 100% of the money you have paid will continue to be protected by ABTA and ATOL. P&O Cruises ask that you please retain all booking documentation, including all receipts and confirmations.

5% Deposit for new bookings

P&O Cruises are also offering a 5% deposit for new bookings made between 30 June and 3 August 2020. The 5% deposit is available on applicable Early Saver and Select Price holidays of 19 nights or fewer from January 2021.

When will Oceana be leaving the fleet? The sale of Oceana will be completed in July 2020.

Why are P&O Cruises selling Oceana? We are selling Oceana in order to fit our fleet for future growth and focus on our other mid-sized ships Arcadia and Aurora as well as the three larger ships and our new flagship Iona as well as her sister ship, scheduled for delivery in 2022.

Will you be selling Aurora and Arcadia too or any other ships? No. Aurora and Arcadia are much loved mid-sized ships and will remain in the P&O Cruises fleet.

Which ship is doing fly/cruise next summer? Azura will be offering fly/cruise holidays from Malta in summer 2021.

I was booked on Dubai and P&O Cruises cancelled that and now they’re cancelling another holiday We are so sorry. Oceana’s Dubai season was cancelled due to the unsettled political climate for British flagged ships and now unfortunately Oceana will be leaving the P&O Cruises fleet.

Will P&O Cruises be offering a season in Dubai in the future? Oceana’s first season in Dubai was very popular with our guests and whilst we do not have any current plans we would certainly consider putting another ship in the region at some point in the future, depending on the political climate

What will happen to anything booked on My P&O Cruises? Any pre cruise purchases booked on My P&O Cruises will automatically be refunded to you via the card you paid with.

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Oceana A family friendly, mid-size ship

Oceana's atrium offers a real 'wow' as soon as you step onboard, with its palm trees and glass-fronted lifts. Her diverse and flexible dining and entertainment options offer great choice day and night - from two main restaurants, an Italian restaurant by Marco Pierre White and a poolside grill to 13 places to drink, a nightclub, a casino, two pools and a champagne bar, plus fun facilities for children of all ages.

Accommodation

All cabins are air-conditioned and well designed, to give you as much space as possible and to help you relax into your surroundings. Many feature balconies to give you additional outside space. All feature Egyptian cotton sheets, free tea & coffee making facilities, refrigerator, hairdryer, safe, in-cabin television and good sized en-suite bathrooms with toiletries pack. You will also enjoy the services of a personal cabin steward who will look after your every need, and can enjoy room service from early morning until late evening at no extra cost.

Food & Drink

The ship features speciality restaurants, grand main dining rooms and a host of café’s and snack bars. From elegant fine dining to self-service buffets, there's a wide choice of flexible, casual and club dining options to suit everyone.

Life on Board

P&O Cruises offers the very best in cruise entertainment. Days can be filled with as much or as little as you want, whilst evenings are no doubt the social highlight. When the sun goes down your ship begins to come alive with the hum of conversation and music, and you can be sure of a memorable night.

Get a feel for life onboard the Oceana by browsing through the image gallery. Click on any of the images above to get started.

Oceana Cruises

May we present you with a small selection of the wide range of cruises available on P&O' Oceana. For more details click on one of the links below.

Deck Plans Oceana

Browse Oceana's deck plans to get a feel of her layout. Explore cabins, restaurants, entertainment and shared spaces at your leisure.

The P&O Fleet

On board every cruise ship you'll enjoy the same P&O Cruises experience. Our fleet of ships epitomises the best of modern British cruising and offers an unrivaled holiday experience. But what you'll also find is that each cruise ship has a number of unique features and facilities.

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Ship review: P&O Cruises Oceana post 2017 refit

Anyone who knows me, knows that the P&O Cruises ship Oceana has a special place in my heart. Not only did I work on her during my second contract at sea, but I’ve also spent time sailing on her recently, as my husband was her deputy captain for a time.

When I last left her in August, there was a lot of work going on behind the scenes in preparation for her 2017 refit. The ship was starting to look tired and she was definitely in need of a facelift.

Flash forward to December and on a wet and dismal Sunday, I got to see the results of the refit work for myself. Carnival UK have spent just over £31 million revamping the 77,499 tonne vessel. The ship relocated to Hamburg on 29 th November, where the crew focused on cosmetic and technical improvements.

I am pleased to report that the ship is looking really good. To any Oceana enthusiast, there are positive changes, which are immediately obvious. I’ve outlined some of these below.

In the atrium, the famous artificial palm trees have been replaced with real foliage. The atrium stairs and public walkways have new carpet, and there is new seating on deck 5. The Loyalty desk is no longer in the atrium.

On deck 5 the Explorers bar has had a complete revamp, with new seating and carpet throughout. The oppressive dark red décor has been replaced with tasteful retro dark green, blue and brown furniture.

This was my regular haunt on long cruises. Magnums champagne bar has been completely transformed since my last visit. The comfy sofas with tired upholstery have been replaced with fresh, light furniture, which really make the area feel like a classy bar. Nearby the art gallery has come to life with new lighting, which really brightens up the area.

Winners and the Yacht and Compass have also been refreshed and the areas feel much brighter.

The Plaza buffet has been retiled and the seating has been replaced with modern, more functional substitutes. There is a beige, cream and blue theme throughout, and the new tiles really improve the look of the restaurant.

The outside eating areas have colourful blue and green seats, instead of the heavy chairs that were there before. There is also a new canopy over the Grill area.

Oceana’s swimming pools

The swimming pools are now a dark blue and the pools and hot tubs have been repainted and retiled. There is new astro turf throughout the open decks.

Terrace Bar

This popular bar at the aft end of the ship remains much the same. The most notable change is the replacement of the teak tables and chairs with plastic furniture. This does look good and has enhanced the overall feel of the Terrace Bar. The pool is also the new deep blue colour and there is a fresh canvas canopy over the pool area.

Loyalty desk

This has moved next to the photography studio. It sits in the corner unit that used to be reserved for photography talks. This is a great use of space and has allowed for extra seating in the atrium.

The library, card room, Café Jardin, Starlights and Footlights Theatre all remain relatively unchanged. Café Jardin is still an Italian restaurant and is not a Glass House, despite rumours. I really enjoyed eating here and liked having it as an alternative venue for lunch and breakfast. It also has the best coffee on the ship!

Oceana sailed for her Christmas cruise on 17th December 2017.

If you found this article interesting, you may like to read my post about Arcadia’s 2017 refit.

You can keep up to date with all of my latest blog posts by subscribing for updates at the top of this page. I post content on my social media channels daily. To make sure you don’t miss out on exclusive photos and cruise news, you can follow me via the social links below.

31 comments

Great to see Oceana all spruced up. We think she’s one of the friendliest ships in the fleet but she definitely needed this face lift. Everything you’ve shown us, Anna, points towards us having many more cruises on her, she’s looking good.! We did think that Magnums would become a Glass House so surprised about that but relieved to find that Cafe Jardin remains the same. Why no Glass House? Look forward to reading more from you about cruising & the fleet. Sharon & Ray, West Midlands

Thanks Sharon and Ray. I’m not sure why there wasn’t a Glass House, but I know that Cafe Jardin is extremely popular with Oceana passengers. It may just be that they didn’t feel there was a demand for the Glass House for her type of itinerary. There also isn’t a galley in Magnums, so they wouldn’t have been able to put one there. We hope to see you on a cruise again in the near future!

Oceana looking good glad they have kept the Horizon Grill and not put a grab & go instead.

Ab Fab love the Oceana and just missed her reift by 2 weeks hope to be back on her soon

As an ex Merchant Navy Engineer all my family love the Oceana since their first cruise. They have been on most that they could sail on. We had our last cruise on the old lady before she went to Hamburg for a well deserved refit. Even with all her problems she was the most welcoming of Ships. So looking forward to our next trip. Well done P&O.

have the cabins been refurbished? they were looking quite faded and tired when last sailed on Oceana in 2016.

I believe the carpets and soft furnishings have been updated on board. I hope this helps answer your question.

Do you know if there are more plug sockets in the cabins since the refit?

Hi Louise. No there aren’t additional sockets as far as I am aware.

Thank you Anna for your detailed review of all the improvements on board Oceana.

Despite having cruised many times before, I have never been on P&O before, however we have booked a 3 night Mini-Cruise on 23 March 2018 to celebrate my birthday, so I found it particularly interesting. How lucky am I to go on the newly refurbished ship, she looks great, very excited and counting down the days now until we set sail!

Hello Billy,

I am pleased to hear that you found the article interesting. I hope you have a lovely time on Oceana later this month. She really is a ship with lots of charm. Have a wonderful birthday.

Thanks for this review. We’re looking to go on her in June from Malta, our first P&O cruise. Have they updated the cabins recently?

Hi Mike. Cabins have had soft furnishing updates and new carpets.

Hi Anna, thanks for your review following Oceana’s 2017 refurb. I’m glad I came across your blog as it’s given me a ray of hope….. I have booked a cruise on Oceana for Summer 2018 to Eastern Med. Travelling with me is my husband (we are in our early-50’s) and my 81 year old mother in law. We are all first-time cruisers and I’ve booked 2 balcony cabins. As with other travellers a cruise is special; this is a special trip for us too – for me to celebrate getting through a terrible illness (well, I hope the worst of it), and perhaps my mother-in-law’s last holiday.

I have a few questions, sorry about the length of this message but I hope you will be able to reply….

First question I have is around how much is done while a cruise ship is in dry-dock and how extensive was the Oceana refurb?….I see you mention soft furnishings, new carpets etc. I ask as many reviews I’ve read mention there were issues with sanitation on Oceana (toilets not working or overflowing, the smell of sewage pre-refurb). Also lots of rust – cruisers have commented they paid a lot for balcony cabins only to find balconies were unfit for use even after the refurb!. I appreciate Oceana isn’t a ‘new’ ship, and the sea naturally takes it’s toll. I’m just wondering if a cruise liner would automatically address these type of issues, and any other issues with the mechanics/engineering of the ship whilst in dry dock.

Second question is how often does a cruise ship have a deep clean and what measures are taken to prevent a horrible virus outbreak? I see there is a quick turn around between each cruise itinerary, and I appreciate with thousands of people on board, prevention of a break out of some kind is a big challenge. Catching a horrible virus would spoil anyone’s cruise, but due to a serious health issue it would most definitely put me in hospital and could have a detrimental impact on my ongoing health and treatment. So I’m now wondering, what on earth am I thinking going on a cruise, and on a relatively old ship??!

With previous holidays, I would research things to death before booking. I did a fair amount of research on cruise liners (e.g. reputation), travel destinations etc. I opted for P&O and decided on the preferred destination of Eastern Med. However, as a first-timer I didn’t appreciate the need to explore the details of the ship (size, facilities, age etc) we’d be travelling on.

Third question is around dining and entertainment. Again reviews in this area are not brilliant for Oceana. Can we expect consistently wonderful fresh, tasty, well-presented food, great service or drab, repetitive, watered down, tasteless fare (as some reviews have suggested). With regard to entertainment what is there to do on board during a cruise a part from sunbath or have spa treatments? I see there’s a theatre on Oceana, which to be honest looks a bit grim and uninviting from pictures I’ve seen. Some reviewers say entertainment is cheesy and disappointing with many walking out mid-performance. I appreciate Oceana is a mid-size ship so options for dining and entertainment are not going to be like the huge ships.

Of course there’s always going to be negative reviews, but due to the amount of money this cruise will cost us, I’ve actually called P&O to see if I can cancel or transfer our cruise, but due to potential charges and availability elsewhere it’s best to stick with what I’ve booked.

From your blog it sounds like you have a real soft spot for Oceana – I’m really hoping after our cruise I will too, but right now…. I am very worried! Any comments or tips you have will be welcome. Basically I’m hoping I won’t literally have to ‘jump ship’ to avoid the wrath of my mother in law!!

Hello Yves, thanks for your comment. Firstly I would just like to say that reviews are personal opinion and are they are there to simply advise or provide feedback. In my experience I have read negative reviews of something, when my experience turned out to be much more positive. People can often be quick to criticise but not to praise.

I do have a soft spot for Oceana and, as you say, she is not a new ship. However she is a good ship for first time cruisers. I personally have never experienced sanitation problems, poor food or poor service on board. However I understand that others may have had a different experience. Also, I have noticed that people who cruise on newer, bigger ships are often disappointed with Oceana as she has a more limited offering compared to bigger vessels. But this is part of her charm. She has one of the highest returning passenger rates of all the P&O Cruises ships. You should have a good variety of entertainment, all of the P&O Cruises ships have set shows from the dedicated on board cast, guest speakers, live bands and tribute acts. I think her theatre is lovely (it also shows films).

Oceana did have an extensive refit and much of the work was completed in dry dock, but ships require constant maintenance so you may find painting and varnishing taking place when you are on board (most cruise ships will have on board maintenance). Cruise ships tend to have deep cleans each time a cruise finishes/begins (so before you get on the ship) and cleanliness is maintained on a daily basis. P&O Cruises have hand sanitisers in all dining venues, as well as the gangways and they are very strict on cleanliness. I always take a bottle of hand sanitiser with me when I go ashore. An older ship does not carry any more or less risk of illness than a new one.

I hope the negative reviews don’t put you off wanting to go on your cruise as it is a great way to travel. Oceana also has the best summer itinerary in the fleet, so hopefully you will have some interesting ports and plenty of sunshine. I hope these comments help alleviate some of your anxiety and I really hope you have a wonderful time.

I would be interested to read your comments on your cruise.

Hi Anna, thanks so much for taking the time to respond and answer my questions.

It’s so true – people are often very quick to criticise and forget to praise, and perhaps I’ve let all those negative reviews get to me! I know from past holidays when I’ve returned I’ve thought ‘what on earth were those negative reviewers going on about’?…

While researching I looked at other cruise lines, but kept coming back to Oceana because of her itinerary which will allow us to go to places we haven’t been to before.

Your comments are really helpful. Also of course, I am grateful that we’re even able go on a cruise – so much in life is taken for granted. After a serious illness – every day is a bonus ☺.

An adventure awaits…. rather than waste energy on being anxious, I look forward to spending time on the sun soaked deck of Oceana, drinking cocktails, being entertained, and brief visits to various towns and cities in the Med.

Love your website by the way.

Take care, and keep blogging! Yves

Many thanks for your kind comments Yves 🙂

Dear Anna (and anyone due to sail on Oceana…)

I posted a message to you back in April 2018 outlining my concerns about sailing on Oceana for a cruise to the Med in Sept 2018 (went with my husband and mother-in-law).

I just wanted to post an update – somewhat overdue – but I wanted to say I see why you have a soft spot for Oceana!

Our hearts sank at first when we embarked Oceana and were handed a notice saying there was an outbreak of Norovirus onboard – eeeek. My husband wanted to disembark straight away and go home as he was so worried about my health condition and risks. After discussions with staff, we were reassured and glad to see staff were taking every precaution to contain the outbreak, and we managed to avoid getting ill.

Naturally I do not have years of cruise experience as you do, but our Cruise in Sept 2018 was truly a memorable experience. The Oceana is beautiful – with a stunning atrium, it’s traditional style throughout the ship is tastefully done, and leaves you feeling well at home in no time. So we were glad to sail post-refurb!

Many say the staff on a holiday can make or break the experience; the staff on Oceana were wonderful – so friendly, welcoming, and nothing was too much. Actually we were completely humbled by their hard work and dedication at ensuring passengers had a great holiday. They work such long hours with months at sea. We chose to tip individuals directly, but still felt it wasn’t enough to say thank you for their hard work. We didn’t want to leave at the end of the cruise.

Of course a cruise is also about the excursions – we embarked at Valletta/Malta, saliled to Havar, Split and Dubrovnik in Croatia (all ports were absolutely stunning and we want to go back). Also stopped at Venice (amazing! – has to be on everyone’s bucket list). So all in all, it was an absolutely fantastic first-time cruise experience.

The food, and service in the restaurants was first class.

My mother in law was skeptical when we paid for the cruise, but at the end of it she said it was worth every penny.

By comparison, we went on our 2nd cruise in Sept 2019 on Ventura to Amsterdam, Bruges and St Peters Port/Guernsey…. it was a nice cruise. Our experience with the transfer to Bruges was very disappointing (I had to make a complaint), and the ship couldn’t stop at Guernsey due to choppy sea (of course no one can be blamed for that!).

However, there was definitely something lacking with the experience on board Ventura; the ship is lovely, the atrium left us feeling underwhelmed compared to Oceana’s. Our cabin was lovely (best part of the cruise as we went for a large Balcony), and our Steward was brilliant. However, we found the staff on Ventura were not as warm and welcoming as on Oceana. As another passenger who has sailed on several P&O ships put it ‘the staff on Ventura are efficient enough to get by, but it’s all quite mechanical’ (words to that effect).

I’m not sure if removal of gratuity has anything to do with this lack of staff friendliness, and of course I have to temper my comments with the fact these staff work so hard. I don’t know if it was the staff or something else, but compared to Oceana, there’s someting amiss on Ventura….

If we are able to go on another cruise in 2020 I’d like to try another ship, but I have such fond memories of our holiday on Oceana. I’d really like to sail on her again one day, and now call her The Mother Ship ☺.

Thank you very much for your comments and I am so pleased that you had a great time on Oceana, she really is a wonderful ship. I often find that many people stick to their favourite ship, once they have found it and it sounds like you have! I agree Oceana has the most impressive atrium, certainly my favourite in the fleet! It’s a shame your experience on Ventura wasn’t as positive, but I often find the shorter cruises don’t always do the ships justice (so to speak). Each vessel has their own unique atmosphere and it sounds like Ventura’s was not as positive as it has been in the past.

Myself and my husband are looking forwards to joining Oceana in Malta on 28th June. The only disappointment we have is that we booked this cruise because in the itinerary it said that on her day in Kusadasi we would be able to visit Ephesus. We were greatly looking forwards to this. A few weeks after booking we were contacted and told the ship would not be docking at Kusadasi because of security reasons. We have since learned that P&O did not visit this port last year either, but it was still advertised as visiting Ephesus. We were very disappointed. Bit naughty really. It’s stopping at Heraklion instead. We have been to Crete in the past and been to all the places advertised in the excursions. Nevertheless we are looking forward to our cruise.

I have just booked a cruise next July. It’s my first time travelling solo and I have read mixed reviews from solo travellers. I am a sociable person and don’t mind my own company. However, it would be nice to meet up with other solo travellers for excursions and meal times etc… Some of the reviews state that they felt uncomfortable at meal times, like they were not welcome at the table?

Hello Nicola,

I know that P&O Cruises are very good at putting together social events for solo travellers, such as coffee mornings. You can also request to dine with other solo travellers at meal times. It’s a shame that you have read people feel unwelcome at the table, but this is not something I have come across with solo travellers. I am sure each cruise and ship varies. Hopefully you will have a wonderful cruise. I wouldn’t listen too much to positive/negative reviews, as your experience could be very different to someone else’s.

hi first time on a cruise i have booked my sister and i can you tell me if there is tea coffe in the room thanks angela

All P&O Cruises ships have tea and coffee making facilities in the staterooms.

Have a fabulous cruise!

Hi, your blog is very informative, but you are gaining financially for these blogs and of course the ship companies will possibly be rewarding you in some way. This is why you skirt around answering people asking about negative reviews on the ship by saying that each person’s experience is relative to their expectations. That is a ‘get out’. You aren’t going to agree or be honest are you! I booked an Orissa Suite on the Oceana (the most expensive suite) for a Valletta to Valletta cruise but I am going to cancel after I read that Suite passengers (who pay a lot of money for their cabins) do not get a priority queue for checking in at Valletta but have to stand in line for ages with people who have paid less than a third of what the Suites cost. I have travelled on a lot of ships in priority cabins and have never not been given a priority check in queue. This is outrageous after the price we paid for the cabin. I understand that flights are arriving at different times, but this does not stop P&O from having a separate line for suite guests and ushering them to the front of the queue. I have spent hours reading reviews on the Oceana from only last year (post refit) and there are too many poor reviews regarding the standard of food and entertainment to ignore. I prepare and serve good quality food at home and expect the `fine dining’ on P&O ships that their adverts portray. The poor reviews on poor quality food, poor quality entertainment and rude surly staff are too many to ignore. Apparently they are recouping the money spent on the refit by cutting spending on staff, food and entertainment. This was to be my first cruise with P&O but I am not prepared to spend a large amount of money on a treat for my husband’s 60th birthday, for it to be wasted. I’m sure my entry won’t be posted!

Hello Constance,

Firstly I can assure you I DO NOT gain financially from any cruise line and I do not work with them or receive any benefits from them. I write and post my reviews on a purely independent basis. If I ever were to work with a cruise line, or gain anything financially from them, by law I would state this in my posts. I write honest reviews based on my own opinions that are aimed to inform and engage my readers. Some of my reviews will feature negative points, as well as positive. My experience of Oceana has never been negative, in fact I would go so far as to say that she is one of my favourite cruise ships (having first cruised on her in 2008) and I’ve never received any bad service on board. I appreciate there are negative reviews about the ship (as there are about most ships within the cruise industry) but as my experience has been positive, I can only respond to negative comments in a neutral way. It’s a shame you have decided to cancel as I know she is a well-loved ship for many P&O passengers. As I don’t work for P&O Cruises I am unable to elaborate on priority boarding in Valletta. Hopefully you will find another ship/line you will enjoy for your husband’s birthday.

Hi Anna We loved the space in the aft suites on a pre-refit cruise on Oceana but the sofa bed I used whilst Mum had the fixed double was horrific. They had to bring wooden blocks to prop it up and even with this I spent many uncomfortable nights. The following year, on the basis that it was an isolated problem, we booked a corner aft mini suite. Couldn’t believe that the sofa bed was equally damaged. This time they brought a single bed in each night so I slept better. P&O couldn’t tell me if the sofa beds had been refurbed so we’ve never booked Oceana since but we are flirting with the idea of a suite on one of the recently released winter itineraries. Do you by any chance have any information about the sofa beds from your post refit visit?

I’m afraid I don’t have any information about the sofa beds. There is a very good Facebook group called Oceana – This is the Life. It might be worth putting your question to the group, as someone may have experienced the beds first hand.

Hi Anna We will be on the Oceana over Xmas & New Year 2019. Your 🤗 for the ship has given me comfort as I too was very put off by the negative comments about the food and sanitation problems. Is the Italian restaurant any good? What coffee is served on board?

I’m a big fan of the Italian restaurant on Oceana – Cafe Jardin. They do fabulous pizza (especially the balsamic one) and I love their ragu with rigatoni pasta (of course the menu may have changed since I was there last). You can also dine there for breakfast and lunch every day for free. I find it more reasonably priced that some of the P&O speciality dining restaurants and I tended to have my breakfast there most mornings. I believe they normally serve Douwe Egberts coffee on board, although there are also Costa speciality outlets. I hope you have a lovely cruise.

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P&O Oceana Cruise Ship Review

We spent a week on the P&O Oceana Cruise Ship cruising the English channel and north sea visiting Rotterdam in the Netherlands and Hamburg in Germany. Here is our Oceana Cruise Ship review. Unfortunately Oceana is no longer with the P&O fleet, however this post and the accompanying videos will show you what cruising with P&O is really like.

Oceana Cruise Ship Facts

Built in the year 2000, it was originally the Ocean Princess and was named by film stars Ali Macgraw and Ryan O’neal. In 2002 the Oceana joined the P&O fleet and was officially named the following year by Princess Anne and her daughter Zara Tindall. It has a maximum passenger capacity of 2272 and 889 crew. There are 11 passenger accessible decks and we start our review right at the top on deck 15.

Deck 15 – Oceana Cruise Ship – Sky Deck

Sports area.

The sports area is partially covered with a large box containing sports equipment including basket balls, tennis rackets,hoola hoops, and cricket bats. There is a basketball hoop, cricket wickets and a small football goal. This area was very quiet during our cruise as we were cruising the north sea in February during storm Dennis!

Deck 14 – Oceana Cruise Ship – Sun Deck

The Plaza is the buffet restaurant on the Oceana Cruise Ship. Open from 06:30 until 10:30 for breakfast, 10:30 until 11:45 for brunch, 12:00 until 15:00 for lunch, 15:00 until 17:00 for afternoon snacks, 17:00 until 17:30 for children’s teas, 18:00 until 21:30 for buffet dinner and 10:30 until 02:00 for late snacks, so you will certainly never go hungry!

The Plaza buffet restaurant is situated right at the front of the ship with beautiful sea views, it gets very busy at breakfast and lunch but was quieter during the evening, The evening dinner buffet had a theme every night, Indian, Chinese, Asian fusion and Mexican just to name a few, and there was also a carvery section available. The choice of desserts did not disappoint either, great british classics such as jam roly poly, rhubarb crumble and apple pie were readily available, plus a great choice of pastries such as eclairs and profiteroles. It really was a bad place to be if you are watching your waistline! We do have to say that both the standard and choice of food was excellent.

The Terrace Bar

Found at the aft of the ship by the whirlpool spa, due to the very poor weather we encountered during our cruise, this area was unfortunately closed. However, it looked a great space and we know we would of spent a lot of time here with the views over the aft of the ship.

Deck 12 – Oceana Cruise Ship – Lido Deck

The Lido deck and the outside bars were spacious with lots of seating some of which are under cover. With views across the pool area and out to sea it would be really popular on a warmer cruise, unfortunately it was a little chilly cruising the north sea!

Deck 11 – A Deck and our Balcony Cabin

Our Cabin A305 was on the starboard side and towards the front of the ship, it was about a thirty second walk to the lifts. We were very happy with our cabin even when we had a flooding issue with our bathroom. Unfortunately, the flush one morning wouldn’t turn off which subsequently caused our bathroom to flood, however, the staff dealt with it very promptly and we were very impressed with how P&O dealt with this issue.

Here is our balcony cabin video review.

On this deck there is also a small self service laundry room. Consisting of two washers and dryers plus two irons and ironing boards, we thought this was a great idea and was used regularly. We are sure on a longer cruise it would be something we would definitely utilize.

Right at the other end of the corridor there is a door that takes you out onto a small sun deck that many people never managed to find, it really was a nice little spot and perfect for a sailaway!

Deck 10 – B Deck and John and Jan’s Accessible Cabin

My Dad John and Sister Jan were allocated an Accessible/Adapted cabin due to John using a mobility scooter. Here is a review and tour of this type of cabin.

Deck 8 – Oceana Cruise Ship – D Deck

Winners bar and monte carlo casino.

For a ship of this size the casino was bigger than we expected, plenty of live gaming tables and a good selection of fruit machines. Very popular throughout the day and night. This was also the home of the sports bar showing live premier league, champions league and europa league football. If your a football fan and you want a seat make sure you get there early! Winners Bar is also a live music venue.

Cafe Jardin

This small mediterranean themed restaurant offers something a bit different, with beautiful views over the atrium and exceptional service. Open for breakfast from 07:00 until 10:30, lunch from 11:00 until 17:00 and at 18:00 until 21:30 turns into a speciality restaurant.

The menus offered breakfast paninis and soft poached eggs to fresh fruit and buttermilk pancakes, and a good selection of pastries. Lunchtime dishes included steak sandwiches, mozzarella burgers, and thin crust pizzas and the best selection of cakes anywhere on the ship.

Breakfast and lunch are included in your package but dinner is at an additional cost of £8.50 per person. You do have to book, and with a choice of seven different starters and eight main courses there is certainly something for everyone. Choices ranging from macaroni soup, a venetian seafood board and king scallops to start, with mains of slow cooked blade of beef, chicken parmigiana and white crab and prawn risotto. The desserts were outstanding and you could choose three, tiramisu, baked ricotta cheesecake and lemon and blackberry tart to pistachio semifreddo, summer berry tartufo and gelato drizzled with coffee liqueur. This was a lovely dining experience and well worth the very small cover charge.

Deck 7 – Oceana Cruise Ship – Prom Deck

If you have been following us for a while you will know that Carole loves a good promenade deck!

The Oceana promenade deck did not disappoint. A full wrap around deck with 3.2 laps making a mile. Wide and spacious in parts with plenty of seating giving you lots of opportunities to sit and enjoy the sea views weather permitting.

Best described as a theatre and entertainments lounge rolled into one, this featured guest speakers, some of the latest cinema releases or just a quiet place to sit in the day. In the evening there were a variety of shows, including guest singers, and production shows by the entertainments team which were of an excellent standard.

This is a very wheelchair friendly lounge with no steps allowing access to the front rows with ease, there is also a waiter bar service available.

However we do have two criticisms of this lounge, once a show has started they turn the house lights down completely making it pitch black and the seating has a row of swivel seats with small tables alternated with a fixed row sofa style seating so only half the audience has somewhere to put their drink. There is nowhere near enough space between the rows of seats making a it very difficult to access the sofa style seats once someone has sat in the seats in front.

We did see some excellent shows in here but unless you got to the lounge at least 30 minutes prior to the show starting it was very hard to get a seat that you could access.

With plenty of seating and a comprehensive collection of books and board games, A lovely area to relax if peace and quiet is your thing.

When your feeling like your having a great evening and you don’t want it to end then head for Le Club. Featuring live music and DJ’s in to the early hours this funky old school nightclub really ticked all the boxes. It is also used for art discussions and auctions during the day.

If your after a cocktail or a glass of something bubbly this small adult only lounge is ideal. It is quieter than the other bar’s and is a great place for a pre show drink.

Tiffany’s

It is a quiet bar overlooking the atrium, we purchased our drinks package from here, it costs £39.95 per person per day. This covers you for all drinks up to £6.95 and also gives you a 20% discount on any drinks over £6.95, It’s also the home of Costa coffee but this does come at a extra cost unless you are on the all inclusive drinks package.

Yacht and Compass Pub

This is your local pub at sea, from quizzes to karaoke, live music and game shows, and even live sports this place has something for everybody. Situated right next to footlights it is ideal for a pre show drink, The service here was excellent and with our favourite waiter Marvin (pictured below) looking after us, this was definitely our regular spot!

Footlights Theatre

A proper old school theatre with twice nightly entertainment shows and some of the latest cinema releases. With waiter services and small tables that fold away in to your seat its ideal if you want to enjoy a drink during the show. There are lots of steps so not wheelchair friendly but there are two small areas at the back of the theatre for people in wheelchairs and their carers. As previously mentioned we were very impressed with the standard of entertainment on the Oceana Cruise Ship, we were also lucky to see the Astonishing Show which was brilliant!

Deck 6 – Oceana Cruise Ship – E Deck

Adriatic restaurant.

This is the main dining room for passengers on fixed dining, with two sittings per night it’s very similar to the Ligurian restaurant in layout. We were on anytime dining in the Ligurian restaurant so the only time we came in here was for video purposes but it did look a great option if you like to dine at the same time every night.

A good selection of shops on board from your designer handbags and jewellery to your first aid needs, souvenirs and crisps!

Deck 5 – Oceana Cruise Ship – F Deck

If you’ve seen our Oceana Vlogs series (link at beginning of post) you will know we had a flooding issue in our cabin but we have to say the staff at reception dealt with our problems in a friendly and professional manner and always made us feel that nothing was too much trouble. The added bonus is if you have to wait to speak to a staff member you get to admire the lovely atrium at the same time.

Set over four decks with glass elevators marble staircases and a stained glass ceiling the Oceana atrium is up there with the best of them. Every time we walked through we spotted something new, it really is a lovely place to spend some time enjoying a cocktail or just relaxing quietly during the day.

Explorers Bar

The perfect place for a pre dinner drink, if you are on anytime dining in the Ligurian Restaurant, situated right in the heart of the beautiful atrium. This is where Carole discovered her new favourite cocktail the raspberry creme brulee martini, it really was delicious!

Ligurian Restaurant

This is the main dining room if you have booked any time dining, nicely laid out with a fair space between the tables, we must admit that one night in here the service was particularly slow but generally the service was good and the food was excellent. If you do require a specific table and its not available they will give you a pager allowing you to go back to the Explorers Bar for another cocktail until your table is ready. On selected days the Ligurian is also open for breakfast and lunch.

Our overall opinion of the Oceana is that we loved it. The ship is very wheelchair friendly which is a must for us when travelling with my dad, it has made excellent use of the outside spaces with a lovely wrap around promenade being the icing on the cake. The food we experienced throughout the ship was excellent, the service apart from one isolated incident was also top notch, We loved not only the standard but also the variety of the entertainment and our cabin was practical and extremely comfortable.

We thoroughly enjoyed our time on the P&O Oceana and cant wait to sail on her again.

If you would like to hear us discuss our experience on board the Oceana then do watch video review here.

For more information about P&O Oceana Cruise Ship check out their website here.

This post does contain affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission if you click a link. While clicking these links won’t cost you any extra money, they will help us keep this site up and runnin g.

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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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Oceana Decks and Cabins

• Deck 7 Prom
• Deck 12 Lido
• Deck 14 Sun
• Deck 15 Sky
• Click here for ALL
• Ship info and tracking
• Cabins Check

Built in 2000, the P&O Cruises UK Oceana cruise ship weighs 77K tons and has 1008 staterooms for up to 2419 passengers served by 870 crew . There are 14 passenger decks, 7 with cabins. You can expect a space ratio of 32 gross tons per passenger on this ship. On this page are the current deck plans for Oceana showing deck plan layouts, public venues and all the types of cabins including pictures and videos.

P&O Cruises UK Oceana

Last Drydock: Dec 2017

STATEROOM CABINS COMPLETE LIST BELOW

Floor Diagram Suite

Sleeps up to: 3 6 Cabins Cabin: 583 sqft (55 m 2 ) Balcony: 283 sqft (27 m 2 ) * Size may vary, see details below.

Click for    

More Info [+/-]

Deck locations, stateroom cabin features, important size information, stateroom cabin perks, more diagrams of this cabin type.

Floor Diagram Mini-Suite

Sleeps up to: 3 32 Cabins Cabin: 260 sqft (24 m 2 ) Balcony: 70 sqft (7 m 2 )

 Accessible Info [+/-]

Floor Diagram Balcony

Sleeps up to: 4 372 Cabins Cabin: 173 sqft (16 m 2 ) Balcony: 43 sqft (4 m 2 ) * Size may vary, see details below.

Floor Diagram Outside

Sleeps up to: 4 193 Cabins Cabin: 159 sqft (15 m 2 ) * Size may vary, see details below.

Floor Diagram Inside

Sleeps up to: 4 405 Cabins Cabin: 137 sqft (13 m 2 ) * Size may vary, see details below.

Oceana Deck Page Menu

Click deck pictures to go to individual cruise deck plan pages where you can see all the public areas, venues and stateroom cabins categories for each deck.

Oceana Quick Stats

Big picture oceana decks.

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Oceana Links

• PDF of all the decks
• PDF (choose your own decks)
• Oceana DECK DRAG
• Oceana Cabin Check

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P&O Cruises, Oceana

P&O cruises on board Oceana are lively and glamorous and full of personality and guests will be amazed from the moment they step onboard into the impressive atrium which has been adorned with palm trees to create a holiday feeling from the moment your holiday begins.

First time cruisers and seasoned travellers alike will love the sunny atmosphere onboard Oceana cruises and her deck bars, pools and many balcony staterooms which make it the perfect ship for sunny climates. If you want a spontaneous and sociable cruise holiday then P&O Oceana will be the ideal choice. Her wide range of entertainment and facilities will appeal to all ages - whether you’re looking for an active holiday where you can run around on the tennis court which is housed around the funnel, or a chilled day of unwinding in the whirlpool spas you’ll love everything that Oceana cruises have to offer.

Dining on Oceana cruises offers great variety and flexibility. From fine five course meals in the two main restaurants (Adriatic & Ligurian) to convenient help your self dining in the Plaza buffet restaurant. Enjoy freshly grilled dishes in the Horizon Grill or dine under the stars in the open deck Beach House. We er sure you will find an option to suit every occasion and mood. Enjoy a meal inspired by Marco Pierre White at Café Jardin or enjoy the relaxed option of in room dining with complimentary room service 24 hours a day.

Choose from three pools , five whir/pool spas or treat yourself in the fabulous Oasis Spa. Try your  luck in the Monte Carlo casino and then dance the night away in the late night venue Le Club. Watch a spectacular show in the 530 seat Starlight's Show Lounge or enjoy a drink with new found friends in one of the 12 drinking venues such as The Yacht & Compass Pub. There will always be classes available to tempt your brain cells, or listen to a Tate Talk from the Tate Modern and enrich your holiday on P&O Oceana. Choose a cheap P&O cruise booked with one of our cruise specialists and enjoy all this and more on your next amazing holiday adventure.

Oceana Cabin Details