Gone Forever: P&O Australia to Dissolve in March 2025 

When I sailed with P&O in 1980 all was included, only shore excursions were not included. It was amazing that laundry and even you shoes were cleaned.

Thanks for the update. This is a real shame for the likes of us who live in New Zealand. I have only ever sailed with P&O and love the Auckland departure and arrivals. We have no other option now than to travel overseas to cruise which adds costs to a family’s who would have used the local option for an affordable family holiday. As we have now sailed to most of the locations that P&O visit, it’s time we looked further afield for our next cruises but will miss the short comedy cruises we used as a long weekend getaway. I know other cruise lines in the past have had problems getting into our ports due to the condition of their hulls and this has forced these cruise lines to rethink it plans to visit our waters.

Will be interesting what these old P&O Grand class ships look like in the Carnival livery

I said I would never never go on a cruise. My first cruise was with P&O and I was hooked. I loved the beautiful big dining room experience and all over the ship you were made to feel like a friend and a guest. On 2/March 2024 I did a cruise from Singapore to Sydney on Pacific Adventure. What a big disappointment. No glamorous Large dining. I felt I was just a person that they had to feed. It was so obvious the object was to extract as much money out of us as possible.

I live in Adelaide and now if I want to cruise I have to travel to sydney or brisbane which adds to the cost such as hotels , flights , taxis to and from hotel and ship plus I dont see the prices coming down but going up which makes cruising in Australia especially from cities other than these 2 more out of reach even more out off reach for solo cruisers which it already is costly.

I feel much the same as you, Adrian. A cheaper cruise line for Australia, but the last couple of cruises with so much nickel and diming was...meh. I remember saying to my husband that it was time to go back to Princess (now Elite, due to a few shorter P&O cruises!) and also try lines like Celebrity, Holland America and Azamara. Maybe Norwegian too? I never sailed on P&O in the early days, but my sisters-in-law worked on the Fairstar when it was run by Sitmar. I also remember the alternative name for the Fairstar and the sad times with Dianne Brimble in the early 2000s - P&O to their credit worked hard to turn around the party ship reputation. I did enjoy both the Aria and Eden when they were sailing. I also hope Carnival (or Princess) pick up the Australian Open cruises, which are a really fun way to go to the tennis. Mmm, we weren't going to go in 2025, but maybe we should, just in case!

Well!! Looks like a land holiday for New Zealand ...

Was that photo of the person in the white jacket you Adrian?

Australian port fee increases for cruise lines was a big contributor to the fate of domesic cruising in Australia.

P&O once a reasonable cruise line with small to medium sized ships but in recent years unable to fill the larger capacity ships successfully without bare bones pricing resulting in a down grade in product. I wouldn't mind betting you'll see Pacific Explorer remerge as part of the Ambassador line once it leaves Rust & Co's fleet. Does this spell the end of green AstroTurf ?😉

We have a cruise on crown Princess in may 2025 and would have a low status onboard after doing 11 nights on p&o. I'm wondering if when we do our cruise if we will still get the status match onboard our princess cruise.. As p&o aus will definitely be no more by then

Pimp daddy at 1:05? I can't say I'm the biggest P&O fan, I always thought Carnival was more for me, so I'm in no way upset. But, a lot of people I've spoken to prefer the P&O product and can't stand Carnival; I'd understand their disappointment and in no way agree with this Carnival Australia decision. I just hope P&O things don't make their way to Carnival such as pretty much everything being an extra charge such as burgers and ice-cream. There are so many up-charges on P&O and they would often have a more expensive fare to begin with. I've only been on Explorer twice and interestingly, two years ago just two or three cruises after the restart. Having said that, I'd be keen to see how Carnival will take old Princess ships that were converted to P&O that will be converted to Carnival ships. I've never sailed on Adventure or Encounter so I have no basis for comparison. And what you've said around the 5 minute mark; why didn't Carnival PLC simply consolidate P&O back-office, providor, port services, etc. with Carnival. They're in the same building at Chatswood/North Sydney

Awesome discussion topics as always, Adrian! P&O Australia is part of our extended family. They allowed us the opportunity to travel to distant shores at a much more affordable price. Sure things cost extra if you choose to indulge, but were happy to stick to a budget as we had no choice anyways (lol) and experience more cruises at a lower price then less cruises with extras. We have been given an amazing opportunity to do what many simply just dream of still and for that we are grateful & extremely thankful to P&O Australia. Moving forward we will look for the best opportunities we can still afford however we do have a few bucket list cruises we would like to enjoy which are away from local cruising anyway. The future is still there for all to enjoy :)

Never sailed P&O Australia nor Carnival but I still think it’s a sad loss for Australia as you said Adrian less competition in a market has never equated to less cost for the consumers. Sad times 😢

First ever cruise Fair star 1985, going on cruise number 55 January 2025 on Celebrity Edge.Thank you P&O.

Thank you Adrian for a comprehensive and informative update on the demise of P&O Australia ( From an Australian's perspective ) it is sad for Australia and New Zealand . Like you I had my first cruising experience on P&O Australia, P&O Oriana in 1982 and fortunately I have 3 more cruises to enjoy with P&O Australia. In 28 cruises with P&O Australia so far I have found the food to be fine, the service by the crew , excellent and their entertainment World Class. Like all cruise lines P&O Australia wasn't, perfect but introduced me to cruising and provided me with wonderful memories and as with everytime I begin another cruise , Like being with family. My all time favourite P&O ship , Pacific Explorer.

It’s a shame that there won’t be cruises from Adelaide anymore. It would be great if they did the cruise around Australia but where you could get on at any capital city.

Totally agree with your comments Adrian about falling out of love in recent times but it is so so sad to be loosing P&O Au. I made a comment on one of your recent vlogs about enjoying what we had for as long as we can as far as cruising out of Aussie/NZ was concerned but little did I know this announcement was just around the corner. They obviously didn’t come to this decision overnight so it has been on the cards for a while hence why I think they have been letting standards slip somewhat & not investing in general upkeep. I sincerely hope they really look after their crew & staff and have good exit plans and options for all concerned. We are boarding our 2nd to last P&O cruise on Monday so hopefully spirits will be high and we’ll celebrate in style 🎉😊

Hi Adrian, This is a great summation of the situation and business decision Carnival has made. We just finished V422 and having sailed on Explorer Pre - Covid, I agree that the sell the cabin, and charge for everything has changed the P&O experience. I did the VIP Access all areas tour and it is interesting to see the Galley operations. However, a lot of the food tasted like it was pre-prepared or pre (par) cooked. As for charging for everything, I felt this changed the feel of the cruise. Apart from Orange and Apple juice at breakfast, pax have to pay for any other drink except water. Bridge Roof Walk $29, Bow Experience, $49 and the VIP Access All areas tour, $195!!. I paid for this so I could experience the operations, however paying this price for a consumer / pax to view the behind the scenes product is exorbitant! The staff made our experience on our last cruise and it is sad to see the P&O brand leave Australian waters. Great review, keep up the good work!

My first crusie was when they had the buffet on Dawn, then they change to the pantry and that's when they start to charge more for stuff. Then Covid and it went down hill we did a crusie in sept 2022 and it was great but did a crusie in March 2023 and it was not so great everything from food to day time entertainment change way less..

I dont know why any this has stirred so much in me, I think because i was so late to the game and fell in love with cruising in 2015 - and while not that long ago, it just seems to have changed so much. and sadly it just feels like te consumer is the one that has had to just lump it. I know the market isnt like the USA, but it just feels like theyre now dropping anchor here so the ships keep moving and the north is too cold. After a recent bali trip and the prices going up over there, you still get more bang for your buck - after virgin pulled out and now this, it is sad for the industry because its still quite expensive to cruise in Australia, and we seem to just get the left overs.

We need MCS over here more than ever, now 😢. We didn't have enough variety as it was!

Well Adrian thanks for a comprehensive analysis of the P&O s demise, my first cruise was with Pacific Sun my family fell instantly in love with cruising,like you I’ve noticed a change in the brand over the years and not for the best unfortunately.

Sad to see P&O go away, but friend of ours that took both P&O and Carnival to Moreton Island found the carnival product was better for them, so hopefully switching them over to Carnival make for a better experience going forward

Extremely sad news now people from Melbourne Adelaide Perth have no chance to cruise from their local ports they have to travel to Sydney or Brisbane that's sucks to he'll with carnival and their disgusting attitude looks like it's discriminations Thus is the end of my future cruises lucky I already booked 3 cruises on august sept and Nov Am chattered to me to travel to Sydney or Brisbane that's extra 2000 that I have to find on top of my cruise fare so that is it

It's an ongoing problem with Australia. Cruise lines make a fortune sailing ships out of the US and Northern Hemisphere with ports of call close at hand lots of facilities. Meanwhile Australia is becoming an increasingly costly/unprofitable place to operate from. We should remember that P&O was never Australian it was just a brand sold off to locals as somehow ours when it wasn't.. So, a lot of unfounded nostalgia. As for the future I doubt Carnival will do much that is different. Their three ships will consist of two already old and tired ex-Princess ships with cabins that are in need of a major refurb and the hideous (also old) Splendor. Australia seems to be a place where ships come to die. I have watched pricing on local cruises rise substantially compared with cruises out of other countries. I fear Royal Caribbean and Carnival are losing interest in the whole Australian operation.

Great info thanks Adrian. Good news for us Qlders that we will have Carnival Encounter all year, plus Luminosa over summer months. Having a loyalty program is good and hopefully both ships will have free pizza (as Luminosa currently does). Do solo passengers earn double loyalty points on Carnival?

P&O of more recent times attracted low level riff raff. No great loss.

I took my first ever cruise on the Pacific Explorer in April. After watching quite a lot of yours, and others videos, I was very disappointed with the surcharge/budget airline model on food and entertainment. The included food was nothing to write home about. I was a solo room sailor and was happy to pay the twin occupancy rate, but the extra charges hurt the experience quite a bit when it came to overall value for me. Unfortunately, it makes me think twice when my friends ask if i'll cruise with them again.

Yes p&o was our first ever cruise we sailed on . It was on the pacific explorer back on 31 may 2022 ❤❤ we are booked on explorer in November for a 3 night 80s cruise. ❤❤ We are going to try to join you on your group cruise next year ❤❤ we just have to try to save up to pay the deposit. But we're very serious considering joining you ❤❤

Totally devastated

Im very sad to see them go. I've sailed on every P&O ship since the original Oriana. Cruising in the 1980s really was the best. The old Take Me Away P&O ads still bring a tear to my eye. Over the years, the product has been dumbed down from what it once was but I will still miss Explorer . RiP P&O 😢

After my experience in Oct 2023, in terms of the low cost airline analogy, is why I was already looking at other options, such as Princess or Carnival.

On learning that P&O and other cruise lines will no longer homeport in Melbourne (Australia’s largest city) I wonder if the powers that be ie shipping lines and Govt realise that this will now add a considerable amount to the cost of joining a cruise in either Sydney or Brisbane. My calculations reveal that my wife and I combined will incur an additional $1205 to join a cruise in Sydney.This figure relates to airfares,accommodation,etc and a further $210 on our return to Melbourne from Sydney. Of course this would be even higher to cruise from Brisbane. Surely this will impact on the decisions of potential passengers considering whether or not to cruise and the amounts available to spend on board. I realise company profitability is important and shipping companies are no exception however this latest development is surely a backward step and will also impact bottom lines to an unknown degree in future.

Excellent video Mate well said... Thanks 👍

Went down the nick when Carnival bought P&O and same applies to Cunard.

I'm so upset about P&O, I've only just been on Explorer again, we here in WA are being left with no regular cruise ship, we have to sale from east coast. And the food was very ordinary this last cruise on Explorer, but it will be missed

I feel big mistake by carnival I understand cost but brand base for over 90 years is very important to customers Look at carnival they want to be the biggest one in market They took three ships from costa and add them to carnival You have msc and royal Caribbean with new ships and growing They should pull the carnival ship and let p and o handle the market

Such a shame. Profit over people as usual these days.

I have had 3 P&O cruises and loved all of them. So sad to see them go!! Yes I am also from NZ and loved the Auckland to Auckland trips. Hope another line takes over those trips.

Extremely informative thanks Adrian. I do think the cost of living in Australia has spilled over to cruised ships unfortunately. I do hope they see more success as CCL.

they were my first cruise experience and I loved it on Pacific Dawn in 2017. I think it's a real shame that they won't be able to continue as a brand in Australia considering their long history here

Agree with what you say Adrian 100%. Happy memories of P & O sailing to Australia on the SS Canberra, holidaying on the Oriana, the old Arcadia and Fairstar (absolute rust bucket held together by paint) to the newer ex Princess Ships of today. Times change and we hopefully move forward. I certainly hope Carnival do those sister ships of Adventure and Encounter justice, they deserve it. Would have loved to join the last group cruise with you in February, sadly already booked on a Princess cruise to SE Asia. I guess it is a case of Thanks for the Memories P & O except our last cruise in March this year to Sydney to NZ rtn, was less than a happy one, for all the wrong reasons, it wasn’t the ship itself, just the majority of the occupants both passengers and change of crew, as we had been on it the cruise before from Singapore to Sydney, which was brilliant, can’t say the same for the next leg. Captain changed, so did the entertainment officer and few others, it was all downhill from thereon in.

Personally, I could not care less. I Sailed on 2 P&O cruises in 2023, the first since covid hit. I noticed a huge deterioration in service, more specifically in entertainment. After our last cruise in October 2023, I swore I would never again sail on P & O, even though I had previously done at least 10 cruises with her. A few weeks later I sailed on Royal Princess. I paid virtually the same amount of money for a balcony cabin, but the difference in cruises was astronomical. Princess just shat all over P & O , in terms of value for money. I think that becoming a carnival line the ships may now just be able to compete with other cruise ships coming to Australia. If not then I will wait each year for the summer season and sail on Princess, RC, celebrity or holland America.

Although not my favourite cruise line I will miss them. They gave a low cost option year round, great for a long weekend comedy cruise like I just came off Pacific Adventure last Monday. You’re right though that lack of competition will lead to higher prices. Lately they have reminded me of Jetstar or Ryan air 😂

I think P&O have much better entertainment and theme nights.

Thank you for the updates. I've been on a few PO Adventure cruises and have loved everything about them. You get what you pay for it's not luxury but at the end of the day I just want a peaceful relaxing time on a friendly ship. My Grandfather until he passed had done over a hundred cruises and he loved it too. So sad to see P&O go but I will continue to cruise on.💙🐳🐬🍹🍺🚢🚢

My wife and I found the cruise bug in December 2019 on Pacific Explorer just before COVID 19 hit. We were absolutely spoiled and when we later went on Adventure in a Byron Bay mini suite we were very disappointed and missed Explorer. No competition is such a bad idea and with everyone dropping out fast it almost seems like the impending death of cruising in Australia and NZ. Hopefully something turns around soon. But Adrian, we know this is a big blow to you personally as well as your livelihood and we hope you're looking after yourself, your eyes don't look quite right.

We might be on one of the last P&O Explorer cruises… booked on Feb 3 2025 to Exmouth. Might be a big cruise for the ships crew.

I booked for March 2025 on Adventure it will be my 4th time on her going to Morton Island before she changes over to Carnival it will be the sevond last cruise as Pacific Adventure before she changes over to Carnival Adventure after March 14th next year

You forgot to mention the ongoing debacle by the Australian government over issuing coastal trading licenses. Which haven’t been extended by the appropriate minister. This in turn has led to multiple cruise operators looking at not returning to Australia from next year. Regarding cruise cost. These vessels only have a token Australian crew. All the rest are foreign nationals paid well below the Australian minimum wage.

So very sad day when they go. My 1st cruise was fair princess 9 days o7t of Sydney to sth pacific Island.

Interesting insights and great analysis thanks Adrian. The news is a bit sad but I guess that in the endless pursuit of share holder competitiveness we shouldn't be surprised about a consolidation of this nature.

I am wondering if any cruise lines will depart from Adelaide in the future? As a large family may not be able to afford flights as well as cruise costs.

so the feb 24 to march 6 Discover vaanuatu is cancelled?

Could you please give me the information about the February cruise Thank you Yonie😢

Far from disappointed to see them depart.

Hi Adrian. I was thinking about the Adventure and Encounter, and thinking about them getting either a Whale Tail, or a Straight Stack ala Luminosa. And their repainting RWB, and becoming mainstream Carnival ships, ala Australia. I don't imagine Carnival shuttling North Americans (the binge and puke crowd) down under. I don't think that the greater base of Carnivaler(s) will want to take a very long transpacific flight. Hopefully, the ships will become "Cruising Australian style." A third concept of cruising.

Recession.

I heard about this and (because I’m American) completely ignored it. Until I read the comments I really didn’t understand the impact. I kinda figured with the whole island thing, Australia had tons of cruise lines. I took a cruise with my kid in 2008. It changed my life. Will I cruise that line again? No, but it introduced me to a way to see other cultures without dropping $20,000. Although it’s difficult for me to imagine wanting to leave Australia or New Zealand (once again my American ideas of paradise 😂), I really hope another line steps in to fill the void. ☮️

$9 per person. Wow we can't even cook an evening meal for that price, let alone an entire day

Now that I know my cruise to PNG is going ahead in June 2026 - Im really excited about moving to Carnival AND I don't mind paying more for the experience...after my next PNG cruise...sad though that no one is sailing from NZ..OH WELL..as long as they sail frequently to PNG...

As sad as it is, I'm not surprised P&O Australia is disappearing, they keep advertising cheap cruises all the time, and I have a feeling it's because noone ever sailed with them or they couldn't fill ships. I feel like a huge part is because they've been using older ships for like the past 20 or so years and there were never any newly build ships specifically made for them. People want to try new things... that's just my take though.

It looks like flying to Sydney or farther afield (from Brisbane) will become the norm for me. I was happy to go on group cruises on P&O however the issues on the inaugural cruises on Eden and Aria set the stage for what was to come. I am not a drinker so Carnival would probably be pretty much out for me with the reports of ensuing behaviour on board those ships. It's a sad day for many of us and definitely looks like prices will increase with a smaller number of berths to go around.

Great summation Adrian. It's a shame you think they will do away with the Byron Beach Club. That was somewhere I could relax in a nice comfortable sun lounge and not have to fight to get one in the first place 😁. I also loved the other benefits with BBC. Only time will tell what they will replace it with and whether or not it will be worth it (for me anyway 😉)

I only sailed P&O once in May last year and that was what I didn’t like, the fact that the poolside food was additional. I’d rather pay extra for Carnival and have these things included and not have to worry about our onboard account. Easier to budget for prior to the cruise.

Thanks for this information. I loved my first cruise on the pacific Sun back in 2008. Definitely addicted. Will be on the last nz cruise on the Explorer. And final cruise on the Explorer.

We are on the 2nd the last cruise to PNG on Feb 19th. The P&O app is diabolical so lets hope the Carnival one is an upgrade!!

Yeah my first P&O cruise was on Fairstar. The best P&O cruise I did was on the Pearl's Christmas in July cruise. I introduced many people to cruising on that cruise! I never found them to be Solo friendly, so it was my least favourite cruise line, BUT I will miss them.

Thanks for the update, Disappointed with the comment in regards to the Byron Club, we specifically paid extra to have this, in particular access to a breakfast location not in the general area. I hope Carnival takes into account the extra $ and if they abolish Byron Club what are they giving us in return for the extra $. We are booked on the Adventure cruise that leaves 29 March so the first outing. Assuming all the upgrades to tech go smoothly and the ship is actually ready on time and working without too many glitches. We've been planning this for over a year for my Son-in-laws 40th so will be super disappointed if it is messed up.

Went once . Never again . Food was terrible in the buffet . Always worked out cheaper to do a princess cruise with a package . The P&O bill at the end of the cruise was ridiculous , where on princess we had Nothing to pay .

P&O once was enough

Try being a Melbourne cruiser. No Princess and now no P&O

Hi Adrian, great coverage of the P&O situation. I agree 100% with everything you said. Personally I think it may have been a mercy killing as P&O's standards have continued to slide since the return to cruising post-covid. I did a NZ cruise in March this year which was memorable for all the wrong reasons. Embarkation was a debacle taking 3 times as long as a Princess or RC boarding with a similar number of people. The tender port at Bay of Islands was a total clusterf^*k with the bulk of passengers not getting ashore till about 1:00 pm. Some shore tours had to be cancelled, others delayed. Oh boy. If we thought we had seen the worst, just wait till Debarkation. Never again. The food was like it was prepared by someone who didn't want to do it - bland, luke warm, second-rate. I still don't really know what the purpose of the Dragon Lady & Angelo's restaurants was, weird menus, dark & sickly decore, very few people I spoke to had anything complimentary to say about them. And, yes, the endless push to user pays food & entertainment by P&O. ALL of the health precautions that were standard "pre-covid" have vanished - washing hands, distancing, covering coughs, etc. By the end of the cruise most of the passengers had acquired the ship's "death cough". On the up-side we found that P&O had upgraded us to Covid positive, so we had a reason why we we feeling a bit shit, but it was free & complimentary. RIP P&O, we all miss what you used to be but not what you have become. p.s Adrian, I heard last week in the media announcement of Carnival's canning of P&O that former cruises on P&O would be transferable to the Carnival rewards system? I certainly hope so.