P&O Cruises Australia is being shut down

After 90 years of cruising from Australia, the beloved P&O brand is being axed and will be folded into the Carnival brand.

After 90 years of cruising from Australia, the beloved P&O brand will be shut down in March next year due to high “operating and regulatory costs,” its parent company Carnival Corporation has revealed.

The move will mean the end of the ship Pacific Explorer, but Pacific Encounter and Pacific Adventure will operate as Carnival Cruise Line — the company’s most profitable division.

"In early 2025 P&O Cruises Australia brand will be sunset and its operations integrated into sister line, Carnival Cruise Line," reads a statement on the P&O website.

"As a result, all itineraries on Pacific Explorer scheduled to sail after 2nd March 2025 are being cancelled.

"If you are booked on one of these itineraries you will be contacted by Guest Services in the coming days with refund details."

A P&O ship has been a common sight in Sydney Harbour.

Carnival chief executive Josh Weinstein said in a statement: “P&O Cruises Australia is a storied brand with an amazing team, and we are extremely proud of everything we have accomplished together in Australia and the broader region.

“However, given the strategic reality of the South Pacific’s small population and significantly higher operating and regulatory costs, we’re adjusting our approach to give us the efficiencies we need to continue delivering an incredible cruise experience year-round to our guests in the region.

“Carnival Corporation … remains committed to Australia and we will continue to be the largest cruise operator in the region with 19 ships calling on 78 destinations and representing almost 60 per cent of the market,” Weinstein said.

The P&O cruise brand will fold into Carnival Cruises from next year. Picture: Toby Zerna

Two years ago owner Carnival celebrated the 90th anniversary of the start of cruising in Australia with P&O in 1932.

Christine Duffy, the president of Carnival Cruise Line (who jetted in from America to break the news to P&O Cruise head office staff in Sydney that many would be losing their jobs), acknowledged the brand was beloved by cruise goers Down Under.

“This is not an easy decision for the company to shut down or sunset the P&O Australia brand,” she said.

“But at this stage coming out of restart and as we look at the market here we need to be able to manage a business that is sustainable and profitable for our shareholders.

"While we plan to make some technology upgrades and other small changes to the two P&O Cruises Australia ships, they will continue to be geared to the unique Australian market with a familiar feel and much of the same experiences for P&O Cruises Australia guests."

Duffy said the P&O ships Encounter and Adventure would be rebranded next year and given Carnival technology on board. The P&O Explorer will be retired and the crew given jobs on other Carnival ships.

With The Daily Telegraph

Originally published as P&O Cruises Australia is being shut down