Carnival Corporation to shut down P&O Cruises Australia brand

Cruise passengers fear Australian flavour and history will be lost as Carnival Corporation shuts down the iconic P&O Cruises Australia brand after 92 years.

Devastated cruise passengers have reacted furiously to the closure of the iconic P&O Australia brand after a 92-year history and the loss of Aussie jobs.

News that the brand would be folded into its American owners’ Carnival Cruise brand with the loss of jobs in the P&O Australia head office in Sydney was released to the New York stock exchange on Tuesday morning.

Passengers were quick to react with cruise commentator Honida Beram saying her Cruising With Honey Facebook page had lit up with comments from distressed passengers when the news broke.

“It is absolutely devastating,” she said. “P&O encapsulates cruising in Australia, it is the only one specifically serving Australian passengers.”

Ms Beram said P&O cruises had been providing uniquely Australian cruises for more than 90 years with every part of the experience — “the food, the humour, the experience” — catering to Australian audiences.

The P&O Pacific Explorer in Sydney Harbour. Picture: P&O

“Now it is going under the umbrella of the American style of cruising and a piece of Australian history will be lost,” she said.

Cruiser Karen Rowe posted on The Cruise and Travel Guy Facebook page that she was “sad & disappointed!”

Some job losses are expected from the shake-up. Picture: NCA Newswire / Gaye Gerard

“We have had some truly great cruises with P&O. Even though they were (al)ready owned by Carnival, they were unique, loved the decor & destinations and of course all the wonderful staff. It will never be the same,” she wrote.

Another passenger, Nicole Rudd, posted: “Shocked. But also worried. What does this mean for Aussies & cruising? Will there still be affordable prices? Will there still be a lot of cruises? Will there be times where these ships are offline to be rebranded?

Christine Duffy, the president of Carnival Cruise Line, jetted in from America to break the news to P&O Cruise head office staff in Sydney that many would be losing their jobs.

The Carnival office in Miami mixed up the time zones and the briefing to staff had to be hurriedly brought forward after the news broke on the stock exchange in New York.

P&O boss Peter Little will remain at the helm of the slimmed down office in Australia. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Nikki Short

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

Two years ago owner Carnival celebrated the 90th anniversary of the start of cruising in Australia with P&O in 1932 and Ms Duffy acknowledged the brand was beloved by cruise goers Down Under.

“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” she said.

Ms Duffy said that meant 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.

“We certainly understand the significance of the P&O brand here in the market,” she said. “But we know that it would not be sustainable for us to continue as we have.”

Ms Duffy said that it was too costly to maintain a fleet of just three ships under a different brand and that it needed to be subsumed into the overall Carnival fleet to streamline the operation and axe duplicate administration jobs.

“We will continue to maintain an office here in Sydney,” she said. “We don’t want to get into the numbers of people this impacts.”

Carnival chief executive Josh Weinstein said current itineraries will operate business as usual, and that passengers would be notified shortly of any changes to future bookings.

P&O Cruise ships Pacific Explorer (left) and Pacific Adventure (right) with Carnival Splendor in the background at the Overseas Passenger Terminal in 2022. Picture: James D. Morgan/Getty Images

“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,” he said.

“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,” Mr Weinstein said.

P&O boss Peter Little will remain at the helm of the slimmed down office in Australia.

“The market here is the most expensive in the world and the costs have only continued to grow,” she said. “Maintaining the brand requires investment – separate marketing, a separate website – we will put our money into ease costs and provide the same experience passengers love from P&O Australia.

“We are not making any changes to the experience passengers have on our ships, they will see the same crew, the same entertainers, the same themed cruises and the same dining,” she said. “We can also enhance that experience for them.”

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