Cruise Ship Jobs - P&O Cruises

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Very much British cruise line with more than 150 years old tradition in passenger vessels operation. Offering worldwide no repeating itineraries with vast number of ports. The company is catering mostly to British passengers, plus a considerable amount of Americans, Australians and New Zealanders, basically people loyal to traditional British cruising and manners. That fact should be considered by potential crew members, as well.

Arthur Anderson, the founder of U.K. based P&O Cruises, came up with the concept of cruising for pleasure about 170 years ago. The company began in the 1880s as a combination of Orient Line and North of Scotland, and was later taken over by P&O. In 1904, P&O offered its its inaugural cruise holiday tour - a first class-only cruise with shore excursions organized by Thomas Cook. The company thrived between the World Wars and beyond. Like most cruise lines, however, after the onset of the jet liner - which basically trumped the need for passengers to make a crossing in order to travel between the U.S. and Europe (and beyond) - P&O was forced to adapt. P&O abolished the multi-class system on its ships. It acquired Los Angeles-based Princess Cruises in 1974 and Sitmar Cruises in 1988, which P&O chose to merge. Even more expansion followed for its Princess Cruises subsidiary.

The mid-1990s marked a time of radical change for P&O. The company introduced Oriana, its first purpose-built modern cruise ship (as opposed to ocean liner), followed by the near-identical Aurora. P&O Cruises benefited from sister cruise line Princess Cruises a few years later when that line's Sea Princess and Ocean Princess were transferred; they became known as Adonia and Oceana, respectively. In October 2000, the company underwent another major change: P&O's parent company was acquired by Carnival Corporation and now is one of the Carnival Corporation's eleven brands (within and operated by the Carnival UK division based in Southampton).

In 2015 MV Adonia left the fleet of P&O Cruises to become the first ship of a new cruise brand owned by Carnival Corporation - "fathom” (yes – without a capital f!) - a new cruise line dedicated to something called volunteer tourism. MV Britannia joined the fleet in March 2015.

Cruise ships and itineraries:

Britannia: UK registered, inauguration 2015, 143,730 gross tons, 4,324 passengers, 1,398 crew members. Itineraries: Mediterranean; Norwegian fjords; the Baltic; Canary Islands; Atlantic Islands; Caribbean.
Azura: Bermuda registered, inauguration 2010, 116,000 gross tons, 3,092 passengers, 1,230 crew members. Itineraries: Mediterranean, Canary Islands, Baltic, Norwegian Fjords, Transatlantic/Caribbean out of Southampton, UK; Caribbean out of Barbados; Caribbean/Transatlantic out of Barbados.
Ventura: Bermuda registered, build 2008, 113,000 gross tons, 3,092 passengers, 1,230 crew members. Itineraries: Mediterranean, Canary Islands, Baltic, Norwegian Fjords, Transatlantic/Caribbean out of Southampton, UK; Caribbean out of Barbados and New Orleans, LA; Caribbean/Transatlantic out of Barbados.
Arcadia: Bermuda registered, built 2004, 86,799 gross tons, 1.952 passengers, 976 crew members. Itineraries: Western Europe; Norwegian Fjords; Transatlantic/Caribbean, Transatlantic/USA/Canada, Northern Europe/Iceland/Greenland, Baltic, Western Mediterranean, Canary Islands, out of Southampton, UK; Australia; New Zealand; Singapore, Indian Ocean; Arabian Gulf; Black Sea.
Aurora: Bermuda registered, built 2000, 76,152 gross tons, 1,878 passengers, 850 crew members. Itineraries: Western Europe; Baltic Capitals; Norwegian Fjords; Iceland; South Africa, Namibia; Mediterranean, Mexican Riviera/Panama Canal/Caribbean/Transatlantic out of San Fransisco, CA. Black Sea; Far East, Hawaii; Australia/New Zealand; Canada/New England; South Pacific.
Oceana (formerly Ocean Princess): Bermuda registered, built 2000, 77,499 gross tons, 2,016 passengers, 889 crew members. Itineraries: Mediterranean, Canary Islands, Transatlantic/Caribbean out of Southampton, UK; Caribbean out of Barbados and Port Everglades (Ft. Lauderdale), FL; Caribbean/Panama Canal out of Barbados and Acapulco, Mexico; Caribbean/Transatlantic out of Barbados.
Oriana: Bermuda registered, built 1994, 69,153 gross tons, 1,822 passengers, 794 crew members. Itineraries: Mediterranean, Canary Islands, Transatlantic/Caribbean out of Southampton, UK; World cruise.