P&O
If Cunard is my idea of how cruising should be, then P&O is probably the next step down the ladder. It still retains some of that traditional British cruise feel, but is generally a little less formal and a bit easier to take as you find it.
You can still dress up for dinner, enjoy a proper evening meal and feel that you're on something a little special, but equally you can spend the day in shorts and trainers, find somewhere comfortable to sit and simply chill out. For me, that is a pretty good combination.
P&O also has the advantage of being very familiar territory for British cruisers. Southampton is its home port and there is something reassuringly British about the whole operation. You don't have to worry about converting your money every five minutes, the food generally feels familiar and you won't be surrounded by announcements in six different languages.There is plenty to do on the larger ships, with restaurants, bars, entertainment and all the usual cruise ship distractions. The newer ships such as Iona and Arvia are huge by traditional standards, though, and this is where I think P&O has lost something.
My biggest criticism of P&O is the move towards bigger and bigger ships and the loss of some of the smaller ships that gave the company its character. I don't necessarily want my cruise ship to be a floating town with thousands of passengers and enough restaurants and entertainment venues to keep you occupied for a month. Sometimes smaller really is better.
The other thing I miss is the stronger emphasis on adults-only cruising. To be fair, P&O hasn't abandoned it completely. Arcadia and Aurora still offer plenty of cruises exclusively for adults, although from December 2026 some selected sailings on both ships will be opened to passengers of all ages.
That seems a shame to me because there is something rather nice about an adults-only cruise. No offence to children, but sometimes you simply want to sit around the pool without somebody launching themselves into it, and enjoy dinner without wondering whether the table next to you is about to become a family entertainment centre.
A subject dear to my heart on a cruise ship is speciality restaurants and many P&O ships have a Sindhu restaurant overseen by Michelin-starred chef Atoll Kuchar, where you can sample the most amazing Indian cuisine, far superior to your local take-away.Aurora in particular still represents the sort of P&O ship I like. It is the smallest ship in the current fleet and has a much more intimate feel than the giants. P&O itself describes her as having a classic cruising atmosphere, and that is probably exactly why she has such a loyal following.
So P&O occupies an interesting position for me. It has modernised considerably and, for many people, that will be exactly what they want. There is far more choice and entertainment than there used to be, and the larger ships certainly have plenty going for them.
But I do sometimes wonder whether, in trying to compete with the giant international cruise lines, P&O has moved away from some of the things that made it distinctive in the first place.
Fortunately, the traditional P&O experience hasn't disappeared completely. Choose the right ship and the right itinerary and you can still get that pleasant mixture of a little bit of formality, good food, British familiarity and plenty of opportunity to do absolutely nothing.
And sometimes, on a cruise, doing absolutely nothing is rather the point.
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