p&o cruises fly cruise

• Apr 19, 2023

P&O Cruises - How do fly cruises work?

Updated: Oct 22, 2023

Although we prefer the convenience of sailing from Southampton, when you only have a week off work and want some sunshine the fly cruise is the way to go. We've been on three fly cruises with P&O and they are a great way to start enjoying ports and sunshine straight away.

P&O have been operating fly cruises for a long time now, and have a very slick operation in place. They began with cruises in the Caribbean but over the last 10 years P&O have also been operating fly cruises in the Mediterranean and around the Canary Islands. Due to restrictions on when we can travel, we haven't been lucky enough to try out a Caribbean cruise yet, but we have experienced cruises from Malta, Tenerife and Venice.

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What's so special about a P&O fly cruise?

The reason these cruises with P&O are so popular, and why we love them, is because P&O look after everything for you. Instead of booking a cruise and then flights separately, it's all included in the price you pay. This means you'll also have a transfer to the ship and P&O will look after your luggage. We've also been lucky enough to get flights from Birmingham Airport for all of our cruises, although if you don't book early some regional flights may sell out.

P&O charter flights for their fly cruises and most of the time you'll end up on one of these. This means that your flight will be full of passengers heading to the cruise and it makes it feel like your holiday has started the moment you check in!

How does it work?

When you book the cruise, either through your preferred agent or directly through P&O, you'll do everything as normal but you'll also have the option to choose a regional flight rather than the default Gatwick flight. There's usually a small additional charge for regional flights depending on the airport. Your flight information will then be made available to you on your cruise personaliser closer to the time of sailing. You'll also be given the opportunity to prebook flight seats should you need to. We haven't done this on any of our fly cruises and we have always been seated together. If it is important to you to be sat together it might be worth prebooking. On our flight in February 2023, we were seated next to someone who's partner was seated at the opposite end of the plane.

When you arrive at the airport on your departure date you'll be greeted by P&O staff who will explain the process. They'll be wearing P&O lanyards and will be easily identifiable. If your flight is a charter flight, which most are, you won't be able to check in online and some flight information services wont show your flight which can be a bit unnerving. It also feels a little bit weird not having any check in paperwork, but the staff at the desk will get you sorted and will give you a paper boarding pass ready for your flight. This is also where the magic happens. For most P&O fly cruises, you'll check your luggage in at the airport and the next time you'll see it will be when it arrives at your cabin onboard the ship.

We did have an exception to this in Tenerife where we had to collect our own case from the luggage carousel and bring it to the coach. However, we didn't have to worry about taking it from the coach to the ship. On some Caribbean fly cruises, you'll be picked up in a coach directly from the plane and taken straight to the ship, no need to go through the airport at all!

What about the journey home?

Coming home is just as simple, you'll receive a pack in your room towards the latter end of your cruise with all of the information for your journey home. P&O take care of check in for you, so in your pack you'll find your boarding passes, luggage labels, instructions, and usually a sheet explaining departure times for each flight.

Just like you would on a normal cruise, you'll get your case ready and leave it outside your room the night before departure. You'll meet it again once you've arrived at your home airport, so its ideal for those with limited mobility or if you struggle to carry your case. Again if you're on a chartered flight, you'll be travelling with fellow cruisers, so the chances are you'll be able to swap some stories on the way home!

If your flight is a bit later on departure day, you'll be able to stay on board until it's time to head to the airport. P&O also arrange some excursions that pick you up from the ship and then drop you off at the airport allowing you to make the most of your final day. The main benefit you get from the fly cruise here is that if your flight is delayed, as long as the ship has notice, you get to stay onboard and don't have to wait for hours in the aiport.

What could be better?

P&O are experts at the fly cruise, they've been doing it for a long time, so have really perfected it. The operation is slick and well organised and it makes the start of your holiday fuss free. We didn't experience any issues at all on our most recent fly cruise, but there are some aspects that could probably be improved.

The communication at times is a little bit patchy, and had we not done a fly cruise before we would have been a bit nervous turning up to the airport with no paperwork. Seating on the flight was also hit or miss. As mentioned we've always been lucky, but we have spoken to other guests who seemed to have been intentionally separated. They had arrived before check in opened (and before us!) and were still seated apart on the flight.

One thing that was totally our fault, was that we forgot about the airport liquid rule and how this would impact on our last morning. All of our toiletries were full sized so they couldn't be packed in hand luggage, which meant we would either be left with nothing for the final morning or they would need to be left behind. It looks like airports will be changing liquid rules very soon, so this won't be an issue for much longer, but until then don't forget to pack some miniatures to use on your departure day.

The major difference with a fly cruise is that you'll need to be careful with your luggage allowance. We're so used to taking as much as we like on a Southampton round trip that we struggled with having a set limit. We had the scales out and some items needed to be removed the night before we flew. We are looking forward to not having to worry about this before our next cruise and being able to pack extra items just incase they are needed!

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We take miniature tubes of toothpaste for last night and morning. Pour mouthwash into a glass to use. Deodorant is almost empty after 2 weeks so throw it away after using it on the last day. And use the ships shower gel and shampoo. Problem solved.

We had just completely forgotten about the liquid rules, but we’ll be more prepared next time!

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P&O Cruises fleet

Pacific encounter, pacific adventure, pacific explorer, review of p&o cruises.

This is CruiseMapper's hub for both companies - P&O UK and P&O Australia. Both P and O cruise lines belong to the world's largest cruise shipping company. P&O cruise lines deals are mainly on voyages departing from Southampton UK and Sydney NSW Australia . Both P&O companies are subsidiaries/part of the Carnival Group of companies - all of which are fully owned by Carnival Corporation & PLC . P&O UK is under the management of Carnival UK. And there is a 3rd "PandO" company (not part of Carnival plc) - the UK-based P&O Ferries .

Company history and changes

P&O Cruises UK (POcruises.com) is a British-American passenger shipping company headquartered at Carnival House (Southampton, England) and operated/managed by Carnival UK. P&O was originally a constituent of “Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company” (1797-founded/1966-defunct) which was the world's oldest cruise line that operated the first-ever passenger ships.

P&O Cruises' sister company is P&O Cruises Australia. P&O Australia's current President is Marguerite Fitzgerald. while P&O UK's (as well as Carnival UK's) current President is Paul Ludlow.

In 2000, "P&O Cruises" was excluded from P&O Group, becoming the subsidiary "P&O Princess Cruises". In 2003, P&O Princess merged with Carnival, forming Carnival Corporation & plc.

P&O (UK and AU) holds as market share ~5% of the worldwide cruise industry. Both companies (P&O Australia and P&O UK) were created in 1977, re-branding P&O's passenger division. Arcadia was the fleet's first adults-only liner, followed by Adonia (now Azamara Pursuit ), Oriana and Aurora (April 2000).

P&O UK ships Arcadia and Aurora are currently marketed as adult-only.

In August 2017, Azura became the world's first cruise ship to perform gay weddings at sea. P&O UK's wedding package prices started from GBP 1200. For comparison, Cunard’s shipboard weddings cost starts at ~GBP 2570 ( RMS Queen Mary 2 ) and ~GBP 2120 ( Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth ). On MS Azura, gay wedding ceremonies are carried out by the ship’s Captain, while marriage licenses are issued by Bermuda's Government (as the vessel is registered in Hamilton Bermuda ).

In June 2018, P&O UK announced that Oriana leaves the fleet in August 2019. The liner (now named Piano Land ) was sold to the Chinese company Well Star Travel Cruise (brand of CTS-China Travel Services International). The Chinese company plans short cruises from Chinese homeports to ports in Japan and Southeast Asia (Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Philippines, Indonesia).

Since May 1, 2019, P&O Cruises UK's Daily Service Charge per person (GBP 7) is no longer required. Crew tipping remains not expected or required.

In June 2021, P&O UK launched a mobile app to optimize pre-boarding and maximize onboard efficiency. The new "My Holiday" app is free of charge but available only on the ship. It allows pre-booking and making reservations onboard (dining times, restaurants, shows) via mobile phones and tablets. The app is an addition to the My Holiday (Reception Desk) which provides 24-hour assistance, including booking and how to use the application.

In summer 2023, two P&O UK ships (Iona and Arvia) introduced in their retail shops three kids' toy brands (Barbie, Hot Wheels Cars, Keycraft's Pocket Money) in addition to the always available toys from brands like Lego, Jellycat, TY (stuffed animals).

In April 2024 was introduced fleetwide the new illusion show "Unbelievable" created by Stephen Mulhern (TV presenter, magician, comedian) and Jonathan Wilkes (TV presenter, singer) and with Vegas-style choreography from Paul Domaine (show director, professional choreographer).

In June 2011 was announced that P&O UK will expand the fleet with a new 141,000-ton unit built by Fincantieri. The new vessel ( MV Britannia ) entered service in 2015. In January 2014, with Britannia was introduced a new livery based on UK's Union Flag.

On September 6, 2016, P&O UK (via Carnival Corporation) signed an MoA with Meyer Werft ( Papenburg Shipyard ) for building a new (company's largest) 5200-passenger vessel. In late-October 2016, P&O announced that the new ship ( Iona ) will have some of the largest at sea outdoor areas, glass-domed top deck, glass-walled atrium (full height) and wider and longer (approx 2600 ft / 800 m) Promenade Deck allowing multiple alfresco dining/open-air venues.

Iona was delivered in October 2020 and inaugurated in August 2021. The sistership Arvia was postponed (due to the COVID crisis) and delivered in December 2022 and inaugurated in January 2023.

The newest P&O UK vessel has max passenger capacity 6264, volume 187500 GT-tons, 18 decks, 2610 staterooms, 17 eateries (including 7 specialty restaurants/ Britannia has just 3), 12 bars/lounges, 13 entertainment venues, 4 swimming pools, 16 outdoor whirlpools. The top-deck Dome is an entertainment space, with a swimming pool, large jacuzzies, a retractable stage. This all-weather venue hosts daily entertainment and dining and nightly shows (aerial performances and light projections onto the covering glass roof).

P&O UK's newest ship is also LNG-powered (by liquefied natural gas). Two similar-design ships (180K tons) were also ordered for CCL-Carnival Cruise Line . On January 26, 2018, Carnival Corporation signed a shipbuilding contract with Meyer Werft for building a second (180,000 GT) liner for P&O, with the delivery scheduled for 2022. As of 2018, Carnival Corp’s fleet of newbuilds ( on order and under construction ) numbered 19 units, scheduled for deliveries in 2018-2022.

In January 2016, Carnival Corporation signed an MoA (memo of agreement) with Fincantieri to build 4 new units. Contracts were finalized in April 2016. Of these, 2 vessels were for Costa Asia (homeported in China), one for Princess and one for P&O Australia. With this shipbuilding order, the Corporation had a total of 17 new ships scheduled for deliveries between 2016 and 2020. The four vessels will be built at Fincantieri's shipyards in Monfalcone and Marghera, with scheduled deliveries in 2019-2020.

Three of the vessels are designed with gross tonnage 133,500 tons, LOA length is 323 m (1060 ft) and capacity 4000 passengers plus 1450 crew (2 are for Costa Asia, 1 for P&O AU). One ship with GT 143,700 tons and capacity 3560 passengers is for Princess. Both Costa ships are exclusively for the booming Chinese market. Each vessel is powered by two MAN diesel engines (model 14V48 / 60CR) plus three MAN diesel engines (medium-speed, model 8L48 / 60CR), providing total power output 62,400 kW. The engines are Tier-II compliant.

P&O Cruises Australia

P&O Cruises Australia Ltd is a British-American company with corporate headquarters at Carnival House (Southampton, England UK). P&O Australia is a sister company of P&O UK. Both are under Carnival UK's executive control. Currently, P&O Australia operates 3 boats deployed in the South Pacific Ocean on island-hopping itineraries - mainly roundtrips from homeports in Australia.

After numerous changes in the company’s organization, in 2000 P&O Group demerged all cruise shipping operations. Then, P&O Princess Cruises was created- a new company independent of P&O; consisting of AIDA Cruises , Princess Cruises , P&O Cruises Australia, P&O Cruises (UK), and later "Ocean Village" and A-Rosa Cruises (riverboats).

In 2003, Carnival Corporation merged with P&O Princess Cruises thus forming Carnival Corporation & plc- the largest cruise company in the world, with eleven cruise lines portfolio, including P&O AU. Official website pocruises.com.aunofollow.

Princess' oldest ship - Regal Princess, was transferred to P&O Australia in October 2007, and after a month of drydock refurbishment entered service as Pacific Dawn.

Carnival Corporation informed about the closure of Ocean Village (UK-based travel brand) on October 30, 2008. Both Ocean Village ships were transferred to P&O Australia - Ocean Village 2 (as Pacific Jewel, in December 2009) and Ocean Village 1 (as Pacific Pearl, in December 2010).

P&O ships sail on 270+ itineraries each year (with 120+ of them departing from Southampton), and visiting 90+ countries on 6 continents.

Pacific Pearl was renamed MV Columbus and in 2017 started operations for CMV . Pacific Pearl left the fleet in April 2017, after completing 294 voyages for P&O and carrying 1+ million passengers over 5 years. In November 2019, for Pacific Aria (now Celestyal Journey) and Pacific Dawn (now Ambience) were signed presale agreements with CMV and both ships were planned to start operations for the UK-based company in 2021 as "CMV Amy Johnson" (Pacific Dawn) and "CMV Ida Pfeiffer" (Pacific Aria). In September-October 2020, following CMV's bankruptcy , both vessels were acquired by new shipowners.

On November 25, 2015: P&O AU's entire fleet (all 5 liners) gathered in Sydney Harbour to celebrate the arrival of the fleetmates Pacific Aria and Pacific Eden.

In June 2018, P&O Australia launched with  Pacific Explorer "The Big Laugh" onboard show program - advertised as "the biggest comedy festival at sea". The program included all 14 stand-up comedy celebrities performing a total of 36 shipboard live shows (combined over 33 hours live performances). The program started with the 4-day roundtrip Sydney cruise to Moreton Island (departure June 20).

Among the guest comedians were Jimeoin (Irish), Matthew Matt Okine (AU), David Gerard Callan (Australian), Scared Weird Little Guys (Australian comedy music duo - John Fleming and Rusty Berther), David William "Hughesy" Hughes (AU), Harley Breen (AU), Claire Hooper (AU). "The Big Laugh" program comprised of all 72 comedy- themed cruises in 2018-2019. The famous Australian comedians performed during 2-, 3- and 4-night itineraries ("SeaBreaks") leaving roundtrip out of Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Cairns, Auckland NZ.

In 2019, P&O AU scheduled the ever largest "comedy cruise" program in the company's history - 38 itineraries (January through October). On March 7, 2018, was announced that Pacific Eden is sold to the UK-based company CMV , joining CMV's fleet in April 2019.

Since 2007, P&O Australia ships' onboard retail shops are managed by Harding (UK-based travel and cruise retail group). In 2020, Harding was acquired by Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP (1983-founded, NYC-based investment management firm with USD 34+ billion in managed assets). Harding has hubs in Bristol (England) , Miami (Florida USA)  and Sydney (NSW Australia) .

New beverage packages

In May 2023, P&O UK introduced four new drink packages available fleetwide but only on longer voyages, with durations of at least 5 nights (or longer).

The beverage packages are at a fixed price per person and per day. The package's pricing is lower if purchased online and before the voyage.

• "The Refresh Drinks" package is priced GBP 9.85 (prior to the voyage) and GBP 10.95 (if purchased onboard).  The Refresh package Includes soft drinks (lemonade, Pepsi, juices).
• "The Alcohol-free Drinks" package is priced GBP 22.45 (before) and GBP 24.95 (onboard) and includes all The Refresh package's beverages plus Costa Coffee and sodas.
• "The Classic Drinks" package is priced GBP 40.45 (before) and GBP 44.95 (onboard) and includes all beverages from The Refresh and The Alcohol-free packages plus alcoholic beverages (spirits, wines, cocktails).
• "The Deluxe Drinks" package is priced GBP 49.45 (before) and GBP 54.95 (onboard) and includes all other packages' beverages plus specialty cocktails, premium spirits and wines. Additionally, passengers who buy The Deluxe Drinks package also receive 20% off on all drinks excluded from this package.

The above-listed new packages are for P&O UK ships only and introduced/first offered on the liners Iona and Ventura (starting May 20, 2023) and available fleetwide since July 2023.

P&O Cruise Personaliser

PandO Cruise Personaliser is an online service that allows passengers to update their before-sailing information and see in a concise form all their booking details. P&O Personaliser is NOT mandatory to complete but may be of great help in cases of emergency for the company to contact family members, relatives, friends.

To log in, you'll need to input your first and surname, and cruise reference number. It is received as part of your reservation confirmation (up to 120 days prior to departure, not available for 18-yo) or upon booking (up to 1 year). The same number serves all people included in the booking. On the Web page, there's information about cruise itinerary, stateroom (category and number), boarding times, contact info (including emergency contacts), passport data, medical and dietary requirements (if requested).

PO Cruise Insurance is optional. If purchased, the Insurance policy type is also shown (Standard or higher), package deal type, all kinds of pre-made reservations (shore excursions, Air, Spa), credit card number, luggage tags, etc.

• Dining /medical requests can't be entered online - they must be specified in the manual form.
• The accessible information about changes and updates pertains ONLY to a phone number, address, passport, emergency contacts.
• You can't book a cruise through P&O Cruise Personaliser - booking requires full payment and immigration details.
• Through the Personaliser you can make online reservations (shore excursions, tours, Spa, hairdresser, specialty restaurants), to update special requests and onboard preferences, or to add some additional services (babysitting, amenities, etc).
• Itinerary changes are also listed in the Cruise Personaliser form, along with other important updates.
• Immediately call P&O if you have forgotten or lost your booking number. Call between 7 am – 8 pm (Australian Eastern Standard Time - Monday to Friday) and Saturday (8 am - 5 pm) - phone number 1300-159-454.

PO Cruise Personaliser is accessed by both travel agents and passengers. With personal bookings (through a travel agent or P&O Reservations Centre) passengers receive reference numbers (after confirmation). On a particular booking, each passenger can access the Personaliser using the booking reference number and first name-surname. If you're not the booking person, contact the one who did it for obtaining booking reference. After log-in, note that all passengers' names in the booking party are displayed under the same reference number.

IMPORTANT - Each of the same-booking passengers is able to access the info about you and the other, i.e. you can update and provide information of all other passengers in your booking, and they can change your information. If you wish so, you could provide P&O with other passengers' personal information. Another case is when they are minors (younger than 18 years old). Then you must be a parent or legal guardian.

After providing P&O cruise company with the personal data needed on the Personaliser (and also with additional info if asked for more details), this database is used for updating pre-cruise information.

Certain information is sometimes required under maritime-customs-immigration-security laws. Personaliser info may be disclosed to P&O Cruises service providers (ticketing companies, travel, and port agents, authorities, emergency response providers, immigration, airlines, customs, shore tour operators, related entities) for Carnival Corporation's business purposes. Certain information is collected because of customs or immigration laws requirements. If you refuse to provide the information requested in the Personaliser, they may not be able to process the booking or provide certain services during the voyage.

(Coronavirus crisis) passenger shipping pause 2020-2021

Due to the COVID pandemic, P&O's entire fleet (all UK- and AU-based liners) is with an expanded cancellation policy. All bookings on pre-scheduled itineraries (departures in the period March 14 through August 31, 2020) were given the option to cancel up to 48 hours (prior departure) without penalties.

All affected bookings received a 125% refund in FCC (future cruise credit) transferred to a booking made before December 31, 2021, or 100% monetary refund. With the FCCs customers can also pay for cabin upgrades or book a second stateroom (on existing bookings). FCCs can be also gifted or transferred (options offered through December 31, 2021).

P&O UK canceled all voyages departing between March 14, 2020, and June 2021.

• P&O UK planned to resume operations in early-February 2021 (Caribbean fly-cruises from Barbados and St Lucia) and in mid-March 2021 (roundtrips out of Southampton).
• P&O UK's World Cruises 2021 (ships Arcadia and Aurora) were both canceled.

Next are listed P&O UK's ships and their first departure dates in 2021-2022 - AZURA (Dec 10, 2021), BRITANNIA (June 27, 2021/UK Coastal), AURORA (April 13, 2022/Mediterranean from Southampton), ARCADIA (March 27, 2022/Canaries from Southampton), IONA (Aug 7, 2021/ Maiden Voyage /UK Coastal), VENTURA (Oct 3, 2021/Canaries from Southampton).

P&O Australia canceled all departures between March 14, 2020, and May 31, 2022. P&O Australia resumed operations in 2022 with the ships Pacific EXPLORER (May 31/from Sydney), Pacific ENCOUNTER (Aug 27/from Brisbane), Pacific ADVENTURE (October 22/from Sydney).

Citing the Coronavirus crisis' impact, in early-July 2020, P&O UK sold the ship Oceana . A total of 190 scheduled itineraries (departures from homeports Southampton UK and Dubai UAE) were canceled.

Itinerary of P&O Cruises

P&O Cruises ships sail on mostly round-trip itineraries leaving from UK (Southampton, April through October), Caribbean (from Barbados, during winter) and from Australia (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane - year-round departures). While most PandO UK ships remain in Europe year-round, the line's largest vessels also sail in the Caribbean (out of Barbados) and offer longer world cruise itineraries.

Citing the COVID crisis' impact on the passenger shipping industry, in early-July 2020, P&O UK sold the cruise ship Oceana . A total of 190 scheduled itineraries (departures from homeports Southampton UK and  Dubai UAE ) were canceled.

P&O UK's 2025-2026 itinerary program (opened for booking on October 18, 2023) features 12 new for the company ports (including Los Angeles CA USA, Melbourne Victoria AU, Port Chalmers/Dunedin NZ, Benoa Bali Indonesia, Bodo Norway, Tangier Morocco). MS Britannia has scheduled two new Caribbean fly-cruise itineraries visiting Jamaica, Dominicana, Grand Turk). In January 2026, MS Aurora starts a 75-night Grand Voyage while MS Arcadia starts a 100-night World Circumnavigation Cruise (28 ports/destinations). Traditionally for P&O, both World  Voyages are roundtrips from Southampton.

(UK & AU) PO cruise itinerary changes

PO AU's vessels are all UK- flagged . However, all ships are registered in Bermuda ( Hamilton ) to allow shipboard weddings (at sea). These ceremonies are conducted by the Captains and are pretty popular.

Our P&O cruise schedules include the ships of both brands (Australia and UK).

In October 2022, P&O UK announced new "Scandinavia and Baltic Sea" itineraries debuting in 2024 summer, all of which are roundtrips from Southampton.

• (Arcadia) 16-night from GBP 1700 pp (June 25)
• (Aurora) 16-night from GBP 1350 pp (May 18) and 16-night from GBP 1450 pp (August 26)
• (Britannia) 14-night from GBP 1150 pp (May 10), plus 2x 14-night from GBP 1300 pp (August 30, September 20)

Arcadia also offers a 16-night "Iceland and Norway" voyage from GBP 1650 pp (July 30), while Britannia offers a 14-night "British Isles" from GBP 1300 pp (June 7) and a 14-night "Canary Islands" from GBP 1250 pp (July 5).  The new Baltic sailings feature overnight port stays in Copenhagen (Denmark), Helsinki (Finland), and Stockholm (Sweden).

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• Fly 'n' Cruise

Fly 'n' Cruise

Take the scenic route.

Getting there should be half the adventure. With P&O Cruises you can take one-way cruises to enjoy your holiday that little bit longer.

A one-way P&O Cruise may not return to your homeport, but it's not problem! With P&O CruiseAir, we organise your travel for you. With CruiseAir we will book your cruise plus flights from your home, to the leaving homeport and/or back again. With P&O CruiseAir all you have to do is pack your bag!

There's a cruise for everyone, find yours

Why book p&o cruiseair.

• One-stop shop - Real-time pricing and inventory availability for air routings that complement your cruise.
• Checked Baggage allowance included in all CruiseAir packages - equivalent to the standard economy baggage allowance for your chosen P&O partner airline.
• Next Port Protection – We’ll find a reasonable alternative to get you to your next appropriate port of call in the event of a flight delay, service disruption or cancellation at no additional air cost.
• Post cruise protection – If for any reason your cruise arrives late into port or the P&O transfer is delayed to the airport and you miss your return flight, P&O will work with the airline to re-book the flights to get you home.
• Immediate flight confirmations - Flight schedules are confirmed at the time of the air booking.

Prices below are valid for cruise only so please contact us or  read more about CruiseAir here .

Booking is easy! Simply contact your travel agent or our Customer Service & Sales team on 13 24 94 (AU) or 0800 780 716 (NZ).

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Fly cruise flight ticket?

By etruriaguy , February 27, 2023 in P&O Cruises ( UK )

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Hi Everyone.   

I hope this really isn’t a silly question, but, do we just need our cruise confirmation paperwork(boarding pass) when we go to the airport to fly to Barbados?   

I can’t find any info at all on the P&O website so thought I’d ask here.  We are flying from Birmingham to join Arvia on March 17th.   

Thanks in advance n happy cruising everyone. 🙂  

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Garden_Girl

Same question from me too 😊

Yes, as it's a chartered flight, you won't need separate flight tickets. When you check in at the airport, the check in clerk will just ask for your passport and possibly your P&O boarding pass for the ship. This happened on Azura in January for me flying from Gatwick.

I'm joining you on Arvia on 18th March  🙂

Thanks for the reply swanseaboy. 

Amazing Swanseaboy.   Answered it perfectly.  I was thinking that must be the case but couldn’t find any info.   

many thanks. 🙂  

On 2/28/2023 at 12:40 PM, swanseaboy said: Yes, as it's a chartered flight, you won't need separate flight tickets. When you check in at the airport, the check in clerk will just ask for your passport and possibly your P&O boarding pass for the ship. This happened on Azura in January for me flying from Gatwick.   I'm joining you on Arvia on 18th March  🙂

Since you did one on Azura did you fly into Tenerife? Just wondering what the process is as I'm on a chartered flight but don't know if I need to collect my bags before the group transfer or not? 

I assume it will be clear when we get to the arrivals section to find the group transfer as well? 

30 minutes ago, rhysprice2 said: Since you did one on Azura did you fly into Tenerife? Just wondering what the process is as I'm on a chartered flight but don't know if I need to collect my bags before the group transfer or not?    I assume it will be clear when we get to the arrivals section to find the group transfer as well? 

Yup, it was a Jet2 chartered flight to Tenerife from Gatwick. You will check in as normal and collect your suitcase at Tenerife airport on arrival. Then you go out to meet your coach - it is clear and there are reps looking out for you. When you hand your suitcase over to the coach driver, the next time you see it will be in your cabin. Easy. 

It did suprize me that Tenerife airport is quite a distance from Santa Cruz. Around a 40 minute coach transfer. All good though. They've got it down to a fine art. 

1 hour ago, swanseaboy said: Yup, it was a Jet2 chartered flight to Tenerife from Gatwick. You will check in as normal and collect your suitcase at Tenerife airport on arrival. Then you go out to meet your coach - it is clear and there are reps looking out for you. When you hand your suitcase over to the coach driver, the next time you see it will be in your cabin. Easy.    It did suprize me that Tenerife airport is quite a distance from Santa Cruz. Around a 40 minute coach transfer. All good though. They've got it down to a fine art. 

Thanks so much for the reply, I've been going in circles with my agent getting mixed input from P&O directly. 

Thanks from me also, I was getting a little worried that I had not received any flight tickets for my upcoming  Gatwick to Barbados flight.

On my last cruise, a TA Southampton outbound return by plane,  I was sent a "flight notification" email before the cruise so I felt at least I had proof of a flight booking. Then I actually received my return flight ticket whilst onboard Arvia.

For my next cruise I only have my ship Boarding Pass and no emails, so I am a bit more reassured by your post. 

41 minutes ago, GOQ said: Thanks from me also, I was getting a little worried that I had not received any flight tickets for my upcoming  Gatwick to Barbados flight. On my last cruise, a TA Southampton outbound return by plane,  I was sent a "flight notification" email before the cruise so I felt at least I had proof of a flight booking. Then I actually received my return flight ticket whilst onboard Arvia. For my next cruise I only have my ship Boarding Pass and no emails, so I am a bit more reassured by your post. 

If this is with P&O the info should also be listed in the flights section of your personaliser. 

10 minutes ago, rhysprice2 said: If this is with P&O the info should also be listed in the flights section of your personaliser. 

Yes I realize that but the flights section just lists "Gatwick date time"-"flight number"- "Barbados date time". It's nice to have an actual flight ticket/email confirmation.

I am quite nervous really  😬  and it was just nice to have confirmation that the ship boarding pass will do.  

11 minutes ago, GOQ said: Yes I realize that but the flights section just lists "Gatwick date time"-"flight number"- "Barbados date time". It's nice to have an actual flight ticket/email confirmation. I am quite nervous really  😬  and it was just nice to have confirmation that the ship boarding pass will do.  

Ah ok, no worries. 

I didn't get anything from P&O directly but I did get a Air Notification from my travel agent. 

If you booked directly with P&O it might be worth trying to call them and ask, I've found their wait times on the phone quite good recently. 

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My main question is can anyone tell me how to sign in to find out info about dining, bookings, excursions, formals nights. I don’t seem to have to right reference number for their website. Also, am I right that you can sort the app out until you arrive? It all seems very complicated!

Any advice would be appreciated!

3 replies to this topic

I am due to cruise with Princess next week and can go into the App and amend anything so would presume you can too.

If you are cruising in June l would have thought all the information you’re seeking would now be available on their App.

Formal nights usually depend on the length of the cruise .

I would have thought you’d have needed the correct reference/booking number to put into the App initially to register and then obtain the further information you’re looking for.

Hi Reb,I cruised on the Arvia in June last year and had a wonderful experience.just a few ideas to help you out:-

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Boarding pass for flight? P&O cruise but flying with TUI

By Bella_96 , June 21, 2022 in P&O Cruises ( UK )

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I am a first time cruiser. I am going on the Azura ship on Thursday. I am flying with TUI from Birmingham to Malta. I have booked through P&O. I have printed boarding passes for the ship as well as tags and E-tickets. But how do I get my boarding passes for my flights? (Coming and going from Malta). What do I show at the check in desk?

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54 minutes ago, Bella_96 said: Hello all, I am a first time cruiser. I am going on the Azura ship on Thursday. I am flying with TUI from Birmingham to Malta. I have booked through P&O. I have printed boarding passes for the ship as well as tags and E-tickets. But how do I get my boarding passes for my flights? (Coming and going from Malta). What do I show at the check in desk?  

Normally boarding passes are issued at the check in desk for the outbound leg. You will just have to show your pasport. 

molecrochip

At airport, they will want to see your cruise ticket/boarding pass.

2 hours ago, molecrochip said: At airport, they will want to see your cruise ticket/boarding pass.

Do you mean cruise boarding pass?

My experience with TUI flights is you get issued the plane boarding pass at the airport check in desk.

Boarding passes are issued when you check your luggage in as the luggage tracking number is also required.

The airline then knows which luggage to remove from the flight should for whatever reason you are not on board the aircraft at gate closing time.

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