P&O Princess Cruises

P&O Princess Cruises plc (stock symbol in London and NYSE: POC[1][2]) was a shipping company that existed between 2000 and 2003, operating the P&O Cruises, Princess Cruises, P&O Cruises Australia, A'Rosa Cruises, AIDA Cruises and Ocean Village branded cruise lines. The company was formed from the de-merged passenger services of the Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O) and operated until 2003 when it was re-listed as Carnival plc following a merger with Carnival Corporation. Its registered office was in the City of Westminster, London.

P&O Princess Cruises plc
TypePublic
PredecessorP&O
Founded2000
FateMerged with Carnival Corporation, 2003
SuccessorCarnival Corporation & plc
Headquarters
London
,
England
Websitepoprincesscruises.com

History

P&O Princess Cruises originated from the Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O), founded in England in 1837.[3] In 1844, the company began operating passenger services which were the forerunner of modern cruise holidays, and as such it became recognised as the world's oldest cruise line.

In 1974, P&O acquired Princess Cruises, a North American cruise line founded in 1964 by Stanley McDonald.[4] In 1977, P&O de-merged its passenger services division to form P&O Cruises.[5] In 1988, P&O de-merged P&O Cruises' Australian operations, acquiring Sitmar Cruises,[6] which led to the formation of P&O Cruises Australia.[7]

In 1999, P&O acquired the Germany cruise line, AIDA Cruises.[8] In 2000, P&O de-merged its cruise ship operations, forming a new company, P&O Princess Cruises Ltd.[3] The company was listed on the London Stock Exchange, making it completely independent of the P&O Group. The company operated the P&O Cruises, P&O Cruises Australia, Princess Cruises and AIDA Cruises brands.

In 2001, talks were held with Royal Caribbean and Festival Cruises to discuss a possible merger. Also in 2001, P&O Princess Cruises launched the A'Rosa Cruises brand. In 2003, P&O Princess Cruises merged with Carnival Corporation to form Carnival Corporation & plc.[9] As a result of the merger, P&O Princess Cruises plc was re-listed as Carnival plc, becoming the UK holding company of the Carnival Group. As Carnival plc, the company largely retained the P&O Princess executive team and shareholder body, with executive control of the group's activities in the UK and Australia.

Head office

The P&O Princess head office was in City of Westminster, London.[10] After P&O accepted a takeover from Carnival Corporation in 2003, the company planned to close the P&O head office in London. P&O Princess offered the 25 employees there a relocation to the P&O Cruises offices in Southampton or dismissal from the company.[11]

Ship ownership

During its brief existence, P&O Princess Cruises owned a number of cruise ships:

Impact of COVID-19

During the COVID-19 pandemic many cruise companies postponed their cruise holidays due to safety restrictions.

During the summer of 2021, a number of British cruise lines including P&O Princess Cruises, attempted to draw customers back to ocean voyages whilst operating under capacity restrictions placed on cruise lines by government Covid-19 restrictions.[12] By August 2022, Covid-19 restrictions were further relaxed on Princess Cruises with the removal of testing for vaccinated passengers sailing on voyages for less than 16 days. Unvaccinated passengers were permitted to embark on cruises provided a negative test had been taken within 72 hours of sailing.[13]

However, by November 2022, following a significant rise in reported Covid cases on the Majestic Princess which resulted in a tier 3 ship alert, restrictions were reintroduced on Carnival Corporation ships including P&O Australia, Princess Cruises and Carnival Cruise Line. Among other requirements, the restrictions necessitated guests to wear masks in indoor areas classed as 'public spaces', in areas where physical distancing could not be actioned, and during boarding and departing the ship.[14]

Today

The company formerly known as P&O Princess continues to operate as a constituent of the Carnival Group, with executive control of the group's operations in the United Kingdom and Australia. Based at Carnival House in Southampton, Carnival plc provides executive control of P&O Cruises, P&O Cruises Australia, Cunard Line and Ocean Village. with additional responsibility for the UK sales and marketing of Princess Cruises.

References
  1. "P&O Princess Cruises plc (NYSE:POC)." Yahoo! Finance. Retrieved on 19 September 2011.
  2. "About Princess." Princess Cruises. 1 June 2002. Retrieved on 19 September 2011.
  3. Oliver, Mark; agencies (29 November 2005). "Profile: P&O". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
  4. "Stanley McDonald, Princess Cruises founder, dies at 94". The Seattle Times. 29 November 2014. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
  5. "From Liners to Leisure". P&O Heritage. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
  6. Goossens, Reuben. "From Birth to Breakers". SS Maritime. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
  7. "History of Our Fleet". P&O Cruises Australia. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
  8. The AIDA Experience
  9. EC Clears Carnival and P&O Princess Merge Marinelink, 11 February 2003
  10. "Contact." P&O Princess Cruises. 5 June 2002. Retrieved on 19 September 2011. "P&O Princess Cruises plc Registered office: 77 New Oxford Street London WC1A 1PP UK"
  11. Macalister, Terry. "Carnival 'yes' brings £1m bonus." The Guardian. Wednesday 16 April 2003. Retrieved on 19 September 2011.
  12. Slater, Ben. "UK cruises in 2021: can they go ahead and which brand is best? - Which? News". Which?. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  13. Ltd, Jacobs Media Group. "Carnival and Princess Cruises join UK sister brands in relaxing Covid protocols". Travel Weekly. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  14. "P&O, Princess and Carnival reintroduce mask mandates on Aussie ships". Travel Weekly. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
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