P&O Cruises insider’s guide: Britain’s biggest line, explained for Americans too

Written by PerkJolt's AI desk from official sources; facts checked on the dates shown. We may earn a commission from links; it never changes what we recommend. This lite guide is free; the full guide is $4.99.

At a glance

• Who it is: a British cruise line sailing mostly from Southampton, with a fleet the official fleet page lists as Arvia, Iona, Britannia, Ventura, Azura, Arcadia and Aurora .
• Money on board: you pay in pounds sterling (£) .
• Tips: the dining page says service tips are already included in the price . Confirm your own booking.
• Family vs adults-only: the fleet page says the fleet has both kinds but does not sort the ships for you, so check each ship's page before you book.
• Home ports: Arvia's page lists Southampton, Bridgetown (Barbados) and St John (Antigua) .
• Loyalty: the Peninsular Club starts at 15 nights on board .
• US advisory for the UK: Level 2 [read 2026-10-14, https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/united-kingdom-travel-advisory.html — Level 2, issued September 9, 2026].
• Representative trip in this guide: a 7-night Southampton round trip to northern Spain and Lisbon, labelled "representative, not a published sailing".

The short version

P&O Cruises is the line most British holidaymakers think of first when they think of cruising. If you are American, the main shock is not the ships; it is the small cultural switches. Prices and on-board accounts are in pounds, the sales pages are written for UK shoppers, the biggest crowds are British families on school holidays, and the usual start of the trip is a train ride from London to the south coast rather than a flight to Florida.

That is good news if you like an adventure that feels like abroad before you even leave the dock. It is less good if you want a loud, American-style, everything-bundled resort at sea. Think of P&O as a polite, theatrical, tea-and-gin-and-evening-dress kind of ship: Black Tie nights are part of the P&O tradition as the line describes it (confirm the details on the help page and in your cruise documents), the entertainment leans toward West End style shows and quizzes, and the dining rooms still run set sittings on some ships.

The fleet page says the line has both family-friendly and adults-only ships , so the first decision is who is in your party. Arvia's own page says it suits families, couples and first-time cruisers, and lists 30 bars and restaurants and four pools . Do not assume the older, smaller ships are the same as the newest, and do not assume every ship takes children.

Money-wise, the good news is that the dining page says service tips are already included in the price , so there is no daily service charge to budget separately. The fine print on drinks is different: a drinks package exists, but the page gives no price, so you fill that blank from the booking flow. Specialty restaurants such as Sindhu and Epicurean cost extra on top.

For US readers, the real cost of a P&O trip is the transatlantic flight, the night in Southampton or London, and currency exchange. This is where points help: British Airways and Virgin Atlantic both sit on our transfer chart from the major bank programs, per our chart checked 2026-10-08. Details are in the full guide.

What is different for Americans

A few habits catch US guests out. First, dates: UK sales pages and booking screens write day before month, so 03/11 means 3 November. Check it twice before you pay a deposit. Second, the money: the line's help page says you pay in pounds on board, so your card will convert every bar tab, and the booking terms show a pre-authorisation at check-in in pounds . A card with no foreign transaction fee is worth carrying; check your issuer.

Third, the booking terms let prices change up to 20 days before departure, including for currency movements . If you are paying from dollars, that clause matters more to you than to a British guest; chapter 5 has the cancel-right detail.

Fourth, the final payment date: for bookings made on or after 10 March 2026, balance is due 90 days before departure for sailings up to 30 November 2026, and 120 days before departure for sailings on or after 1 December 2026 . Chapter 8 repeats the rule in full; put the date in your calendar the day you book.

Fifth, the vocabulary. A "cabin" is a cabin, but the fare types are called Early Saver, Saver and Select Price in the terms, and they differ in how much you can change afterward . Chapter 5 sets out what the terms say. Read those fare names before you click.

3 free (or low-cost) things

1. Walk the medieval walls of Southampton's Old Town. The Bargate and the stretch of wall near it are a few minutes' walk from the High Street and cost nothing. Go before embarkation if your luggage is already with the hotel.
2. See the Torre de Hércules in A Coruña. This old lighthouse on the headland is a short ride from the cruise pier and is the standout view of the city. Check opening hours on the city's official tourism site before you go.
3. Ride the waterfront in Lisbon toward Belém Tower. The tram and rail ride out along the Tagus gives you Belém Tower for the price of a local ticket; you can admire it from outside for free.

Get the full guide

The full guide covers all 14 chapters of this cruise-line guide: fleet, cabins, dining and drinks, tips and fees, the Peninsular Club, kids and adults-only rules, booking terms, a day-by-day sample sailing with Southampton night-before base cards, points flights from the US to London, an insider's checklist, a fill-in cost sheet and a printable. The lite guide is free and the full guide is $4.99. Related reading: /guides/cruises/cunard-queen-mary-2/, /guides/cruises/british-isles-southampton/ and /guides/london/.

This is the free lite guide. The full day-by-day guide, with maps, photo stops, rain plans and the points playbook, is part of PerkJolt All-Access.