Company type | Public |
---|---|
LSE: POC NYSE: POC | |
Predecessor | P&O |
Founded | 2000 |
Defunct | 2003 |
Fate | Merged with Carnival Corporation |
Successor | Carnival Corporation & plc |
Headquarters | , England |
Website | poprincesscruises.com |
P&O Princess Cruises plc 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 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 London.
P&O Princess Cruises originated from the P&O, founded in England in 1837. [1] 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. [2] In 1977, P&O de-merged its passenger services division to form P&O Cruises. [3] In 1988, P&O de-merged P&O Cruises' Australian operations, acquiring Sitmar Cruises, [4] which led to the formation of P&O Cruises Australia. [5]
In 1999, P&O acquired the Germany cruise line, AIDA Cruises. [6] In 2000, P&O de-merged its cruise ship operations, forming a new company, P&O Princess Cruises Limited.<refe=Guardi/> 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. [7] 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.
The P&O Princess head office was in London. [8] 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. [9]
During its brief existence, P&O Princess Cruises owned a number of cruise ships:
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.
The Cunard Line is a British shipping and cruise line based at Carnival House at Southampton, England, operated by Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. Since 2011, Cunard and its four ships have been registered in Hamilton, Bermuda.
Carnival Cruise Line is an international cruise line with headquarters in Doral, Florida. The company is a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc. Its logo is a funnel shaped like a whale's tail, with a red, white, and blue color scheme. This trademark funnel design is built onto the line's ships. Carnival is ranked first on the list of largest cruise lines based on passengers carried annually.
Carnival Corporation & plc is a British-American cruise operator with a combined fleet of over ninety vessels across nine cruise line brands and one joint venture with China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC). A dual-listed company, Carnival is composed of two companies – Panama-incorporated, US-headquartered Carnival Corporation, and UK-based Carnival plc – which function as one entity. Carnival Corporation is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, whereas Carnival plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange with an ADR listing on the NYSE. Carnival is listed in both the S&P 500 and FTSE 250 indices.
P&O was a British shipping and logistics company dating from the early 19th century. Formerly a public company, it was sold to DP World in March 2006 for £3.9 billion. DP World currently operates several P&O branded businesses, P&O Ferries, Istithmar P&O Estates, and P&O Maritime Logistics. It also operates P&O Heritage, which is the official historic archive and collection of P&O.
Princess Cruises is an American cruise line owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. The company is incorporated in Bermuda and its headquarters are in Santa Clarita, California. As of 2021, it is the second largest cruise line by net revenue. It was previously a subsidiary of P&O Princess Cruises. The line has 15 ships cruising global itineraries that are marketed to both American and international passengers.
Pacific Jewel was a cruise ship. Originally debuting in 1990, Pacific Jewel has operated for numerous cruise lines throughout her history. She debuted as Crown Princess for Princess Cruises in 1990 before being transferred to A'Rosa Cruises as A'Rosa Blu in 2002. In 2004, she was transferred to AIDA Cruises as AIDAblu. In 2007, she was transferred to Ocean Village as Ocean Village Two. In 2009, she was transferred to P&O Cruises Australia as Pacific Jewel. In 2018, she was sold to Jalesh Cruises and renamed Karnika, debuting in 2019. Jalesh Cruises ceased operating in October 2020. She was sold for scrap in Alang, India in 2020.
MV Piano Land is a cruise ship in service for Astro Ocean, a newly-formed Chinese cruise line. She originally entered service in April 1995 as Oriana for P&O Cruises, and was named by Queen Elizabeth II. She was built by Meyer Werft at their shipyard in Papenburg, Germany, and measures 69,153 gross tons. As Oriana, she held the Golden Cockerel trophy in recognition of being the fastest ship in the P&O Cruises fleet from 1997, when she succeeded her fleetmate Canberra, to her departure in 2019.
Pacific Adventure is a Grand-class cruise ship operated by P&O Cruises Australia, a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc. It was previously named Golden Princess.
Ocean Village was a British-American owned cruise line, based in Southampton, Hampshire, UK. Designed to offer an alternative cruise experience, Ocean Village was founded by P&O Princess Cruises, which later merged with Carnival Corporation to form Carnival Corporation & plc. Ocean Village operated from 2003, until 2010 when the brand was discontinued, with the cruise ship Ocean Village transferring to P&O Cruises Australia.
P&O Cruises is a British cruise line based at Carnival House in Southampton, England, operated by Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. It was originally a subsidiary of the freight transport company P&O and was founded in 1977. Along with P&O Cruises Australia, another former subsidiary of P&O, it has the oldest heritage of any cruise line in the world, dating to P&O's first passenger operations in 1837.
Pacific Explorer is a cruise ship operated since June 2017 by P&O Cruises Australia, a cruise line brand owned by the Carnival Corporation & plc. It is a Sun-class cruise ship built by Fincantieri, Italy, in 1997, and features eight restaurants, four swimming pools, five hot tubs/spas/whirlpools, seven lounges and bars, and two children centres.
The MS Ambience is a cruise ship operated by Ambassador Cruise Line. The vessel was delivered to Princess Cruises in 1991 by the Fincantieri shipyard in Monfalcone, Italy as Regal Princess, sailing on their North American routes. After 2000 she was deployed on the company's Australian routes, then later in the Mediterranean and Baltic seas.
The MV Queen of the Oceans is a Sun-class cruise ship owned by Seajets, a Greek/Cypriot ferry company. She was built by Fincantieri in Monfalcone, Italy, and measures 77,499 GT. She entered service in February 2000 as Ocean Princess for Princess Cruises before being transferred to P&O Cruises in 2002, operating as Oceana until 2020. Queen of the Oceans is a sister ship to other Sun-class ships, Dream, Pacific World, and Pacific Explorer.
MV Columbus was a cruise ship. She was built by Chantiers de l'Atlantique, at their shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France, and launched in 1988 as Sitmar Fair Majesty. Originally ordered for Sitmar Cruises, with the merger of Sitmar Cruises into Princess, she first entered service with Princess Cruises as Star Princess in 1989. From 1997 to 2003, she served in the P&O Cruises fleet as MVArcadia. She was renamed Ocean Village in 2003 when the brand was established. Ocean Village was the sole cruise ship of the Ocean Village brand after the Ocean Village Two became the Pacific Jewel. In 2010 the Ocean Village brand ceased its operations and she was transferred to P&O Cruises Australia and renamed Pacific Pearl. She served in the P&O Cruises Australia fleet until 2017 when she was sold to Cruise & Maritime Voyages and renamed MV Columbus. Following CMV entering administration in 2020, the Ship was auctioned by CW Kellock & Co. in London on 12 October 2020, for US$5,321,000 to Marios Iliopoulos of Seajets, and some months later resold to scrap in Eleusis Bay. In 2021 she was sold for scrap in Alang, India where she will be beached and dismantled.
P&O Cruises Australia is a British-American owned cruise line with operational headquarters as part of Carnival Australia, based in Chatswood, New South Wales, Australia.
AIDA Cruises is a German cruise line founded in the early 1960s and organized as a wholly owned subsidiary of Costa Crociere S.p.A., which in turn belongs to Carnival Corporation & plc. Based in Rostock, Germany, AIDA Cruises caters primarily to the German-speaking market; as seagoing "club resorts", AIDA ships have on-board amenities and facilities designed to attract younger, more active vacationers. As of September 2023, the cruise line operates 11 ships.
A-Rosa Cruises is a cruise line based in Rostock, Germany, which operates river cruises in Germany.
Carnival House is a landmark office building in the city of Southampton, Hampshire, England. It is a purpose-built headquarters for Carnival UK, the United Kingdom operating company of Carnival Corporation & plc, the world's largest cruise shipping company. The building was officially opened on Sunday 19 July 2009.