Iona’s maiden season in the Norwegian fjords is one of the major highlights of P&O Cruises’ 2020 programme which also includes new itineraries in the Mediterranean, Norway and Iceland, North America and Canada and the British Isles.
Key features include:
- The launch of Iona’s itineraries in the Norwegian fjords from May to September
- Repeating itineraries, giving guests the flexibility to travel to the destination at a time which suits them best
- 30-night itinerary to Canada and North America on Arcadia in September,with an overnight call in Boston and three full days in New York
- Arcadia’s Northern Lights cruise in early October
- Aurora’s sole Iceland cruise, including an overnight call in Reykjavik, as well as calls to Isafjördur and Akureyri
Iona will be cruising exclusively in the Norwegian Fjords
Discovery cruises
Guests can enjoy unique cruise experiences to less-travelled destinations on a number of Discovery cruises onboard Aurora and Arcadia. Featuring a combination of classic destinations and fresh places to explore, Discovery cruises are available in the Atlantic Islands, Western Mediterranean, Norwegian fjords, Iceland and the North Cape and the Baltic.
Theme cruises
Whether guests are fans of Strictly Come Dancing, Formula One, classical music, sport or simply fabulous food, there are many very special experiences for them on board.
Strictly Come Dancing: unique to P&O Cruises, Strictly Come Dancing’s professional dancers will captivate guests with show-stopping routines. They also offer up close and personal interviews on board as well as photo and meet and greet opportunities with private one-on-one dance lessons as well as dinner in a speciality restaurant hosted by one of the professional dancers.
Monaco Grand Prix: Guests can watch their favourite drivers as they go head to head at speeds of close to 200mph. A variety of trackside and VIP seats are available on Oceana’s 14-night Eastern Mediterranean cruise round trip from Valletta departing May 14.
Food Heroes: Enjoy some of the finest gourmet experiences to be had on land or water. The Food Heroes cruises are headlined by Marco Pierre White, Olly Smith or Eric Lanlard. Each cruise features master-classes, book signings, Q&As and private dining with exclusive hosted dinners.
Music Festivals at Sea: mainly classical, guest artists include some of the world’s most talented musicians and singers performing a range of recitals, opera and operetta. There will also be music quizzes, interviews and more, hosted by well-known personalities from TV, radio and stage. Guests can even join the choruses, led by some of today’s leading choral directors. The enjoyment continues ashore with concerts and music-related activities.
Legends at Sea: guests can learn from elite athletes and take part in coaching sessions with them. Top-flight professionals from a variety of sports including football, rugby and athletics will be on board. For a more intimate experience, guests can treat themselves to a seat at a hosted dinner. Guest athletes from 2018 include Jason Robinson (rugby), Rachel Yankey (football) and Matthew Hoggard (cricket).
Iona’s inaugural summer season in 2020
Big ships
Iona will offer a season of seven-night Norwegian fjords cruises between May and October 2020, featuring spectacular scenic cruising opportunities to five fjords. Iona’s sailings include calls to Stavanger, Olden, Geiranger and Bergen, as well as two itineraries including Ålesund.
Britannia will sail on a dedicated summer season of Western Mediterranean cruises between May and October. In the peak summer period, Britannia will offer three cruises with an itinerary designed towards relaxation, beach destinations and places that families can enjoy. Outside the peak summer, the holidays are tailored more towards exploration, including two favourite Italian ports; Rome (from Civitavecchia) and Florence/Pisa (from Livorno). Prior to that, Britannia will operate four varied cruises including three short breaks and an Atlantic Coast cruise which includes a call to Valencia.
Azura’s summer 2020 programme features alternating 14-night Western Mediterranean and Baltic cruises between May and October. The Western Mediterranean itinerary complements Britannia’s programme, with differentiated headline destinations including Monte Carlo and Naples, but maintaining the exploration focus. The Baltic cruise is designed to offer the very best of the region, including an overnight call to St Petersburg, as well as other Baltic capitals such as Stockholm, Helsinki and Copenhagen. Azura will also operate an Atlantic Coast/Iberia cruise at the start and end of her summer season. Azura is also scheduled for a refit from April 17 to May 3, 2020.
Ventura’s sailings combine 12-night Atlantic Islands, seven-night southern cruise breaks (Iberia) and two-night short breaks. The Atlantic Islands includes the headline destinations in the region, such as Madeira, Tenerife and Lanzarote, whilst the southern cruise breaks deliver the best of Iberia with Lisbon, Vigo and Porto.
Mid-size ships
Aurora’s 21-night Discovery cruise will take in Iceland and a ship maiden call to Grundafjordur
Arcadia and Aurora
P&O Cruises’ mid-size. adult-only, ships will continue to deliver a diverse mix of destinations and durations, with itineraries specifically designed to include new and/or lesser frequented destinations.
The highlight will be Aurora’s 21-night Discovery cruise taking in Iceland, including a ship maiden call to Grundafjordur and overnight in Reykjavik, before heading east to Norway. A call to Honningsvåg is followed by scenic cruising of the North Cape, before returning via Alta, Tromsø and Leknes.
Baltic: Arcadia and Aurora will each operate discovery-oriented Baltic cruises in summer 2020, which are designed to differentiate from Azura’s mainstream programme. All four cruises offer a two-day call to St Petersburg, but also include lesser frequented destinations such as Gothenburg and a ship maiden call to Bornholm in Denmark, as well as calls to Visby, Skagen and Kristiansand.
Norwegian fjords: Arcadia and Aurora will offer long fjords cruises, which offer guests the very best that the region has to offer. This includes deep fjord destinations such as Flåm, Olden and Geiranger, as well as towns such as Åndalsnes and Haugesund.
Iceland: Aurora will operate the sole Iceland cruise in summer 2020, including an overnight call in Reykjavik, and calls to Isafjördur and Akureyri.
Northern Lights: Arcadia will operate a Northern Lights cruise in early October.
Mediterranean: Arcadia will operate one Western Mediterranean itinerary in April; a 19-night Italian focused Discovery cruise, including calls to Genoa (ship maiden call), Elba and Salerno, alongside calls to Rome (from Civitavecchia) and Valencia.
Arcadia will also sail two Central Mediterranean cruises, the first of which takes in Venice and the Adriatic, and the second focuses on the Greek Islands.
Aurora will offer two 18-night Western Mediterranean cruises, each with an Italian flavour, but featuring different ports of call. The first cruise includes calls to Olbia and Santa Margherita while the second cruise features Calvi and La Spezia.
The ship will also operate two 19-night Central Mediterranean cruises, each focused on the Adriatic. Alongside the staple calls to Venice and Dubrovnik are lesser frequented destinations such as Kotor and Zadar.
Canary Islands: Arcadia will offer a classic 14-night Atlantic Islands cruise in April, followed shortly after by a 16-night cruise which includes an overnight in Madeira alongside the staple Canary Island calls. Aurora’s programme includes three seven-night southern cruise breaks, one to Lisbon and Vigo and the other including calls to La Rochelle, Santander and El Ferrol. Aurora will also offer an Atlantic Islands Discovery cruise to the Azores, plus a 13-night Atlantic Coast cruise which stretches to Valencia.
Canada and New England: both ships will once again transit the North Atlantic in September to offer two fantastic Canada/New England cruises. Arcadia will operate a 30-night itinerary into Canada and then south, including an overnight call in Boston plus three full days in New York. Aurora‘s 24-night itinerary will focus purely on Canada, with an overnight call to Quebec as well as hidden gems such as Saguenay, Sept Îles and Gaspé.
British Isles: Arcadia will feature an experience a little closer to home in 2020, with a 12-night British Isles cruise focusing on Scotland and Ireland, with calls to Stornoway, Invergordon and Kirkwall alongside Glasgow (from Greenock) and Dublin.
Northern Cruise Break: Arcadia will offer a new itinerary in July 2020, including calls to Hamburg and Bruges (from Zeebrugge) as well as two full days in Amsterdam.
Oceana
Departing weekly from Malta, Oceana will once again offer a Mediterranean fly-cruise programme featuring a choice of Central, Eastern and Western Mediterranean itineraries throughout the season. The Central Mediterranean itineraries continue to feature Venice and Dubrovnik, as well as calls to other Adriatic ports such as Zadar, Hvar, Kotor and Split.
She will also offer ship maiden calls to Rijeka and Rovinj. The Eastern Mediterranean itineraries include Athens (from Piraeus), Katakolon and Heraklion, as well as new ports for 2020, Nafplio and Cephalonia. The Western Mediterranean itineraries all offer either a combination of Rome (from Civitavecchia), Florence/Pisa (from Livorno) or Naples. There are also calls to the French Riviera, Sardinia and Corsica.
Guests can also combine Oceana’s Mediterranean fly/cruise programme with its Dubai & Arabian Gulf programme. A 16-night repositioning cruise from Dubai to Malta can be combined with the first week of the Europe fly/cruise programme, providing guests with a unique cultural experience including Dubai, Jerusalem (from Haifa), Athens (from Piraeus) and Olympia (from Katakolon). More evening and overnight calls
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