“Take me away, P&O…”
I can’t be the only person who still remembers the P&O Australia jingle that sang out from our TV’s in the 1980s while mum overcooked the lamb chops in the kitchen.
The dreamy singsong begged P&O to “please take me away lovely lady … take me away from all of this…” while scenes flashed of island escapes, champagne being poured and handsome officers in their resplendent white uniforms.
This was the cruise I dreamed about – once I was old enough to ditch the parents and go with a gaggle of girlfriends.
This P&O advertisement painted the perfect picture of what an Australian cruise holiday was all about. Iconically Australian, even down to the deck cricket game. Laid back, friendly, adventurous with a dash of romance.
Over the last 92 years, P&O has become synonymous with cruising in our fair land and waters. As the cruise industry has evolved, many brands have taken Aussies on different ships and adventures, showcasing a variety of styles to fit different budgets and tastes.
But P&O has always been showing up, sailing into Sydney Harbour, past the Opera House and under the Harbour Bridge year in, year out, all year.
Not much surprises me, but when I was awoken at an un-godly hour in the morning early-June 2024 with a leaked email that announced the end of P&O, I nearly fell out of bed.
Truly, in my wildest assumptions, did I EVER think P&O would end. It can’t, why isn’t anyone saving them, what will happen to the crew and officers? I was in disbelief.
Over the next 48 hours I gave a flurry of live TV interviews where I did my best to express my thoughts and relay the very little information I had been given. The details were minimal but were enough to get the picture.
P&O would be absorbed into the Carnival family and the two remaining ships Adventure and Encounter would be renamed, re-badged, carnival-ised (or cannibalised?) in March 2025. Explorer – or as she is affectionately known, ‘Dora’ – would be sold off. (Fun Honey Fact: Explorer, formerly Dawn Princess, was the very first cruise ship I sailed on.)
Carnival Cruise Line President Christine Duffy was in Australia delivering the bad news and I had a few minutes on the phone with her.
She’s always been very friendly and personable and reassured me that the crew would still have jobs. She did add that a “small office” would remain in Australia.
“The head winds that they (P&O Australia) face as such a small brand has made it unsuitable to continue and that this is the best way to continue year-round,” Ms Duffy said.
Look, I don’t have anything against Carnival; it’s FUN and I’ve done more than a dozen Carnival cruises. But. It. Is. Not. P&O.
For me, this was the death of the Australian cruising story. This iconic Aussie brand was now dead in the water. I did not see this “sunsetting” as a gentle fold – P&O Australia had been torpedoed.
Fast forward and it is now March and only a couple of sailings remain. Pacific Explorer is currently being gutted by new owner Resorts World and will be renamed Star Voyager. Encounter’s last cruise from Brisbane is a seven-night Pacific Island Hopper and Adventure’s last cruise from Sydney will be from March 10-14.
I couldn’t let this ending pass without paying homage to a cruise line that literally changed the course of life.
It was in the lead up to my first family cruise onboard Pacific Eden in December 2015 that inspired my foray into the ‘cruisey life’ and kickstarted my love affair with P&O Australia.
So, on March 6 I will board my very last P&O cruise – with 120 friends/followers. We’ll dance and drink and hug the crew. One last cruise, one last sail away from Sydney Harbour. I’m getting misty-eyed just thinking about it.
I must note that the Carnival PR team has tried their best to reassure loyal cruisers that it will be ‘business as usual’, despite the name change.
Advertising campaigns with slogans such as ‘New name, same sweet memories’ have been plastered on billboards and train stations with the aim to reassure and supress any waves of doubt. I have been told that most of the crew will still have jobs and that is reassuring.
Despite these assurances that the two remaining P&O ships will still deliver the same cruising experience – just under a different logo – it does not personally instil a lot of joy.
P&O Australia, as the most recognisable cruise line on our shores, has a certain Aussie charm that tugs at the heart strings of its fan base. For this to be homogenised into an American-style cruise does not bring us together, but maybe the U.S. closer to port.
What does strike me as confusing is the lack of fanfare organised. At time of writing, I was not given any information either way on whether there was going to be any event to mark P&O’s final Sydney sail out on March 14.
I will, however, not let allow this moment pass without marking this ending of an era. It will be the last time I see those two massive letters that mean more than just a cruise but epitomise the Australian spirit.
You’re all welcome to join me at the Opera House forecourt to wave off the ‘lovely lady’ as she takes her final bow, slips under the bridge and blasts her mournful horn for the very last time.
P&O Mini Documentary
I thought it was important to capture the memories and love that loyal P&O cruisers have for Australia’s only homegrown cruise line by interviewing passengers and creating a mini documentary.
Past crew and employees have reached out and will also share their memories to be included in the mini doco.
Visit HERE (link https://forms.gle/HNRokvW5DUJqUP6v9) if you’d like to take part.
