New P&O Cruises ship Arvia will sail 14-night cruises to Spain, France and Italy during her maiden summer season in Southampton, it was announced today.
The 5,200-passenger sister ship to Iona will call at up to six ports on each voyage including La Coruna, Marseille, Palma, Valencia and Alicante, in 2023.
Some itineraries will include an overnight in Barcelona and passengers will also be able to visit Seville from Cadiz, as well as Florence and Pisa from La Spezia.
Arvia, which is making her debut in the Caribbean in December next year, will then head back to Barbados in October 2023 to sail seven and 14-night fly-cruises until the end of March 2024.
Other itineraries announced today for 2023 include:
Iona: Based year-round in Southampton, the new flagship will offer seven-night holidays to the Norwegian fjords in the summer and Spain, Portugal and the Canary Island cruises in the winter.
Britannia: In summer, seven-night Norwegian fjords cruises and 14-night Baltic voyages, including two-day calls to St Petersburg, as well as 14-night western Mediterranean island itineraries featuring either an overnight call in Palma or Palma and Ibiza. In winter the ship will sail 14-night Caribbean fly-cruises from Barbados.
Azura: Summer fly-cruises of seven or 14 days from Malta to western Med ports such as Civitavecchia (Rome), Ajaccio in Corsica and Villefranche, France, or east to Greece and its islands, including Mykonos and Corfu. In winter, the ship will sail alternating seven-night Canary Islands fly-cruises from Tenerife which can also be combined to create a 14-day holiday.
Ventura: Atlantic Coast and Canary Islands holidays as well as short breaks to Amsterdam in the summer, switching in winter to Spain, Portugal and the Canary Islands and Caribbean cruises, including some calls to New Orleans. To celebrate New Year 2024, Ventura will sail a five-night cruise to Amsterdam and Zeebrugge (Bruges);
Arcadia and Aurora: The two ships will sail to Norway, Russia, New York and the Greek islands in the summer. Itineraries will include less-visited destinations, including Grundafjordur in Iceland, Palermo in Sicily and Klaipeda in Lithuania.
Arcadia’s summer itineraries feature an Iceland and North Cape cruise including an overnight call to Reykjavik and scenic cruising of the North Cape. Aurora’s summer holidays include a 30-night Canada and USA cruise with overnight calls in both Boston and New York.
In winter, Aurora will operate two 12-night ‘In Search of the Northern Lights’ itineraries with one taking place over Christmas 2023. The ship will also offer a 65-night USA, Caribbean and Central America cruise with an overnight call in New Orleans plus a partial transit of the Panama Canal.
Arcadia will sail a full world cruise of 99 nights, departing on January 6, 2024, with ports including Sydney, Auckland, Hong Kong and Singapore.
Pre-registration for the summer 2023 and winter 2023/24 holidays opens today.
Among the booking offers, third and fourth guests – both adults and children – in the same cabin can travel for free on selected holidays. Past guests can take advantage of a 10% booking discount and a 5% discount applies for new guests.
P&O Cruises president Paul Ludlow said: ‘This series of new cruise holidays is an exciting one, with our new ship Arvia, new destinations and new itineraries. Our guests have told us that anticipation and planning is a vital part of the booking process and we certainly hope we can give them something to look forward to within these new holidays. Each itinerary is carefully designed to provide the best sight-seeing, beach and culture on shore whilst maximising time on board.
‘New-to-cruise guests will also find appeal in our line-up and we are sure that Britannia’s new summer holidays to Ibiza, Palma and Sardinia will be very popular as well as Iona’s season in the magnificent Norwegian fjords.’
Example itineraries include:
Norway, seven nights, £499
Seven-night cruise on Iona (G311) from £499pp for an inside cabin. Departing April 22, 2023, the price includes kids’ clubs, full-board meals and entertainment on board.
Departing from and returning to Southampton, ports of call are Stavanger, Olden, cruise by Innvikfjorden, cruise by Nordfjord, Ålesund and Haugesund.
Mediterranean, 14 nights, £999
14-night cruise on Arvia (K309) from £999pp for an inside cabin. Departing April 30, 2023, the price includes kids’ clubs, full-board meals and entertainment on board.
Departing from and returning to Southampton, ports of call are La Coruna, Florence/Pisa (from La Spezia), Marseille, Barcelona and Seville (from Cádiz).
North America and Canada
24-night cruise on Arcadia (J313) from £2,779 per person for an inside cabin. Departing September 26, 2023, the price includes full-board meals and entertainment on board.
Departing from and returning to Southampton, ports of call are Halifax, Gaspé, Quebec (overnight), Saguenay, Charlottetown, Sept Iles, Sydney – Nova Scotia and St John’s – Newfoundland.
Spain, Portugal and the Canary Islands, 14 nights, £749
14-night cruise on Iona (G337) from £749pp for an inside cabin. Departing November 11, 2023, the price includes kids’ clubs, full-board meals and entertainment on board.
Departing from and returning to Southampton, ports of call are Madeira, Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Seville (from Cádiz) and Lisbon (overnight).
Caribbean, 14 nights, £1,699
14-night cruise on Arvia (K324) from £1,699pp for an inside cabin. Departing November 24, 2023, the price includes kids’ clubs, full board meals and entertainment on board.
Departing from and returning to Barbados, including UK flights, ports of call are Tortola, La Romana – Dominican Republic, St Maarten, Antigua, St Kitts, Martinique and St Lucia.
Details on pocruises.com
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