Iconic cruise brand P&O Australia is to close just weeks after Daily Mail Australia revealed a passenger jumped to his death after racking up a huge casino debt during a voyage.
On Tuesday, P&O parent company Carnival Corporation announced that the famous brand will close in March next year, after 90 years sailing from Australia.
In a statement, Carnival Corporation said it will “end” the P&O Cruises Australia brand and merge Australian operations with Carnival Cruise Line, which it claims is “the most popular cruise line in the world.”
The closure is attributed to “the strategic reality of the small South Pacific population and significantly higher operational and regulatory costs.”
Carnival Corporation said the closure of P&O Australia is due to a strategic move “designed to increase the guest capacity of Carnival Cruise Line, the company’s flagship brand and the most profitable brand in Carnival Corporation’s global portfolio.”
P&O Australia passenger Shane Dixon, 45 (pictured), died after racking up huge gambling debts on board a cruise ship.
P&O Australia’s Pacific Explorer ship to leave fleet in February 2025
P&O Cruises’ Pacific Encounter and Pacific Adventure cruises will be renamed and operated by the Carnival Cruise Line brand.
Pacific Explorer will leave the fleet in February 2025.
Carnival Corporation reported that current itineraries will operate as usual and that passengers will be notified in the coming days of any changes to future reservations.
Following the closure of P&O Australia next year, Carnival Cruise Line will have four ships in the market, including Sydney-based Carnival Splendor and Carnival Luminosa, sailing seasonally from Brisbane, in addition to its new sister ships Encounter and Adventure .