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Thousands of cruise passengers have been left disappointed after P&O Cruises cancelled a 35-night voyage onboard its ship Ventura due to “operational reasons”.
The long-haul cruise was due to depart Southampton for the Caribbean in January 2027.
Scheduled itinerary docks included Bridgetown in Barbados, Grenada’s St. George's and Willemstad, Curacao.
In an email to affected customers, P&O Cruises said: “Due to operational reasons, we’re sorry to inform you that your cruise, departing 4 January 2027, is no longer going ahead.
“We understand this news is disappointing and would like to apologise for the inconvenience this may cause.
“To avoid you missing out on your holiday, however, we’ve automatically transferred you to an alternative cruise, G701, on board Iona.”
The cancellation follows the recent axing of a 14-night trip on board P&O Cruises’ Iona, which had been scheduled to depart on 30 August 2026.
A BBC News report in April 2024 revealed that P&O Cruises had also cancelled two autumn sailings aboard Iona in October 2025 for an unexpected refurbishment.
Guests were offered full refunds and spending credit for a future cruise departure.
A spokesperson for P&O Cruises said: “On occasion, it is necessary to change an itinerary from the one previously published, and we are very sorry that Ventura’s 35-night Caribbean itinerary departing January 04 2027, has been cancelled.
“Where possible, we are pleased to offer affected guests to transfer to Iona’s similar Caribbean sailing across the same dates.
“Ventura will now offer three new itineraries, which go on sale on June 04, 2025.”
In April, passengers due to sail on a short break from Southampton to Zeebrugge in Belgium on P&O Cruises’ Aurora were told only at lunchtime the day before that the cruise was cancelled due to delays in a refit.
The 25-year-old vessel was due to return from a refit in a shipyard in western Rotterdam in time to begin a three-night cruise to the port serving the historic Flemish city of Bruges – but work took longer than expected.
A P&O Cruises spokesperson said that all guests would receive a full refund and a Future Cruise Credit of 20 per cent of the money paid.
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