P&O Cruises from Southampton in 2027: Iona, Arvia or Britannia?

You have settled on P&O Cruises, you want to sail from Southampton in 2027, and you are stuck between three ships. Here is the short answer.

• Choose Iona for the Norwegian fjords and a lively, resort-style ship with the widest choice of seven-night fjord sailings.
• Choose Arvia for a fortnight of Western Mediterranean sunshine in summer, or a Caribbean fly-cruise in winter.
• Choose Britannia if you want a smaller, more traditional ship, the widest spread of destinations, and the only one of the three based in Southampton all year in 2027, including a no-fly Caribbean round trip.

That last point matters. Despite what you may have read elsewhere, not all three sail from Southampton year-round in 2027. Iona and Arvia both leave for the Caribbean in late October, so if avoiding airports is the whole point, your choice narrows before you have opened a single deck plan.

The rest of this guide compares the three ships directly, then looks at the four routes our clients ask about most: Europe, the Norwegian fjords, the Caribbean and further afield. It finishes with the cabin advice we give every client before they pay a deposit.

Who This Is For

This guide is for experienced travellers in their 60s and 70s who live within easy reach of Southampton. You either cruise regularly or are seriously weighing up a first cruise, and you like the idea of driving to the port, handing over your luggage and unpacking once.

You are not hunting for the lowest possible fare. You want the right ship, the right itinerary and the right cabin for a holiday costing several thousand pounds, and you want to be certain before you commit. If you are still deciding whether cruising suits this stage of life at all, start with why cruise holidays are a great way to experience the world and come back here.

The Real Problem: Three Ships, One Deposit, No Second Chances

The frustration we hear most often is simple: “I have spent hours online and I still cannot tell which ship suits us.” Deck plans, forum threads and conflicting reviews rarely give a straight answer, and the stakes feel high.

Pick the wrong ship and you could spend two weeks on a vessel that feels too big, too busy or too lively for your taste. Pick the wrong cabin and you may find yourself above the theatre, under the pool deck or looking at a lifeboat. Clients tell us the worry is rarely the money itself. It is the fear of wasting a precious fortnight on the wrong choice.

Your time is precious, so let us do the comparing for you. Ask us to check 2027 availability and recommend a cabin and we will come back with a shortlist built around you, not around a brochure.

Iona, Arvia and Britannia at a Glance

None of the three is “best”. Each suits a different traveller, and matching ship to person is precisely what we do. Start with the table, then read on for the detail.

	Iona	Arvia	Britannia
Entered service	2020	2022	2015, refreshed 2024
Guests (approx.)	5,200	5,200	3,650
Feel on board	Floating resort, lively, entertainment runs late	Resort ship built for warm weather and sunshine	Traditional mid-size ship, gentler pace, classic P&O service
Signature features	Glass-roofed SkyDome, more than 30 places to eat and drink	Infinity pool, Altitude high-ropes deck, SkyDome	Classic layout, 13 decks, wide choice of cabin grades
From Southampton in 2027	February to late October	April to late October	April 2027 onwards, all year
Winter 2027/28	Caribbean fly-cruises from Barbados, Antigua and St Kitts	Caribbean fly-cruises from Barbados, Antigua and St Kitts	Southampton, including a 35-night no-fly Caribbean round trip
Best for	Norwegian fjords, and travellers who like plenty going on	Summer Mediterranean sun, winter Caribbean warmth	Variety, a calmer ship, and no flights at all

Guest numbers are approximate lower-berth figures. Live itineraries and deck plans are on the P&O Cruises website.

Iona in 2027: The Fjords Specialist

Iona carries around 5,200 guests and feels like a floating resort. The glass-roofed SkyDome is the heart of the ship, there are more than 30 places to eat and drink, and the entertainment runs late into the evening. If you enjoy a buzz, a choice of restaurants every night and the option of a West End-style show after dinner, you will be happy here.

Her 2027 Southampton season runs from February to late October and is built around the Norwegian fjords. From early April through the summer she sails seven-night fjord itineraries almost every Saturday, calling at Stavanger, Olden, Haugesund and either Ålesund, Hellesylt or Flåm. Earlier in the year she offers seven-night Northern European city breaks to Hamburg, Rotterdam and Zeebrugge, and two 14-night sailings to Spain, Portugal and the Canary Islands.

On 30 October 2027 Iona crosses the Atlantic to Barbados and spends the winter on 14-night Caribbean fly-cruises until April 2028. It is the first time she has done so, and it means there is no Iona sailing from Southampton between November 2027 and spring 2028.

Arvia in 2027: Built for Sunshine

Arvia is Iona’s near-identical sister, but she was designed around warm-weather sailing. The infinity pool at the stern, the Altitude high-ropes deck and the open-air spaces come into their own in the Mediterranean and the Caribbean, which is exactly where she spends most of her year.

She arrives back in Southampton in March 2027 after a winter in the Caribbean and sails from the port from April to late October. Expect a handful of seven-night Norwegian fjords and Spain and France sailings in April and early May, then a run of 14-night Western Mediterranean itineraries through May, June and July. On 22 October 2027 she heads back to Barbados for another season of 14-night Caribbean fly-cruises.

If a fortnight of Mediterranean sunshine in high summer is what you want, with the same scale and choice as Iona, Arvia is the obvious pick. If you want a quieter ship or a wider choice of destinations, read on.

Britannia in 2027: Classic P&O, All Year from Southampton

Britannia is noticeably smaller at around 3,650 guests, with a traditional layout, a gentler pace and the classic P&O feel that many of our longstanding cruise clients prefer. She was refreshed in 2024 and remains the ship we recommend most often to couples who want elegance without the scale of the two sisters.

2027 is a landmark year for her. From April she is based in Southampton year-round for the first time since her launch, and her programme is the broadest of the three. Highlights include:

• Seven-night Norwegian fjords sailings from April to September, with smaller-ship ports such as Skjolden, Molde and Kristiansand alongside Stavanger, Olden and Ålesund.
• Short breaks of three to seven nights to Belgium, France and northern Spain, ideal if you want to try a ship before committing to a fortnight.
• A 21-night Eastern Mediterranean voyage in June taking in Athens, Rhodes, Crete, Malta and Majorca, and a 14-night Mediterranean Islands cruise in late July.
• A 14-night Iceland cruise in July via Cobh, Belfast and Stornoway.
• Two 14-night Scandinavia and Northern Europe itineraries in late summer, one of them a Baltic sailing to Tallinn, Helsinki, Stockholm and Copenhagen.
• A 14-night Spain, Madeira and Canary Islands cruise in October, then the winter 2027/28 programme including a 35-night no-fly Caribbean round trip.

If you want to leave your passport in your pocket until Southampton and never see an airport, Britannia is your ship in 2027.

Which Route Suits You? Four Ideal Itineraries

Norwegian Fjords

The fjords are the most popular route from Southampton for good reason: a sea day each way, calm sheltered water once you arrive, and scenery you can enjoy from your own balcony. Iona gives you the most dates to choose from, with seven-night sailings nearly every week from April to July. Britannia offers fewer dates but a smaller ship, which suits the more intimate fjord ports and tends to mean a calmer atmosphere on board.

Arvia sails the fjords only in April and early May, so treat her as a sunshine ship rather than a fjords ship. Whichever you choose, May and June bring long daylight and the waterfalls at their fullest. Before you travel, check the latest gov.uk travel advice for Norway.

Europe: Spain, Portugal, the Canaries and the Mediterranean

For a classic fortnight in the sun from Southampton, Arvia’s 14-night Western Mediterranean sailings in May, June and July are hard to beat, with the ship’s outdoor spaces designed for exactly that climate. Britannia takes you further, with the 21-night Eastern Mediterranean voyage in June and the Mediterranean Islands cruise at the end of July.

For the Canary Islands and Madeira, Iona sails two 14-night itineraries in late February and March, and Britannia follows in mid-October. Both are good choices for winter sun without flying. Northern European city breaks on Iona in February and March, and Britannia’s Baltic sailing in September, round out the European options. The gov.uk travel advice for Spain covers the Canaries as well as the mainland.

Caribbean

There are three ways to reach the Caribbean with these ships in 2027, and they suit very different travellers.

• No flights at all: Britannia’s 35-night Caribbean round trip from Southampton in winter 2027/28, with sea days across the Atlantic in each direction.
• Fly one way: Arvia on 22 October and Iona on 30 October 2027 both sail from Southampton to Barbados via Tenerife, a 13 to 15 night crossing. You then fly home, and we arrange the flight as part of the booking.
• Fly-cruise: Both Iona and Arvia offer 14-night Caribbean fly-cruises from Barbados, Antigua and St Kitts from October 2027 to April 2028, with P&O’s own charter flights from the UK.

If a long sea passage appeals, the Britannia round trip is one of the great no-fly holidays available from the south coast. If you would rather spend your time in the islands than crossing to them, the fly-cruise is the better use of a fortnight. Either way, check the gov.uk travel advice for Barbados and the other islands on your itinerary.

Worldwide and Further Afield

Here we owe you an honest answer. None of Iona, Arvia or Britannia operates a world cruise. P&O’s long voyages in 2028, including Arcadia’s 124-night World Cruise and Aurora’s 75-night Grand Tour of South America, sail on the line’s smaller, adults-only ships.

If you want the longest and furthest sailings on the three ships in this guide, look at Britannia: the 35-night Caribbean round trip, the 21-night Eastern Mediterranean voyage and the 14-night Iceland cruise. If a true world or grand voyage is on your list, tell us and we will compare it alongside the ships here, because we book the whole P&O fleet, not just the big three.

Choosing the Right Cabin

Once you have the ship and the route, the cabin decides whether you sleep well. These are the checks we make for every client before recommending a grade.

• What is above and below. Avoid cabins directly beneath the pool deck, the buffet or the gym, and directly above the theatre or a late-night venue. A cabin with cabins above and below is the quiet choice.
• Midship, mid-level. The least movement is felt in the middle of the ship on the middle decks, which matters on Atlantic crossings and the North Sea leg to Norway.
• Balcony position. On Iona and Arvia, some balconies on the lower balcony decks are partly overlooked from above. On Britannia, check for lifeboat-obstructed views on the lower promenade-level grades.
• Fare type. P&O’s Select fare lets you choose your exact cabin and comes with benefits; the Saver fare allocates a cabin within a grade. For a fortnight or longer, we almost always recommend choosing your cabin.

Deck plans for all three ships are on the P&O Cruises website, but reading them well takes practice. Send us the sailing you are considering and we will mark up the cabins we would and would not book.

Our Verdict

Iona for the fjords and a lively ship. Arvia for Mediterranean summers and Caribbean winters. Britannia for a calmer, classic P&O experience, the widest choice of routes, and the only truly no-fly Caribbean option in 2027. Before you decide, answer these five questions:

• Do I want to avoid flying entirely, or am I happy to fly one way or both?
• Do I want a week or a fortnight, and which months suit me?
• Do I enjoy a busy ship with lots of choice, or a calmer one with a familiar feel?
• Which destination matters most: fjords, sunshine, the Caribbean or somewhere further?
• Do I want to choose my exact cabin, or am I relaxed about where it is?

Because ETW Travel is independent, we compare every 2027 sailing, fare type and cabin grade across all three ships without steering you towards any of them. With over 115 years of collective travel experience in our Woburn Sands office, our advice starts with you. You can read more about the team at Experience the World Travel, browse our cruise holidays page, or see what we said about the year ahead in our cruise holidays 2026 guide.

Ready to choose? Tell us which ship or route you are leaning towards and we will check 2027 availability, recommend the right cabin and hold a shortlist for you. The best cabins on the fjords weeks and the no-fly Caribbean sailing are the first to go, so the sooner we start, the more choice you will have.