P&O Cruises reveals overnight stay in Cape Town amid new winter 2026/27 cruises

P&O Cruises new collection of winter 2026/27 itineraries is available for pre-registration from 8:30am October 14th, 2024, with Galveston, Texas and Port Vila, Vanuatu as new destinations, plus six new-for-this-season ports and overnight stays in Cape Town and Port Elizabeth, South Africa.

New ports for the season include Agadir, Morocco; Alotau, Papua New Guinea; Kona, Hawaii; Newcastle, Australia; Port of Spain, Trinidad; and Progreso, Mexico, as well as New Year’s celebrations in Hamburg, Barcelona and Lisbon.

With 78 new itineraries on sale, the winter 2026/27 season includes 102 unique destinations, with more than 100 late or overnight stays across more than 30 different ports of call. Overnight stays in Antigua, Cape Town and New Orleans, and late-night stays in Bodø, Hamburg, Tangier and Vigo offer guests the time to explore the destinations by day and night.

Holidays booked by December 9th, 2024, and departing on or after October 1st, 2026 will be applicable for introductory offers such as 10% early bird discount, a 10% deposit offer, and an extra 5% discount for Peninsular Club loyalty members on selected holidays.

P&O’s cruise ship Arcadia

South African leg on Arcadia World Cruise

Arcadia will sail a 106-night World Cruise from January 6th – April 23rd, 2027, visiting 31 destinations across Europe, North America, the Pacific, Southeast Asia and Africa. The ship will spend a full week in South Africa, visiting Durban, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town, with overnight calls in the latter two giving guests two whole days to explore ashore.

New and returning destinations

  • Aurora’s 75-night Grand Tour, departing Southampton in January 2027, includes an overnight maiden call in Galveston, Texas, calls into Port of Spain, Trinidad for the first time, as well as returning to Progreso, Mexico for the first time since 2020.
  • Arcadia’s newly extended 106-night world cruise, setting sail from Southampton in January 2027, calls into Port Vila, capital of Vanuatu, for the first time, which is famous for its rugged coastline and isolated sandy bays and lagoons. Arcadia also calls in Alotau, Papu New Guinea; Kona, Hawaii; and Newcastle, Australia, all of which have not been visited for more than five years. The itinerary features 28 distinctive ports of call, with 9 destinations offering either an overnight or late-evening departure.
  • Agadir, Morocco, famous for its pristine sandy beach and colourful souks, is featured on Arcadia’s enhanced Atlantic Islands itinerary on December 3rd, 2026. The sailing features a full day and evening in the cosmopolitan city of Casablanca, as well as calls into Praia and St. Vincent, Cape Verde.

Christmas and New Year celebrations

  • Iona’s 16-night Atlantic Islands cruise departs Southampton in December 2026, calling into eight European destinations, including a late stay in Lisbon on December 31st, for New Year’s Eve.
  • Aurora’s new 14-night Baltic itinerary departing Southampton in December 2026 calls into five ports with Christmas markets, with the highlight of an overnight stay in Tallinn.
  • For a short break between Christmas and New Year, Aurora sails a five-night getaway with a full day in Zeebrugge for Bruges, and a full day and evening call in Hamburg to coincide with the New Year’s celebrations.
  • Azura has two new unique itineraries across the festive season in 2026. A 10-night sailing departing Tenerife on December 18th, 2024 calls into Fuerteventura, Madeira, Lisbon, Cadiz and Tangier before ending in Malaga (A650) followed by an 11-night itinerary from Malaga, calling into Barcelona (coinciding with New Year’s Eve), Valencia, Gibraltar, Lanzarote and Gran Canaria before returning to Tenerife.

Returning favourites include P&O Cruises newest ship Arvia sailing the popular 14-night Caribbean fly-cruise itinerary from Barbados and Antigua, while Iona will offer guests a programme of Spain, Portugal and Canary Islands holidays, and flagship Britannia will sail 14-night Caribbean fly-cruise itineraries from Barbados, featuring up to nine destinations per sailing.

Shaun Ebelthite

Founder and editor of Cruise Arabia & Africa. I try to create the best news and information specifically for cruise passengers taking cruises to and from Dubai (where I live) and South Africa (where I was born). You can contact me at shaun(at)cruisearabiaonline.com.

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