Recently refurbished Arcadia departs on Cape Town-bound P&O World Cruise

Arcadia has departed Southampton on P&O Cruises’ 2026 world voyage, with South Africa positioned as a key highlight of the 100-night itinerary, reinforcing the country’s growing position as a strategic destination within long-haul global cruise programmes.

The 83,000-gross ton vessel’s Epic World Explorer world cruise will call at nearly 30 destinations across multiple continents before returning to Southampton on April 15th, 2026.

Among the most significant scheduled stops are two calls in South Africa, including Cape Town and Port Elizabeth, both of which feature prominently within the overall structure of the voyage.

Arcadia is due to arrive in Cape Town on January 28th, 2026, with an extended overnight call from early afternoon into the following afternoon, before continuing along the South African coast to Port Elizabeth, where the ship will dock on January 31st for a full-day visit stretching from early morning until late evening.

P&O Cruises has identified Cape Town as one of the cruise’s headline destinations, alongside Sydney in Australia and Honolulu in Hawaii, each of which will host overnight calls.

Following her departure from Southampton, the adults-only ship opened the voyage with visits to Lisbon and Funchal in Portugal before calling at Santa Cruz de Tenerife in the Canary Islands.

From there, Arcadia sailed to the Cape Verde archipelago with scheduled stops in Mindelo and Praia, before continuing south to Dakar in Senegal and Walvis Bay in Namibia, setting the stage for the ship’s arrival in South Africa.

After completing the African leg of the itinerary, the 1,968-passenger vessel will proceed eastward across the Indian Ocean with calls in Réunion and Mauritius, before embarking on an extended Australasian programme.

Ports of call in Australia include Fremantle, Adelaide, Melbourne, and Sydney, followed by a comprehensive itinerary across New Zealand, featuring Dunedin, Wellington, Napier, Auckland, and Tauranga.

The voyage then crosses the South Pacific, calling at Suva and Lautoka in Fiji, before continuing to Honolulu and the west coast of North America, with scheduled stops in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Manzanillo.

The ship will then transit the Panama Canal, before returning eastward via the Caribbean and Atlantic, calling at Willemstad in Curaçao, Bridgetown in Barbados, and Ponta Delgada in the Azores, ahead of her return to Southampton.

Arcadia, which was built by Fincantieri in 2005, underwent a major refurbishment in late 2024 as part of a wider modernisation programme that also includes her fleetmate Aurora.

The programme of upgrades included new chairs in cabins, updated balcony furniture, replacement seating throughout public areas, and new furniture across the ship’s open decks.

The Neptune Pool aboard Arcadia was also enhanced with new lounge chairs, sofas, tables, and armchairs.