P&O Cruises has announced a major update to its sailing programme, revealing that under-18s will soon be welcome aboard its two adult-only ships, Arcadia and Aurora, on a select number of holidays starting from December 2026.
The cruise line will open 12 Aurora sailings and eight Arcadia departures to guests of all ages between December 2026 and September 2027. These itineraries go on sale today (7 October), with additional cruises for the winter 2027–28 season available to book from 14 October.
The move comes in response to increasing demand for multi-generational travel, giving families more opportunities to holiday together on P&O Cruises’ mid-sized ships. The new sailings will allow families to travel during peak periods and at Christmas, while also increasing the number of family-friendly cruises during the 2027 summer holidays by 23%.
Sailing from Southampton, the new itineraries include a wide choice of destinations such as the Canary Islands, Norway, the Mediterranean and Northern Europe. On board, families can look forward to a range of new touches designed with all ages in mind – from kids’ menus and bottle-warming facilities to family entertainment and special events.
Both Arcadia and Aurora will continue to offer an extensive programme of adult-only holidays alongside the new multi-generational sailings, ensuring guests have even more choice.
Arcadia Holidays with Guests of All Ages
| Cruise Code | Destination | Nights | Departure Date |
| J619 | Spain, Portugal & Canary Islands | 16 | 21 Dec 2026 |
| J703 | Short Break to Zeebrugge (for Bruges) | 3 | 10 May 2027 |
| J704 | Northern Europe & Scandinavia | 14 | 13 May 2027 |
| J705 | Spain | 7 | 27 May 2027 |
| J709* | Norway & Iceland | 14 | 20 Jul 2027 |
| J710 | Eastern Mediterranean Discovery | 24 | 3 Aug 2027 |
| J711 | Short Break to Zeebrugge (for Bruges) & Rotterdam | 5 | 27 Aug 2027 |
| J713 | Norwegian Fjords | 14 | 20 Sep 2027 |
*Children on J709 must be at least 12 months old.
Aurora Holidays with Guests of All Ages
| Cruise Code | Destination | Nights | Departure Date |
| R621 | Short Break to Rotterdam | 4 | 11 Dec 2026 |
| R622 | Christmas Scandinavian | 14 | 15 Dec 2026 |
| R623 | Short Break to Hamburg | 5 | 29 Dec 2026 |
| R704 | Short Break to Rotterdam | 4 | 21 Apr 2027 |
| R707 | Northern Europe & Scandinavia | 7 | 26 May 2027 |
| R709 | Short Break to Rotterdam | 4 | 21 Jun 2027 |
| R711 | Spain, France & Portugal | 7 | 9 Jul 2027 |
| R712 | Hamburg & Zeebrugge (for Bruges) | 5 | 16 Jul 2027 |
| R713 | Northern Europe & Scandinavia | 16 | 21 Jul 2027 |
| R714 | Hamburg & Zeebrugge (for Bruges) | 5 | 6 Aug 2027 |
| R715 | Western Mediterranean Discovery | 21 | 11 Aug 2027 |
| R717 | Short Break to Rotterdam | 4 | 13 Sep 2027 |
For a broader selection of cruises that cater to families of all ages, check out our dedicated Family Cruises page. Whether you’re looking for fun kids’ clubs, family-friendly dining, or cabins designed with everyone in mind — we can help you find the perfect match.
13 thoughts on “P&O Cruises to Welcome Families on Selected Arcadia & Aurora Sailings”
I was dismayed to read this news. We have cruised several times with P & O and the ones enjoyed the most were adult only. The one where children were included was awful as far as we were concerned. Rude, inconsiderate, loud and bad mannered children & some of their adults. We wanted to book another adult only cruise & had almost persuaded some friends to do so as well but this has most definitely put us off. There are plenty of ships offering good facilities for families so why oh why do P & O have to include the only two ships that are geared up for adults?! We will have to look elsewhere now.
The final nail in the coffin for P&O. Having been Ligurian and big P&O travellers their continual reduction in on-board services over recent years and now the decision to open up Arcadia and Aurora to under 18’s is unbelievable. They have enough other ships for youngsters, they’re not designed for kids, what are they thinking. Good bye P&O – will not sail with you again.
A definite NO to children.
You have ships that cater for children/teenagers so why pick on established clientele in favour of children etc you’ll loose the custom. Once lost never regained
What are P & O doing? We were ready to go ahead and book the Christmas cruise on Arcadia but not now. The people that cruise on Aurora and Arcadia definitely don’t want children on board that’s why they chose those ships. They will be losing a lot of loyal customers to other cruise lines but they seem to be more interested in filling the ships with families. These two ships are not geared up for children. Please think again.
NO NO NO, this is not a good idea, the Arcadia and Aurora built their popularity through being adult only. Surley there’s enough room on the other oversized family orientated ships of the fleet to cater for all family cruises, or is there another side to this agenda?
We did 3 back to backs last year on Aurora and really enjoyed the no kids and as a ship we fell in love with her. We wont be bothering again, not a wise move P&O
With five other family ships we cannot understand P & O’s decision to open the only two remaining adult ships to families. There is no provision for children’s entertainment except the swimming pools, and if its anything to go by on previous cruises we have seen the reduced entertainment team under pressure for organising adult entertainment, is P &O going to recruit additional staff for these specified cruises? The very least they could do is to have started these family cruises with effect from the Winter/Spring 27/28 brochures, we booked in good faith that these ships would continue to be adult only. Adults book adult only ships because they want to be with adults and not children/teenagers. Very disappointed with P&O but suppose this is only the start of the eventual phasing out of the smaller less profitable adult only ships.
This is disastrous for anyone that works in schools who wants to get away from children on their holidays. When I sailed on Aurora the majority of the people we met at every meal time were school workers that valued their “child free” time away. P&O have 7 ships, 2 which are adult only, with no child facilities and now P&O are letting children in. The whole ambience of the ship is affected, whether you choose to try and stay away from families or not.
It seems P&O do not value adults, whether they be in couples or solo, and are just chasing the pounds after families. A really bad decision! They will see all the adults flocking to the other cruise lines as P&O can’t be trusted. These people have booked thinking their cruise in adult only , and then found that the rules are changing. If it has to be done, it should be on new cruise bookings only i.e. from when the October 2027 booking are available.
I agree that P&O standards have lost their way and this latest tweak will mean a further disappointing setback,for their Adult passengers.
We would choose very carefully before booking another cruise on Arcadia and Aurora.
it would be ok if there were still adult only cruises for xmas/new year and school holidays now there arent any on P&O.
some people that want adult only cant book the other times as they work in education or have industry shutdowns,
very poor by them other peoples children can have an impact on other peoples enjoyment. ive had instances of feral children blotting holidays on azura.
not the end of the world but annoying and it taints an otherwise good holiday. the least they should have done is make it from new yet to be launched holidays not affected already booked holidays.
I am shocked and dismayed to hear children are being allowed on some Aurora and Arcadia cruises. Being able to cruise knowing there will be no children is a real plus. If such a substantial change as this can be introduced on cruises that people have perhaps already booked and chosen for the very reason it is adults only. I am scared what other changes might be introduced at a later date and might have to think twice before daring to book in case other changes are introduced which would substantially impact on our enjoyment of a cruise.
Not a good move by P&O in my opinion to allow children on selected cruises. If families with young members wish to cruise there are numerous cruise ships with far more facilities to keep younger family members occupied so why not take advantage of those and have some consideration for those (and I am sure there are many) who do not wish to be inconvenienced by other peoples offspring.
We said bye bye to P & O this year due to falling standards.