Your October 2026 Update from Michael Wilson

Hello and welcome to my October 2026 update!

There has been some quite extraordinary news from the cruise industry over the past few days, with the announcement that Cunard’s Queen Anne will transfer to P&O Cruises in 2029, while Arcadia will leave the P&O Cruises fleet to join Holland America Line.

I think this has taken many people by surprise, particularly as Queen Anne only entered service in 2024. Following the completion of her 2028/29 World Voyage, she will undergo an extensive refurbishment and be renamed before beginning her new chapter with P&O Cruises. It will be fascinating to see how she is transformed, and what her arrival will mean for the future of the fleet.

Arcadia, meanwhile, will complete a farewell season with P&O Cruises before joining Holland America Line later in 2029. Having been part of the fleet for more than 20 years, she has developed an incredibly loyal following, and I know many of our customers will be sorry to see her go. I’m pleased that she will continue sailing within the Carnival family, although I’m sure her departure will mark the end of an era for many P&O Cruises guests.

The timing of this news is particularly interesting, as P&O Cruises begins to launch its winter 2028/29 programme, covering departures from October 2028 through to March 2029. There is plenty of choice across the collection, with holidays departing from Southampton as well as fly-cruises from Barbados, Antigua, St Kitts, Tenerife and Gran Canaria. However, there are a couple of longer voyages that particularly caught my attention.

One voyage I expect to attract exceptional interest is Arcadia’s 2029 World Cruise, which we now know will be her final World Cruise with P&O Cruises before she leaves the fleet. Given the ship’s popularity, I anticipate demand will be particularly strong, and I would urge anyone considering this sailing to register their interest and pre-book with us as early as possible. The itinerary itself promises to be a memorable farewell, with a refreshed selection of ports, including several maiden calls. The Japanese section has been significantly revised, while highlights elsewhere include an overnight stay in Maputo, Mozambique, and Arcadia’s first visit to Madagascar.

Aurora’s USA and Caribbean Grand Tour will also return for 2029, this time extending into South America. Overnight stays in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo will complement visits to North America and the Caribbean, including New Orleans, Miami, Puerto Rico and St Thomas, along with a partial transit of the Panama Canal.

I know these longer voyages are always popular with many of our customers, particularly those who enjoy settling into life on board and seeing more of the world in one holiday. It is good to see P&O Cruises continuing to develop these itineraries, with new destinations giving even those who have travelled extensively with the cruise line something different to discover.

Pre-booking for the new programme is already open, giving you the opportunity to share your preferred cruise and accommodation with our team before reservations officially open. P&O Cruises’ Caribbean, Baltic and Ligurian tier members will have priority access from Tuesday 20 October. Departures between October and December 2028 then go on general sale on Wednesday 21 October, with January to March 2029 holidays and Arcadia’s 2029 programme, including her full World Cruise, following on Thursday 22 October.

Having handled P&O Cruises launches for many years, our team knows just how important those first few days can be, particularly when it comes to the most popular itineraries and cabin grades. That experience, combined with our bespoke booking system, allows us to work quickly through customers’ preferences as soon as reservations open, giving us the best possible chance of securing their first choice.

If you have your eye on one of the new 2028/29 holidays, I’d encourage you to pre-book with us before Tuesday 20 October or speak with one of our Cruise Experts on 01246 819 819. That way, we can have your preferences ready ahead of the relevant on-sale date.

We’ve also seen a fantastic response to the launch of Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines’ new 2028 collection, with sailings proving extremely popular among our customers. Covering departures from January through to June, the programme offers a wonderful selection of itineraries aboard Fred. Olsen’s smaller ships, including opportunities to visit destinations that larger ships cannot reach. It’s been particularly pleasing to see such strong interest in these holidays, and with bookings now open, I’d encourage anyone considering a Fred. Olsen cruise in 2028 to explore the new collection while there is still a good choice of itineraries and accommodation available.

Away from the cruise line announcements, September has been another busy month here at Bolsover Cruise Club as we continue to develop Luxury Journeys, our dedicated luxury cruise service.

For my part, I’ve been working closely with our Development Team on a new suite of documentation designed specifically for Luxury Journeys, reflecting the often more complex travel arrangements involved in these holidays. The highlight is our new digital confirmation booklet, which launched in September. Created individually for each booking, it brings together a customer’s cruise itinerary, flights, accommodation, transfers and other essential information in one professionally presented document.

Our aim has been to make everything as clear and straightforward as possible, while creating something customers can enjoy looking through as they begin to anticipate their holiday. It has also given us an opportunity to look more closely at how we present travel information across Bolsover Cruise Club, with improvements to our wider customer documentation now in development. I’m looking forward to sharing more about those in due course.

Last month also saw the launch of the latest edition of our Into The Blue magazine, with much of the issue dedicated to exploring what luxury travel really means today. Our main feature, The Many Faces of Luxury, looks beyond the traditional definitions of luxury, while we also introduce the team behind our new Luxury Journeys service. There’s a personal element too, as my daughter Katie shares her experience of our family’s recent Mediterranean cruise aboard Silversea’s Silver Ray. I think it’s one of our strongest editions yet, and I hope it provides plenty of inspiration for your future travels.

On another note, we’ve enjoyed plenty of fun over the past month. A highlight was our annual party with the Carnival UK team, held at Casa Hotel in Chesterfield. There was a superb turnout from the management teams of P&O Cruises, Cunard, Princess Cruises, Seabourn and Holland America Line, alongside many of our own Bolsover colleagues, for what turned out to be a fabulous evening. Each year, our team chooses a theme, and this year it was the Gatsby era, with just about everyone joining in with fancy dress. As you can imagine, it was highly amusing, and I understand there was some rather eccentric dancing after I slipped away before things became too lively! A special thank you must go to Joseph and Gina for all their hard work organising the evening and making it such a success.

There were two particularly lovely highlights I wanted to mention. Firstly, my father Derek came along with me and gave a short speech. Everyone was truly delighted to see him, and it was wonderful to see the warm welcome he received. Secondly, a special mention goes to Jess, who scooped the top award on the night for P&O Cruises, Cunard and Princess. What makes this especially impressive is that Jess has topped the awards for the past few years. On behalf of everyone at Bolsover Cruise Club, huge congratulations, Jess – a very well-deserved achievement again!

More recently, Katie organised a charity clothes day, inviting staff to donate clothing and shoes they no longer used. The response was tremendous, with colleagues generously contributing items and then enjoying the chance to pick up something for themselves while supporting a good cause. I’m delighted to say that every donated item found a new home within our own team, raising over £700, with all proceeds going to Make Seconds Count. It was a lovely example of the generosity and team spirit we see here at Bolsover Cruise Club. Giving these items a second life while raising money for charity made the day all the more worthwhile. A big thank you to Katie for organising it, and to everyone who donated, bought something or helped make the day such a success.

To all of you setting sail in the coming weeks, I wish you a wonderful holiday and bon voyage.