The P&O Line is one of the oldest passenger-shipping companies in the world, founded in 1835 by Brodie Wilcox and Arthur Anderson. They joined forces in 1825 as Wilcox and Anderson and started their shipowning business. But in 1835 they set up a steamline between Falmouth and Portugal and the South of Spain, trading as the Peninsular Steam Company. The company soon grew into more parts of the Mediterranean and after that, also from Suez to India and Australia, changing the name of the company to Peninsular & Oriental Steam & Navigation Company in the early 1840's. In its heyday the company was one of the biggest in the world and surely the biggest company in Great Britain, easily surpassing the Cunard Line. The ships of P&O were the true lifeline between Great Britain and its colonies overseas in India, Africa and Australia. It is often said that without P&O, the great British Empire could never have exsisted.

But of course the downslide of the passengershipping lines in the 1960's and 1970's could have easily ended the great company if it hadn't grew the way P&O did. They entered a lot of different businesses like oil-rigs, containerports, housing and ferries. Although the Indian and Australian lines were still longer profitable then the lines at the North and South Atlantic, the last P&O passengersailing as line-voyage was taken in 1974 by the British India ship Kenya. British India then was a part of the big P&O group of companies. P&O had just before bought Princess Cruises from its founder Stanley B. MacDonald and continued cruising under P&O name only with their two biggest ships, Oriana (I) and Canberra. When Oriana (I) was sold to Asia as a hotelship, Canberra was the only passengership under P&O-name.

In 1988, P&O was starting to try and get a little more of the cruisebusiness themselves. P&O Cruises was created and the basics for the company as we know today were laid out. Sea Princess (I) was renamed Victoria and was swiched from Princess Cruises to P&O in 1995, although she was basicly already used as P&O Cruises ship in her last years sailing for Princess. P&O were looking for a running mate and later replacement ship of the aging (but still popular) Canberra and this new ship became the first newbuilt cruiseliner for P&O since Spirit of London in 1972. This new ship became the instantly succesfull Oriana (II). Her story and that of her sister Aurora that was built a few years later, follows at the next pages.