US citizen on P&O Australia cruise?

I am a US citizen who would like to book a reef cruise through P&O Australia, but it looks like only citizens from Australia and NZ can book on their website. I contacted the North American TA listed on the P&O UK website, but they informed me that they don't offer the Australian cruises. Am I just out of luck? Thanks in advance for any advice/info!

You certainly can sail with them.

Was there some wording that you thought prevented you, or something else?

You certainly can sail with them.

 

Was there some wording that you thought prevented you, or something else?

The website asks for an address, but there are only two choices for country (Australia or NZ). My address is in the USA. I think I need to contact a TA in Australia instead of in the USA.

The website asks for an address, but there are only two choices for country (Australia or NZ). My address is in the USA. I think I need to contact a TA in Australia instead of in the USA.

I just had a talk with a TA we often use and the advice was that they are not supposed to book for people who live outside Australia. She was surprised that your local TA couldn't help you. The only other suggestion she had was if someone in Australia would agree to let you use their address as a contact, they would be able to book it for you.

I just had a talk with a TA we often use and the advice was that they are not supposed to book for people who live outside Australia. She was surprised that your local TA couldn't help you. The only other suggestion she had was if someone in Australia would agree to let you use their address as a contact, they would be able to book it for you.

The above will work.

I sailed P&O with some friends from overseas and just put my address automatically as I was doing the booking. That was why I didn't register there was any complication. All the other details like entering their foreign passport and checking in weren't an issue.

I'm sure if you find a suitable TA there should be a way around it. The address isn't used (aside from potentially getting some advertising mailouts in future).

I suppose its fair enough...

Goodness me , who knows what it could lead to,

next thing you know ,

Australians will be wanting to book through US travel agents.:eek:

I know that it is possible as I have a friend from the US that sailed on a P&O Australia ship. I will send them a message and see if they have a solution.

just book it through you local ta it will be cheaper

I am a US citizen who would like to book a reef cruise through P&O Australia, but it looks like only citizens from Australia and NZ can book on their website. I contacted the North American TA listed on the P&O UK website, but they informed me that they don't offer the Australian cruises. Am I just out of luck? Thanks in advance for any advice/info!

I notice you say you contacted P&O UK website - I think you will find that they are connected with P&O Aurora etc sailing out of Britain, different line from P&O Australia. That may be the reason for not being able to book one of our ships, P&O Pacific Jewel, P&O Pacific Pearl or P&O Pacific Dawn. Maybe you could re-try your TA mentioning the complete names of the ships which sail out of Sydney or Brisbane....good luck.

I notice you say you contacted P&O UK website - I think you will find that they are connected with P&O Aurora etc sailing out of Britain, different line from P&O Australia. That may be the reason for not being able to book one of our ships, P&O Pacific Jewel, P&O Pacific Pearl or P&O Pacific Dawn. Maybe you could re-try your TA mentioning the complete names of the ships which sail out of Sydney or Brisbane....good luck.

Although that's a reasonable suggestion, the P&O Australia lines are not sold outside the AU/NZ region. Her experience would be reflected if she were to try other US agencies, or to push further with the first TA.

As above, it is doable through an Australian TA, just need to clear the first hurdle. :)

Thank you everyone for the suggestions!

Because we aren't allowed to mention TAs by name, I won't, but have you thought about calling P&O Australia directly?

I got a reply from my US friend. He think he booked through P&O AU's website but also called Australia, that was back in 2007. I looked at their website and couldn't find a number that could be called from overseas. How about trying to call Carnival in the US and see if they can do anything.

By the way, when are you thinking of cruising? We have a number of visiting US ships over our summer season (approx Oct-April) each year and I know that you can book those through US agents.

just book it through you local ta it will be cheaper

Even if she could book it through her local TA (which she said she couldn't) there is guarantee it would be cheaper. It is likely to be more expensive. I have seen that happen with Australian cruises booked in the USA.

Even if she could book it through her local TA (which she said she couldn't) there is guarantee it would be cheaper. It is likely to be more expensive. I have seen that happen with Australian cruises booked in the USA.

?:confused:

The ships that visit are based in the US and you can book those in the US.

The three P&O ships above are based in Australia and not bookable through US TAs.

 

The three P&O ships above are based in Australia and not bookable through US TAs.

That is downright WEIRD!

Barry

It's just one of those pragmatic things. There is little demand from the US, so it would probably wouldn't be worth accrediting and registering agents to be able to book here, and that's from both sides.

US cruise agents are used to high volume, so likely wouldn't want to go to that much trouble for little return (and if they're small, also wouldn't want to go to that trouble for little likely use).

I am sure one could book P&O Australia via P&O UK, as we have to book P&O UK through P&O Australia, albeit via a t/a, or direct with P&O Australia. We Aussies cannot book direct with P&O UK, now you have me confused !

Thied help !!

The above is talking about the US, not the UK.

Both P&O operations (UK and AU) use the same type of system, although different ones. They also share some back office operations so cross-booking between them is more feasible.

I am a US citizen who would like to book a reef cruise through P&O Australia, but it looks like only citizens from Australia and NZ can book on their website. I contacted the North American TA listed on the P&O UK website, but they informed me that they don't offer the Australian cruises. Am I just out of luck? Thanks in advance for any advice/info!

I think you'd be VERY disappointed. We sailed Pacific Jewel to Melanesia beginning of the month for ten nights. Just returned last Thursday. We had a great time, the crew were wonderful and ports lovely. The ship? The line? Sad to say, especially since it is an Australian line and I'd like to stay loyal, we will not sail P&O again. The ship was tired, even after a spell in dry dock a month previously. It was just an exercise in marketing, everything was an extra. VERY disappointed, especially since sailing Carnival last year.

Have you tried using the US based WEB site to book your cruise?

http://www.pocruises.com

vs.

the Australian version

http://www.pocruises.com.au

I am a US citizen who would like to book a reef cruise through P&O Australia, but it looks like only citizens from Australia and NZ can book on their website. I contacted the North American TA listed on the P&O UK website, but they informed me that they don't offer the Australian cruises. Am I just out of luck? Thanks in advance for any advice/info!

Hi I am also from the US and could not go through their web site so I had my TA book the cruise we wanted leaving from Sydney on Feb.26th for NZ hope this helps!

I spent over two months trying to book P & O Australia without success. Finally found someone to help at P & O. Try ben.edney@carnivalaustralia.com. He was very helpful. Got the booking completed quickly and called me to confirm and get cc info.

Hello.

I am also a USA resident and struggled to book and pay for a P&O Australia cruise. Although this information is maybe too late for the original poster, I offer this information as it may be helpful to someone looking at this thread in the future.

Here is my experience.

1. After speaking with P&O Australia, Princess and Carnival, they confirm there are no Travel Agents in the US for booking P&O Australia. I did also call some large, small and internet travel agents and they confirmed. Be sure you say P&O Australia (they all think you mean P&O UK).

2. For a US based person to book a P&O Australia cruise, you need to call the P&O Australia reservations office in Seattle, Washington. The number is 1-800-340-7674.

It was my experience that when calling this number the message said the office was closed even during open hours. Keep trying and don't wait for the last minute to book or pay. You never know if they will answer the phone. (I know this sounds not possible but it is.)

3. Eventually I called P&O Australia to try to escalate by problems with making a final payment. They could not help.

4. I was able to get excellent help from Carnival Australia. It seems that Carnival Australia has the infrastructure to help with Australian cruises for Princes, Carnival and P&O Australia as they are all owned by Carnival.

5. I was able to reach the following people at Carnival Australia who were wonderful and helped with multiple struggles I was having.

ben.edney@carnivalaustralia.com - seems to be the hands on guy to fix problems.

alison.osborne@carnivalaustralia.com - seems to be the manager of customer service

Amanda.McClelland@carnivalaustralia.com - seems to be the director of customer service

Again, my problems are resolved but I would like to contribute this helpful information to the community.