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A New Zealand couple has had to call off their wedding as a result of P&O Cruises Australia shutting down. The cruise brand will be folded into its parent company, Carnival Cruise Line in March with P&O's Pacific Explorer ship exiting the fleet in February. Kerryn Pegram and his fiancée had paid about $NZD4000 ($3,700) to get married on the Pacific Explorer Bay of Islands cruise in May 2025 with more than 100 friends and whānau (extended family).

"[We're] calling it off completely until we can find a way forward. It's disappointing to say the least," he said. READ MORE: Destination dupes: Domestic Aussie holiday spots to substitute for overseas trips "We are going to reconsider what to do as Carnival has no routes that leave from New Zealand.



"We are now just trying to make sure all our whanau get their money back." He said they initially hit a red flag on Monday night when trying to sign into a friend's booking and a warning message said the cruise no longer existed. "We were able to get through to an operator and were told it was a system glitch and to check back in 48 hours.

" But the next day, they found out the cruise brand was going to be shut down. READ MORE: Virgin Australia reveals most loved onboard plane snack Pegram called the announcement "pretty shocking" as he felt safe booking with P&O due to its decades in business. The couple had also been on a P&O cruise to Fiji.

He said they had not had any information from Carnival aside from the details on the P&O web.

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