Harding, the global cruise retail specialist, has agreed a 2027 contract with P&O Cruises and luxury cruise brand Cunard which sees them now operate the retail proposition for all ships across the two fleets. 

The ships comprise P&O Cruises Ventura, Britannia, Arcadia, Aurora, Azura and new ship Iona which will sail her maiden voyage this summer, as well as all three ships for Cunard – Queen Mary 2, Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria. 

As part of the contract, the Harding internal design team will continue to work in partnership with P&O Cruises and Cunard’s award-winning design teams and architects to design, manage and build entire retail environments, creating immersive brand solutions on board their ships, building on their joint success in designing the Iona retail spaces. 

For P&O Cruises, the contract also includes Arvia, which is due to join the fleet in December 2022 as well as Cunard’s newbuild ship. The contract will span a five year period and follows a 20-year working relationship between the three companies.

Design and brand choice on board the new ships was also influenced by a survey Harding conducted of 20,500 people – illustrative of the unrivalled cruise market customer insight held by Harding. 

Much more than just places to buy goods, Harding will offer an impressive mix of tax and duty-free product categories including fine jewellery, watches and fashion, fused with lifestyle and experiential activations, carefully curated for the guest by ship and destination. The Logo concepts for both P&O Cruises and Cunard have been exclusively designed by the Harding Logo teams. 

On board Iona alone, an impressive list of first-at-seas will also launch, including four exclusive stand-alone boutiques, with Mulberry also launching a first at sea, standalone store. 

Harding Managing Director James Prescott said: “This is a real milestone in the Harding history, and I am delighted to confirm our partnership with Carnival UK across both P&O Cruises and Cunard.

“We have worked closely with the senior teams based in Carnival House, Southampton, in a total trinity approach to deliver the best products with the right experiences for the guests on board. We are delighted that these two companies have put their trust in Harding here in the UK.”

Carnival UK vice-president on board revenue Robert Palmer said: 

“We are delighted to have signed this future-focused contract with Harding.

“Working with one of the leading players in cruise retail to build a strong commercial and branded retail partnership as we resume sailing and enter an exciting period of new ship launches for both our P&O Cruises and Cunard brands is an important milestone. 

“Harding has shown its ability to retail at a branded and experiential level at sea which will undoubtedly continue to give our guests the best and most inspiring holiday retail experience.

“We look forward to continuing to work with the Harding team in the coming months and years.’’