All things copy

Our copy will navigate holidaymakers through the sea of sameness and transport them to a wonderful world full of firsts. We are the enthusiastic champions of the ‘first time feeling’. Whether it’s a guest’s first cruise or their 50th, we promise that it will be a ‘holiday like never before’ and want to capture the joy of experiencing the world with a wideeyed sense of wonder. Whether we’re challenging outdated perceptions of cruising or wowing returning customers with new experiences, we are always wonderfully surprising.

We’re here to transport our guests to new places, new experiences and fresh ways of thinking.

Travel is in our DNA and we want to share our expertise. We’re unashamed and talk earnestly about what we know to be true: we offer extraordinary moments, extraordinary experiences and extraordinary holidays.

Our copy will show our zest for life, appetite for discovery and surprise and delight. We want to show our guests that memory forming moments can be found around every corner, from deck to shore.

Our tone is underpinned with a distinct sense of British sensibility. With wit, charm and style, a knowing wink and a warm smile we can show our guests that we get them and they get us. We’re informal, open and honest, delivering knowledge and expertise in a down to earth and approachable way.

We’re in the holiday business so let’s be less business, more holiday!

We use exclamation marks sparingly because we don’t need to be shouty. We use contractions often (like “it’s” instead of “it is”) because we do want to sound how we speak. And we’re always authentic because our holidays are as epic as they sound. Our copy will bring to life ‘holiday like never before’.

Our style

Some dos and don’ts

P&O Cruises

  • P&O Cruises never P&O
  • Use uppercase ‘C’ for Cruises
  • There are no spaces either side of the ‘&’
  • Don’t split P&O Cruises across two lines
  • P&O Cruises is singular, i.e. ‘P&O Cruises has’ not ‘P&O Cruises have’
  • Don’t use an apostrophe at the end of P&O Cruises, i.e. ‘P&O Cruises Food Heroes...’ NOT ‘P&O Cruises’ Food Heroes…’
  • If it’s written by us, for us, let’s say ‘we’ and ‘our’ instead of P&O Cruises

Fleet

  • Talk about the fleet as ships, not boats, superliners or ocean liners
  • Ships are always female
  • Never use ‘the’ preceding a ship name

Destinations

  • Use destination names as they appear in the ‘Port naming for marketing’ document (available on Asset Bank)

Itinerary details

  • Refer to the holiday length in nights rather than days

Language

  • Use British English in all communications
  • Make sure spellcheck is set to British English
  • Sound normal, not formal
  • Use contractions (combining two words, e.g. we are to we’re) to write as we speak
  • Pare back the adjectives, exclamation marks and avoid social-media slang that isn’t very us
  • Talk directly to our guests as individuals using ‘you’, ‘you’re’, etc.

Numbers

  • Always spell out numbers nine and under. Use numerals for 10 and over
  • Use numerals when referring to measurements, i.e. 75,000 tons, 20 metres, page 4

Dates

  • In body copy, always write the month and year in full; don’t abbreviate i.e. January 2010 not Jan 10. For itineraries, abbreviations should be three letters, i.e. Jan, Feb, Mar, Tue, Wed, Thu etc.
  • Avoid using ordinals i.e. 1 January not 1st January
  • Refer to dates in order of day/month/year, i.e. 1 January 2024

Time

  • Refer to time as am or pm rather than 24 hour clock, i.e. 1pm not 13.00

Like this, not like that

  • Holiday or cruise not voyage, sailing, hols, vacay
  • Everyday speak, e.g. ‘buy’ not ‘purchase’, ‘use’ not ‘utilise’
  • Comfortable contractions like ‘we’re’ and ‘there’s’, not clumsy like ‘should’ve’ and ‘where’d’
  • Exclusively for adults not child-free or adults only
  • Family-friendly (with hyphen) not Child-friendly
  • Cabin not Stateroom. You can also use ‘room’ or ‘accommodation’ to avoid repetition
  • Prices not Fares
  • Guests not passengers
  • Always say free in promotional copy, not complimentary
  • On-board spending money not on-board credit
  • Sail away, not Sailaway
  • Select Price, not Select price
  • Early Saver price, not Early Saver Price
  • Saver price, not Saver Price or Late Saver

Let’s see how it’s done

“Have you holidayed with us before? Or is it your first time? Maybe you’re looking for the latest itineraries on your favourite ship, or you’re sizing up P&O Cruises to see if our holidays are for you? Whether you’re an old friend or new, you’ll find everything you’re looking for in your next getaway.

Ready to holiday like never before? Read on…”

“Here’s a little taste of some of the restaurants you’ll find on board … The Beach House Lick your lips for South American, Caribbean and Stateside cuisines and on Arvia’s holidays to the Caribbean, exclusive dishes by Shivi Ramoutar. The Keel & Cow Gastropub food and a stellar collection of beers and craft ales. Come for the relaxing atmosphere, stay for the signature burger and dry-aged steak. The Glass House Small plates, wines chosen by Olly Smith, tapas by José Pizarro… what’s not to love? Sindhu A firm foodie favourite on board and for good reason, Sindhu’s contemporary Indian dishes have guests coming back time and again. Ripples Arvia and Iona’s all-too-tempting gelateria offers Snowflake Luxury Gelato cones, sundaes and even a three-tiered gelato afternoon tea.

“The airport luggage carousel… a nerve-racking wait to find out if you’re about to spend two weeks wearing whatever clothes you threw on that morning. Luckily with P&O Cruises, they take the stress away. From the moment you check in your bags at your UK airport, you don’t have to think of them again. You’ll next see them waiting in your cabin on your ship. P&O Cruises take care of everything so that you can effortlessly travel from plane to transfer to ship hands-free.”

  • This copy was written for our brochure and is addressing both past guests and newcomers
  • The language is holiday-focussed, speaking to newcomers in everyday language and asking questions to bring them into the conversation
  • We keep it personal, referring to them as ‘friends’ and making it clear we have everything they need to holiday like never before.
  • This copy provides short snippets on some of our speciality dining restaurants
  • It shows how we can inject personality and bring to life the offering in short copy
  • We speak to our readers, engaging them with directives like ‘lick your lips’ and questions like ‘what’s not to love?’
  • We use the compound adjective ‘all-too-tempting’ to create a sense of fun and make the reader stop and take in the copy
  • And we keep it short and sweet to provide top-level detail, appropriate for this format.
  • This copy describes one of our amazing benefits: bonded luggage
  • This example shows the British sensibility in our tone of voice, painting a picture of a common travel scenario (the luggage carousel) that British guests will get, and adding a bit of wit and charm to show that shared sense of experience
  • It’s written in the third person as this was used in a travel agent piece. When writing for agents, ‘us’ and ‘we’ become ‘P&O Cruises’ and ‘they’.