P & O

a British shipping company, well known for its large cruise liners (= ships on which people spend their holidays/vacations, sailing from place to place). The company was established in 1837, when it was called the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, and sailed mainly to Spain and Portugal, but it soon became the most important company sailing between Britain and India and Hong Kong. In the late 20th century it also became one of the largest ferry companies sailing across the English Channel .