P&O Cruises has been forced to cancel a 50-night January voyage on the Oriana due to a maintenance issue.

Instead of sailing around the Caribbean and America, the ship will enter dry dock for three weeks early in the New Year.

The cruise line has apologised to passengers booked on the Caribbean and America Discovery itinerary and it is offering them 5% onboard credit to use on a future cruise booked before the end of 2019.

The company tweeted: "We apologise to guests due to travel on Oriana's X801 but our technical team has advised us that it's necessary for Oriana to undergo a 3 week technical maintenance from Jan 6 2018. As a result we will be cancelling this cruise.

"We have contacted all those affected guests today and we are extremely sorry for the late notice and disruption."

The Oriano suffered a technical fault during a 17-night Spain - Italy - Morocco cruise last month, which meant that it departed on its next voyage a day behind schedule.

Courtesy of Travelmole