P&O Cruises has announced its cruise ships Aurora and Arcadia will be making Australian port calls in 2013 to meet growing demand.

A statement from the cruise company said Australia continues to be among one of the most desired port of calls for European travellers and moving the ship to the region next year will allow “passengers the opportunity to visit one of the world’s most popular cruise destinations”.

“… we'll continue to find new opportunities to bring P&O Cruises World Cruising’s ships down under as the economic circumstances in Europe improve," the company said.

Meanwhile P&O also announced it has cancelled Azura’s 2013 world voyage and is instead moving the ship into the Caribbean for winter-fly cruises.

A spokesperson said the change was made as trends proved passengers are seeking “shorter cruises”.

"Due to current economic circumstances, we are seeing a growing preference for shorter cruises, which leads us to believe that it could become more difficult to fill an enlarged world cruise programme next year," the company said.

Passengers booked to travel on the world voyage are being contacted with alternative options or receive a full refund.