Pete Tong has spent decades defining the sound of Ibiza, so when P&O Cruises wanted a headline act for its ship Arvia, doing it on the island itself was the obvious flex. The veteran DJ played a 90-minute set to more than 900 guests in the ship's SkyDome while Arvia was berthed at Ibiza's Botafoc Pier.
The set landed mid-way through a 14-night western Mediterranean sailing that left Southampton on 13 September. Arvia called at La Coruña, Malaga, Alicante, Ibiza, Marseille, Barcelona and Cadiz before heading home — so this wasn't a one-port gimmick bolted onto a repackaged itinerary, but a proper feature of the cruise.
The venue did the heavy lifting. The SkyDome is a glass-enclosed poolside space at the top of the ship, and it has form for this kind of booking: Arvia's godmother Nicole Scherzinger has performed there, as has Take That's Gary Barlow. Tong, though, is arguably the biggest name yet, and P&O leaned into the location. Guests sipped Hierbas Ibicencas — the island's herby local liqueur — plus Ibiza-themed cocktails, with regional dishes served at the Sunset Bar.
"I loved playing in the SkyDome on Arvia," Tong said afterwards, thanking the crowd for making the night special. Paul Ludlow, who runs Carnival UK and P&O Cruises, framed it as exactly the kind of surprise the line wants: experiences you simply wouldn't expect from a cruise holiday.
Why does this matter if you're not booked on Arvia? Because it's a signal of where mainstream cruising is heading. The big lines are chasing a younger, music-led crowd, and naming acts are becoming part of the pitch — not just karaoke in a lounge. For anyone who grew up on dance music but wrote off cruises as ballroom dancing and buffet queues, a night with one of the genre's defining DJs, in Ibiza, from a ship you're already sleeping on, is a fairly persuasive argument to look again.
The practical upside is real too. Ibiza's clubs are eye-wateringly expensive in high summer, with big-name DJ nights regularly running well into three figures for entry alone. Seeing a legend of the scene as part of your fare — with the island on the itinerary the next morning — changes the maths completely. P&O hasn't said whether more Tong dates will follow, but given the guest numbers and the publicity, expect the line to keep stacking the SkyDome with recognisable names on future sailings.
If you fancy something similar, keep an eye on P&O's Mediterranean programme out of Southampton: no-fly departures, multi-country itineraries and, increasingly, proper entertainment. Worst case, you get ten countries and a pool with a glass roof. Best case, you get Pete Tong.
