The Southampton-based company has registered two ships, Arcadia and Artemis, in Bermuda to circumvent British law that insists civil weddings be conducted in a “permanently fixed or moored” location.
“It is too early to say if we will have more ships under the Bermudian flag - we will have to see how it goes,” said P&O Cruises managing director, David Dingle.
P&O captains and crew are undergoing training to conduct services, with the company expecting huge demand for weddings at sea.
The last year for which statistics are available, 2003, saw 181,000 civil ceremonies and 86,000 religious ones.
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The company says that one woman customer has cancelled her planned wedding ashore in order to take advantage of the initiative.
The only other cruise line to offer weddings at sea is the US-owned Princess Cruises, on 13 of its ships - eight of which have dedicated chapels. P&O plans to offer services either on deck or in function rooms.
Princess charges nearly £1,000 for a wedding package, which includes the ceremony and services of the wedding co-ordinator, live piano music, a rose bouquet, a boutonnière, a cake, champagne and two keepsake flutes, seven photos and a wedding album. The marriage license and witness fees add a further £250.
The marriage service must be held on “sea days” with no port calls, in international waters 12 miles from land.