P&O Cruises Australia, has announced the arrival of two new cruise liners as the company attempts to rebuild the local industry following the devastating Ruby Princess COVID-19 debacle which claimed the lives of 28 people and led to more than 1,000 infections across Australia.
The company says the arrival of one of the ships early in the new year had been brought forward six months to reinvigorate the cruise industry in Australia.
“The arrival of these much-anticipated ships, Pacific Adventure and Pacific Encounter, in the first half of next year represents a step-change for the fleet and a sign of confidence in the market,” said P&O Cruises Australia President, Sture Myrmell.
“This investment in our fleet is a demonstration that P&O Cruises Australia is ready to lead the industry in bouncing back when government and public health authorities agree it is appropriate to begin sailing again with protocols in place.
“It is also a mark of respect for our many loyal guests as well as crew, fresh food suppliers, entertainers and musicians, shore tour operators and port logistics partners who are looking to be a part of the resurgence of the Australian cruise sector over time.”
Mr Myrmell said Pacific Encounter would call Brisbane home from May 7 – but said additional voyages may be added even earlier, depending on the timing of the official return of cruising in Australia.
He said the sister ships would sail alongside P&O’s current flagship, Pacific Explorer, which would extend its “operational pause” until January next year.
“These have been challenging times for the entire community and, for our part, we have sought to use this operational pause to fast-track our planned fleet refresh.”
“Our pathway to a return to cruising may be unclear but we wanted to give our guests confidence about our future fleet and our commitment to Australia and New Zealand,” Mr Myrmell said.
Pacific Adventure will be docked in Sydney and its first voyage will be a three-night cruise scheduled for April 30.
“Pacific Adventure was originally planned to debut in November this year but was delayed due to the global COVID-19 pandemic,” said Mr Myrmell.
Brisbane’s new international cruise terminal will become the new home port for Pacific Encounter.
“At this stage, her first voyage is scheduled to depart Brisbane on May 7, 2021 and is a three-night Short Break. Additional voyages may be added earlier,” he said.
He said the new ships would feature all the usual dining options but would not feature waterslides due too “complexities created by COVID”.
Meanwhile, the Pacific Explorer is due to set sail as early as January 9, after cancelling its pre-Christmas short break cruises.
“While the current pause in cruise operations is until 17 December in Australia, the pathway to re-start remains unclear,” said Mr Myrmell.
The Pacific Explorer is also scheduled for a three-day cruise which will see guests disembark in Auckland, New Zealand, in March.
“We felt the best approach was to cancel Pacific Explorer’s remaining 2020 cruises to allow families to plan with certainty for their Christmas and New Year activities. It was a difficult decision but in the end it was an effort to do the right thing by our guests on both Pacific Explorer and Pacific Adventure, which is also affected over the holiday period.”
He said P&O Cruises Australia would assist guests whose bookings had been affected by any changes to cruises cancelled over the Christmas period.
“Guests can choose alternative arrangements including an option to move their booking to the same time next year and receive bonus onboard credit, request a full refund or bonus onboard credit if they choose the future cruise credit option.”
He said P&O would pay refunds back to travel agents for guests who booked using agents.
The cruise line has also promised to protect travel agent commissions on all bookings for cancelled cruises that were paid in full as at October 21, 2020 and for the total amount of the future cruise credits.
In August, a report from the Special Commission of Inquiry into Carnival Cruise’s Ruby Princess was handed to the government and found that NSW Health had made “serious and inexcusable” errors in allowing 2,700 passengers to disembark the ship despite more than 100 showing symptoms of COVID-19.
