By
Rebecca Gibson |
P&O Cruises has invited Australian passengers to rename two Holland America Line (HAL) ships that will join its fleet in November 2015.
Bringing P&O’s total year-round Australian fleet up to five ships, HAL’s Ryndam and Statendam will join Pacific Dawn, Pacific Jewel and Pacific Pearl in Australia. Both ships will be fully refurbished to incorporate onboard features tailored for Australian and New Zealand passengers.
“We’ve been cruising from here for more than 80 years and we carry hundreds of thousands of Australians on holidays every year, so we think the time has come for Australians to put their stamp on our ships by choosing their names,” said Tammy Marshall, senior vice president of P&O Cruises. “We’re very excited by the idea and we can’t wait to see what names are put forward.”
While P&O’s current Australia-based vessels all have Pacific in their names, competition entrants are not obliged to follow this pattern for the names of the new ships.
“We’re looking for names that are modern and fresh and capture the spirit of a cruise holiday,” said Marshall. “Ideally there will be some connection between the names of the two ships, but we will wait to see what Australia comes up with.”
The Facebook-based competition will close on 4 July, while the names will be announced on 9 July. The successful entrants will win a cruise for two on the respective ship’s inaugural voyage and will also be invited to attend the naming ceremony as a special guest.
Having a five-ship fleet will give P&O greater flexibility to offer more short-break cruises, as well as traditional cruises to the South Pacific and new destinations, such as Papua New Guinea and Asia. New itineraries will be revealed in the coming months.