By
Rebecca Gibson |
P&O Cruises’ Pacific Dawn now features the longest waterslides on an Australia-based cruise ship following a recent refit at Sembawang shipyard in Singapore.
One of the 80-metre-long slides is transparent, while the other is multi-coloured and blasts music to immerse guests in the experience. The slides took almost 40 days to build offsite and onboard the ship.
In total, a team of 700 contractors spent more than 100,000 hours transforming the 2,000-guest ship during her two-week Sembawang dry dock. They added more than 18,000 square metres of carpet, 3,000 items of new and reupholstered furniture, 1,500 pieces of art and accessories, and 500 new signs.
In addition, some of the key public spaces – including the atrium, Charlie’s cafe, The Orient and the Promenade Bar – have been redesigned to mirror the contemporary look of P&O’s other recently refurbished ships.
Other highlights include a new virtual reality gaming experience in teen clubs HQ and HQ+, which was developed in partnership with Sony Interactive Entertainment Australia. Guests can also visit The Pantry, a new international marketplace offering nine fresh food outlets which replaces the traditional ship buffet.
Pacific Dawn has also become the first in the fleet to showcase P&O’s new livery featuring the Southern Cross, a national symbol in both Australia and New Zealand.
“Pacific Dawn not only features the new look and feel which has been so popular on our latest ships, Pacific Aria and Pacific Eden, she also provides a taste of what’s to come on our next ship Pacific Explorer, which debuts in June,” said Sture Myrmell, P&O president. “We think she’ll be a real winner and we can’t wait to welcome guests onboard.”
The refit comes at the start of the line’s biggest ever cruise season in Queensland. Sailing year-round from Brisbane, Pacific Dawn and Pacific Aria will collectively offer a record 108 cruises in 2017 – a rise from 98 in 2016.