Papua New Guinea calls are part of the line's newly released 2016-2018 itineraries
By
Rebecca Gibson |
P&O Cruises is to make the first-ever cruise ship calls to the privately owned Conflict Islands in Papua New Guinea next year.
Owned by Australian conservationist Ian Gowrie-Smith and his family, the Conflict Islands is one of the most remote archipelagos in the world and comprises 21 islands surrounding a blue lagoon with biodiverse reef systems. The islands will welcome Pacific Jewel for the first time in June 2016.
“We have been pioneering cruising in the Pacific for eight decades and are still discovering fantastic cruise destinations for our guests,” said Sture Myrmell, P&O Cruises’ senior vice president. “Papua New Guinea is one of the most extraordinary places on earth and even though it’s our neighbour, its picturesque islands are relatively untravelled – until now.”
P&O Cruises’ fleet is to expand between 2015 and 2017, with the addition of Pacific Aria and Pacific Eden this year and Pacific Explorer in 2017. In total, the fleet will cruise from eight different homeports between 2016 and 2018, offering a record 85 short cruises – two to four nights in length – from five of the ports.
P&O Cruises will also offer its first international sea break in 2017 with Pacific Eden’s second Cairns season including four-night roundtrip itineraries to Alotau in Papua New Guinea with scenic cruising through Kawanasausau Strait and Milne Bay.
Pacific Aria and Pacific Eden, which will make the first cruise calls to Fraser Island in Queensland next year, will join Pacific Dawn to sail a combined total of 30 voyages from Brisbane between July 2017 and March 2018. The 30 short breaks will take guests to destination such as Hamilton Island, the Whitsundays and Newcastle.
Pacific Eden will return to Fremantle between April and June 2017, offering ten voyages including a new nine-night itinerary along the Kimberley coast, as well as Indonesian cruises and short breaks to Esperance and Margaret River.
In winter 2017, Pacific Eden will return to Singapore to offer two different week-long itineraries around Thailand and the Andaman Islands, including calls to Ko Chang and Krabi in Thailand and Sabang in Indonesia. The itineraries can be combined to create a 14-night cruise.
In 2017, Pacific Explorer will offer a range of Pacific Island, Sea Break, Australia and Main Event itineraries from Sydney, before sailing to the Melbourne Cup with Pacific Dawn and Pacific Jewel. The following year, Pacific Explorer will make her Australia Day debut in Sydney Harbour alongside Pacific Aria.
Meanwhile, Pacific Jewel will sail the line’s longest summer season in Melbourne. Homeporting in the city from November 2017 until March 2018, the ship will offer 18 cruises including a new 12-night New Zealand itinerary which features Stewart Island and Fiordland National Park, a New Year’s voyage to the Pacific Islands, and Sea Breaks to Eden in New South Wales and Kangaroo Island in South Australia. Guests can also combine a six-night Southern Getaway to South Australia and five-night Taste of Tasmania cruise to get the most of the southern coastline.
“With the expansion of our fleet between 2015 and 2017, the destination and itinerary possibilities are endless,” said Myrmell. “We’re taking modern Australian cruise holidays to the next level in the coming years – it’s a very exciting time for local cruising.”