Tag Archives: P&O Cruises

P&O Cruises Gives Aussies a Reason to Laugh Out Loud

Posted: December 18, 2022

December 18, 2022Australia, Onboard Features, Press ReleaseO Cruises President Sture Myrmell, P&, P&O CruisesRobert De Pasquale

In the words of Dr Seuss “From there to here, from here to there, funny things are everywhere.” What’s more, there is maybe no better way to secure a much-needed laugh than on board a cruise ship.

P&O Cruises is giving Aussies a reason to laugh out loud with the launch of ‘The Big Laugh’ - the biggest comedy festival at sea - onboard Pacific Explorer in June 2018.

What do P&O Cruises Australia offer people with disabilities?

‘The Big Laugh’ will have a line-up of comedians to suit all tastes with fourteen major name comedians including , Matt Okine, Scared Weird Little Guys and Dave Callan will convey 36 shows and a combined 2,000 minutes of jokes at the jam-packed four-night festival leaving Sydney on June 20, 2018.

P&O Cruises President Sture Myrmell said the introduction of the biggest comedy festival at sea aimed to build on the already extremely popular comedy entertainment offering.

“Aussies and Kiwis are renowned for their great sense of humour and our guests love comedy. It’s been a hugely successful part of our itineraries, with 650 shows now performed across our fleet each year. That’s nearly two comedy shows a day – a figure to rival comedy clubs around the country.

“We’re always looking at ways we can push the boundaries on what our guests can continue to expect from our onboard entertainment. ‘The Big Laugh’ will serve up many different types of comedy genres every day and night, from big marquee performances right through to intimate gigs in our many stylish bars and lounges. There really will be something for everyone,” said Mr Myrmell.

Well-known names Dave Hughes, Harley Breen and Claire Hooper will commence the laughs with a three-night comedy cruise on Pacific Explorer leaving Sydney on December 14, 2017.

A choice of additional celebrated comics will feature the 34 dedicated comedy cruises on offer in 2018 – a blend of two, three and four-night SeaBreaks leaving Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Cairns, and Auckland.

In 2019 the laughs will proceed with the biggest number of dedicated comedy cruises in P&O history and 38 itineraries running from January to October.

“Since 2009 we’ve delivered 99 dedicated comedy cruises with over 600 comedians, delivering more than 30,000 jokes and entertaining over 170,000 guests. By the end of 2019, we’ll have carried out close to 200 comedy cruises making P&O the biggest provider of comedy down-under,” said Mr Myrmell.

P&O’s new season of comedy follows almost a decade of comedy cruises which began in 2009 with big names Tom Gleeson, Fiona McGary, Mick Meredith and Joel Ozborn.

P&O Cruises offers an extensive variety of comedy performances from Comedy Workshops, Comedy Gala Shows, the Comedy Gong Show where guests get judged by the crowd, and Cocktails and Comedy, a personal show to be delighted in as the sun goes down.

P&O Cruises Takes Casual Dining to The Next Level Onboard Pacific Explorer

Posted: May 9, 2022

May 9, 2022Australia, Onboard Features, Press ReleaseJohnny Di Francesco, Onboard Pacific Explorer, P&O CruisesRobert De Pasquale

Do you love Salt grill by Luke Mangan onboard P&O Cruises?

We have some good news for you. Guests can soon enjoy gourmet burgers and traditional Italian Neapolitan pizzas at sea.

P&O Cruises Australia have revealed plans to launch a new poolside grill called Luke’s by Australian chef and restaurateur Luke Mangan and a new partnership with popular Melbourne-based pizza maker Johnny Di Francesco on its latest ship, Pacific Explorer

The new casual dining outlets have been unveiled in the cruise line’s latest brochure, which features record ship deployments for both Brisbane and Adelaide as part of P&O’s 2018-19 offering.

In a first for the Australian cruise market, the home grown cruise line will base three ships in Brisbane, with Queensland holidaymakers able to adore a spring season of cruises on Pacific Jewel from September to November 2018, as well as year-round cruising on Pacific Dawn and Pacific Aria.

Between them, the three ships are scheduled to offer 126 cruises from Brisbane in 2018 – an 18 per cent increase on 2017. Their itineraries will feature an unprecedented 27 short three- and four-night cruises.

In news that will sure make South Aussies more excited than going to the Showdown and Clipsal 500, South Australians will be able to cruise from their doorstep in February and March 2019 with a record 12 P&O cruises on offer including Sea Breaks visiting Port Lincoln, Kangaroo Island and Melbourne.

P&O Cruises President Sture Myrmell said the new program underlined the fantastic range of itineraries and onboard offerings now available across the cruise line’s five-ship fleet, including Pacific Explorer which debuts in Sydney in June this year.

“The past two years have seen the evolution of our cruise product with all our ships now offer great food and wine options and a contemporary look and feel,” Mr Myrmell said.

“We’re very excited to be taking the next step on Pacific Explorer with our new burger and pizza offerings, which reflects the trend towards casual gourmet dining on land.

“Australians love Salt grill by Luke Mangan on our existing ships, so we’re looking forward to giving them a new way to enjoy Luke’s talent, with al fresco dining at Luke’s on Pacific Explorer. It’s going to offer a modern, relaxed setting, providing a great backdrop for some seriously delicious gourmet burgers – including Luke’s Chicken Confidential burger which is making waves in Sydney at the moment,” he said.

Mr Myrmell said Pacific Explorer guests keen to enjoy the Salt grill experience, would be able to book a special ‘Taste of Salt’ dinner at the ship’s Chef’s Table, with a seven-course degustation meal including some of Luke’s most famous dishes as well as matching wines.

Pacific Explorer will also be home to a new pizzeria, 400 Gradi, overseen by famed Melbourne pizza chef Johnny Di Francesco. The first Australian ever trained in Naples to the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana VPN rules, Johnny was the winner of the Best Pizza in the World award in 2014.

Onboard Pacific Explorer, 400 Gradi will be serving up more than a dozen types of traditional Italian Neapolitan pizzas along with charcuteries boards, olives, cheeses and salads.

The casual dining outlets will join a range of other exciting new offerings on Pacific Explorer including a partnership with Sydney distillery Archie Rose Distilling Co in the ship’s premium cocktail bar, The Bonded Store, which will feature a tantalising list of cocktails made with Archie Rose’s handcrafted spirits.

Other new features for the ship include a waterpark and two spectacular waterslides shooting over the side of the ship as well as a relaxed barefoot lawn bowls area.

The new 2018-19 program will deliver 180 cruises including 39 three-night roundtrip Sea Break cruises from Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide or Auckland and more than 40 different cruises to the Pacific Islands, ranging from seven to 16 nights.

Other itinerary highlights include a new Tribute to ‘The King’ Elvis Presley cruise, which promises to give holidaymakers one for the money as they celebrate a legend of rock and roll. Three night cruise departing Sydney on June 1, 2018.

P&O will return to Tasmania in June 2018 on its second Dark Mofo cruise, with the five-night roundtrip cruise from Sydney on Pacific Eden taking in two days of the fabulous winter festival.

One Year On…P&O Celebrate Almost Half A Million Guests

Posted: November 26, 2022

November 26, 2022Australia, Press ReleaseMr Myrmell, P&O Cruises, Sydney HarbourRobert De Pasquale

In the year since Pacific Aria and Pacific Eden debuted in the P&O fleet as part of an unparalleled five-ship spectacular on Sydney Harbour, the cruise line’s passengers have surged by 55 per cent with more than 460,000 guests welcomed onboard its five ships.

Australia’s leading cruise line P&O Cruises has had an illustrious record year of local cruising with its expanded five ship fleet carrying almost half a million holidaymakers in its first year.

P&O Cruises President Sture Myrmell said the addition of Pacific Aria and Pacific Eden marked a new era for Australian cruising.

Since joining the P&O fleet, Pacific Aria and Pacific Eden have carried a total of 160,000 guests from seven regional ports - Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide, Fremantle, Cairns and Singapore - with the growth of the fleet paving the way for the cruise line to pioneer new itineraries and destinations.

The introduction of the two ships permitted P&O to open Cairns as a homeport for the first time in September and saw the return of Asian cruise holidays with Pacific Eden offering a season from Singapore.

In 2016 alone, P&O cruised to 17 new ports with Pacific Eden making the bulk of the maiden calls including the first visits to Honiara and Gizo Island in the Solomon Islands; Sabang, Ujung Pandang, Jakarta and the fascinating volcano port of Probolinggo in Indonesia; Langkawi in Malaysia; Phuket, Krabi, Ko Chang and Koh Samui in Thailand and Cambodia’s Sihanoukville. P&O now visits more than 90 ports in the region.

The historic year kicked off on November 25 last year when Pacific Aria and Pacific Eden were welcomed into the fleet in a dual naming ceremony at Fort Denison, with thousands of Sydneysiders looking on as godmothers Kate Ritchie and Jessica Mauboy named the pair in a world first social media christening. The event brought together a record number of cruise ships from one fleet on Sydney Harbour with celebrations continuing throughout the day and night including live concerts from more than 25 music acts and a special fireworks display.

With entertainment required across five ships, 365 days a year, P&O hires 520 bands annually, making it one of the biggest employers of Australian entertainers.

“As Australia’s only homegrown cruise line, P&O is proud to be leading the way in local cruise innovations. Not only did Pacific Aria and Pacific Eden introduce a new contemporary look and feel for our cruise line, their arrival made it possible to extend our itinerary offering like never before and build a wide range of new destinations into our schedules,” Mr Myrmell said.

“It was a big leap to expand our capacity by more than 50 per cent but we knew the demand was there and as Pacific Aria and Pacific Eden have cruised from ports right around Australia, their stylish look and exciting itineraries have helped to entice more Australians to take a cruise holiday.”

Honiara Is The Icing On The Cake for P&O Cruises

Posted: October 11, 2022

October 11, 2022Australia, Countries, Press ReleaseP&O Cruises, Papua New Guinea P&, Solomon Islands Deputy Prime MinisterRobert De Pasquale

Pacific Eden’s maiden call to Honiara in the Solomon Islands which is located on the island of Guadalcana earlier this month is the icing on the cake of maiden calls by P&O Cruises.

Since its first maiden call to Wewak in Papua New Guinea P&O Cruises made a massive 17 maiden calls in 2016 finishing up in Honiara in the Solomon Islands.

According to P&O Cruises Senior Vice President - Guest Experience Peter Little, a lot goes into planning for a maiden visit, a process that can begin years before a call is actually made.

“It involves travel to the destinations ahead of the ships to inspect suitability of the area to berth a ship or receive ships’ tenders plus meetings with various authorities to determine local regulations and customs and quarantine arrangements,” Mr Little said.

“We also need to ensure that any port facility upgrades that might be required are delivered in time; this can include wharf maintenance or installing necessary aids to navigation.

“Another requirement is detailing the specifics of each port including expected weather conditions, tides, currents and any navigation hazards. We meet with harbour masters and pilots to learn any local knowledge which might not already be officially documented,” he said.

“There is also drafting of the shore tour schedule as well as any need to improve facilities to cope with the influx of visitors from a large passenger ship. We also have discussions with various hydrographic agencies to ensure that appropriate charting is available and carry out security and safety inspections of the area.”

Guests onboard P&O’s inaugural visit to Honiara enjoyed an official lunch, which was attended by the Solomon Islands Deputy Prime Minister, the Permanent Secretary for Tourism and Culture and the Australian High Commissioner, Deputy Australian High Commissioner along with other DFAT team members.

Disabilities at Sea - P&O Cruises UK

Posted: August 17, 2022

August 17, 2022Health & Safety, Onboard Features, Tips and Adviceaccessibility, P&O CruisesRobert De Pasquale

A P&O Cruises holiday is a pronounced way to escape from the stresses of everyday life and to see the sights of countless different destinations in one of the most comforting ways conceivable.

It offers you a surprising selection of activities and entertainment, and above incomparable restaurants and bars. And of course, if you simply want to escape, there’s plenty of opportunity to do completely nothing at all.

All the ships in the P&O Cruises fleet cater for disabled passengers and P&O Cruises welcome passengers with mobility scooters, manual or electric wheelchairs or walking aids.

If your mobility is limited, please be aware that on some of P&O Cruises superior ships there can be a significant distance between venues.

Guests With Mobility Impairments

P&O Cruises welcome passengers with mobility scooters, manual or electric wheelchairs or walking aids

P&O Cruises describe a mobility scooter as a three or four wheeled battery powered chair, also denoted as a power-operated vehicle/scooter or electric scooter.

Passengers who require the use of a mobility scooter must occupy an accessible cabin, nominated suites or mini-suites.

Mobility scooters must be stated at the time of booking, or as soon as the need is identified, or else your scooter may be denied boarding.

For the protection of all P&O Cruises guests, for wheelchairs where a typical (non-adapted) cabin has been booked.

These constraints do not relate to guests booked in fully accessible cabins or some suites dependent on the width of the cabin door (suites offer a larger floor space with standard bathrooms).

For all supplementary non-adapted cabin bookings, non-collapsible wheelchairs such as electric wheelchairs must comply with the following specifications:

Width No more than 20 inches (51cm)
Weight No more than 45kg total, with non-component piece to weigh more than 20kg when disassembled
Battery Gel or Dry Cell only

Guests taking manual wheelchairs need to confirm these are collapsible, to allow them to navigate the cabin door.

If you require the use of a non-standard mobility aid please discuss this with P&O Cruises as some mobility aids are not suitable for on board use.

Elevated door thresholds are existent throughout the ships which need to be negotiated attentively and you may find the plan of the ship tighter than you are used to.

Please also be vigilant when backing out of elevators as these are often in close vicinity to the staircases. In the interest of yours and passenger safety onboard, you must drive at a safe speed.

Accessible Cabins

P&O Cruises accessible cabins feature wide doorways into the cabin and bathroom

All of P&O Cruises accessible cabins feature wide doorways into the cabin and bathroom, as well as adequate floor space for wheelchair manoeuvrability.

All accessible balcony cabins feature ramped access to the balcony.

The bathroom is a wet room style shower room which differs to ‘traditional’ bathrooms is that rather than having a built-in, enclosed shower cubicle, they room itself effectively acts as the enclosure; with a level threshold into the cabin and grab rails for shower and toilet as well as a pull down shower chair.

Should you desire to cruise in a non-adapted cabin or if no accessible cabins are available at the time of booking, you are requested to bring a collapsible wheelchair which will store safely in any cabin.

Features of accessible cabins for each cruise ship are as follows:

Arcadia is the only ship in the fleet to feature a number of partially adapted cabins, they feature a wider door way into the cabin and bathroom and a wet room style shower with fold down shower seat.

However they are NOT suitable for passenger confined to their mobility aid.

Opening the door from within the cabin will require assistance from an able bodied companion and space is very limited for manoeuvring, P&O Cruises therefore recommend some independence is required.

These cabins can accommodate a mobility scooter, please note that there will NOT be sufficient space to use your wheelchair/scooter within the cabin and will also reduce space inside the cabin.

Partially Adapted Cabins