Pacific Pearl debuts in Australia
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Sydney has kicked off one of its busiest ever cruise periods, with the arrival of P&O Cruises’ latest superliner, Pacific Pearl, in Sydney Harbour last week.
Pacific Pearl’s maiden visit to Sydney marks the first of 27 ship visits to the city by 21 different ships over the 28 days of February during Sydney’s biggest ever cruise season.
Other maiden visits during the month will include the first Sydney call by Seabourn’s ultra-luxury ship Sojourn on Saturday (5 February) and the inaugural Australian visit of Cunard’s new liner Queen Elizabeth which will hold a Royal Rendezvous with her big sister Queen Mary 2 on Sydney Harbour on 22 February.
Launched in Auckland in December, P&O Cruises’ Pacific Pearl is the latest addition to P&O Cruises’ fleet, which now includes four ships.
The 63,500-tonne liner carries 1,800 passengers and features a giant pool-side entertainment screen, P&O Cruises’ largest ever teen centre and a swim-up bar, as well as a ‘Salt Grill by Luke Mangan’ and Aqua HealthSpaFitness centre.
Welcoming Pacific Pearl to Sydney today, Ann Sherry, CEO of Carnival Australia, which operates P&O Cruises Australia, said; “Not only is Australia becoming more popular on the international cruise map, but more Australians are taking to the seas for a cruise holiday.”
Pacific Pearl’s debut takes P&O Cruises’ fleet to a record size with four ships carrying 8,000 cruise passengers between them on any given day.
“During 2011 we expect to carry more than 300,000 Australians on P&O Cruises’ holidays alone. That’s more than twice the number we were carrying just two years ago, which just demonstrates the incredible popularity of cruise holidays,” Ms Sherry said.
Ms Sherry attributed the industry’s growth to increased consumer awareness of the value for money offered by all-inclusive holidays as well as the wide range of ships and onboard features now available.
Pacific Pearl joins Pacific Jewel, Pacific Dawn and Pacific Sun in the P&O Cruises fleet.
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