P&O Cruises Australia unveil five-ship 2015-16 programme

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

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Published: 06 August 2014 06 August 2014

P&O Cruises Australia, which is part of the Carnival Corp & plc group, has unveiled details of its biggest ever year of cruising in Australia, with a record five-ship fleet opening the way for new cruises from Cairns and Singapore as well as the cruise line’s largest presence yet in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Fremantle, Adelaide and Auckland.

The company will employ Pacific Aria and Pacific Eden, both of about 52,000 gross tons and built in the early 1990s for sister company Holland America Line, from next year. They will jon the three existing vessels making the five strong fleet the largest the Sydney based company has ever operated.

"With 250 cruises on offer in the 2015-16 program, P&O Cruises will be sailing into new waters, offering a host of maiden itineraries and inaugural port visits to exotic destinations such as Honiara in the Solomon Islands, Jakarta in Indonesia, and Ko Chang in Thailand as well as local gems like Queensland’s Hamilton Island and Gladstone, Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula and Esperance in Western Australia," the company said in a statement..

The record program will kick off in a spectacular fashion next year with the cruise line’s latest ships – Pacific Eden and Pacific Aria – joining the existing fleet of Pacific Dawn, Pacific Jewel and Pacific Pearl in Sydney Harbour for an unprecedented five-ship display on November 25, 2015. 

The nation’s cruising gateway, Sydney has never before hosted five cruise ships from one cruise line on the same day. The P&O Cruises’ spectacular will bring more than 15,000 interstate and local passengers and crew to the heart of the city and attract thousands of onlookers.

Announcing the new 2015-16 program, which goes on sale on August 19, Ann Sherry, CEO of P&O Cruises, said the addition of Pacific Eden and Pacific Aria to the cruise line’s fleet had opened the way for some exciting new cruise options, with the cruise line now offering an unprecedented choice of destinations.

“With five ships in our fleet we can now meet the growing demand for cruise holidays from around Australia, with extended seasons from existing homeports and the addition of new homeports such as Cairns.  Plus more ships means we can visit some wonderful new towns around Australia and the Pacific, on a fantastic range of itineraries which are looking more attractive than ever,” Ms Sherry said.

The new program will see Pacific Eden sailing from Fremantle, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Cairns and Singapore, while Pacific Aria will enjoy seasons in Sydney and Brisbane. Pacific Jewel will sail from Sydney and Melbourne, Pacific Dawn from Brisbane and Pacific Pearl from Sydney and Auckland.

Fares in the program start from $549* per person quad share for a three-night P&OSeaBreak cruise, while a 10-night island cruise is priced from $1199* per person quad share.

Highlights include:

• A maiden season of eight roundtrip cruises from Cairns by Pacific Eden from September to November 2016 including four seven-night cruises to Papua New Guinea as well as two 10-night cruises to Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands
• A record Fremantle season with Pacific Eden sailing from the WA port between April and July 2016 on 13 cruises.  Options include a new cruise to Indonesia with maiden calls to Jakarta, Probolinggo and Makassar as well as four P&OSeaBreak cruises and a new four-night cruise visiting Esperance
• P&O Cruises’ largest ever Melbourne season featuring its first summer sailings from the Victorian capital from December 2015 to March 2016. Options include a 12-night Christmas Melanesian cruise, a New Year cruise visiting the south coast of Australia and Tasmania and three 4-night P&OSeabreaks visiting Kangaroo Island
• P&O Cruises’ biggest ever Brisbane deployment with Pacific Aria spending a total of 8 months during 2015-16 sailing from the Queensland capital alongside the city’s year round ship Pacific Dawn. New cruises include an 18-night P&O Explorer itinerary visiting Vanuatu, Fiji, Tonga and Samoa and a seven night New Year cruise visiting Hamilton Island, Cairns, and Willis Island (scenic cruising)
• Adelaide’s biggest cruise season featuring five roundtrip cruises including three 4-night P&OSeabreaks visiting Port Lincoln and Melbourne and two 3-night themed cruises
• P&O Cruises’ longest ever Auckland season with 18 roundtrip cruises from February to June 2016. Options include four-night cruises spending a day in Napier or Bay of Islands,  a new 15-night cruise to Fiji, Tonga and the Cook Islands and a new 10-night roundtrip itinerary circumnavigating New Zealand with a maiden call to Stewart Island
• Pacific Eden will offer a Singapore season from July 2016 featuring five cruises to destinations in some of the most picturesque parts of Indonesia, Thailand and Cambodia, with maiden calls to Krabi, Sabang (Palau Weh), Ko Chang, and Sihanoukville
• A record 84 P&OSeabreaks cruises including; anew four-night Hamilton Island cruise from Brisbane, new four-night Kangaroo Island P&OSeabreaks from Melbourne and three-night P&OSeabreaks to Margaret River from Fremantle as well as a four-night cruise to Esperance

Lineup of leading industry speakers announced for 2014 Cruise Shipping Asia-Pacific Conference

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

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Published: 06 August 2014 06 August 2014

As it enters its fourth edition, Cruise Shipping Asia-Pacific will present the most prominent voices in the Asia cruise market to lead the conference, slated for November 20-21, 2014.

This year's conference will analyze the market potential and challenges associated with the emerging Asia cruise market as well as explore the infrastructure and itinerary development opportunities.

Beginning Thursday morning, November 20th, Zinan Liu, Vice President, China and Asia, Royal Caribbean Cruises Limited, will open the event with the keynote address. Immediately following will be “The State of the Cruise Industry in Asia” featuring Michael Hackman, EVP – Cruise Operations, Genting Hong Kong Limited; Dominic Paul, SVP International, Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises & Azamara Club Cruises and Managing Director, RCL Cruises Ltd; and Ann Sherry, CEO, Carnival Australia, and Chairman, CLIA SE Asia.

Thursday afternoon will feature concurrent sessions “The Operating Environment in Asia” and “Focus on China.” Friday morning’s concurrent sessions include “How Asia Will Grow as a Source Market” and “Cruise Infrastructure Across Asia,” followed by “Itinerary Development Across the Region” and “Shipbuilding and Refurbishment in Asian Yards” running concurrently in the afternoon.

National Geographic Orion to undergo renovations

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

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Published: 06 August 2014 06 August 2014

Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic has announced that National Geographic Orion will undergo renovations to two public spaces during dry dock this September.  The renovations will be made to two public spaces: The Lounge (main) and the Observation Lounge, and are being redesigned to better serve the dynamic, learning-oriented community of guests and staff aboard.

The renovations are being done by ICF Singapore, a world leader in interior ship design, and will be completed in time for the September 16, 2014 Wild Encounters from Borneo to Bali expedition.
 
Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic launched the 102-guest National Geographic Orion in March 2014. While she has retained all her state-of-the-art comforts, the ship was equipped with a full roster of exploration tools including tandem kayaks, an innovative ROV (remotely operated vehicle reaching depths up to 1,000 feet), snorkeling gear for all, a dive master, scuba gear that can accommodate up to 24 divers at a time, and a glass bottom boat.

Lusitania exhibition to be assembled for commemoration cruise aboard Queen Victoria

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

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Published: 06 August 2014 06 August 2014

Cunard has commissioned historian Eric Sauder to produce a temporary exhibition of Lusitania memorabilia that will be displayed on board Queen Victoria during her 3 May 2015 voyage commemorating the loss of Lusitania 100 years earlier. Eric Sauder has been interested in ocean liners, particularly Lusitania, for more than 30 years, with his first job being a tour guide on Queen Mary in Long Beach, California. He has dived on the wreck of Lusitania and has authored two books on the subject: RMS Lusitania: The Ship and Her Record and The Unseen Lusitania: The Ship in Rare Illustrations, the latter to be released for the 100th anniversary of the sinking.

Lusitania was the first of 22 Cunard ships lost in the First World War. On 7 May 2015 it will be exactly 100 years since the Cunard flagship was torpedoed while en route from New York to Liverpool. The ship sank approximately 11 miles off the old Head of Kinsale in Ireland.

This special seven-night Lusitania Remembered cruise by Queen Victoria will commemorate the loss of Lusitania and the other Cunard ships in World War One. Queen Victoria will call at Cobh (formerly Queenstown) on 7 May 2015. Cobh will forever be associated with the tragedy. The sinking was a human catastrophe on a scale that this small town had not experienced before or since. People there witnessed first-hand the trauma, tragedy and heartbreak that ensued. The dead, the injured and the bereaved were brought among a community that mobilised itself and responded with courage and compassion to their needs.

"The sinking of Lusitania was a tragedy and we intend to mark the anniversary of her sinking on 7 May 2015 in a fitting and respectful way,” said David Dingle, CEO of Cunard Line. “But her story was also one of triumph in the technical achievement of her construction and her glittering career from 1907 until the outbreak of war. We are pleased to be working with Eric Sauder on this exhibition that will recall that triumph and tragedy, and bring an added element on this special Lusitania voyage which the passengers who book this special cruise will experience."

Eric Sauder said, "I have been fascinated will all things Lusitania for many years and am pleased to be working with Cunard on this exhibition that I hope will bring to life the Lusitania story in a unique way.”

All passengers aboard Queen Victoria will be invited to attend a special service ashore as well as witness a number of other tributes occurring that day, and a Commemorative Dinner will be held for them that night on board the ship.

Sailing from and back to Southampton, the Lusitania Remembered voyage will call at St. Peter Port (Guernsey), Le Havre, Cobh and Dublin. Cunard fares start from $1399 per person for an inside cabin and from $2099 for a balcony cabin.

The Lusitania exhibit will feature china, silver, brochures, postcards, memorabilia and souvenirs that will bring to life the story of Cunard's flagship.

Lusitania and her sister Mauretania were the first of the floating palaces and today still conjure up images of power, speed, Palm Courts, Smoking Rooms, afternoon tea and grand staircases.