P&O Cruises Australia Announces New Ship To Join Fleet, And Bids Farewell To The  Much Loved Pacific Jewel.

P&O Cruises Australia announced a second Grand Class ship will join the family while bidding farewell to one of its “jewels” as part of the cruise line’s commitment to refresh the fleet over time. Carrying more than 3,100 guests, Star Princess will join her sister ship, Golden Princess, in the P&O Cruises Australia fleet from the end of 2021.

Star Princess will replace the much-loved and considerably smaller Pacific Jewel, which will leave P&O Cruises in March next year, by which time she will have served the brand for almost 10 years. President of P&O Cruises and Carnival Australia, Sture Myrmell, said welcoming two Grand Class ships – Star Princess and Golden Princess – was part of the evolution of the P&O Cruises fleet.

In September last year, P&O Cruises announced its plan to refresh its fleet over time, continuing to evolve the guest experience and creating economies of scale necessary to compete effectively in today’s environment.

Its the second time in the space of a year were P&O Cruises Australia has sold off a ship and where passengers who have been booked on Pacific Eden cruise beyond the sailing dates of April 2019 have also been required to change there dates dxue to this.

Many passengers who were looking at booking a cruise or who may have been booked on Pacific Jewel have taken to social media to vent their frustration at P&O Cruises Australia.

Australian Cruising News.com.au has read many Un savory and ill informed comments on various differnt faebook groups such as Cruising with honey and P&O Ausralia Cruse Club just to name a few, where many people have made many comments voicing there displeasure at P&O Cruises Australia, with people saying:

As someone affected by this I am really disappointed in the way P&O have handled this, customers should have been sent an email before they put it on social media. I am a really positive person and I always stick up for P&O but they have cost a lot of people money in air fares etc.

While another person has said:

So for nearly 2 years they're only going to have 3 vessels? Wow! With Australians and Kiwis cruising more and more each year, they're going to lose a lot of loyal customers who will discover the better offerings of their competitors. I hope they've thought this through!

What many people dont understand is that the cruising industry here in Australia is always revolving and that the cruise companies have different requrements and may require to move or aquire differnt ships to suit their operational needs.

“Pacific Jewel has been a jewel by name and by nature. I feel sentimental farewelling a much-loved ship but excited for the future because the addition of two bigger ships is a game-changer for P&O Cruises Australia and its guests,” Mr Myrmell said.

“P&O Cruises Australia is all about offering a great value cruise holiday that celebrates modern Australia across food, entertainment, activities and service delivered in a contemporary setting. We are ensuring P&O Cruises has the right ships for a contemporary brand operating in a competitive market.”

Mr Myrmell said P&O Cruises would continue to base ships year-round in its key homeports of Sydney and Brisbane as well as offering seasonal sailings from other Australian states and New Zealand.

A transformed Golden Princess will join the P&O Cruises fleet in October 2020 while her sister ship, Star Princess, will join P&O Cruises at the end of 2021. Pacific Jewel’s final voyage will depart from Melbourne on 24 February, 2019 before being transferred to a new operator following her sale.

P&O Cruises will assist guests affected by deployment changes to make alternative arrangements, including their choice of:

◦ Rebooking on equivalent or near equivalent cruises on other P&O Cruises’ ships

◦ Offering a choice of alternative cruises on other ships in the P&O Cruises’ fleet where a near equivalent match is not possible Providing a full refund to guests for whom no alternative cruise choice is suitable (any guest whose cruise is cancelled can choose to obtain a full refund).

P&O Cruises will contact all guests over the coming weeks to provide further information on alternative options.

Mr Myrmell said:

“We apologize for the inconvenience this may cause some guests and will work hard to find alternatives for those whose holiday plans are affected.

We also thank guests for their patience because it is likely to take some weeks to put everything in place but we hope this good news will be well received by our loyal guests,”.

Dedicated telephone and email channels have been established for guests who have questions related to an affected cruise:

◦ Australia Phone line: 1300 550 491

◦ New Zealand Phone line: 0800 543 177

◦ Email Address: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Information supplied by: P&O Cruises Australia And www.australiancruisingnews.com.au The HOME Of Australian Cruising!

Golden Princess Photo supplied by: http://morgan-photo.com/portfolio/the-golden-princess-arrives-in-melbourne-30th-oct-2015/