The Wait Is Almost Over Pacific Explorer Arrives At Her New Homeport In Sydney, Australia Tomorrow !

In less than 24 hours’ time, P&O Cruises will welcome its latest ship to the fleet when Pacific Explorer arrives in Sydney following a multi-million-dollar refurbishment.

Tomorrow the 19^th of June 2017, Pacific Explorer will sail in to Sydney for the first time after spending 12-days in dry dock in Singapore.

While Pacific Explorer does arrive in Sydnery tomorrow the ship will do a one night media and travel agent shakedown cruise on Wednesday the 21st of June before her official first cruise on Thursday the 22nd of june 2017.

Pacific Explorer was transformed into an iconic P&O cruise ship with the help of more than 1,000 contractors who spent over 200,000 hours fitting 25,000 square metres of new carpet and painting 10,000 square metres of walls before installing over 3,000 items of new furniture and 1,200 pieces of artwork.

Similar to sister-ship Pacific Dawn, Pacific Explorer will be fitted with the longest and wildest waterslides at sea and an interactive water park. One slide is transparent so that spectators can watch guests shoot through its twists and turns, while the other slide is multi-coloured, with music pumping through it to give guests a high-impact ride to the bottom.

Pacific Explorer will also wear the signature Southern Cross livery emblazoned on her hull, which was also debuted by Pacific Dawn in March this year.

New and exclusive to Pacific Explorer are two new 'fast-casual' dining options:

Luke's, a poolside grill by Australian chef and restaurateur Luke Mangan and 400 Gradi, a traditional Neapolitan pizzeria by award-winning Melbourne chef Johnny Di Francesco.

Relaxation and good times will also be on the menu in Pacific Explorer's elegant new small bar, The Bonded Store, featuring a cocktail list created in partnership with Sydney-based award-winning Archie Rose Distilling Co, as well as whisky and gin-making classes.

Guests can also enjoy a cocktail or two on the upper deck playing outdoor lawn bowls – an Australian cruise ship first.

Offering something for everyone on board, guests will also be able to dine in the ship's Waterfront Restaurant, try a taste of la dolce vita in its Italian restaurant Angelo's, relax in the sultry atmosphere of the pan-Asian restaurant Dragon Lady or be spoilt for choice in The Pantry, an international marketplace of nine fresh food outlets already popular across the P&O Cruises' Australia fleet.

P&O Cruises President Sture Myrmell said Pacific Explorer would be a fitting new addition to the fleet.

"Pacific Explorer is the next stage in the evolution of P&O, building on our very popular modern Australian holiday offering with some exciting new features. We've taken the winning features of our existing ships and added a whole new layer of excitement with some big wow moments like the waterslides and the bowling green and The Bonded Store, which we're sure will put a smile on our guests' faces. It really will be a ship that offers something for everyone and we can't wait to show her off to our guests"

“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.

On-board 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.

Information supplied by : P&O Cruises Australia.

www.australiancruisingnews.com.au

Photos supplied by: P&O Cruises Australia.