P&O Cruises launches new Jewel
14 December
P&O Cruises launched its latest superliner Pacific Jewel in Sydney in a spectacular ceremony on Saturday night, marking the continued growth of the Australian cruise industry.
The Governor-General of Australia, Ms Quentin Bryce AC, officially named the superliner by breaking a bottle of champagne above its decks, while thousands of Sydneysiders celebrated at a special P&O Cruises’ South Pacific party beside the ship, featuring fireworks and performances by Idol singers Stan Walker and Wes Carr.
Ann Sherry, CEO of Carnival Australia, which operates P&O Cruises, said the debut of Pacific Jewel represented a massive 50 percent increase in the size of P&O Cruises’ fleet, which was riding a wave of unprecedented consumer demand.
Sherry said official figures showed that more than 330,000 Australians took a cruise holiday in 2008, up 26 percent on the previous year, with the now contributing approximately $1.2 billion to the economy, according to a new Access Economics report.
“Australia is one of the fastest growing cruise markets in the world, so we’re responding by introducing more ships and increasing the number of Australian ports we sail from,” Sherry said.
Carrying 1950 passengers, the 70,000 tonne Pacific Jewel features a number of firsts for the Australian cruise market, including the largest spa at sea on an Australian ship, an open-air deck with aerial stage for circus and music performances and the first restaurant at sea for internationally renowned chef, Luke Mangan.
The superliner will be based full time in Sydney, offering cruises to destinations in the South Pacific. She departed Sydney last night on her inaugural cruise – a five-night roundtrip voyage to Tasmania.
The new superliner makes way for the redeployment of P&O Cruises’ existing ships, with Pacific Dawn, to be based in Brisbane, and Pacific Sun, sailing from Newcastle, Fremantle and Sydney.
A fourth ship, Pacific Pearl, will join the cruise line in December 2010, sailing from Sydney and Auckland.
The launch evening raised almost $50,000 for two charities nominated by the Governor-General, the Leukaemia Foundation of Australia and Special Olympics Australia. A key part of the fundraising was the auction of a an exquisite jewel necklace created for the event by Hardy Brothers Jewellers, as well as a public raffle of a Pacific Jewel cruise.