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P&O Cruises' Latest Ship Pacific Aria Makes Maiden Visit to Newcastle As City Experiences Cruise Boom

P&O Cruises’ latest ship, Pacific Aria, has made her maiden visit toNewcastle today, signaling the growing popularity of the port city as a cruisedestination.<?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

The 55,820-tonne Pacific Aria docked at Channel Berth about 8am allowingits 1500 guests to spend the day exploring the city and surrounding areasincluding Stockton’s sand dunes, dolphin cruises at Port Stephens andfoodand wine tasting tours of the Hunter Valley.

The visit is part of Pacific Aria’s first Australia Day cruise – a five-nightroundtrip cruise from Brisbane which also included a day in Sydney Harbour onJanuary 26 – and is expected to inject close to $300,000 into the localeconomy.

P&O accounts for almost half of the cruise calls to Newcastle thisseason, with three of its five-ship fleet visiting the port city on fiveseparate occasions between November 2015 and May 2016 - a significant increaseon the cruise line’s single visit during the 2014-15 summer cruise season. Thisseason’s five calls are expected to deliver a combined financial contributionof about $1.5 million to the local economy.

Pacific Aria will leave at 6pm this evening and will return on March 2,2016, as part of a dedicated four-night Newcastle cruise from Brisbane.

P&O Cruises Australia President Sture Myrmell said Newcastle was anincreasingly popular call for P&O following the expansion of its fleet lastyear, which had opened up new itinerary opportunities.

“Newcastle has a lot to offer our guests, from its beautiful beaches tothe nearby Hunter Valley wine region. Its location between Melbourne andBrisbane makes it an ideal destination for our increasingly popular shortbreaks, providing a great way for holidaymakers from Victoria and Queensland toenjoy a long weekend indulging in some of the best food and wine Australia hasto offer both onboard our ships and in the Hunter region,” Mr Myrmell said.

Featuring a relaxed, stylish design which reflects modern Australia,Pacific Aria and sister ship Pacific Eden host a range of new featuresincluding the cruise line’s first Cellar Door which offers a taste of theHunter Valley at sea with an exclusive Glandore Estate wine tasting experience.

Glandore is one offour Hunter Valley wineries featured on P&Oships, with wines from Margan, Cockfighter’s Ghost and Tyrell's also offeredonboard.

For more information visit pocruises.com.au, or see alicensed travel agent.

Notes to editors: Theregion’s largest and longest-serving cruise operator, P&O Cruises Australialeads the way in cruising as Australasia's only 'home brand' and its favouritecruise line. P&O Cruises has been sailing the region for more than 80years, and has pioneered new destinations around Australia, the Pacific andAsia including Papua New Guinea, as reported in the New York Times’ 52 topdestinations for 2015. P&O Cruises is the nation’s largest cruiseline with five ships cruising from eight home ports in Australia, New Zealandand Singapore. In November 2015 Pacific Aria and Pacific Eden were added to thecruise line’s existing three-ship fleet and in 2017 P&O Cruises willwelcome its latest ship – Pacific Explorer. In another milestone, P&O willbecome the first cruise line to build a ship specifically for the local market,launching abrand new 135,500-tonne ship in 2019 - the biggest cruise shipever to be based fulltime in Australia.

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