Kaleidoscope - P&O Adds Dick Smith NRL Auckland Nines to Main Event Line Up

P&O Adds Dick Smith NRL Auckland Nines to Main Event Line Up

Rugby league fans will be cruising to next year’s DickSmith NRL Auckland Nines under a new partnership between the National RugbyLeague, P&O Cruises and Sportsnet Holidays.

To give P&O Cruises’ guests a taste of TheGreatest Weekend of Rugby League, Sportsnet Holidays has created an exclusiveeight-night package which will see NRL fans depart Sydney on Pacific Pearl onJanuary 31, 2016, and cruise to Auckland for four nights before spending anextra four nights in Auckland to attend the league competition at Eden Park.

Priced from $1765* per person, the Sportsnet Holidayspackage includes a return flight from Auckland to Sydney, a full weekend passto the Nines on February 6 and 7, 2016, and a Friday night kick off functionincluding dinner, drinks, and NRL guests.

The special voyage to the Nines boosts P&OCruises’ star-studded main event line up which already includes majorinternational sporting events the Melbourne Cup and Australian Open Tennis.

“Like most Aussies, our guests are massive sports fansand we already show rugby league on the big screen on the top deck of P&OCruises’ ships each week during the season,” P&O Cruises Senior VicePresident Sture Myrmell said.

“For many Australians this will be a dream holiday – afew days cruising across the Tasman plus some great rugby league in the lead-upto the start of the 2016 NRL season.”

Mr Myrmell said the partnership would put the NRLalongside the country’s biggest sporting events as a cruise event partner.

About 8000 people will cruise to the EmiratesMelbourne Cup this year, with P&O Cruises also sailing to the AustralianOpen Tennis in January.

NRL Head of Football Todd Greenberg said the DickSmith NRL Auckland Nines was one of the most popular events on the rugby leaguecalendar.

“Although only two years old, the Dick Smith NRLAuckland Nines has been an outstanding success for the NRL and the city ofAuckland,” Mr Greenberg said.

“The event already attracts thousands of people fromAustralia and other nations, and this partnership with P&O Cruisesdemonstrates that it is a truly international event.

“The NRL is always looking for exciting opportunitiesto partner with the private sector and showcase what a fantastic game we have,which is why we are excited about joining with P&O Cruises.”

For more information or to book visit: #
*Subject to availability, terms and conditions apply.Sportsnet Holidays is the Exclusive Official Travel Agent of the event

About P&O Cruises: The region’s largest andlongest-serving cruise operator, P&O Cruises Australia leads the way incruising as Australasia's only 'home brand' and its favourite cruise line.P&O Cruises has been sailing the region for more than 80 years, and haspioneered new destinations around Australia, the Pacific and Asia including PapuaNew Guinea, as reported in the New York Times’ 52 top destinations for 2015. OnNovember 25, 2015, P&O Cruises will welcome two additional ships to itscurrent three-ship fleet becoming the nation’s largest cruise line with fiveships cruising from eight home ports in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore.The addition of Pacific Aria and Pacific Eden has paved the way for excitingnew cruise options including deployments from every mainland state in Australiaand an extended deployment from Auckland. The pair herald a new era for P&OCruises, as reflected in its new brand repositioning - P&O Cruises, Like noPlace on Earth.

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