P&O Cruises just got SUPERSIZED!

P&O Cruises has just added two HUGE ships to their fleet - the biggest yet for Aussie P&O. The new ships offer Australia a new cruise experience for 2021/2022. ▶ SUBSCRIBE for regular cruise ship updates & maritime history: https://bit.ly/38BR2DK ▶ CHECK OUT my Cunard history website: https://www.chriscunard.com/ ▶ READ: My Maritime History books: https://bit.ly/3nISs3w ▶ CHECK OUT my maritime lectures: https://www.chrisframe.com.au/ Thank you to P&O Cruises and Carnival Australia for imagery support. Video is NOT sponsored. Music: YouTube Audio. -- About this video: Before the term COVID-19 was even coined, P&O Australia had plans to revitalise their fleet. Princess Cruises’ 2001 built Grand Class vessel Golden Princess was set to be transferred to P&O Australia with the announcement made all the way back in 2017. The following year, P&O Australia revealed that it would welcome another Grand Class vessel into its stable, with the 2002 built Star Princess set to sail for the Aussie brand from 2021 as Pacific Encounter. With two “new” ships due to arrive over the coming years, P&O Australia was free to reorganise its ageing fleet, and Pacific Eden and Pacific Jewel were both retired in 2019. However the pandemic created a major roadblock for P&O Australia’s plans, with the cruise industry in a state of chaos when both Pacific Adventure and Pacific Encounter were set to join the fleet. Despite this, P&O have now accepted both ships – with them undertaking extensive refurbishments in Singapore in anticipation for their new careers. Pacific Encounter – the former Star Princess – has just emerged from her transformation; sporting a huge 20m long (that’s 65ft for those who don’t do metric) P&O brand mark on the funnel – the largest branding ever seen on a P&O ship in over 180 years of history. Internally, the 18 deck ships will emerge transformed, with the Australian brand’s signature restaurants and lounges, including the Waterfront and Blue Room as well as the Pantry – P&O’s take on a casual eatery that replaces the traditional buffet seen on many cruise ships. While by no means new ships, Pacific Adventure and Pacific Encounter are a decade newer than those they replace, and a step up in terms of scale and amenities. Carrying over 2,600 passengers they are more than 30,000 tons bigger than P&O Australia’s previously largest ships; Pacific Jewel and Pacific Dawn. Each will offer an adults only outdoor deck, multiple pools, a full-scale spa centre and P&O’s Edge experience which is known for its more extreme offerings of rope swings, rock climbing and the Titanic-style “bow” experience if you feel like being the “king of the world”. Their addition makes Pacific Explorer the baby of the fleet, but as the three ships all share a common Princess heritage, they will feel familiar and easy to navigate for both returning former-princess travellers and new P&O cruisers. Pacific Explorer is set to roam between Australian and New Zealand ports when cruising resumes, Encounter will initially focus on cruising from Brisbane while Adventure will call Sydney home. -- #cruisenews #POcruises #cruiserestart #wewillbeback #pacificadventure #pacificencounter