VANUATU (CU)_P&O Cruises Australia and the government of Vanuatu will collaborate beginning in November to resume sailings to the idyllic island nation. Two voyages will set sail from Australia during this period to test procedures and reinforce the introduction of cruising to Vanuatu.
This comes after Vanuatu opted to eliminate the requirement for pre-arrival testing for all visitors arriving by air or sea.
Beginning in November with two P&O trips, there will gradually be more stops made in Vanuatu by cruise ships.
The Pacific Encounter, which left Brisbane on November 5 and the Pacific Adventure, which departs Sydney on November 14, will carry the first and second passengers back to Vanuatu, respectively.
With the return of cruise tourism to Vanuatu, New Zealand, New Caledonia, and Papua New Guinea, according to Marguerite Fitzgerald, president of Carnival Australia and P&O Cruises Australia, the company’s network of South Pacific locations is now complete.
She thanked the Vanuatuan government for entrusting P&O Cruises Australia to make it possible for cruising to the island country to resume.
We reiterate our commitment to Vanuatu’s island inhabitants, for whom tourism is a crucial source of income, and we commend the government for taking a balanced approach to reinstating cruising. We hope and anticipate that these initial P&O trips will result in Vanuatu’s reopening to ships from our other brands, including Princess Cruises and Carnival Cruise Line, said Ms. Fitzgerald. “It will be fantastic to reconnect with island communities in Vanuatu,” she added.
“We are grateful to the government of Vanuatu for placing their confidence in P&O Cruises Australia to help pave the way for the broader reintroduction of cruising to their country,” she said.
”We respect the government’s decision to reintroduce cruising in such a careful and respectful way and reaffirm our commitment to Vanuatu’s island communities for whom cruising is such an important part of their economic life.”
“It will be fantastic to reconnect with island communities in Vanuatu and we hope and expect that these initial P&O cruises will lead to Vanuatu’s reopening to ships from our other brands, including Princess Cruises and Carnival Cruise Line,” Ms Fitzgerald said.
