A ‘tribal dispute’ has been
blamed for the decision to
ditch the troubled South
Pacifc port for the rest of the
year.
AFTER SEVERAL MONTHS OF CANCELLING CALLS AT
Emerald Bay, in Poum, New Caledonia, P&O
Australia has officially dropped the
destination from its 2011 South Pacific cruises.
The last time a P&O ship called at
Emerald Bay was “late last year”, a
company spokesperson told Cr Cruise uise W Weekl eekl eekly.
However, the port has not been deleted
from the company’s website
(www.pocruises.com.au) with booked
passengers instead receiving an email to
notify them of the change.
Emerald Bay is still listed
on the P&O site as a
destination on its four
remaining ‘Crystal
Reflections’ itineraries
departing from Sydney in
July and December 2011
as well as all ‘Pacific
Escapades’, ‘Week Magique’
and ‘Island Delights’
itineraries in 2012.
“Over recent months P&O Cruises has
replaced scheduled calls to Emerald Bay
(Poum) with other Pacific Island
destinations, due to an ongoing tribal
dispute on the island,” a spokesperson said.
“P&O Cruises has now decided to extend
this action until the end of the year and will
be advising passengers accordingly.”
Mystery Island or Santo in Vanuatu have
been substituted for Emerald Bay on
affected voyages on Pacific Sun, Pacific Pearl
and Pacific Jewel.
On P&O’s Facebook page last week, a
passenger praised the line for its “decisive
action”.
P&O replied: “We’re hoping that we will
be able to revisit Poum in the near future, as
it’s a beautiful destination.
“We are happy that our relationships and
itineraries allow us to provide another
destination which is equally as pleasing.”
To have your say on these changes visit
Cruise Weekly’s Facebook page by clicking
the Facebook icon .
