P&O Cruises Australia today announced that Pacific Eden would leave its fleet next year as part of the cruise line’s commitment to refresh its fleet over time.
A commercial arrangement has been reached to transfer the ship in April 2019 as part of P&O Cruises’ preparation for the arrival of the more modern and larger 2600-guest Golden Princess in 2020.
And P&O Cruises also announced it would start offering voyages on Golden Princess before the end of this year.
President of P&O Cruises Australia and Carnival Australia, Sture Myrmell, said today’s announcement regarding Pacific Eden was a deliberate step to take the home grown cruise brand forward.
“While we are always sad to farewell ships, this is an exciting step forward for the brand and consistent with our comments over the past six months that the P&O Cruises Australia fleet was ready to be refreshed over time,” Mr Myrmell said.
“This development is proof positive that we are on the course of ensuring P&O Cruises Australia has the right ships for a contemporary brand operating in a competitive market.”
In September last year, Carnival Australia made a series of announcements about the local deployment across its brands, including a decision to refresh the P&O Cruises’ fleet over time.
Pacific Eden joined the local fleet at the end of 2015 and was one of the first ships to be transformed to reflect P&O’s modern Australian look-and -feel.
“I have a lot of affection for Pacific Eden because of her important role in bringing to life the distinctly modern P&O product with its signature spaces and refined decor, which have since been reflected on Pacific Explorer,” Mr Myrmell said.
“Pacific Eden gave us opportunities to take our product in a new direction, and we are primed to keep transforming our fleet with the addition of Golden Princess in 2020.
“We are currently working on itineraries for Golden Princess and I am pleased to confirm these will be on sale before the end of the year, which gives our loyal guests much to be excited about.”
Pacific Eden’s final voyage will depart on 16 March 2019 before being transferred to a new operator in early April 2019. The new operator has asked for its details to remain confidential until such time as it is ready to make its own announcement.
P&O Cruises Australia will assist those guests who are booked on Pacific Eden after this date to make alternative arrangements, including their choice of:
With more than a year to go before Pacific Eden exits the P&O Cruises fleet, P&O will contact all guests over the coming weeks to provide further information on alternative options.
“We apologise for the inconvenience this may cause some guests and will work hard to find alternatives for those whose holiday plans are affected in a year’s time when Pacific Eden leaves the fleet in April 2019,” Mr Myrmell said.
“We also thank guests for their patience because it is likely to take some weeks to put everything in place.”
SOURCE: P&O Cruises