Crosby said a lot of hard work has been done by the Townsville White and Grey Ship-Attraction Committee over the past 18 months into luring more cruise ships to the port which is 1,360km north of Brisbane.
She said the partial turnaround of Pacific Eden in September 2018 ‘is a huge step forward to achieving our end goal of home-porting.’
She said it wll mean the creation of jobs as well as more money flowing through the local economy.
‘Most importantly, it means people in our region will be able to embark on a cruise holiday from Townsville,’ she said.
‘We are very appreciative that P&O Cruises Australia has given us this opportunity and I know that Townsville will be up to the task.’
A P&O spokesperson said the company is looking forward to its scheduled calls to Townsville next year made possible by the addition
of Pacific Eden (Holland America Line’s former Statendam) and Pacific Aria (the former Ryndam) to the fleet.
‘Together these ships have driven much of the cruise passenger growth in Australia since their introduction in November 2015, giving the company greater flexibility to increase its range of regional destinations,’ the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said that around 400 passengers will embark and disembark in the mini turnaround trial in September next year.
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