P&O Australia ships to test the careful resumption of cruising in VanuatuP&O Australia ships to test the careful resumption of cruising in Vanuatu

Vanuatu is the last South Pacific cruise destination to reopen its maritime border.

Pacific Encounter calling November 9

Pacific Encounter, departing Brisbane on November 5, will be the first ship to return to Vanuatu when she calls at Port Vila on November 9.

She will be followed by Pacific Adventure which leaves Sydney on November 14 to visit Mystery Island on November 18, Port Vila on November 19 and Santo on November 20. 

‘Following on from the reopening of cruising to New Zealand, New Caledonia and Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu’s decision to reopen completes the network of cruise destinations that makes the Pacific one of the world’s most dynamic regions for cruise tourism,’ Marguerite Fitzgerald, president of Carnival Australia and P&O Cruises Australia, said.

Gratitude to government

‘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,’ Fitzgerald 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.’