Pacific Aria and Pacific Eden may have launched the new, sophisticated era for P&O Cruises’, but Pacific Explorer will be the ship to really drive the cruise line’s evolution when she sets sail next year.
Speaking at the unveiling of the vessel in Sydney last night, P&O’s President, Sture Myrmell, described Explorer as the “next step” in the line’s progression, which includes more passenger capacity, extra dining spaces and new, exciting activities.
“Adding Eden and Aria expanded the company’s national footprint by providing opportunity to homeport across the country,” he said.
“They [Eden and Aria] also delivered an all new look and feel, Explorer will take that one step further.”
Sture Myrmell, P&O Cruises President
Although the former Princess Cruises vessel resembles its sister Eden and Aria, she’s distinctly different with her range of firsts for the cruise line.
For example, Explorer will be fitted with P&O favourite, Salt Grill by Luke Mangan. The venue will fit the same amount of guests and feature many of the same dishes, however, it will be located on deck 14 where guests will have a view of the ocean and the entire pool deck.
The buffet-replacement, The Pantry, will be found on board, along with P&O’s Italian restaurant, Angelo’s which will fit more diners in its revised design.
‘The Bar’, which made its debut in Eden and Aria, will also be found on Explorer, however, she’ll be noticeably different with new wallpaper, while the popular P&O Edge Adventure Park will be available with activities such as the flying fox, while those seeking a more relaxed pace will be able to head to the back deck for a cruisey game of barefoot bowls.
Familiar features aside, Explorer will usher in a range of P&O firsts, including The Black Circus, a cabaret-style restaurant/club venue offering delicious food served with a side of cabaret entertainment, and there’s the cruise line’s first pizza place where hand-tossed pizzas will be made to order at the top of the atrium.
But perhaps the coolest part of the entire ship, which makes it all that much better than Eden and Aria, is the waterpark at sea featuring not only, one but two slides. Each slide has its own unique experience, which Sture said was done deliberately to give cruisers more choice.
The first, offers LED lights and sound effects and the second has heart-racing twists and turns.
Guests of all ages will be able to enjoy the waterpark, with a shaded area for kids featuring a dumping bucket and oversized water toys.
The multi-million dollar renovation from Dawn Princess to Pacific Explorer will commence in May and June next year. Her first cruise under P&O will depart on 22 June 2017 from Sydney.