City’s first cruise ready to cast off
THE first cruise ship to allow passengers to board in Townsville has sold out within months of hitting the market in a major win for the city.
P& O’s Pacific Eden will leave Cairns on August 27, 2018, for an 11night cruise to Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, ending in Townsville. New passengers will board the ship in Townsville for a three- day cruise to Sydney.
Figures provided by Townsville Enterprise revealed the 400 tickets available for the first partial turnaround of a cruise liner in Townsville had all been snapped up. They went on sale in September this year.
Port of Townsville acting chief executive officer Claudia BrummeSmith hailed 2018 as a significant year for the city’s cruise industry.
She said 19 ships had been booked to visit Townsville during the year.
“The port has worked very closely with Townsville Enterprise to ensure the experience for passengers is firstclass,” she said.
Ms Brumme- Smith said Pacific Eden’s turnaround was a big step for Townsville.
“The port is well advanced in our preparations to ensure everything goes off without a hitch,” she said.
Townsville Enterprise director of tourism and events Bridget Woods said the cruise line industry would be watching how the city executed the Pacific Eden turnaround next year.
“They will be looking to see, as a city, how we manage that turnaround, the infrastructure, and how the guest experience will look like on the day of the turnaround,” she said. “The port is leading the logistics in that area, and is focused on ensuring it runs well.”
Ms Woods said there had already been a high level of strategic planning to prepare for the historic event.
“Townsville Enterprise, in conjunction with the port, has travelled to other destinations where they have executed turnarounds,” she said.
“We have a very thorough understanding of how the day needs to roll out and the processes and procedures that we need to implement to ensure that it is a successful visit.
“If that is successful, it will hopefully mean more turnarounds.”
Ms Woods said it was a long- term strategy to have the city as a home port for cruise liners.
“This trial stop by P& O’s Pacific Eden is seen as an important step in the city’s bid to have a cruise liner name the city as its home port,” she said. “It needs to be executed seamlessly and TEL and the port are doing everything we can to make sure it is.”