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New Zealand cancellations extended by P&O Cruises Australia

P&O Cruises Australia is extending a rolling pause in operations in New Zealand to departures until April.

The line, which has based ships in Auckland for many years, will then return to New Zealand with a dedicated 150-day season in July 2022.

Initially scheduled to start sailing from Auckland from February 6, the ship Pacific Explorer’s operations were previously paused to March 4 and are now paused until April 25, affecting nine departures.

Pacific Adventure is currently due to begin sailing from Sydney on April 30 while Pacific Encounter is due to sail from Brisbane from May 7 – although additional voyages may be added earlier, depending on the timing of the return of cruising in Australia.

The extended cancellations come as the Carnival Corporation-owned brand and the wider industry continues to work with government and public health authorities on the appropriate time to restart sailing.

The company will pay refunds back to travel agents for passengers who booked through the trade. The cruise line also pledged to protect travel agent commissions on all bookings for cancelled cruises that were paid in full by January 5, 2021.

P&O Cruises Australia president Sture Myrmell said the start of a new year brought renewed optimism and confidence.

But, it was important at the same time to remain realistic about the more immediate future.

He added: “We know that much better days lie ahead and we remain positive about the resumption of cruising. While we’ve paused operations, P&O Cruises together with the wider industry has been using the time wisely to plan for cruising’s return.

“As we work towards this goal, we wanted to provide our Kiwi guests with as much certainty as possible and flexibility around their 2021 bookings and an opportunity to reschedule their cruise holiday for 2022 or beyond.”

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