P&O Cruises Ship to Receive Exciting Upgrades

P&O Cruises Australia’s Pacific Encounter has made its final Australian port of call before a planned three-week drydock, which will add exciting and adventurous features to the Grand-class vessel.

Homeported in Brisbane, the ship will return to Singapore drydock to Australian waters, refreshed and upgraded with new activities for guests to enjoy.

Pacific Ocean Encounter heading to dry dock

Pacific Encounter will enter a three-week drydock in Singapore after completing its current voyage, a 14-night one-way “Indonesian Explorer” voyage from Brisbane to Singapore, calling at Airlie Beach and Darwin in Queensland along the way, as well as Benoa and Lembar in Indonesia.

The call in Darwin on Monday 30 January 2023 is particularly significant as the cruise line’s first visit to that port since the cruise resumed. This is even more significant as Pacific Encounter was the first ship to resume year-round sailing from Brisbane once the cruise returned from the 26-month layoff in Australia.

Pacific Encounter Dry Dock (Photo credit: P&O Australia)

The remaining visits on Pacific Encounter’s itinerary – visits to Benoa and Lembar – will also be the first cruise visits to those exotic ports since the cruise resumed, further signaling that cruising is back in this highly desirable region.

The ship will arrive in Singapore on Monday, February 6, 2023, and after offloading her 1,730 guests for this particular cruise, will enter drydock for exciting upgrades.

Exciting additions to Pacific Encounter

Pacific Encounter’s planned upgrades focus largely on adventure options, including the two Twin Racer waterslides, which stretch 466 feet (142 meters) from a height of 53 feet (16 meters).

Even more exciting is the addition of the P&O Edge Adventure Park, which will include a variety of adrenaline-pumping thrills such as a 180ft (55m) Zipline, Rock Climbing Wall, Cargo Net, Walk the Plank and Beam Walk, which each attraction sit a heart-stopping 33 feet (10 meters) above Deck 16 for spectacular views on top of spectacular excitement.

“These exciting additions will mark the completion of our three-fleet transformation and bring us another step closer to a full and ‘normal’ sailing season. And of course we look forward to welcoming our Brisbane guests back on board and seeing the joy as they race down the new slides and test out the adrenaline-pumping activities at sea when she returns,” said Marguerite Fitzgerald, President of P&O Cruises Australia, said.

Photo credit: P&O Australia

While the additions to the exciting park are the biggest changes scheduled for this drydock, the ship will also undoubtedly be refreshed overall with hotel improvements and updates and minor repairs to other public areas.

These updates follow the vessel’s major transformation in 2022 as part of the cruise line’s fleet upgrade, which added a variety of new venues to the ship, including the Byron Beach Club, Luke’s Bar & Grill and 400 Gradi celebrity chef restaurants, the F45 Fitness Studio, Black Circus Theatre, and the Altitude nightclub.

Pacific Encounter returns in March

Pacific Encounter departs Singapore following the completion of drydocking on Saturday, February 25, 2023, on a 14-night one-way voyage to take her back to Brisbane – the reverse itinerary from the voyage the ship is sailing en route to the refit.

Once in Brisbane, the ship will resume her annual offerings of that charming city for P&O Cruises Australia, with sailings ranging from 3-14 nights, offering travelers a range of travel options to suit all holiday preferences.

Among the 24 unique destinations that Pacific Encounter will visit in the coming months are various ports in New Zealand, Australia, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, New Guinea, Fiji, Tonga, and more.

Shorter, quick getaway cruises to nowhere also feature headliners, and the ship also offers excellent trips to the Great Barrier Reef.

Pacific Encounter is scheduled to sail year-round from Brisbane until at least January 2025, giving travelers plenty of opportunities for great journeys on the updated ship with all its excitement on board.