Pacific Encounter, a cruise ship from P&O Cruises Australia, has almost completed its dry dock in Singapore and will soon re-enter service with two exciting new attractions.
The cruise line shared some images from the dry dock, showing a clean and almost new-looking Pacific Encounter. The Grand-class cruise ship will resume regular service on February 25, with a repositionings cruise to Brisbane, Australia.
Pacific Encounter Looking Brand New Again
P&O Cruises Australia can be proud of their Pacific Encounter, the cruise ship looking brand new in photos shared by the cruise line on Facebook. The vessel entered dry dock in Singapore on Monday, February 6, 2023, and work has nearly been completed.
The cruise ship received several updates in the last two weeks, including the spectacular Twin-Racer waterslide and the P&O Edge Adventure Park, designed for thrill-seekers.
The Adventure Park features a 55-meter-long zipline, rock climbing wall, cargo net, walk the plank, and beam walk, each sitting a heart-stopping 10 meters above Deck 16.
The epic new waterslide Twin Racer is designed for people to race against each other. The slides are 142 meters long, including a transparent section so racers can check on their opponents.
“These exciting additions will mark the completion of our three-fleet transformation and bring us yet another step closer to a full and ‘normal’ cruising season. And of course, we look forward to welcoming our Brisbane guests back onboard and seeing the joy as they race down the new slides and test out the adrenalin-pumping activities at sea when she returns,” said Marguerite Fitzgerald, President of P&O Cruises Australia.
The brief dry dock follows Pacific Encounter‘s major transformation in 2022, which included opening several new food and beverage outlets and other public areas which have been completely revamped from the cruise ship’s time at Princess Cruises.
In August 2022, the vessel made history as the first cruise ship to return to Brisbane to resume year-round cruising, home-porting at the new Brisbane International Cruise Terminal post-pandemic.
Pacific Encounter will recommence its itineraries from Brisbane in March, visiting 24 unique destinations within Australia, New Zealand, and the South Pacific this year after sailing one voyage from Singapore.
Pacific Encounter Sets Sail On February 25
Pacific Encounter will set sail on February 25 with two exciting itineraries ahead of her. The first cruise back in service will be a 14 Night Indonesian Explorer, departing on February 25, 2023. The ship will visit Bali and Lombok in Indonesia, Darwin, Cairns, and Airlie Beach in Australia, before returning to Brisbane on March 11.
The second itinerary, Kiwi Adventure, departs Brisbane on March 11, 2023. The 14-night Kiwi Adventure will travel to Fiordland National Park, Dunedin, Christchurch, Wellington, Napier, Tauranga, Auckland, and finally back to Brisbane on March 25th.
Many people around the world will be very familiar with Pacific Encounter. The 109,000 gross tons Grand-class cruise ship sailed for many years under the name Star Princess for Princess Cruises.
She was transferred to P&O Cruises Australia in 2021, along with her sister ship, Golden Princess, now sailing under the name Pacific Adventure. Both ships were due to start operations in early 2021, however, due to the cruise ban in Australia, both ships did not start sailing until 2022.
