Ahoy, P & O.The Cruise Ships Cometh!

The Pacific & Orient ships Pacific Aria and Pacific Eden will make regular visits to the Hervey Bay region.

Pacific Aria will call at Fraser Island on Sunday 3rd April 2016, stopping at Kingfisher (see Pocket Book Map 200) as part of a round trip from Brisbane. This will be followed up on Monday the 12th of December 2016, with a visit by the Pacific Eden, originating from Sydney.

Five visits are planned for 2017.

Each ship carries some 1500 passengers, with the Pacific Aria weighing in at 55,000 tons.

Lt James Cook was so impressed by the beauty of 'our paradise' that, on 20th May 1770, he named this area after his boss, the Hon Augustus John Hervey. Some 246 years later, everyone cometh!

"Visiting Fraser Island by cruise ship with its 184,000 hectares of diversity from pristine beaches, lake and sand cliffs to rainforests will be a unique experience for our cruise travellers," said Ann Sheery, the chief executive officer of Carnival Australia which operates the P&O Cruises.

Mr Hay from Kingfisher resort said "The domestic cruise market has grown significantly in recent years and we welcome this exciting opportunity to attract more visitors to Fraser Island and the region."

Councillor Stuart Taylor said "We look forward to providing a very warm Fraser Coast welcome to the thousands of cruise passengers who will be stepping ashore here in the coming years to enjoy our wonderful attractions and experiences."

Kate Jones, the Qld Minister for Tourism, says this is great news for local tourism operators.

See Pocket Book Tourist classification on page 123.

To book on the cruise ships ring these specialist cruise agents:

helloworld 03 5367 5151

helloworld 07 4661 2366

Harvey World 07 3410 0111

Gerry Clarke B.PED