The Carnival Corporation-owned subsidiary P&O Australia announced it is extending its pause in passenger shipping operations for departures from homeports Sydney NSW and Brisbane until mid-January 2022 to give passengers greater confidence in planning their Christmas & New Year holidays due to the COVID-related travel uncertainties.
The voluntary pause applies to departures scheduled between December 18, 2021, and January 14, 2022 (out of Brisbane) and January 18, 2022 (from Sydney).
P&O Australia also revealed it was canceling its Melbourne summer 2022 season, which was no longer feasible to deliver due to the latest extension.
P&O Australia's President Sture Myrmell said:
“We recognise this is disappointing for our guests who were looking forward to cruising with friends and family over Christmas and New Year, however, we wanted to make this announcement as early as possible to ensure they could plan with certainty for the holiday period.
“I would like to once again thank our guests for their loyalty and support. We look forward to the day when we can welcome guests back onboard to celebrate these special events on the holiday calendar.”
P&O Australia recently announced its intention to restart domestic operations with sailings for fully vaccinated passengers and crew members.
Passengers whose bookings have been affected will be notified of the options available either directly or via their travel agent.