Trifecta of Ships a Winning Ticket for Melbourne

In a winning trifecta for Melbourne, three cruise ships will each spend three days berthed at Station Pier for the Spring Carnival this week, marking the single biggest injection of punters to the Melbourne Cup and pouring more than $6 million into the economy during their stay.

P&O Cruises’ Pacific Jewel and Pacific Pearl docked at 8am this morning while sister line Carnival Cruise Lines’ Carnival Spirit will dock at 6am tomorrow. Between them the three ships will carry about 6000 guests, accounting for an estimated 10 per cent of all people visiting Melbourne for the Cup, and about 5 per cent of total race attendees.

With the three ships each spending three consecutive days docked at Melbourne’s port, the historic cruise visit is the biggest on record for the city – a winning ticket worth an estimated $6.5 million to the State’s economy in passenger and crew expenditure, port fees and racing activity.

The cruise punters are expected to contribute approximately $3.5 million to the Melbourne Cup alone through entry and transport, which is included as part of their cruise fare, as well as a range of upgrades, betting and food and drinks at the track.

Almost half of P&O Cruises’ guests (1650) have opted to upgrade from general admission to a VIP package at a cost of $400,000.

Meanwhile the 130 buses hired to transport the thousands of punters to and from Flemington cost more than $120,000 and require their own Flemington paddock to park for the day.

During their stay in Melbourne, P&O Cruises’ punters will enjoy shore tours and special racing activity including an exclusive behind the scenes tour of Flemington, tickets to the official Cup brunch and shopping excursions to pick up any last-minute accessories.

P&O Cruises, which has been sending ships to the Cup since Orcades III first sailed to the event in 1969, will cement its place amongst the glamorous Spring Carnival festivities this year with its first VIP area at Flemington – the P&O Cruises Lawn.

The strong field of onboard race-themed activities range from fascinator-making classes with Australia’s top milliner Kim Fletcher, “fashions at sea” with style commentator Melissa Hoyer and special guest speakers including legendary Melbourne Cup jockeys Wayne Harris and Malcolm Johnston and owner of Cup winning horse Rogan Josh, Wendy Green.

Pacific Jewel will host its first Myer “fashions at sea” with a special parade on deck this afternoon, followed by an onboard concert featuring Glenn Shorrock.

Carnival Australia CEO Ann Sherry said the sell-out Melbourne Cup cruises were one of the most popular main event offerings, prompting the cruise operator to up the odds to the entire P&O Cruises fleet next year.

“Australians love cruising and sports and by combining the two, we know we’re backing a winner – that’s why we’re sending a record quaddie of ships next year, including all three P&O ships,” Ms Sherry said.

“P&O Cruises is as Australian as you can get so it’s no surprise that the race that stops the nation will also see the entire fleet come to a standstill in Melbourne in 2015.”

Pacific Jewel and Pacific Pearl will offer a six-night roundtrip itinerary from Sydney on October 31, 2015, while Pacific Dawn will cruise on a seven-night roundtrip itinerary from Brisbane on October 31. Fares start from $899* per person quad share and include transport and entry to the Melbourne Cup.

P&O Cruises will also be sailing to the Australian Open in January and offering its inaugural cruise to Melbourne’s Food and Wine Festival in March 2015.  

Alison Carmichael-Rulten

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