Just days after becoming the first cruise ship to sail to New Zealand since the pandemic began, P&O’s Pacific Explorer arrived in Fiji on August 15.

The ship docked in Lautoka at around 9am following a three-day sail from Auckland.

pacific explorer in fiji

“Looking further afield to the reopening of maritime borders in other parts of the Pacific, it is entirely appropriate that Pacific Explorer is on an itinerary that includes calls in Fiji,” President of Carnival Australia and P&O Cruises Australia Marguerite Fitzgerald said while the ship was in New Zealand.

It had been more than two years since a major cruise line has docked in the South Pacific nation.

Smaller lines, including Captain Cook Cruises and Blue Lagoon, resumed sailing in Fiji earlier this year.

The Explorer  stayed in Lautoka 9pm before sailing onto Dravuni Island, a small island in the Kadavu Group south of the main island Viti Levu.

The ship is currently on a 12-day return sailing from Sydney and will return to Australia on August 20.