While in Australia for two Movember fundraising events aboard Oriana, Carol Marlow, managing director P&O Cruises UK, said Australian passengers were accounting for a growing percentage of the cruise line’s business.

When Oriana left Southampton on her 2010 World Voyage in September, Australians made up 10 per cent of all passengers onboard; and this grew to 20 per cent when she left San Francisco in October.

On November 4, when Oriana departed from Sydney, a third of passengers were Australian, and Marlow says nearly 50 per cent of these are already booked on 2011 P&O Cruises.

In other news, popular Australian charity and official charity of Cricket Australia, Movember, saw possibly it’s biggest moustache to date last week, when Oriana sailed into Sydney with a giant moustache painted under her bridge.

In Sydney on Thursday and Brisbane yesterday, P&O UK helped raise money for Movember, which supports the Prostate Cancer Foundation and beyondblue.

Legendary cricketers Brian Booth, Alan Davidson, Neil Harvey, Frank Misson and Bob Simpson were members of the last Australian team to sail to a Test match by P&O ship in 1961, and were guests of honour at the events.

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