P&O Cruises Australia is extending its pause until the end of July this year. The line has also cancelled all cruises to Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands for the remainder of the year. The current rolling pause will affect cruises scheduled from 18 June to 30 July 2021.

This also affects this year’s Cairns season where Pacific Explorer was to be based for two months from October.

“We are sorry that some of our guests will be unavoidably inconvenienced by these changes to the existing schedule at a time when we remain optimistic about returning to service as society keeps opening up,” President of P&O Cruises Australia, Sture Myrmell, said.

“We are continuing our discussions with governments and health authorities to develop a framework for the staged resumption of cruising.

“As those discussions continue, today’s changes are necessary as we take a practical approach to the current environment and continue to look forward to better days ahead.”