Carnival Australia ships to provide extra accommodation for APEC summit

Three Carnival Australia ships will be berthed in Port Moresby’s Fairfax Harbour this week to provide additional accommodation and conference capacity for the 2018 APEC Summit.

As world leaders descend on Papua New Guinea, the cruise line is preparing its ships to house around 4,000 delegates who are in for quite the stay, if you ask us.

The three ships — P&O Cruises’ Pacific Jewel and Pacific Explorer and Princess Cruises’ Sea Princess — will highlight Carnival Australia’s pathfinding role in the resurgence of PNG cruise itineraries in recent years and the contribution to the visitor economy, according to the cruise line.

In the three years from 2016 to 2018, Carnival Australia-brand ships made more than 250 port calls in PNG accounting for nearly 400,000 passengers. These were among the 1.3 million passengers who travelled to the Pacific Islands as a whole on Carnival Australia ships.

“Our support during APEC is much more than a one-off event and highlights the depth of our connections with the people of Papua New Guinea,” said Carnival Australia Chairman Ann Sherry, who will be visiting Port Moresby to participate in the APEC CEO Summit being held onboard Pacific Explorer.

“Basing the three ships in Port Moresby is a natural extension of the relationship established through the contribution of cruise tourism.

“Our ships were already top of mind in PNG in planning for APEC and represented a practical solution to the challenge of providing accommodation for thousands of visiting delegates and international media.”

The ABC reported the summit, which will host close to 15,000 delegates, is expected to bring around $85 million to the local economy.