P&O to the rescue again.

[MicCanberra]

Australian volunteers, who have been stranded in Vanuatu since an airline's collapse, have been offered a lift home on a luxury cruise ship. 

Sixteen students and their chaperones with the Hive Rotary Club in Albury were on the Pacific island of Tanna when Air Vanuatu unexpectedly declared insolvency last week.

Their club, whose travel insurance policy did not cover insolvency, has been left with $10,000 in out-of-pocket expenses and has been desperately searching for a way to bring the team home.

Today, however, their luck turned around.

The group have got themselves on charter planes from Tanna back to Port Villa, where a P&O cruise has docked. The company has offered them a ride back to Australia on the six-day Pacific Adventure cruise.

The team were "thrilled" for the "opportunity of a lifetime", Hive Rotary Club president Kellie Kadaoui said in a social media post.

[Chiliburn]

P&O are very supportive to the islands.

 

https://www.dailypost.vu/vanuatu_sports/p-o-cruises-australia-supports-vanuatu-paralympic-for-paris-paralympic-game/article_440d7c88-c011-5918-bf89-9398975033c3.html

 

 

https://www.dailypost.vu/news/mystery-island-receives-500-life-jackets-from-p-o-cruises-australia-and-vmsa/article_641ade8c-a54e-56da-b1a6-5b799edb90aa.html

[MicCanberra]

They are here all year round and need the islands as much as the islands need them.

[cruiselover53]

P&O receive a lot of criticism at times.. some of it warranted some of it not . I think that sometimes we forget that they have done this sort of thing before on quite a few occasions. Well done to all concerned who make this happen.

[MicCanberra]

Agreed. P&O may not be my first choice, and may not be up to the same standards that other lines here can, but it still offers a good cruise experience and serves it's demographic well. Perhaps expectations just need to be adjusted.

[Hogbay]

Please, Stranded in paradise and rescue by P&O .... 

What a tragedy .

[MicCanberra]

Yes, paradise soon becomes prison if you can't enjoy it, and feel trapped.

[Pushka]

4 hours ago, Hogbay said:

Please, Stranded in paradise and rescue by P&O .... 

What a tragedy .

If you'd actually read of peoples situations in Vanuatu right now, it's not paradise and most Aussies are still stuck there with no assistance from Australia. The couple we know, one has to line up at 7am everyday to join the queue when the bakery opens to get their rationed two baguettes and if lucky a pastry while the wife lines up at the supermarket for very basic and rationed food stuff. They don't have access to cooking facilities.  Their hotel has pretty much run out of food. The hotel staff can't come in and out anymore but there are some who are stuck there and can't leave. So there's no linen service, Food service etc etc. They are also curfew room bound from 6pm until sunrise. They don't know when they can return to get back to work. This is not paradise. 

Edited May 18 by Pushka

[possum52]

36 minutes ago, Pushka said:

If you'd actually read of peoples situations in Vanuatu right now, it's not paradise and most Aussies are still stuck there with no assistance from Australia. The couple we know, one has to line up at 7am everyday to join the queue when the bakery opens to get their rationed two baguettes and if lucky a pastry while the wife lines up at the supermarket for very basic and rationed food stuff. They don't have access to cooking facilities.  Their hotel has pretty much run out of food. The hotel staff can't come in and out anymore but there are some who are stuck there and can't leave. So there's no linen service, Food service etc etc. They are also curfew room bound from 6pm until sunrise. They don't know when they can return to get back to work. This is not paradise. 

Are you talking about Vanuatu or New Caledonia where there have been riots? Smart Traveller up to date as of this morning, is not mentioning anything like you have described for Vanuatu but is for New Caledonia, in particular for Noumea.

Edited May 18 by possum52

[Hogbay]

32 minutes ago, Pushka said:

If you'd actually read of peoples situations in Vanuatu right now, it's not paradise and most Aussies are still stuck there with no assistance from Australia. The couple we know, one has to line up at 7am everyday to join the queue when the bakery opens to get their rationed two baguettes and if lucky a pastry while the wife lines up at the supermarket for very basic and rationed food stuff. They don't have access to cooking facilities.  Their hotel has pretty much run out of food. The hotel staff can't come in and out anymore but there are some who are stuck there and can't leave. So there's no linen service, Food service etc etc. They are also curfew room bound from 6pm until sunrise. They don't know when they can return to get back to work. This is not paradise. 

The lobster , coconut crab  ,fish and local produce are all available . Can't cook, rub two sticks together. 

[icat2000]

Good on PO Australia. They  not my favourite line but some people love them and they fill a gap in the market.  

[Pushka]

30 minutes ago, possum52 said:

Are you talking about Vanuatu or New Caledonia where there have been riots? Smart Traveller up to date as of this morning, is not mentioning anything like you have described for Vanuatu but is for New Caledonia, in particular for Noumea.

My bad. Yes. 

[MicCanberra]

1 hour ago, Pushka said:

If you'd actually read of peoples situations in Vanuatu right now, it's not paradise and most Aussies are still stuck there with no assistance from Australia. The couple we know, one has to line up at 7am everyday to join the queue when the bakery opens to get their rationed two baguettes and if lucky a pastry while the wife lines up at the supermarket for very basic and rationed food stuff. They don't have access to cooking facilities.  Their hotel has pretty much run out of food. The hotel staff can't come in and out anymore but there are some who are stuck there and can't leave. So there's no linen service, Food service etc etc. They are also curfew room bound from 6pm until sunrise. They don't know when they can return to get back to work. This is not paradise. 

Confusion between New Caledonia and Vanuatu, the former has the rioting, and curfew, the latter has no transport home.

[Hogbay]

1 hour ago, Pushka said:

If you'd actually read 

To be 19 again ,the group before boarding in Vila after flying from Tanner 🙂

[cruiser3775]

What a lovely group. They will liven up the ship!

[Aus Traveller]

It's great that the P&O ship has empty cabins to accommodate the group, but I wouldn't describe a P&O ship as 'luxury'.

 

Although maybe it would be luxurious compared with the accommodation this group would have had on Tanna.

Edited May 19 by Aus Traveller

[ceeceeDee]

16 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

Agreed. P&O may not be my first choice, and may not be up to the same standards that other lines here can, but it still offers a good cruise experience and serves it's demographic well. Perhaps expectations just need to be adjusted.

I've heard first hand how supportive P&O has been (Pacific Partnership programme, etc). A few years back we were on a South Pacific cruise and got chatting to a young lady working in one of the bars. She was a lovely Ni Vanuatu lass who had family living in Port Vila which had experienced a fairly bad cyclone a few months earlier. Apparently P&O not only supported staff whose families had been affected, but also the islanders with supplies and assistance. Yes, P&O needs the islands as much as the islands need the cruise ships, but P&O doesn't seem to hesitate when assistance is needed and has ongoing programmes to help the islands. P&O passengers have a bit to do with it also. Apparently $1 per passenger per cruise fare is a donation to the Pacific Partnership. I believe this has now increased to $2 per passenger (it's voluntary, you can have it removed).

[MicCanberra]

They have done a lot over the years. Some other lines could do easily copy the example, and have similar programs and or partnerships.

[ceeceeDee]

1 hour ago, Aus Traveller said:

It's great that the P&O ship has empty cabins to accommodate the group, but I wouldn't describe a P&O ship as 'luxury'.

 

Although maybe it would be luxurious compared with the accommodation this group would have had on Tanna.

Yes, the media always seems to refer to a 'luxury cruise ship'. (Headline for that tragic occurrence on Pacific Adventure with the a man overboard after running up a big gambling debt). I agree, AT, P&O isn't a luxury line and although facilities are reasonably comfortable it ain't exactly Viking or Silver Seas!

[MicCanberra]

I suppose it depends on a person's version of luxury. To most of us cruisers, it isn't a luxury cruise line but for someone used to a dinghy, dugout canoe, or ferry it is.

[ceeceeDee]

2 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

I suppose it depends on a person's version of luxury. To most of us cruisers, it isn't a luxury cruise line but for someone used to a dinghy, dugout canoe, or ferry it is.

Actually, I nearly made mention that 'compared to a ferry................' 😂

[Aus Traveller]

35 minutes ago, ceeceeDee said:

Yes, the media always seems to refer to a 'luxury cruise ship'. (Headline for that tragic occurrence on Pacific Adventure with the a man overboard after running up a big gambling debt). I agree, AT, P&O isn't a luxury line and although facilities are reasonably comfortable it ain't exactly Viking or Silver Seas!

I am not disparaging P&O. Our of my last half dozen cruises, four have been on P&O. The others were the world cruise and a NZ cruise on Princess.

[Jean C]

Luxury is in the eye of the beholder. Comfortable accommodation, a serviced room, food (is it 24 hrs?), entertainment, swimming pool, sea views and multiple nights on the ocean waves, sounds pretty good to the non cruise savvy. The young people will be on cloud 9. Good on P&O 😇 

[ceeceeDee]

No, I'm not disparaging P&O either. They have their market niche and we've cruised with them often. However, they shouldn't be described in the media as a 'luxury cruise ship'. Everyone has their own ideas of course, but I envision 'luxury' as butler service, outstanding suites, huge balconies etc. (not that I've experienced - or necessarily want - any of those, it's just a perception of what 'luxury' would suggest to me) with a price tag to match. On a side note, I wouldn't have a clue what to do with a butler anyway!🤣

[MicCanberra]

If you ever cruise with a butler service, the main thing I have found is that they look for a tip, this is why suites with butler are not my style.