P&O Cruises Announces Pacific Pearl Captain

P&O Cruises Announces Pacific Pearl Captain

P&O Cruises has announced that Captain Charlie Carr will take the helm of its latest ship, Pacific Pearl.

Captain Carr has served on a range of ships in the P&O Cruises, P&O Cruises UK and Princess fleets for the past 14 years and has most recently been at the helm of Ocean Village, preparing for its dry dock and transformation to Pacific Pearl in Singapore next month.

He will sail from Singapore on the newly refurbished Pacific Pearl in early December, arriving in Auckland on December 18 to prepare for the ship’s spectacular naming ceremony on December 21 and its inaugural cruise the following day.

Captain Carr will also be in charge when the ship begins its maiden Australian season, arriving in Sydney on February 3, 2011.

Announcing the appointment, Ann Sherry, CEO of Carnival Australia which operates P&O Cruises, said she was delighted that Captain Carr would be the first master of Pacific Pearl.

“Captain Carr has sailed as master of another of P&O Cruises’ ships, Pacific Sun, and has also served on many other ships which Carnival Australia represents, including P&O Cruises UK’s Oriana and Victoria and Princess Cruises’ Diamond Princess,” Ms Sherry said.

“We are very pleased to welcome him back to P&O Cruises’ fleet as the Captain of our latest addition.”

Born in Wigan in the United Kingdom in 1956, Captain Carr set his sights on a career at sea at a very young age. He attended Fleetwood Nautical College and in 1974 joined the Royal Fleet Auxiliary working on a range of ships until 1996 when he joined P&O Cruises UK. Ten years later, he was appointed Captain, with Oriana as his first command and Darwin, Australia, his first port of call in his new role.

Captain Carr said he was pleased to be returning to New Zealand and Australia as part of P&O Cruises’ expanding fleet.

“New Zealanders and Australians are great travellers and notoriously friendly, so they make for fantastic passengers. I’m excited to be Pacific Pearl’s first captain and I look forward to sailing from Auckland and Sydney again very soon,” Captain Carr said.

Married with two daughters and two stepsons, Captain Carr has many interests and is a strong follower of rugby league and rugby union.

The fourth ship in P&O Cruises’ fleet, the 63,500-tonne Pacific Pearl will carry 1800 passengers and will feature a giant poolside entertainment screen, a Salt Grill by Luke Mangan restaurant, multiple bars and lounges including a swim-up bar and an aerial acrobatics rig spanning the width of its pool deck.

ENDS

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