Sydney Harbour has experienced a colourful sea invasion from the north this morning, with the arrival of a seven-metre giant cane toad, accompanied by 1500 Queensland rugby league fans heading to tonight’s State of Origin thriller.
The cane toad hopped on the bow of P&O Cruises’ Pacific Aria, which slipped into Sydney at daybreak packed with Queenslanders who have cruised from Brisbane to cheer on their team in tonight’s much-anticipated second game.
The seven-day roundtrip cruise departed Brisbane on Sunday and included a call to Moreton Island, before arriving in Sydney early today. All guests receive bus transfers to the stadium and entry to the game as part of their cruise fare.
Former Maroons greats Petero Civoniceva and Scott Prince plus Blues legends Paul Sironen, Matt Cooper and Eric Grothe Senior joined fans onboard for rugby-league themed activities such as Origin trivia hosted by Fox Sports presenter Steve Hart and touch footy on Moreton Island plus photo opportunities and Q&A sessions.
The ship will depart for Newcastle on Friday before arriving back in Brisbane on Monday, June 25. On the return leg guests will enjoy a panel-style post game wrap session hosted by the rugby league legends.
P&O Cruises President Sture Myrmell said the cruise line was experiencing growing interest for sports and rugby league cruises to main events such as the Holden State of Origin.
“This is the second year P&O has run dedicated cruises to the big rugby league games and it’s proving to be one of the hottest tickets in town with transport, accommodation, food and entertainment included in the cruise fare,” Mr Myrmell said.
Mr Myrmell said the cruise was one of a series of special holiday offerings which reflected P&O’s role as the official cruise line of the NRL in 2017. This is the second Origin cruise this year with P&O offering a Blues cruise to the first game last month.
As with P&O’s other Main Event itineraries, including the Melbourne Cup and Australian Open cruises, all guests on the State of Origin cruises receive admission and transfers as part of their cruise fare making cruising a great value and easy way to attend the event.
Details of P&O’s 2018 State of Origin cruises will be revealed later this year.
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