Special Collection for Legacy
Generous Pacific Pearl passengers
have given strong support to Legacy
as members of the armed services
collected donations for the highly
respected community organisation.
Australian Army Signal Corp diggers,
Warren Lisbon-Pinto (left) and Andrew
Karvinen, were at the Overseas
Passenger Terminal recently collecting
donations from P&O Cruises’ guests
keen to assist the organisation, which
for many decades has supported
armed service families who have lost
a loved one. The collection is the
second time this year that Legacy
volunteers have gathered at OPT to
greet cruise visitors. Earlier this year,
volunteers were on hand to collect
donations as part of Cunard’s special
Poppy Wall, marking the centenary of
the Gallipoli campaign in World War
One, which was also commemorated
with a special remembrance service
on Queen Elizabeth while the ship was
in Sydney.
Orcadeans Sail on 50th Anniversary Voyage
P&O Cruises’ Pacific Jewel has played
host to a special reunion celebrating
a golden anniversary of friendship
between the P&O ‘Orcadeans’, who,
50 years ago, became lifelong friends
sailing to England on the beautiful liner
Orcades. The group – still very much
young at heart – boarded Pacific
Jewel with lots of photo albums to
reminisce about the original voyage
and their lives since then.
lives in Johannesburg and is not able
to join us but we have two ‘outsiders’
included in our group.”
One of the group, Robbie Horn
from Canberra, wrote to Carnival
Australia CEO Ann Sherry to let her
know that the Orcadeans would be
sailing together again, this time to the
South Pacific. “We Orcadeans will be
celebrating 50 years since meeting
and sailing to England,” Robbie told
Ann in her letter. We will be celebrating
our 50th anniversary on Pacific Jewel
sailing out of Brisbane on 9 August 2015
– 50 years to the day that SS Orcades
sailed out of Sydney with us onboard
bound for Tilbury, England. Individually
we will be travelling from Edinburgh,
Perth, Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra,
Newcastle and Blackheath to meet up
onboard. Our seventeenth Orcadean
“We have kept in regular contact
over these 50 years – lots of socialising
when we can and phone calls and
emails in between,” Robbie said.
“The first time we came together as
a group was for our 25th anniversary
but it was at our 40th that we had our
full complement,” he said. “We do
have a very special bond together,
which really began in London and has
only deepened over the years so our
coming together is not just a casual
reigniting of acquaintances, but
genuine love and affection between
each of us. Needless to say there is a
fair bit of excitement in the air at the
moment. And this will be our longest
reunion – seven nights!”
The 17 original ‘Orcadeans’ met in
August 1965 onboard the SS Orcades
setting out for a working holiday in
England and Europe. The youngest
Orcadean was then aged 20 and the
eldest was 29. Six Orcadeans met their
life partners on Orcades during that
voyage.
Guests Create Their Own Wine at
BLEND by Chateau Ste. Michelle
Wine connoisseurs and novices
alike can experience the art of
winemaking at BLEND aboard Holland
America Line’s new ms Koningsdam
when the ship debuts in April 2016.
In collaboration with Chateau Ste.
Michelle, Washington State’s oldest and
most acclaimed winery, the intimate
venue will enable guests to blend their
own wine and enjoy it at dinner or in
the privacy of their stateroom.
BLEND — the first of its kind for
Holland America Line and the only
purpose-built wine-blending venue at
sea — will have a tasting table that
accommodates 10 guests who can
create their own blend from a selection
of five barrels of single-vineyard red
wine. In addition to participating in the
blending process, guests also will learn
about wine from the ship’s wine expert,
who leads the blending session.
After viewing a welcome video by
Bob Bertheau, Chateau Ste. Michelle’s
winemaker, guests will learn interesting
information about the history of
Washington wines and winemaking,
examine soil samples, and see how
different vineyard sites impact the
flavours and style of the wine. The
Cellar Master also will instruct guests
on what characteristics, flavours and
nuances to look for in the wine from
each barrel.
Guests then sample the five unique
wines, featuring such varietals as
Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet
Franc and Merlot from the winery’s
Cold Creek and Canoe Ridge Estate
vineyards, and make tasting notes
on what they like about each. The
blending begins in a graduated
cylinder, with guests determining how
much of each wine to include in their
personal bottle.
After the personalised wine blend is put
into the bottle with a stopper, guests
will be able to create their own label
to add a personalised touch. The wine
will then be sent to The Dining Room
or another restaurant, where it will be
waiting for the guests to enjoy with their
evening meal. Alternatively guests can
take the wine blend to their stateroom
to enjoy at their leisure.
The “Orcadeans” at Pompeii Railway
Station during their first cruise together on SS
Orcades in 1965.
Pictured during a visit to Pacific Jewel’s
bridge is the group with Captain Roger Bilton
(centre) and Staff Captain Nick Carter.
The wine blending sessions will be held
daily for a fee, and reservations are
required.
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