PO cruise ship drops anchor at Fraser Island

THE first shipload of cruise passengers has toured World Heritage-listed Fraser Island.

THE first shipload of cruise passengers has toured World Heritage-listed Fraser Island.

Pacific Aria spent yesterday anchored off Kingfisher Bay Resort while the majority of its 1500 passengers visited the island.

About 3am pilot Mike Lutze and the bridge crew began navigating the 55,820-tonne Aria through the shallow Great Sandy Strait.

Mr Lutze said everything ran "like clockwork" and the ship was able to enter the channel, sometimes with only a couple of metres of water below it.

"It's the biggest ship I've bought down into here but she handled beautifully," he said.

On Fraser, visitors travelled to see the towering trees at Central Station and the crystal clear water of Lake McKenzie.

Some passengers boarded the Tasman Venture to travel to Wathumba Creek on the island's western side.

Fraser Coast Opportunities tourism manager Tas Webber said they would now look at expanding the region's partnership with P&O.

"We are working at trying to get more product to go over to the mainland," he said.

"When people are coming from other regions they are wanting to see the iconic destination which is Fraser Island."

The Aria and sister ship Pacific Eden will make five trips between them in 2017.

P&O president Sture Myrmell said 2018's itinerary was now being planned.

"We anticipate growing this destination," he said.

Future cruises will include tours to Hervey Bay, Maryborough and potentially Bundaberg, as will cruises stopping at another new P&O destination, Gladstone.

Kingfisher Bay Resort Group general manager David Hay said the island becoming a cruise destination cemented its place as a tourist hotspot.

"It's a major step for not only Fraser Island and Kingfisher Bay Resort but for the Fraser Coast region as a tourism destination," he said.

The Aria will arrive back at the Port of Brisbane tomorrow morning.