Six of Australia’s least-likely cruise passengers will be heading to sea next month, with P&O Cruises announcing the winners of its landlubber campaign, designed to dispel common myths about cruise holidays.

The cruise line was overwhelmed by the success of the landlubber appeal, which attracted thousands of entries.

Aimed at tackling misconceptions about cruising head-on, the competition asked Australians to let them know what was stopping them from taking a holiday at sea.

Jenny Lourey, Senior Vice President of Carnival Australia which operates P&O Cruises, said the cruise line had anticipated it would receive about 500 entries, so was astonished when almost 3000 people entered.

The six winners include a family from Glenwood in Sydney’s west, as well as couples from Queensland’s Cedar Grove, NSW’s Brunswick Heads, Chatswood on Sydney’s North Shore, Warana Beach on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast and the South Australian mining town of Coober Pedy.

Ms Lourey said entrants to the competition had most commonly expressed concern about the limited entertainment and activities onboard cruise ships as well as seasickness.

“We’re really looking forward to putting all our winners on a Pacific Islands cruise on September 9 so that we can show them their fears are unfounded,” Ms Lourey said.

The cruise line will film the winners throughout the cruise, posting regular blogs and video streams.

“It’s going to be a lot of fun,” Ms Lourey said. “We think that our landlubbers’ experiences will help demonstrate to many other Australians that any concerns they have about cruising are founded on myth.

“Almost half a million Australians took a cruise holiday last year and that number is continuing to surge as more and more people appreciate how easy and relaxing a cruise holiday is.”

Ms Lourey said NSW and Queensland had accounted for more than 70 per cent of entrants in the promotion which was launched in July. To enter, people were asked to upload a video or photos accompanied by 200 words, explaining their reservations about cruising.