A to Z: Australia to Fiji to New Zealand (Part 2: Fiji)

Part 2: Fiji and South Pacific

Welcome to the South Pacific!

When I first found out I was going to be on the Sun Princess over the winter break and saw Fiji and South Pacific on the itinerary I was over the moon! As a fan of the reality TV show Survivor I always wanted to go to a deserted island somewhere in the South Pacific and finally this was my chance to experience that part of the world.

Noumea, New Caledonia: The ship docked at a container port so the only way out of the port area is by getting on the free shuttle that takes you downtown. There is a cafe with free WiFi where the shuttle drops you off. The first thing I noticed was everything was in French. Turns out New Caledonia is an overseas province of France so it all makes sense. We walked around before settling down at a restaurant to cool off with a drink. I ordered a homemade mango iced tea and it was the most delicious drink ever!
Once again I had to go inside a supermarket to see what snacks they had. It was pretty neat to see French labels on items I would normally see in English at stores back home.
Tip: You can pay for items in Australian or US dollars but your change will be in Francs.

The Chinatown in Noumea

Port Denarau: This tendered port is essentially an island populated exclusively with resorts. However, there is a shopping centre right where the tender drops you off. There was a traditional Fijian dance performance at the shopping centre which was nice to see. Not really in the shopping mood we purchased a Bula bus ticket for $8 Fijian which allowed us to ride the hop-on-hop-off bus that takes you from the shopping centre to all the resorts located on the island. Since time was limited we chose to get off at the Wyndham to sit on their weaved wood beach chairs perched at the end of the beach.

The beach chairs are calling my name at the Wyndham

After an hour or so of relaxing at this hotel we needed to get back on the ship. On the ride back to the shopping centre we got a nice view of all the resorts. The resorts all had an open concept lobby and looked very new. There was something wrong with the tender so everyone had to get on a catamaran (owned by South Sea Cruise) to get back to the ship. We experienced rain showers off and on throughout the day but while we were in the catamaran the weather suddenly took a turn for the worse. I'm glad we left the resort when we did because there was a torrential downpour while we were in the comforts of the catamaran.


Suva: With a full crew drill in the morning and working port day supervision in the afternoon I was not able to get off the ship at this port.


Savusavu: This was another tendered port. I went on a shore excursion called Traditional Fiji: Nukubalavu Village. I had the most wonderful time and can't stop raving about it! When the bus arrived in Nukubalavu Village we were greeted with a choir of men, women and children singing to us. As we stepped off the bus a local villager placed a flower necklace around our neck and handed us a bottle of Fiji water. This island was full of beautiful forested mountains and coconut trees. 

The gorgeous beach at the Nukubalavu Village

We witnessed a traditional kava ceremony and some guests were even invited to participate. I was impressed to see a villager climb a coconut tree to chop down the palm leaves so a fellow villager could demonstrate basket weaving. 

Getting ready to chop down the palm leaves

The Fijian men performed a "sword" dance and the Fijian women did a dance performance as well. Coconuts were cut open and guests were invited to take a piece to try which I very happily did. We had some free time to browse the village and markets for souvenirs before the shuttle took us back to the port. While walking around the village I noticed there was a station set up for green coconut juice. The villagers skillfully cut open a green coconut with a machete in front of you and then stick a straw in it so you can enjoy the juice. The green coconut I was given was huge and very heavy but the juice from it was so fresh!
One of my favourite memories from this excursion was when a local boy came up to me and handed me a seashell he found on the beach. We then proceeded to head down to the beach to look for more seashells. I will never forget the friendliness and hospitality of the Fijians.
Since the excursion ended before noon, I had time to get off and explore Savusavu on my own as well. I took a taxi for $20 Fijian to Blue Lagoon beach - the only beach within a reasonable distance of the port. This was one of the strangest beaches I have even been to. The tide was very low so there was a pool of water in the middle of the beach and then just very shallow water for what appeared to be miles before reuniting with the ocean. As much as I enjoyed getting some sun at this fairly secluded beach I won't be going back to Blue Lagoon beach the next time I am in Savusavu.


Dravuni Island: Unfortunately it was too windy to tender here so we continued sailing to our next port.


Lifou, New Caledonia: This was a tendered port once again and the ship docked right by the beach. The water was the most beautiful turquoise colour. At the far end of the beach there were some giant rocks/cliffs that had a very Survivor-esque feel to it. I finally experienced my "let's pretend I'm on Survivor moment"!

Just look at those turquoise waters!

 

Is there a hidden immunity idol here?

One last look at the beach before heading back on the tender

Read Part 1: Australia here
Read Part 3: New Zealand here

A Log Of Completed Cruises

As a passenger:
1. August 2008 - 7 night Alaska cruise on the Celebrity Mercury
Roundtrip Vancouver
Ports: Ketchikan; Hubbard Glacier (scenic cruising); Juneau; Sitka

2. August 2009 - 7 night Western Caribbean cruise on the Liberty of the Seas (RCCL)
Roundtrip Miami
Ports: Labadee, Haiti (private island); Ocho Rios, Jamaica; Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands; Cozumel, Mexico

3. May 2010 - 7 night Eastern Caribbean cruise on the Celebrity Solstice
Roundtrip Fort Lauderdale
Ports: San Juan, Puerto Rico; St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands; St. Maarten

4. October 2011 - 4 night Bahamas cruise on the Norwegian Sky
Roundtrip Miami
Ports: Nassau; Great Stirrup Cay

5. May  2012 - 14 night Hawaii cruise on the Celebrity Century Read about it here
Roundtrip San Diego
Ports: Honolulu (Oahu); Lahaina (Maui); Kona; Hilo; Ensenada, Mexico

6. May 2014 - 14 night Japan (Transpacific) cruise on the Celebrity Millennium Read about it here
Yokohama to Vancouver
Ports: Tokyo (Yokohama), Japan; Hakodate, Japan; Sapporo (Muroran), Japan; Petropavlovsk, Russia

7. February/March 2015 - 14 night Southeast Asia cruise on the Celebrity Century Read about it here
Roundtrip Singapore
Ports: Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei; Nha Trang, Vietnam; Ho Chi Minh (Phu My), Vietnam; Bangkok (Laemchabang), Thailand

8. September 2016 - 15 night Bering Sea and Japan cruise on the Celebrity Millennium Read about it here
Read about my 5 day post-cruise experience in Japan here
Vancouver to Yokohama
Ports: Dutch Harbor, Alaska; Otaru, Japan; Hakodate, Japan; Tokyo, Japan

**Non-cruise trip**
1. September 2017 - 10 day East Coast Canada bus tour Read about it here
Provinces: Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island


As a crew member:
1. December 2012/January 2013 - 2 weeks on the Ruby Princess
(2x 7 night Eastern Caribbean cruise roundtrip Fort Lauderdale)
Ports: Princess Cays, Bahamas (private island); St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands; St. Maarten; Grand Turk, Turk & Caicos

2. June/July/August 2014 - 11 weeks on the Golden Princess Read about it here
(11x 7 night Alaska cruise roundtrip Seattle)
Ports: Juneau; Skagway; Glacier Bay (scenic cruising); Ketchikan; Victoria, BC

3. November 2014 - 1 week on the Crown Princess Read about it here
7 night Mexico cruise roundtrip Los Angeles
Ports: Puerto Vallarta; Mazatlan; Cabo San Lucas

4. December 2014/January 2015 - 7 weeks on the Sun Princess
(1x 7 night Tasmania cruise roundtrip Sydney) Read about it here
Ports: Hobart; Port Arthur; Burnie; Melbourne
(1x 13 night Fiji and South Pacific cruise roundtrip Sydney) Read about it here
Ports: Noumea, New Caledonia; Port Denarau, Fiji; Suva, Fiji; Savusavu, Fiji; Dravuni Island, Fiji; Lifou, New Caledonia
(2x 13 night New Zealand cruise roundtrip Sydney) Read about it here
Ports: Fjordland National Park (scenic cruising); Port Chalmers; Akaroa; Wellington; Napier; Tauranga; Auckland; Bay of Islands

5. March/April 2015 - 4 weeks on the Regal Princess Read about it here
(4x 7 night Eastern Caribbean cruise roundtrip Fort Lauderdale)
Ports: Princess Cays, Bahamas (private island); St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands; St. Maarten

6. June/July/August 2015 - 10 weeks on the Ruby Princess Read about it here
(10x 7 night Alaska cruise roundtrip Seattle)
Ports: Ketchikan; Tracy Arm Fjord (scenic cruising); Juneau; Skagway; Victoria, BC

7. November 2015 - 9 days on the Star Princess Read about it here
(1x 5 night Baja Peninsula cruise roundtrip Los Angeles)
Ports: Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
(1x 4 night West Coast cruise roundtrip Los Angeles)
Ports: Santa Barbara, California; Ensenda, Mexico

8. December 2015/January 2016 - 5 weeks on the Sea Princess
(1x 11 night New Caledonia and Vanuatu cruise roundtrip Brisbane) Read about it here
Ports: Port Vila, Vanuatu; Mystery Island, Vanuatu; Champagne Bay, Vanuatu; Noumea, New Caledonia
(1x 14 night New Zealand cruise roundtrip Brisbane) Read about it here
Ports: Auckland; Tauranga; Napier; Wellington; Akaroa; Port Chalmers
(1x 10 night New Caledonia and Vanuatu cruise roundtrip Brisbane) Read about it here
Ports: Champagne Bay, Vanuatu; Port Vila, Vanuatu; Lifou, New Caledonia; Noumea, New Caledonia

9. March 2016 - 2 weeks on the Grand Princess Read about it here
(2x 7 night California Coast cruise roundtrip San Francisco)
Ports: Santa Barbara, California; Long Beach, California; San Diego, California; Ensenada, Mexico

10. June 2016 - 10 days on the Grand Princess
(1x 10 night Alaska Inside Passage cruise roundtrip San Francisco) 
Ports: Ketchikan; Juneau; Icy Strait Point; Tracy Arm Fjord (scenic cruising); Victoria, BC

11. June/July 2016 - 3 weeks on the Coral Princess
(2x 7 night Alaska Voyage of the Glaciers cruise Vancouver to Whittier) Read about it here
Ports: Ketchikan; Juneau; Skagway; Glacier Bay (scenic cruising); College Fjord (scenic cruising)
(1x 7 night Alaska Voyage of the Glaciers cruise Whittier to Vancouver) 
Ports: Hubbard Glacier (scenic cruising); Glacier Bay (scenic cruising); Skagway; Juneau; Ketchikan 

12. August 2016 - 25 days on the Sapphire Princess (Chinese Chartered Cruises) Read about it here
(6x 4/5 Night Japan & South Korea cruise roundtrip Shanghai)
Ports: Jeju, South Korea; Nagasaki, Japan; Hakata (Fukuoka), Japan; Kagoshima, Japan; Busan, South Korea

13. December 2016/January 2017- 7 weeks on the Emerald Princess
(1x 7 night Tasmania cruise roundtrip Sydney) Read about it here
Ports: Melbourne; Wineglass Bay (scenic cruising); Great Oyster Bay (scenic cruising); Hobart; Port Arthur 
(1x 14 night New Zealand cruise roundtrip Sydney) Read about it here
Ports: Bay of Islands; Auckland; Tauranga; Picton; Wellington; Akaroa; Port Chalmers; Fjordland National Park (scenic crusing)
(1x 8 night Tasmania cruise roundtrip Sydney) Read about it here
Ports: Port Arthur; Hobart; Wineglass Bay (scenic cruising); Great Oyster Bay (scenic cruising); Melbourne (overnight)
(1x 11 night New Zealand cruise roundtrip Sydney) Read about it here
Ports: Fjordland National Park (scenic cruising); Port Chalmers; Akaroa; Picton; Wellington
(1x 11 night New Caledonia and Vanuatu cruise roundtrip Sydney) Read about it here
Ports: Noumea, New Caledonia; Lifou, New Caledonia; Mystery Island, Vanuatu; Port Vila, Vanuatu; Champagne Bay, Vanuatua

14. June 2017 - 20 days on the Grand Princess
(2x 10 night Alaska Inside Passage cruise roundtrip San Francisco) Read about it here
Ports: Ketchikan; Juneau; Icy Strait Point; Tracy Arm Fjord (scenic cruising); Victoria, BC

15. July 2017 - 3 weeks on the Royal Princess
(1x 7 night Greek Isles cruise roundtrip Athens [Port of Piraeus]) Read about it here
Ports: Katakolon (Olympia), Greece; Kotor, Montenegro; Mykonos, Greece; Rhodes, Greece; Chios, Greece
(1x 7 night Mediterranean and Adriatic cruise from Athens [Port of Piraeus] to Barcelona) Read about it here
Ports: Santorini, Greece; Kotor, Montenegro; Messina, Italy; Naples, Italy
(1x 7 night Mediterranean cruise from Barcelona to Civitavecchia [Rome]) Read about it here
Ports: Cartagena, Spain; Gibraltar, UK; Marseille, France; Genoa, Italy; Livorno, Italy

16. August 2017 - 10 days on the Grand Princess
(1x 10 night Alaska Inside Passage cruise roundtrip San Francisco) 
Ports: Ketchikan; Juneau; Icy Strait Point; Tracy Arm Fjord (scenic cruising); Victoria, BC

17. August/September 2017 - 7 days on the Sapphire Princess (Chinese Chartered Cruises) Read about it here
(1x 3 night Japan's Ryukuu Islands and 1x 4 night Japan's Ryukuu Islands roundtrip Taiwan)
Ports: Okinawa; Miyakojima; Ishigaki

18. November/December 2017 - 4 weeks on the Ruby Princess Read about it here
(2x 7 night Mexican Riviera cruise roundtrip Los Angeles)
Ports: Puerto Vallarta; Mazatlan; Cabo San Lucas
(1x 4 night West Coast Getaway with Catalina Island cruise roundtrip Los Angeles)
Ports: Catalina Island, California; Ensenada
(1x 10 night Baja Peninsula and Sea of Cortez cruise roundtrip Los Angeles)
Ports: San Diego, California; Cabo San Lucas; La Paz; Loreto; Puerto Vallarta

19. December 2017/January 2018 - 30 days on the Royal Princess Read about it here
(1x 10 night Eastern Caribbean Voyager cruise roundtrip Fort Lauderdale)
Ports: Amber Cove, Dominican Republic; Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas; Basseterre, St. Kitts & Nevis; Bridgetown, Barbados; Fort de France, Martinique; St. John's, Antigua & Barbuda
(1x 10 night Southern Caribbean Medley cruise roundtrip Fort Lauderdale)
Ports: Princess Cays, Bahamas; Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas; Fort de France, Martinique; St. George's, Grenada; Kralendijk, Bonaire; Willemstad, Curacao
(1x 10 night Eastern Caribbean Voyager cruise roundtrip Fort Lauderdale)
Ports: Princess Cays, Bahamas; Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas; Basseterre, St. Kitts & Nevis; Castries, St. Lucia; Bridgetown, Barbados; St. John's, Antigua & Barbuda

20. June 2018 - 2 weeks on the Golden Princess
(1x 7 night Alaska Voyage of the Glaciers cruise Vancouver to Whittier)
Ports: Ketchikan; Juneau; Skagway; Glacier Bay (scenic cruising); College Fjord (scenic cruising)
(1x 7 night Alaska Voyage of the Glaciers cruise Whittier to Vancouver)
Ports: Hubbard Glacier (scenic cruising); Glacier Bay (scenic cruising); Skagway; Juneau; Ketchikan 

21. July 2018 - 1 week on the Sun Princess See photos here
(1x 7 night Asia cruise Singapore to Taiwan)
Ports: Phu My, Vietnam; Nha Trang, Vietnam; Hong Kong (overnight)

22. July 2018 - 1 week on the Golden Princess
(1x 7 night Alaska Voyage of the Glaciers cruise Vancouver to Whittier)
Ports: Ketchikan; Juneau; Skagway; Glacier Bay (scenic cruising); College Fjord (scenic cruising)

23. July/August 2018 - 3 weeks on the Sapphire Princess
(1x 14 night Mediterranean cruise roundtrip Southampton) See photos here
Ports: Barcelona, Spain; Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy; Livorno, Italy; Genoa, Italy; Marseilles, France; Gibraltar, UK
(1x 7 night Norwegian Fjords cruise roundtrip Southampton) See photos here
Ports: Stavanger; Olden; Geiranger; Bergen