Cruising the South Pacific, no show tunes allowed

[craven morehead]

It was pretty close to last tender time by the time we walked down to the dock

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a good half hour after last tender time a bus pulled up above the dock and a large group of people trailed down to the tender. What on earth could have caused a ship's tour to be so late on an island so small?

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beautiful Raro, see you soon

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another new beer for us. I think this one is from the Caribbean

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last tender finally ready to be winched up

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bye

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a sign of things to come?

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we both really enjoyed dinner in Windows. We sat right against the windows and the ship was vibrating quite a bit as the Captain increased our speed to get us to American Samoa the day after tomorrow

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from our seat in Magnum's

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I have drunk this beer poured from the tap in the US and Canada, and they insist on serving it with a slice of Orange. I said, do I look a fruit bat

Blue Moon Belgian White is a Belgian-style wheat ale with a 5.4% ABV, brewed with orange peel and coriander for a bright, citrusy flavor​

Blue Moon Belgian White is a Belgian-style witbier brewed by Molson Coors under the Blue Moon Brewing Company label. It was first introduced in 1995 in Golden, Colorado, and was originally called Bellyslide Belgian White. The beer is now brewed in multiple locations, including Colorado and Montreal, Canada,

 

[craven morehead]

It was pretty close to last tender time by the time we walked down to the dock

View attachment 514201View attachment 514202View attachment 514203

a good half hour after last tender time a bus pulled up above the dock and a large group of people trailed down to the tender. What on earth could have caused a ship's tour to be so late on an island so small?

View attachment 514204

beautiful Raro, see you soon

View attachment 514205

another new beer for us. I think this one is from the Caribbean

View attachment 514206

last tender finally ready to be winched up

View attachment 514207

bye

View attachment 514208

a sign of things to come?

View attachment 514209

we both really enjoyed dinner in Windows. We sat right against the windows and the ship was vibrating quite a bit as the Captain increased our speed to get us to American Samoa the day after tomorrow

View attachment 514210View attachment 514211View attachment 514212

View attachment 514213

from our seat in Magnum's

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Enjoying the TR and excellent photos

 

[bPeteb]

I have drunk this beer poured from the tap in the US and Canada, and they insist on serving it with a slice of Orange. I said, do I look a fruit bat

Blue Moon Belgian White is a Belgian-style wheat ale with a 5.4% ABV, brewed with orange peel and coriander for a bright, citrusy flavor​

Blue Moon Belgian White is a Belgian-style witbier brewed by Molson Coors under the Blue Moon Brewing Company label. It was first introduced in 1995 in Golden, Colorado, and was originally called Bellyslide Belgian White. The beer is now brewed in multiple locations, including Colorado and Montreal, Canada,

Colorado/Caribbean - same same but different

 

[SYD]

I have drunk this beer poured from the tap in the US and Canada, and they insist on serving it with a slice of Orange. I said, do I look a fruit bat

Blue Moon Belgian White is a Belgian-style wheat ale with a 5.4% ABV, brewed with orange peel and coriander for a bright, citrusy flavor​

Blue Moon Belgian White is a Belgian-style witbier brewed by Molson Coors under the Blue Moon Brewing Company label. It was first introduced in 1995 in Golden, Colorado, and was originally called Bellyslide Belgian White. The beer is now brewed in multiple locations, including Colorado and Montreal, Canada,

Quite common across the US these days. On tap, take it with a with a slice of orange.

 

[ellen10]

Just catching up on your wonderful trip report.
I have only dipped my toe in once to a big ship cruise once, but your trip looks great. I will have to investigate more.
Great photos and information.

 

[bPeteb]

June 17 Samoa

We'd gone to sleep on June 15 and woken up the next morning on June 17. This was causing many people great concern. "How have we a lost a day?" Oh dear.

It was also something that the NCL app couldn't cope with. When we'd booked the specialty restaurants I'd booked the Italian restaurant Onda for June 16. Early on in the cruise we'd had a call letting us know that the booking had been cancelled as the day didn't actually exist. We rebooked for our final night.

The weather forecast hadn't looked too good for either of the Samoas but it ended up being a glorious day with just some light rain as we crossed through the centre of the island.

Arriving into Apia

I'd booked a day tour with Adventour Samoa. Communication was all through Facebook messenger. I'd seen a cruise ship tour on GetYourGuide but contacted them directly to make sure they got the full cost without a cut to GYG. USD150 each for a full day tour icnluding luncha nd all admission charges.

I'd been sent constant messages from Steve the proprietor. When I'd originally enquired I asked if we could spend longer at Robert Louis Stevenson's house and skip the cathedral visit. Steve said they'd modify the tour to whatever we wanted. He'd sent a message on arrival morning letting us know where the van would be and what number it was. I could see it from our balcony. Steve and his vans



anotehr beautiful welcome from a local cultural group. The boys of American Samoa looked more like sumo wrestlers. Taus laughed and said us Samoans like our starch too much. These Samoans looked more like rugby players

I wasn't sure if we would be on our own or others had booked the same tour. It was the latter. A group of four USAians joined us - mum, dad and two late teenage kids. Steve introduced us to our driver as Ranger Tagaloa. I asked him if Ranger was actually his name and he said no, it was Aitasi.

The family happily sat in the back of the van and chatted amongst themselves. First stop was to exchange some cash into local currency for any incidentals, then on to Robert Louis Stevenson's house. When we go back to Samoa. and we definitely will, we'll spend a lot longer here and walk to the top of the hill where RLS is buried. Just not enough time. It is a guided tour through the house and bAlt and I found it super interesting, the family not so much.

There are very few original items in the house. Pretty much everything was sold off after RLS died.

 

[bPeteb]

Then we drove up behind Apia and headed across the island. It was very foggy and drizzling as we arrived at the Baha'i temple. Chrches of any description just aren't our thing and I'm not sure it was that interesting to the family from Salt Lake City ;-)





next stop was Papapaptai Falls



then it was a decent drive to Togitogiga Waterfall where the family was keen to go for a swim. One foot in the chilly water was enough to dismiss that idea

while we were there I talked to Aitasi. It turns out he is quite the rugby player, good enough to be one three Samoan residents to be selected to play in the rugby world cup next year! Then he talked about his other interest - Pasifika contemporary dance. Aitasi lived in Guam for three years dancing in an international troupe there. He's travelled all over the world with his dancing. What a cool young guy.

Aitasi Tagalo. Keep an eye out for him



Time for lunch. This was at Miti Mininoa Ocean Club. We could choose anything and I of course chose the raw fish, this time in more of a cold soup, and served with taro chips. It was delicious.

a new beer!

 

[craven morehead]

Then we drove up behind Apia and headed across the island. It was very foggy and drizzling as we arrived at the Baha'i temple. Chrches of any description just aren't our thing and I'm not sure it was that interesting to the family from Salt Lake City ;-)

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next stop was Papapaptai Falls

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then it was a decent drive to Togitogiga Waterfall where the family was keen to go for a swim. One foot in the chilly water was enough to dismiss that idea

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while we were there I talked to Aitasi. It turns out he is quite the rugby player, good enough to be one three Samoan residents to be selected to play in the rugby world cup next year! Then he talked about his other interest - Pasifika contemporary dance. Aitasi lived in Guam for three years dancing in an international troupe there. He's travelled all over the world with his dancing. What a cool young guy.

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Time for lunch. This was at Miti Mininoa Ocean Club. We could choose anything and I of course chose the raw fish, this time in more of a cold soup, and served with taro chips. It was delicious.

a new beer!

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Another "New" Beer

 

[SYD]

We'd gone to sleep on June 15 and woken up the next morning on June 17. This was causing many people great concern. "How have we a lost a day?" Oh dear.

Possibly alarmed that they’d missed a whole day of the drinks package!

It was also something that the NCL app couldn't cope with.

It’s the same going the other way except it’s a “Ground Hog Day” situation.

I’m taking notes on the Samoa(s). We’re ticking off most of the same ports but over two cruises. Fiji, Apia and Pago Pago will be next year. We did Tahiti just before you guys - unfortunately we didn’t get to the Cook Islands. I would have preferred that over cold, wet Auckland stopover.

 

[kookaburra75]

We're enjoying your trip report as usual, from home - although sans coughtails as we're doing Dry July. We really enjoyed our trip to Samoa a few years ago, and will go back. And yes, rugby is a very big thing South Pacific - Here We Come

But we'll have to put all of the other places you've visited on that list too.

 

[bPeteb]

The family had taken this trip for one reason - to swim at To Sua Ocean Trench. That's where we drove next. To Sua Ocean Trench, Samoa - The Ultimate Guide – Craving Adventure

There was a bit of backwards and forwards to get to places and we drove back past Tigotigoga waterfall to get to To Sua. Like with pretty much everything on this trip we'd done no research so this place was a complete surprise. A huge hole with a tidal pool in the bottom of it and a perilous ladder to go down to get to the water.




for me the ladder was terrifying. I just hate ladders. The picture above in no way shows how steep it was and eventually how many people were trying to go down, or up. But, once we did get down there it was super cool. The water was warm. A weird current flowed in and out. Lots of laughing people. Gentle rain. It was excellent.

Getting out was problematic as people wanting to come down wouldn't clear the top of the ladder. I literally had to shove one impatient women in the cough as she tried to start coming down while I was getting off it. Some people are just so cough*ing rude.

Anyways.

Our final three destinations were the cathedral, that I'd already asked to miss, the Samoan Parliament, and the market.

The family had found another possible place to swim - Piula Cave Pool - and asked Aitasi about it. He said if we go there we'd miss the cathedral and parliament stops. The family asked if we were ok and we were all for it. Parliament would have been interesting but needed more than a quick stop, and the cathedral was a big no for all six of us.

Initially the family had just talked amongst themselves but since lunch had chatted to us constantly. Dad had just sold his veterinary practice (six offices!) in SLC and was now working as a locum on contract. Not exactly worldy people but so many USAians aren't. They are so often amazed at much others know about the world. Nevertheless, really lovely people.

Piula (Fatumea) Cave Pool | Upolu Island Sightseeing | Samoa

Piula Cave Pool on Upolu Island, Samoa, is a beautiful crystal clear freshwater spring that originated from an old lava tube.

www.samoa.travel

The pool and cave are in the grounds of a theological college. From the pictures in the above link it can obviously get hugely crowded but it was not too bad when we were there. It's also fresh water. That seems odd as you are right beside the ocean but it is fed by a spring. You can swim through a small pitch black tunnel into another open pool. Dad and son went through but there was not a chance any of the rest of us were going through a rocky underwater hole. A nice place to visit for an hour.



We drove along the coast road back to Apia and then stopped at the market. The family wanted to spend as much of the local currency as they could. I had enough to buy an overpriced t-shirt.




so endeth a wonderful introduction to Samoa. I hope Aitasi does well at the rugby next year.



the cultural group was back to see us off and they were just as good as in the morning. So good that security eventually had to start asking us to get back onboard as we had gone past 4:30 final boarding

Goodbye Apia, we've loved our introduction to your amazing island



Fiji Bitter to cheers a great day. We'll be there in a couple of days



we didn't bother with a restaurant dinner. Instead, grabbed some Asian food from the buffet, and a couple of Tahitian beers

 

[bPeteb]

June 18, sea day

Breakfast at Windows and bAlt convinced me to try the bene with lobster. It was quite delicious



the ship put on a crossing the dateline celebration around the main pool.



The unused kitchen and servery at the end of the pool deck was put to use as a bbq buffet. The locusts descended as soon as they realised there was going to be some free food. Hold on, nearly all of the food is free, but this was outside and free.

We sat up at the Biergarten, watched football, and waited until the crowds had had first, seconds and thirds. When we did get to it the food was actually quite good





new beer number whatever



For dinner it was specialty restuarant number four - Teppanyaki. It was ok. I've not ever been to teppanyaki and not had a Japanese chef. The patter of our learner chef was a bit forced but still funny. Luckily the food was tasty

The planets were again aligned





The first of our Fijian destinations tomorrow. Only two more days until we reach Lautoka.

 

[bPeteb]

June 19 Savusavu Bay, Vanua Levu, Fiji

An ominous red sky greeted us as I pulled back the curtains on the approach to Savusavu Bay.



I had found a tour in Savasavu that looked like a cracker - River Tubing and Volcanic Hot Pool tour including picnic lunch. It was with a local operator called Naveria Heights Lodge. Sharon the proprieter advised that this would be one of two tours they'd be operating and that they'd have a table outside the tender area to check in and pay at. Adventures | Naveria Heights Lodge Fiji

I contacted Sharon as we were sailing into the bay to let her know we were arriving and she responded by telling me that she hadn't had enough bookings and was not going to be operating the tour. I was confused as she'd told me she didn't take bookings. She Saif her tour was very active and woudn't suit cruise ship passengers. I let her know this was a ship full of pretty active people with the gym above our cabin kicking off at 6am to which she reponded if you find a total of 10 people let her know. Wtf??



So, we went ashore and looked for anyone else offering tours. Sharon had said any of the local taxis would take you around for the day. We bumped into one of the couples we'd met at the IC in Papeete and asked what their plans were. Cab they said. We found a cab operator parked in a carpark near the boat harbour that was mentioned on google. We spoke to him and he organised us a cab for a few hours.

The lovely Hemant turned up about 15 minutes later and off we went.

First stop would be the hot springs in town, then Vuadomo waterfall, then a lookout, coconut oil factory, across the island to a beach for a swim, coffee plantation and factory, botanic garden and maybe pearl factory.

Then the messages from Sharon started. She'd been contacted by others from the ship and would potentially be running a half day tour. Too late I said, we're already in a cab. Did we know any others who might be interested.? What an odd way to run a business.

To our tour. We drove towards the hot springs and when we saw buses lined up we told Hemant we'd come here last.

To the waterfall instead. When we'd been in American Samoa we'd noticed a large leaf vine that was literally covering half of the island. Tau said they could do nothing to stop it and it was literally taking over the island. Then we saw it on Samoa and now here it was again in Fiji on Vanua Levu. Hemant said it was doing the same here as American Samoa. Surely there's research being carried out on how to kill this vine off?



The waterfall is owned by a local village and the chief meets you at the gate to take a sevusevu (cultural gift). We didn't have a bag of kava root to give him (weirdly) so we paid FJ$15 each instead. It had been very wet the day before so the grass, and path were super slippery, and bAlt was on his butt before we'd even gotten off the driveway!



that was miraculously the only fall of the visit. I am reknowned for ending up on my cough but somehow avoided it.

The falls were quite pretty and the water was not exactly warm. That concrete slab to the right of the fake grass was like a skating rink. As we were heading back to Hemant and the taxi we warned everyone we saw coming towards us not to walk onto it.



halfway back along the path we walked into the missing Irish couple K&M. Pretty much at the same time we said to each we reckoned that they/we weren't actually on this ship and finally here we all were again. We agreed to meet back on the ship that afternoon.

The lookout, and coffee shop, was overflowing with three bus loads of cruise ship passengers so we took some quick snaps and got on our way



Sea Legs, a great little brewery at Kangaroo Point. Shameless plug



Hemant was very quietly spoken so only I heard his running commentary as I was in the front passenger seat. Lots of interesting info on the different government buildings we went past. About his family. He'd come back from Nandi withi his family. Vanua was where he wanted to be. From the back the couple from San Diego were making comments I'd heard too many times from USAians - why don't they paint their houses, why don't they maintain their gardens, why is there so much rubbish, why are the roads so rough. Mmm... maybe their priorities aren't so superficial. Have they not ever been to West Virginia or small town Kentucky? Same things could be asked there.

Hemant took us to the coconut oil factory but they had no coconuts so had halted production. Just after this I saw a mongoose run across the road. Who knew that had them in Fiji? Hemant said they were native but surely not?

We headed up the road in the middle of town and over the centre of the island to the 'resort' area. Hemant pointed out a couple of resorts. One private resort owned by I'm sure he said the boss of google but I might have gotten that wrong. Another resort we drove past Namale is USD6000/night.

Hemant took us to Sigisiga Sands House and vacation bungalow rentals in Fiji Islands where we paid USD10 each to have a swim and use the toilets. The water was not much more than knee deep for a very long way out so we all got wet and that was about it.



I think Namale was hidden in the headland to the left

 

[bPeteb]

Savusavu's little airport and a twin otter coming in to land



we drove back to town and down to KokoMana Cocoa and Chocolate plantation and factory ABOUT | KokoManaFiji

We were told when we walked into the shop that all guided tours were booked out but we were welcome to have a look around. We all bought some chocolate then went for a walk up to the drying shed. Somehow one of our IC friends talked a man who turned out to be the owner into giving us our own free private tour. Richard Markham was a super interesting and generous host. He works/worked for DFAT and is actually an entomologist. Here's a link that explains the business https://www.usp.ac.fj/wansolwaranews/news/a-sustainable-model-for-fijis-cocoa-revival/

He talked butterflies and birds and cocoa and sustainable agriculture and only stopped when a bus load of people from the ship started walking up the path. Well worth a visit and the nothing less than 70% cocoa was delicious.



Hemant asked if we interested in going to the botanical gardens. We all said no, lets head to twon and the hot pools.

We'd had a lovely few hours and Hemant such a lovely gentle guy.

The hot pools were, hilarious. We all got out with towels and walked into a fenced area that had a few bubbling puddle. They weren't hot pools for bathing in, they were for cokking in. Hahahahahaha. Oh well.



Our US friends headed back to the ship and we went in search of t-shirts and beer. T-shirts were found at a mens large clothing store in the main street. Cheap and excellent quality.

Savusavu Bay



Beer was back at the tender jetty at Copra Shed Marina and who was sat in there? M&K of course!

Is that a new beer I spy? S16, quite delicious



new bff gang



time to head back to the ship, just about last tender too



KokoMana chocolate



bye Savusavu, not the day we thought we were going to have but an excellent day nevertheless

 

[bPeteb]

June 20 Dravuni Island, Fiji

Just a glorious day, with a pall of sadness over some of us later in the day.

Dravuni Island is tiny as you can see by the below image and scale



Pretty much the only thing to do here apart from get a massage, snorkel and lie on the beach is to walk up to the lookout, and NCL offers this walk as a shore excursion. I think it was USD80. I kid you not. If you used your $50 shorex credit it would'only' be USD110 for the walk. Good to know in advance that no nudity was allowed. I was so planning to free Willy, and Colin.



approaching Dravuni Island



relaxing brekkie out the back of the buffet



There was no rush to get off but when 9.30 came around and open tenders were called the stairwell filled. And the line didn't move. They had two issues. One tender had broken down on the double tender platform, and the swell had picked up making it difficult to get off or onto the other tender.

People grumbled and complained. Then more people started coming out of the lift down on deck 4 where the tenders left from, much to the annoyance of most Gee, it's an island with nothing to do. What's the worry? You won't be back in time for lunch? You'll be so thirsty you might need to pay for a beer on shore. Oh blah.

Eventually the line started moving and we were soon on a very bumpy ride to shore. We were suprised to see people already heading back before 10.30 but then lots of people on cruises want smooth concrete paths, spotless toilets and Costco. Dravuni was not that place.

We saved USD110 and walked up the hill unassisted. Just why would you pay? It was actually quite a decent hike and it was clear many were struggling with both the rough path and the steepness. The view was excellent.



We'd bumped into K&M (who for some reason had paid for the walk) and they said not to bother walking through to the beach on the other side. They said it was blowing a gale and not very pleasent, so we didn't.

Instead we went for a snorkel on the main beach where we saw about two fish and a lot of sea grass. The water was beautiful and warm though so we didn't care.



lots of little stalls all along the area up off the beach where the tiny community lived.



Mainly colourful wraps for sale. Some t-shirts and singlets. There were a couple of stalls selling beer, and some more selling food.

ALso lots of stalls offering massages. I think it was F$30 for 15 minutes neck and shoulder. I really should take more notice. It was a very good massage from a lovely older lady who massged while her husband talked to me. Just 90 people live on the island and they depend on cruise ship visits to generate the income needed to improve their lot. Sadly just one visit in May, two in June and none in July. They were a lovely couple.

We had bbq tuna for lunch. A few too many bones for us both but what we ate was super tasty.



then we lazed on the beach with K&M and had a few more beers. It was when we were sat here that they told us someone had died during the Savusavu visit.

One of the Chinese passengers had a heart attack when he was on a snorkeling excursion. He was travelling on his own as part of one of the large groups. They were told that they had brought his body back onto the ship. That sounded strange to me but who knows. I felt quite sad that someone had come all the way here but would not be going home to share their adventures.



nearly last tender again

 

[bPeteb]

I'd missed a bunch of bAlt's photos from earlier in the day so here they are.

A wander round the deserted ship quite early

Magnum's



the art gallery full of rubbish art



photos that we didn't bother looking at



and the NCL store that we didn't step inside of (or any other shop for that matter)



island photos



I think this is a piece of turtle shell, found on the beach



when we got back on board we stopped at The Local and grabbed something to eat, because we could.



The servings at The Local were small, well that's my justification for either a very late second lunch, or an early pre-dinner. It was also our last chance to catch up with K&M as they were off asap in the morning. They had booked a day tour from Denarau before they flew out that night. Carry on only for a cruise! Whattttt????

We still hadn't had a swim in the main pool so got our gear on and went up to deck 12 and had a paddle. This pool was excellent. I wish we'd realised earlier. Super deep at one end and a beautiful temperature



I had to take a pic of this as we walked past the buffet on the way to Onda



We had our last specialty dinner. It was at Ondo by Scarpetta and we thoroughly enjoyed it. It is a lovely space on deck 12 opposite the outdoor area of the buffet. Food was simple and delicious.




and so with a few last drinks at Magnum's our excellent 12 night South Pacific cruise was very close to coming to an end