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| A colourful energetic Fijian meke (Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) |
As mentioned previously, we went on 5 day cruises of which 3 had very similar themes. This post is going to be about these three.
I hope that you'll find the information here helpful for making wise vacation plans that will maximise your enjoyment and give you the best value for your money.
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| Historically the Fijians were warriors (Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) |
Captain Cook Cruises
Captain Cook Cruises picked us up from our hotel in a very comfortable coach promptly at the indicated time.We were greeted by a group of friendly staff who later entertained us with local songs. Even their safety information presentation was entertaining.
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| Welcome to Captain Cook Cruises (Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) |
The journey to Vitua Island took just over an hour.
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| I can see the island (Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) |
Vitua Island is quite picturesque from the sea with its beautiful white sandy beach. When we arrived, their other vessel, a tall ship, was already moored there.
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| Tivua Island (Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) |
The island itself is not very large and you can quite comfortably walk all around it in less than an hour.
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| On the sandy beaches of Tivua Island (Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) |
We brought our own snorkels and masks so did not need to borrow theirs. There are canoes, paddle boards and a glass bottom boat tour that you can participate in.
Although the island is supposedly surrounded by majestic coral reefs, as we were encouraged not to go out too far, we did not actually encounter them in their full glory. We also didn't see the medicine nature walk, nor learn to husk or weave coconut fibres or participate in a traditional kava ceremony mentioned on their website. In spite of that, it was a relaxing day.
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| First, the sun screen (Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) |
Buffet lunch was served in the main 'hut'. There is quite a selection of food including vegetables, meat and fish to choose from. Beer, wine and soft drinks were included with the meals along with fruit. Unfortunately, what we wanted more than any sweetened drinks was just cold water.
There isn't a 'gong' or bell to alert you to when the meal is served unfortunately. We were too busy swimming on the far side and lunch was well underway when we arrived at the indicated time.
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| Ahh, coconut (Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) |
As we were to arrive back in port by 5 pm, it didn't feel like we had had much time on the island. But, that was fairly typical of the day cruises we went on with the exception of the South Sea Island full day cruise as it was only 30 minutes away by fast speed catamaran.
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| Cruising in the rain (Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) |
Similar to most days we were there, it being December, while the day could start out beautiful with blue skies and narry a cloud, it started raining and storming about late afternoon. The cheerful well trained crew brought us all safely back to shore by which time the rain had subsided.
PJ's Sailing Adventures
Another cruise that we'd booked prior to arrival in Fiji was PJ's Sailing Adventures.This group is pitched as a boutique sailing operation with high emphasis on fun and plenty of activities. In this respect, it was quite accurate.
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| PJ's Sailing Adventures (Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) |
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| A mesmerising performance (Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) |
Philip who played the guitar magnetised us with his voice and did what the pipe piper did with his flute, only he did it with his singing. Tom was unbridled talent making do with an old plastic bucket and worn out snorkelling tube for drums. Ken played the ukelele and made the performance complete.
It took us nearly an hour and a half sail out to Serenity Island. This island used to be called Bounty Island until recently when it was sold to its current American owner. (The island is still named Bounty Island on Google Maps however.)
The crew handed out drinks and fruit both on the way out and back. They even did a weaving demonstration on the return trip.
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| This is nice! (Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) |
The boat can take a maximum of 29 passengers. As far as seating went, we sat where we could find space on the open deck. I was glad to have my sunscreen, hat and sarong handy to provide further shade to what the sail offered.There are only thin metal guard rails around the vessel, so if you have wandering toddlers, I would recommend a toddler 'leash' and staying in the enclosed covered area near the rear of the boat.
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| The cheerful crew (Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) |
Upon arrival we were greeted with a refreshing fruit punch. Shortly after that we were instructed on the procedure for our snorkelling excursion. This was a well 'chaperoned' snorkelling excursion and we were able to experience what the coral reef had to offer. We were however not prepared for the sea lice that were present in the tropical waters at the time of year which somewhat marred our snorkelling experience. You can read about how you can prepare for such eventualities in one of my earlier posts.
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| Oops! I meant to take a photo of it earlier (Photo taken by and copyright Maria) |
Those who prefer a more controlled environment than the sea can swim in the pool or relax on deck chairs around the well proportioned decked area.
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| Which will you choose? The pool or the deck chair (Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) |
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| Ocean view by the pool (Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) |
The built up area is quite extensive and impressive. The restaurant area was very comfortable and reflected a true resort experience as it also caters for overnight guests. The shower block was in keeping with the rest of the place.
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| The meals area (Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) |
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| The meals area (Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) |
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| Meandering paths and sheltered spaces for groups big and small (Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) |
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| Hawksbill turtle (Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) |
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| More about the Hawksbill Turtle (Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) |
This was one island where departing was difficult for me - partly also because of the short time we were able to stay on the island. Yet within the short time allocated, we had a very leisurely lunch with a main, dessert, drink as well as tea/coffee. This was no buffet style lunch and it included table service.
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| Lunch (Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) |
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| Dessert (Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) |
After lunch we attended a talk about the coconut palm. It is truly the tree of life as every part of the palm and fruit is useful for food, shelter and other practical uses (notice the 'sieve' in the photo below). We also tasted pure coconut milk from freshly grated coconut.
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| It doesn't get any fresher than this (Photo copyright Maria Ngo) |
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| Someone should sign them up (Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) |
South Sea Cruises
As with the other cruises, we took the full day package offered by South Sea Cruises. Each cruise company appear to have their own particular island that they bring day trippers to and which they are responsible for. |
| A bula welcome (Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) |
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| Paddle boards, kayaks and other non-motorised equipment for your use (Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) |
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| Glass bottom boat (Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) |
They were able to differentiate the different groups by their different coloured wrist bands. On the whole, it was a well run operation - staff on land and on board were professional, helpful and friendly.
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| Welcome (Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) |
There is a dive shop on the island as well for those who might like to have a go at diving. They offered introductory classes as well as advanced.
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| Dive shop (Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) |
You can snorkel directly off the island from the beach or you can take one of their boats that take you further out to deeper water to have a go at feeding the fish.
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| Hello hermit crab (Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) |
Of the three islands that we visited in this comparison, South Sea Island offered the most seating areas and shade. There were mats, hammocks, bean bags and chairs scattered around the island and we were well catered for.
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| Plump beanbags (Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) |
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| Hammocks a beckoning (Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) |
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| Shady palm trees (Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) |
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| Sun lovers and shade seekers (Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) |
I met a lady who didn't even go into the water but was happy to enjoy the relaxed atmosphere of the island on her day off with narry a care and with unlimited supply of soft drinks, bottled water, tea/coffee and an extensive buffet lunch.
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| Lunch (Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) |
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| Self-service tea and coffee (Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) |
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| Traditional Fijian dance harking back to more warlike times (Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) |
There was a small pool on the island which I felt was built for a smaller number of guests than we had that day.
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| An alternative to the sea (Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) |
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| A relaxing massage (Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) |
This small island does not have its own water supply. All water is brought to the island and at the end of the day, we saw the rubbish bins being emptied and taken away to be disposed off elsewhere.
There is accommodation for overnight guests and shower facilities is very basic.
As the distance between the island and Denarau Marina is only half an hour, we found that this cruise offered us the most time on the actual island.
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| My island princess (Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) |
Conclusion
So in summary, while most cruises offer some sort of meal/drinks package, I found that it would have been helpful for me to have known in advance if drinks included plain water. If not, I'd have brought my own supply. Being a borderline diabetic means that I have to be conscious of my sugar consumption and soft drinks isn't on my list of prefered fluids especially when I've been out in the sun enjoying water sports. |
| Free flowing soft drinks (Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) |
Weather is another factor to consider. It can get rather wet during the Australian summer holidays (Dec-Jan) in Fiji on the west coast (around Nadi) with tropical thunderstorms forecast for the mid to late afternoon most days. We were there for 18 days from early December onwards but we encountered pretty good weather most of the time we were there. The downpours typically lasted just a few hours and then cleared up. Only on a few days did the heavy clouds hang around during the daytime.
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| Sailing (Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) |
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| A Fijian meke (Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) |
If I have young kids (babies, toddlers and older), knowing ahead of time the type of vessel, length of sea travel as well as whether child-minding was available on the island or not and whether my children are 'water babies', prone to sea-sickness or not would determine if I went on the cruise or not. As it turned out, one couple brought their few month old baby along on the South Sea Island cruise. They did dip into the water but they weren't into diving. Another family had 2 young primary/pre-primary aged kids and one of them became rather sea-sick on the return trip. The 1.5 hour return trip in windy conditions did tax my personal tolerance in spite of having taken motion-sickness tablet as a precaution.
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| The youngest tourist (Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) |
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| Washed up by the sea (Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) |
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| A sea urchin test or outer skeleton which is made up of ten fused plates (Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) |
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| Every day is a holiday when you are having fun (Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) |
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| Time to put my feet up (Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) |
P.S. After this series on Fiji, I have in the pipeline Western Australia, South Australia and Queensland over the next few months.
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