(Heading to Sydney!)I leave my curtains open all the time which is currently problematic as the dawn light woke me at 4:35am this morning. The advantage to this is that I could go online and the internet is only slow, not glacial like in the afternoon. I walked 5 laps (2 miles) after coffee, and … Continue reading Day 29: At Sea

We’re still in New Caledonia, today on the largest island of Lifou. Although grand in size it’s small in stature. As far as we can see there’s just a small rise leading up from the pier, mikes of flatness, and it’s this small hill that Aspen & I trekked up on our way to the … Continue reading Day 28: Lifou, New Caledonia

Up at 5am to watch our approach to our port in Noumea. I was slightly too late as we were just exiting the channel between some amazing uninhabited (?) islands. I’ll need to rise 4:30 am tomorrow to catch both sunrise & the islands! We had a tugboat standing by to help us ease into … Continue reading Day 27: Noumea, New Caledonia

10am marks the daily briefing from the captain re: our position, weather, tomorrow’s ETA. Particularly interesting today was that the ocean is warmer than the air (29° vs. 24°) and that we’re sailing in waters 20,300’ deep! We’ve been advised not to drop our car keys overboard, ha ha. Today’s a windy day with a … Continue reading Day 26: At Sea

Vanuatu - a little grouping of 83 islands that won its independence in 1980 was our destination today. I’ve another tour booked today: “Discover the Blue Lagoon, Cascades & Swim with Turtles”. I’ve lucked out with a fun driver & guide who took 12 of us from the cruise ship port in 15-seater van around … Continue reading Day 25: Vanuatu

A day off! That’s what a day at sea feels like, no need to set an alarm or be somewhere at a certain time. Shore days I’m awake before 6am as I must check our progress into port and/or line up to get a tender ticket if we’re anchoring. Today I had the luxury of … Continue reading Day 24: At Sea

I was on deck early again as I’m always eager to catch my first glimpse of our destination. We entered the fringing reef on the western side about 6:45am but Fiji is a huge island and it took about an hour to sail slowly up the coast to our port. A very grey day to … Continue reading Day 22: Lautoka, Fiji

"Bula! Bula!" (Hello! Greetings!) We're still on the main Fijian island of Viti Levu but are now docked diagonally opposite to yesterday’s port - we’re now in the southeastern corner of the island in the capital town of Suva. Today I’m doing a CruiseCritic forum recommended island tour: “The Jewel of Fiji”, it’s got canoeing … Continue reading Day 23: Suva, Fiji

Well, not really. We didn't actually get a Wednesday as we crossed the International Date Line last night and went directly from Tuesday to Thursday! So just one day at sea... By coincidence I met up with Aspen for breakfast and played morning trivia with Chad. The rest of the day was pretty laid back … Continue reading Day 20 & 21: At Sea

First, thanks everyone for the kind birthday wishes! Today we docked at a place that was never on my travel radar - American Samoa. It’s a very non-touristy place with the main employer being the local Sunkist tuna cannery (“You can smell it before you see it!”) and the US government 2nd. There’s not the … Continue reading Day 19: Pago Pago