Last sea day 10 Jan

Thankfully slept a lot more through the night. Attempted breakfast of some cereal with milk and a cup of tea. All good so far. There is usually very little in each days activities that is of interest to us. All much more suited to a nursing home or casino. With the Entertainment fellow's morning message over the loudspeakers, we hear him say the carpet bowls are cancelled. I say 'Well, that's my day ruined' and with that our last day at sea began. Headed to craft where numbers are very much down again. We had only just started putting stickers on our banner when a call from the captain was made for any one with O+ or O- blood to attend the conference room for a blood drive. Clearly someone was in need of blood and quickly. I'm O- so headed to the designated area where there were already a lot of people, which was good to see, but a lot were turned away as we were each being asked if we had drunk alcohol in the previous 24 hours. I seemed to be one of the few who could honestly say no. I was then asked how long it had been since my last donation, but as it was only 2 months, I couldn't donate again as they were requiring a 12 week period. It's probably just as well I didnt donate as I certainly hadnt eaten much in the last 24 hours! Eventually a call came out to say they had enough blood.

Now it's lunch time and I still dont have an appetite so Julie has insisted I put in the blog to show what a great friend she is, that she gave me permission to eat a banana in her presence. And this from a woman who detests bananas! What a girlfriend... LOL. I head up to guest services to check with them re details for our disembarkation in the morning. It was nice to go there and not lodge a complaint. We will have an early start in the morning and Julie's biggest worry is if we can still have breakfast in our cabin first. Turns out that we can't. Next stop is the photo gallery. There are photographers roaming the ship most days and of some evenings they have formal nights wher you can have your photo taken against different back drops. Took ages to locate our photos amongst the great unwashed, but we both eventually found 3 photos that we liked, which are included in both of our packages.

I head back to the cabin to pack my suitcase which we have to have outside our cabin by 9 tonight. It is a bit odd as it restricts what toiletries and clothes we will have for tomorrow, plus have to have dirty clothes from tonight in our carry on bags! Anyway, I'm pooped after packing so have a lay down while Julie goes to a music show in the theatre, the ship's version of The Voice, where a 16 year old girl won. Julie returns to the cabin and it is her turn to pack. She has to remove the bandaids from the sensor on the overhead light near the clothes racks so that she has enough light to see what she is doing. Those bandaids certainly did the trick of not lighting up the cabin every time one of us used the bathroom during the night. Not sure how we will go tonight. We head for pre dinner drinks and I am very tentative with a glass of wine and some nibbles. Time to head for dinner. We are booked in for the Crown Grill which is the really good specialty restaurant. It is $68 per person, but we had 2 specialty restaurant meals included in our package. However as an apology for all the times we lost power in the cabin, and the poor service, we were offered an extra specialty dining experience which we duly booked in for the last night of our cruise. All I can say is that I am so happy I didnt pay for it as I could barely eat a thing, Im still feeling no hunger at all. The food was excellent but after only 2 bite of my beef chop, which is the largest chop in the world!, I was done. Our waiter was most concerned for me but I told him that I truly was full and not able to eat any more. He said that this happens when people get emotional that their holiday is coming to an end, I didnt have the heart to tell him that it was the blasted mussells from 2 nights ago... Julie's lobster was apparently delicious!

We head back to the cabin and sort the last packing of our suitcases as they have to be out the door by 9pm. Julie wants to go to the show but I doubt I could sit comfortably through it, especially if it is crowded, so elect to stay in the cabin, catch up on the blog and attempt an early night. At dinner, Julie asked me what rating I would give this cruise. I had a think about it and decided on 7. She gave it an 8. Dear armchair travellers, I hope you have enjoyed touring with us, apart from the mussells! We are off the ship at 8 in the morning and our flight home is at 12.15pm so all going well I will be back home in Adelaide mid afternoon, have the suitcase unpacked shortly after and the first load of washing underway before dinner. You may want to keep your passports handy though, as we are off to Canada and Alaska in May! Bon Voyage.

sea day 9 Jan

What a night! No sleep at all until after 3am when I finally stopped rushing to the bathroom. Cant remember when I have felt and been sooooo sick. Finally with nothing left inside me, that was the last of the bathroom visits. Poor Julie wanted to know if she should call the doctor but there wasnt any point. I just needed to get rid of what ever was in my system. We both agreed that it must have been the mussels as I truly had a bad case of food poisoning. So by morning I had barely slept, but didn't feel sick any more , just totally exhausted. I shall spare you any photos as my day was spent in the cabin feeling crappy... Julie spent most of the day wandering the ship, whereas I spent it lounging around the cabin, sipping water or flat lemonade. By 5ish I really needed to rouse myself as it is the Captain's cocktails tonight and I don't want to miss that. What was a total coincidence with my bout of food poisoning overnight, was the morning announcement from the Captain that there was now a lot of gastro on the ship so he was reminding everyone to be vigilant about hand washing, and that the staff are doing a lot more cleaning of the public areas throughout the day. Julie said that there have been a lot less people throughout the ship all day, and hardly anyone at craft so Im wondering how many really have gastro, and how many ate the mussels! Last night when we came back to the cabin after the show, there were 4 envelopes on the bed for us. We have now both received 2 apology letters each from the managers of guest services, 'in recognition of the inconveniences' we have experienced they are offering us each a total of $300 future cruise credit. We arent sure if it is a mistake to receive 2 letters as it is the same cut and paste wording on each apart from the dates on the letters, but we are going to safely store them away, in the case that we might take them up on the offer. I wonder if I go back to guest services and tell them that we lost power again last night while I wasin the bathroom getting changed into my jammies! Julie plugged in the ipad to recharge and that blew the curcuit! thankfully it was quickly fixed. Just as well, asit was shortly after that when I had only been in bed minutes, that I was sick, sick, sick! We dressed up for our Captains Cocktails and even had our photos taken by the onboard photographers. The cocktail party was a fizzer! The bar it was held in was full. We still dont know why we were invited as it was for repeat passengers, many more than we have done. One couple have done the equivalent of almost 7 years cruising! Another was some 1700 collective days cruising. Anyway, there wasnt any food and as it was 7pm, we then headed for dinner. I didnt think I would be up for much so just had creamy tomato soup. I only managed half of it. Julie was headed off yo the evening show and I headed back to bed. The tomato soup didnt last long and I felt better after getting it out of my system. So today has been spent being miserable and fatigued. We know that there is gastro on the ship, but I remain convinced that the mussells are to blame for my being sick. Hopefully a better night's sleep will do the trick.

Sea day 8 Jan

Whole of ship announcement over the speakers at 4.30 this morning, that we were circling back towards Noumea for a medical emergency where a helicopter would be coming to the ship to airlift a passenger. It all went off successfully but I heard later in the morning some complaints from people who had to get out of their cabins while the extraction took place. Bloody idiots. Didnt they understand that the helicopter couldn't land on the ship, so the helicopter had to lower the cradle for the passenger to be loaded onto. The ship was rolling about in the sea, and there was the possibility that the cradle could have crashed into those cabins nearest to where the helicopter was hovering! Anyhow, happy ending as the helicopter didnt crash and the woman has been safely delivered to hospital. Poor Julie slept through the helicopter arrival and was miffed that I didnt wake her. The girl could sleep on a corrogated fence in a tornado! After breakfast and a late start to the day,we head to craft where we do cross-stitch. My needle broke so it is a UFO that can wait until I get home to finish.

It is now lunch time but Im not very hungry so have a pie. No where near as good as my pie maker can do! We then head to the theatre fir an afternoon show that Julie has dragged me along to - a juggler comedian! Oh dear. That was almost and hour of my day I am never going to get back. Time for a cuppa and the afternoon quiz. Too many science and astronomy questions in this lot for me. Back to the cabin and some reading time. Julie is watching some programme on Princess Diana.. and being a republican through and through, I have no interest, so am happy working on the blog. Time for canapes and pre dinner drinks. We spoke with a new staff member of guest services. Alia had been with Princess for 2 weeks, from Bosia. She is 23 and such a sweet girl. We chatted for ages and at one stage she got teary saying we were being so kind and supportive of her. She even said that she got goose bumps. It really was a lovely chat with her and then it was time for dinner. It is like someone has flipped a switch re service, as the wait staff could not be more helpful or attentive. I had mussels, chicken and coconut creme caramel.

Time for the show so we head to the theatre where we are expecting a singer/impersonator. He was very average at best and never sounded like the artists he said it would be. Anyhow, it is time for bed so back to the cabin. Not feeling 100% and as it transpired I was as sick as a dog through the night. More in tomorrow's blog...

Sea day 7 Jan

Lots of rocking and rolling last night but I'm doing well so either I am no longer a shocking sailor who is sick at the first wave, or the tablets are doing the trick! Breakfast in the cabin at nine and a leisurely start to the day. Time to head for coffee and then take up our spot for craft where today's session is napkin folding. Managed to master all 7 so if you need me to help make your next dinner party a success, I am available at very competitive rates.

We then head to the Vines bar where we order a chacuterie board for our lunch. As we are booked for Sabatinis again for dinner, we have opted for an early light lunch. I need to point out that Julie ate all of the chocolate balls!

We then headed off for the trivia quiz which was all logos to identify. We didnt do too badly. The tie breaker question was what was Mark Zuckerberg worth? I got closer than Julie with my $17 billion response but no where near the $209 USD billion correct answer! Time for reading in the cabin and Julie's off to work on that darn jigsaw again. Julie has returned to the cabin and is very pleased with herself as the jigsaw is finished. We watch 'The Fall Guy' which turned out to be a waste of time as the storyline was silly. I expect much better from Emily Blunt! We have decided not to go for canapes tonight as we know there are 5 courses to make our way through at the Italian restaurant. Time for dinner so we head to Sabatinins and are greeted like old friends. It is with much trepidation that we are seated at a table to be served by Dragan, the same waiter who did such a bad job of tending to us on new years eve... However tonight's service was as we were expecting on our first visit, which was as excellent as the food.

I only managed 3 1/2 courses. Julie got through the 5. I did manage to fit in a Tiramisu cocktail at the end. I wanted a choc mint martini but that wasnt available. Damn!

Time to head to the theatre for a Freddie Mercury tribute show. The singer had a very good voice so sang the numbers well, but he also fancied himself as a comedian and insisted in telling corny jokes throughout. His act was more fitting to a country RSL club rather than the internationally acclaimed act he was introduced as. I just groaned throughout the unfunny blurbs. Mind you, there were others in he theatre who thought he was hilarious so there's no accounting for taste. My dad was one for 'dad jokes' but even he wouldn't have found this guy funny and probably would have squirmed in his seat along with me. Show over and I'm off to bed. It has been a very lazy day. 3 more sea days ahead til we are back on dry land.

Dravuni Island 6 January

Quite a surprise last night when we returned to our cabin, to find our we have been invited to cocktails with the Captain in a couple of days! Not sure if it is totally random who they invite or because guest setvices got to know me by my first name for the complaints about power outages and poor service!!! Anyway, we are definitely going and I'm already kicking myself that I didnt bring the blue taffeta and tiara for the occasion. (Okay, the blue taffeta is long gone and it wouldn't fit me these days, but you get the picture, right?)

I had hoped for a sleep in this morning as we had both decided that we were not interested in going onto Dravuni Island this morning as no shore excursions were offered and we would have had to tender onto and off the island which had proven to be a nightmare previously. However at 6.30 they started lowering the tenders and that was bloody noisy. Then shortly after, every ten minutes they were calling for people to board the tenders and this continued in rapid succession until about 10am and then intermittently throughout the rest of the day. There wasnt anything of interest for me on the island as it is simply a nice sandy beach where swimming or snorkelling is what others are interested in. The local village is very small. Apparently it takes about 15 minutes to walk the width of the island so, no, not interested in being on a tender to get there and back. Just as well we decided about the island visit as there was sporadic rain, high humidity and low visibility all morning and into the afternoon.

So, after a 9 am breakfast and a lazy morning, we headed for coffee and as it was so busy on the deck with people waiting to be called to board the tender, there wasnt a seat in sight. Trying our luck we headed to a nearby restaurant where they do the craft sessions on sea days, and askecif it eas okay to sit there and have our coffees. We werent at all confident that we would be allowed in due to the sign indicating elite guests only, but we were welcomed in an enjoyed a quiet and comfortable spot for our morning tea. We then had a walk around the deck but it proved windy and wet at the stern of the ship so only did one lap. Had we managed 2 and a half laps we would have covered a mile.

I then found a lovely quiet spot to read while Julie headed back to the ever present jigsaw she was working on. We met up for lunch and had a nice British pub style meal. I order the chicken curry and trifle. I make a much better trifle, but as I didn't have to do the dishes I was happy enough with their version. For dessert, Julie opted for the bread and butter pudding but tried to explain to the waiter that she wanted it without custard as the menu indicated that it was with custard so she thought there would be more custard served along with it. I tried to tell her that it was simply an explanation of what it consisted of... bread and butter, custard and raisins. She wouldn't accept that. I eventually tried to get her to understand that she had totally confused the poor waiter in telling him that she didnt want custard with the pudding, but wanted cream. English was not his first lanlanguage was soooooo confused by her request. I said that bread and butter pudding without custard is simply a piece of bread with butter on it! It wasnt like she was going to get the raisins served in a little bowl along with the bread and butter! So when dessert finally came I asked the waiter to bring her some cream which he duly did so that she could put it on top of the bread and butter pudding.... Just another moment in my life experiencing a Julie moment... And then she couldn't fit much of it in...

Lunch out of the way and Julie heads back to her jigsaw and I'm back at my quiet spot catching up on the blog and reading. This really is the life and I was clearly born to be a lady of leisure, pity my parents didn't know that and brought me up to have to work for a living! A pleasant afternoon for more reading in my quiet spot. Julie found me later and we went for coffee. We found a table for two near the cafe so Julie grabbed the table and I went and ordered the coffee which did take a while but in the interim a woman had asked Julie if the seat by her was free. Julie told her that she was saving it for me. Because the woman apparently looked lost Julie told her she could sit with us if she wanted to, so as I am heading to the table with our coffees, this woman is dragging a chair from nearby to sit with us. Immediately she tells us her name is Frances. She is from Sydney, travelling alone. Thankfully she had her back to me so I couldn't hear all she was telling Julie about why she travels alone and something about how good a canoli cook she is, blah blah. She then tells us how she gets constipated so has to take a tablet which makes her go everyday. In fact the word she used was'drop' every day. Not to be content with that gem she went on to tell us she was lactose intolerant (she is eating a rice pudding at this time, while waiting for her coffee order) and had previously been constipated for 2 days due to the different food on the ship. Thankfully she was called up to the counter for her coffee at which time I have said to Julie that she sure can pick them! We are to make a hasty retreat as soon as she comes back to the table, which we did... We then went to the quiz which was well under way. The young man running the quiz was a lot of fun and even though we didn't take part in the quiz we had lots of laughs at his stories and how he ran the session. Julie has retreated to her jigsaw and I'm happy to go up to the cabin and blog and read until it is time for pre dinner drinks. the rain finally stopped late afternoon and it was time to depart the island. That's the last landfall we will now stop at until Sydney.

Dinner was pleasant with chicken dumpling pho and roast chicken.

Time for the show which was an 80s disco turned. Now time for bed. In delaying the island the ship had gotten quite a rock and roll going so I'm relying on my tablets to stop potential sea sickness. Time will tell.

Suva 5 January

Not liking these early morning calls! We are on holiday after all. Have arrived at Suva and docked. It was only a 4 hour drive from Lautoka to Suva so we anchored offshore overnight.

Breakfast at 7 and then we congregate in the theatre until our tour number is called.... 30 minutes late. Anyway, today is the Best of Suva tour. Some beautiful old buildings.

The Grand Hotel has suites for about$4000 Fijian a night. Queen Elizabeth stayed here during her tour of the Pacific Islands in 1953, as have many Perth dignitaries.

First photo stop is of Parliament house and gardens. Depending on who is in power whether this building is used or another one which is currently the Court house.

Next stop is the museum housed in Thurston Gardens.

Next photo stop is Government house where the poor guard has to stand sentry all day. The gardens were lovely.

And then we stop at the second building alterately used by parliament.

Fiji is a very religious country where everyone is expected to attend chirch or the non Christian eqivalent. Indians make up the second largest population, so there are plenty of Hindu temples around, with lots more predominantly Methodist ones. Most shops are closed on Sundays apart from some supermarkets and department/souvenir shops specifically open for tourists.

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