dontdiwundrin

Hope you have a great trip. I am so envious, this is something on my list of things to do, and will look forward to reading your reviews.

I'd like to visit "places less travelled" as this itinerary seems to do, so maybe next year. We haven't yet taken a river cruise, we're only quite new to cruising with 2 on the Paul Gauguin.

I know you have a real flair for communicating and that makes for great enjoyment for those that "travel with you"......:)

All the best, and safe and happy travels to you and your husband.

WOW! Sounds like your trip was MUCH different from our last one huh? What an amazing way to see some of those places though! So glad you did your review, I loved it!

Yes, it was quite a change from our 10 day French Polynesian cruise. I am delighted that you read my review and enjoyed it.

I really appreciate it when people take the time to post their opinions - good or bad on the experience in the PG, - makes for "interesting " conversations, doesn't' it??? :confused:

(You know the thread I mean!)...

Really enjoyed your review, Tess.

 

Thanks,

Kim

pleased you found it enjoyable, Kim. I certainly learnt a lot on this trip.

I must say thanks to all those who have commented favourably on my review - that makes all the typing worthwhile!! :)

Tess

Enjoyed your review.

Thanks for reading it!:)

Aww, very kind of you! Yes, I do plan to post my river cruise review- similar style, but it will take a while before DH has all those photos ready;)

 

I do hope to see yours!

 

 

Miriam, so you are awaiting boarding! :D Can't wait for your review!

 

As for excursions; there is only one problem, repeatedly reported here, and on board, it's been a problem for a long time, and the longer it goes on, the longer it begs the question exactly what kinds of skills the woman brings to her job, and who is responsible for evaluating them.

I note your comments, perhaps a broader question is "who puts the excursions together, - is this a land-based or ship-based task"?

It may be that we are critical of the implementer (who possibly could be more helpful on occasions) - Or is PG Marketing Dept. delivering to the ship-based staff an inadequately researched and untried set of excursions?

It is a great shame that this aspect of PG's offering is repeatedly criticised, and seemingly without anyone taking any remedial action.

I think they would gain so much if they had satisfied customers in this area of their product.

Just imagine - how good it would be for PG, - if every guest went on every excursion and came back really happy and satisfied!!

Miriam, glad you thought my review was fair and balanced, I hoped it was.

I tried to include details of daily events as well as my personal impressions of the destinations, the attitude of staff and crew, and some of the reactions/feedback from other guests I spoke with on the cruise.

I really hope you and all the other Repeaters have a fantastic time on the PG on this cruise in a few days, and you have great weather too. I am sure everyone is getting very excited!

Delighted that the weather is good in Tahiti.

Sadly we could not make this voyage, it was too close to getting back from this one last week.!

We will try for the next Repeaters in FP.:) Please advise me when you know a date.

Anyway, Bon Voyage to all, and I look forward to hearing about it.

Tess

photo attempt on the list ....fingers crossed!:) I haven't got many, there was a camera/operator malfunction.....(me).

Thanks for your comments, I'm pleased you liked reading it.

Yours was pretty spectacular, I recall reading it and acknowledging soon as you posted it.

I hope you will do similar on your upcoming river cruise, - something I haven't been on yet.

:o seems like the word document just got copied and pasted more than once.

that's me finished !! more than 6300 words ..... enough, already!

Thanks for reading. I'll try and delete the last entry or two.

Saturday 30th August --- Bon Voyage - The cruise is over!

Breakfast in La Veranda, vacate the stateroom by 9.30am and off the ship by 10am. Say farewell to our lovely Raehlynn who looked after our cabin.

I gave her my perfume as she really like it! And all those we met on board and left our key cards and descended the stairs.

Decided to get a taxi to the airport, that was really easy, taxis were just right at the dock and very inexpensive $15USD. (Plus a $2 tip) It took around 20/30 mins to drive and then we only had a 6 hour wait for our flight!

For information, Fiji airport does have air-con, I think, but it’s very hot in there, wear cool clothes if possible. It was very, very busy – maybe it was because it was a Saturday

. And the 6hrs took a long time to go by….. We saw many other guests from the ship all on their way to various locations, all agreed that the airport and the waiting for flights is always an awful way to end a cruise!

In conclusion, this has been my personal recollection and review of the time spent on the Paul Gauguin and obviously by its very nature is subjective.

Would I cruise with PG again? – Yes, but we would check more carefully what shore time and accessibility to “time in the water” was available.

Did I enjoy the cruise? – Yes – it, afforded my husband and I the opportunity to visit remote locations that we had only read about. I learnt much from the enrichment lectures, not least immense sympathy for the people of West Papua.

However, I was quite disappointed there was so little time in Samarai Island, and for me personally too much time in Port Moresby.

This change may have forced on PG because of necessary refuelling (the original itinerary when we booked had Rabaul as the first port in PNG) and understand that prompt and efficient refuelling in a rarely visited location must be a challenge.

But 7am until 10pm (in fact it was 1.30am the following day we eventually sailed) seemed far too long in a town that was not fully suitable for tourists.

If PG decide to undertake this itinerary again I would encourage more detailed explanation of the areas to be visited and to set realistic expectations.

We didn’t see many easily accessible areas of coral that were expected (without undertaking excursions), which was really our only disappointment.

I believe this is a fair and reasonable view of the trip from a couple with reasonable expectations.

We suspected this itinerary would not be as efficiently managed by PG and would encourage them not to give up in taking passengers on “adventure cruises”.

We would only ask for factual recent detail on the ports in the daily programme, and for them to try to ensure their booking agents understand when PG is sailing outside their normal well-rehearsed destinations in French Polynesia what can and will be achieved.

Set expectations lower and exceed, rather than set them too high and not deliver.

If relatively expensive excursions are sold– they need to deliver the value, not just the experience. Some guests said they didn’t mind paying over $200 USD for an excursion as long as they felt it gave value to them.

My feeling on leaving the ship was not the ecstatic “we must do this again soon” that we felt in Tahiti. That surprised and disappointed me, as I so much wanted to feel that.

Probably because there was a degree of undercurrent of dissatisfaction that surfaced when talking to other guests about excursions, time at sea, remote destinations, general (non-specific) grumbles etc.

Nonetheless, we were pleased to have been on the cruise and enjoyed the experience. We learnt something more about the area of the Earth we live in and the life of other people here.

There would be no other opportunity to visit Kieta, Bougainville or Samarai Island in Papua New Guinea I imagine, and I am very unlikely to meet many people in my life again that have ever been there!

Well, apart from everyone on this cruise!

Saturday 30th August --- Bon Voyage - The cruise is over!

Breakfast in La Veranda, vacate the stateroom by 9.30am and off the ship by 10am. Say farewell to our lovely Raehlynn who looked after our cabin.

I gave her my perfume as she really like it! And all those we met on board and left our key cards and descended the stairs.

Decided to get a taxi to the airport, that was really easy, taxis were just right at the dock and very inexpensive $15USD. (Plus a $2 tip) It took around 20/30 mins to drive and then we only had a 6 hour wait for our flight!

For information, Fiji airport does have air-con, I think, but it’s very hot in there, wear cool clothes if possible. It was very, very busy – maybe it was because it was a Saturday

. And the 6hrs took a long time to go by….. We saw many other guests from the ship all on their way to various locations, all agreed that the airport and the waiting for flights is always an awful way to end a cruise!

In conclusion, this has been my personal recollection and review of the time spent on the Paul Gauguin and obviously by its very nature is subjective.

Would I cruise with PG again? – Yes, but we would check more carefully what shore time and accessibility to “time in the water” was available.

Did I enjoy the cruise? – Yes – it, afforded my husband and I the opportunity to visit remote locations that we had only read about. I learnt much from the enrichment lectures, not least immense sympathy for the people of West Papua.

However, I was quite disappointed there was so little time in Samarai Island, and for me personally too much time in Port Moresby.

This change may have forced on PG because of necessary refuelling (the original itinerary when we booked had Rabaul as the first port in PNG) and understand that prompt and efficient refuelling in a rarely visited location must be a challenge.

But 7am until 10pm (in fact it was 1.30am the following day we eventually sailed) seemed far too long in a town that was not fully suitable for tourists.

If PG decide to undertake this itinerary again I would encourage more detailed explanation of the areas to be visited and to set realistic expectations.

We didn’t see many easily accessible areas of coral that were expected (without undertaking excursions), which was really our only disappointment.

I believe this is a fair and reasonable view of the trip from a couple with reasonable expectations.

We suspected this itinerary would not be as efficiently managed by PG and would encourage them not to give up in taking passengers on “adventure cruises”.

We would only ask for factual recent detail on the ports in the daily programme, and for them to try to ensure their booking agents understand when PG is sailing outside their normal well-rehearsed destinations in French Polynesia what can and will be achieved.

Set expectations lower and exceed, rather than set them too high and not deliver.

If relatively expensive excursions are sold– they need to deliver the value, not just the experience. Some guests said they didn’t mind paying over $200 USD for an excursion as long as they felt it gave value to them.

My feeling on leaving the ship was not the ecstatic “we must do this again soon” that we felt in Tahiti. That surprised and disappointed me, as I so much wanted to feel that.

Probably because there was a degree of undercurrent of dissatisfaction that surfaced when talking to other guests about excursions, time at sea, remote destinations, general (non-specific) grumbles etc.

Nonetheless, we were pleased to have been on the cruise and enjoyed the experience. We learnt something more about the area of the Earth we live in and the life of other people here.

There would be no other opportunity to visit Kieta, Bougainville or Samarai Island in Papua New Guinea I imagine, and I am very unlikely to meet many people in my life again that have ever been there!

Well, apart from everyone on this cruise!

Saturday 30th August --- Bon Voyage - The cruise is over!

Breakfast in La Veranda, vacate the stateroom by 9.30am and off the ship by 10am. Say farewell to our lovely Raehlynn who looked after our cabin.

I gave her my perfume as she really likes it! And farewell to all those we met on board. We left our key cards and descended the stairs.

Decided to get a taxi to the airport, that was really easy, taxis were just right at the dock and very inexpensive $15USD. (Plus a $2 tip)

It took around 20/30 mins to drive and then we only had a 6 hour wait for our flight!

For information, Fiji airport does have air-con, I think, but it’s very hot in there, wear cool clothes if possible. It was very, very busy – maybe it was because it was a Saturday.

. And the 6hrs took a long time to go by….. We saw many other guests from the ship on their way to various locations, all agreed that the airport and the waiting for flights is always an awful way to end a cruise!

In conclusion, this has been my personal recollection and review of the time spent on the Paul Gauguin and obviously by its very nature is subjective.

Would I cruise with PG again? – Yes, but we would check more carefully what shore time and accessibility to “time in the water” was available.

Did I enjoy the cruise? – Yes – it, afforded my husband and I the opportunity to visit remote locations that we had only read about.

I learnt much from the enrichment lectures, not least immense sympathy for the people of West Papua, and sadly only a superficial understanding of life in these remote places, - Papua New Guinea, Bouganville, and Solomon Islands.

However, I was quite disappointed there was so little time in Samarai Island, and for me personally too much time in Port Moresby.

This change may have forced on PG because of necessary refuelling (the original itinerary when we booked had Rabaul as the first port in PNG) and understand that prompt and efficient refuelling in a rarely visited location must be a challenge.

But 7am until 10pm (in fact it was 1.30am the following day we eventually sailed) seemed far too long in a town that was not fully suitable for tourists.

If PG decide to undertake this itinerary again I would encourage more detailed explanation of the areas to be visited and to set realistic expectations.

We didn’t see many easily accessible areas of coral that were expected (without undertaking excursions), which was really our only disappointment.

I believe this is a fair and reasonable view of the trip from a couple with reasonable expectations.

We suspected this itinerary would not be as efficiently managed by PG and would encourage them not to give up in taking passengers on “adventure cruises”.

We would only ask for factual recent detail on the ports in the daily programme.

Also for them to try to ensure their booking agents understand when PG is sailing outside their normal well-rehearsed destinations in French Polynesia what can and will be achieved.

Set expectations lower and exceed, rather than set them too high and not deliver.

If relatively expensive excursions are sold– they need to deliver the value, not just the experience. Some guests said they didn’t mind paying over $200 USD per person for an excursion as long as they felt it gave value to them.

Nonetheless, we were pleased to have been on the cruise and really enjoyed the experience. We learnt something more about the area of the Earth we live in and the life of other people here.

There would be no other opportunity to visit Kieta, Bougainville or Samarai Island in Papua New Guinea I imagine, and I am very unlikely to meet many people in my life again that have ever been there!

Well, apart from everyone on this cruise!

The end.:)

We began to pack as all luggage had to be outside our cabin 9.30-11.30pm tonight. Deciding what to keep out for dinner, and to wear to the airport and flight home tomorrow, - not packing toiletries yet…oh the stress.

Better go and have a cup of afternoon tea and attend the farewell party on the Pool Deck for a little light relief. …

Disregarding the proffered cocktails (oh, how I fancied one or three) today’s was Beachcomber a refreshing mixture of Vodka, Peach Schnapps orange and Grenadine (or so it says in the book (!).

It is always lovely to see all staff and crew at the end of a cruise and say thank you and farewell.

On that topic, something I thought about earlier was that we can be very blasé about sea journeys at times and take for granted our safety on board ship.

We tend to focus on staterooms, food, entertainment and the “visible” parts of a cruise with seldom a thought for the fact that we are a very small object in a very big Ocean!!

I would like to thank the Captain and Officers for taking care of us on this voyage and getting us to our distant and very remote destinations and back to the more familiar areas safely.

All the Officers, staff and crew we encountered on board were polite, affable and easy to talk to. We were invariably greeted with a smile, and those staff that knew our name used it on every occasion we met!

A last look around at daylight on the Pool Deck, a wave to Elmo, and Ray, the Pool deck barman, and a special thanks for all the cappuccinos he made us in the mornings.

I liked his taste in music – he used to sing, I warbled tunelessly, (my husband put his hands over his ears as usual to drown my voice).

We went back to our cabin, and began the packing drama again. Easy for my husband to occupy himself with a book or TV whilst I wrestled with clothes and shoes that didn’t want to be put back in the cases they came out of.

Eventually I prevailed, and remembering to keep clothes out for tomorrow, the cases were locked – and on pain of black looks and mumbled oaths were not to be unzipped until we got back to Sydney.

In fact here I confess, (- a week later) there is a still a case with items at home that haven’t been re-united with their hangers yet. Been too busy writing this is my excuse (!).

Off to dinner in La Veranda tonight, thank you Ivan. A superb maître d’hôtel, and his talented and attentive wait staff. Dinner with friends we met on the ship.

There was a farewell Variety show in the Grand Salon this evening. We didn’t make that one – far too tired.

The ship set sail from Beqa about 5pm or so I think and several hours later we were in Lautoka, Fiji. Our final destination.

More to follow:

Well, that’s a bit of classic understatement. I thought maybe get your feet wet….ha, depending on one’s height of course, the water came up to your shins, knees or thighs!!!

Some on our tender saw the landing option and and returned to the ship. Some were dressed in rather smart gear suitable for a promenade not a “wet landing”.

We were ok with swimsuits, shorts, water shoes to protect feet from coral etc. We got to the shore and asked Pia where the best snorkel spot was, - she airily waved her hand in the general direction of the resort and said “ask the staff at the resort”.

Apparently, the “resort” Beqa Island had a pool, services and looked charmingly rustic. We noted (later) from the daily newsletter there were no facilities on the beach, but we could use the resort if we had money with us as we had to pay. (Guess who forgot to bring a few dollars).

I wasn’t remotely expecting the same as we got on Motu Mahana, (in French Polynesia) - as logistically it’s impossible, but it would have been up to the usual Paul Gauguin experience if the “team” knew more about what guests could see and experience at this type of beach.

A helpful welcome, smile and advice would have been more useful and appropriate.

I was not alone in my impression – as there were a few glum faces and we wondered what we were doing here! Some disappeared and apparently walked to where there might be a village, - we went ashore just to set foot on dry land for a while.

Many who came on the tender with us returned on the next one. Some who stayed ventured into the chilly water and went out to snorkel. The coral was a long way out from the beach. I was hoping it would be close in shore as we “thought’ we had seen in photos.

Those who ventured out 100 metres or so did say the coral they saw was great. Those of us who are not great swimmers saw the distance from shore as a barrier. Maybe later in the day, as the tide receded this “offshore reef” would have been more accessible.

I did read that Beqa lagoon had brilliant coral, and some close in shore – maybe just not where we were moored.

Back to the ship and think about packing, we had wet swimsuits and shoes. Return the ships fins to the Marina, collect passports later in the evening. Ah, it all comes to an end.

More to follow

Clearly I am defective........sorry about the font size. Magnifying glasses needed

Thursday 28th August AT SEA, En route from Port Vila, Vanuatu to Beqa, Fiji.

Another early morning wake-up, watched the ocean for a while, and walked up to Deck 8, some of the crew were busy cleaning stairs, floors, walls – I guess they have a night crew to take care of all this work.

I didn’t want to get room service for a cup of tea as it would wake my husband, so waited a few hours until I hoped La Palette was open at just after 6, I greeted other early risers – no-one really communicative yet!!

We just read books, chatted with other guests and enjoyed breakfast and being aboard the ship.

In the morning there was a lecture in the Grand Salon by Capt. John Foley. It was “Longitude” solving the greatest nautical-scientific problem of the 18th century. The story of John Harrison. I didn’t get to this lecture, but had bought the book for my husband a couple of years ago.

Lunch was an Italian themed buffet which we enjoyed in La Veranda, we sat with new people to talk to and exchanged experiences of the cruise, the excursions and destinations we had visited.

Mick Fogg presented another lecture in the Grand Salon this afternoon. “Terra Australis– Great Southern land”, about the discovery and mapping of Australia.

I would really like to compliment Paul Gauguin Cruises for providing good speakers and enrichment lectures that were destination specific and very relevant to the area of the world we were cruising in.

Dinner was preceded by a concert by Monica and Seth in La Palette at 6.30pm.

Having seen Monica earlier in the day looking a little pale green (with sea-sickness) – as a few other guests were as the sea was a little choppy – maybe that was the 3 or 4 metre swell day.

I can’t quite recall… We were surprised and delighted that she could manage to play, even though evidently not feeling too good.

Their “Introduction to Baroque Music” concert was well-attended and well-received. Again the doors were open to the deck for cool breezes and to accommodate the audience. The bar staff were attentive providing drinks and canapés.

We were seated in L’Etoile at a table for 8 and met some lovely people and chatted amiably for quite a while over dinner.

Later in the evening, --- after dinner drinks, Showtime in the Grand Salon, Karaoke and La Palette disco for those that can still stand up…My husband and I were early to bed

Friday August 29th BEQA, Fiji Islands

Sailing overnight and arriving at Beqa at 8am. There was an excursion to see Firewalkers on this Island, and people were ready at the Tender to go ashore. The first tender was 8.30am

We anchored quite a way off the island it seemed, we had decided to take our snorkels and fins and swim/snorkel at this destination.

We joined a very lengthy queue for the tender, it was about 10.30 or so and we got aboard, the journey to the beach took about 20mins, and when we got there we were told it was a “wet landing”.

More to follow

[A1]

I'm a researcher, but I also feel that the cruise line needs to be more forthcoming when selling cruises like this. Instead of describing the islands as quaint, pristine, etc. They should do a better job of explaining the conditions and use words like undeveloped and emerging. (This goes for all cruises that visit all ports like this, not just PG.). PG does a good job of pretty specifically explaining the conditions on the Bora Bora motu and the Trail of the Ancients shore excursion, they should probably do the same for all undeveloped ports. I've run I to a similar situation with a non-cruise tour provider, it's an issue that needs to be addressed across the industry, not just with the PG. Transparency will allow everyone to make an informed decision and temper expectations.

Very valid points, I completely agree and endorse your opinion. I acknowledge is not as easy for PG outside their usual well-known and well-rehearsed offerings in Ports in French Polynesia.

More explanations are needed (as I may have already mentioned) of current situations and conditions in each port of call in this new itinerary.

In addition to the more historic/geographic and cultural details that are provided on the front page in the daily newsletter.

I know there are port talks provided, but as always, more information on any topic leads to the opportunity of better decisions being made and happier guests..

:)

Am also enjoying your detailed ship and port reviews! Thanks for taking the time to write it all out for us:-)

 

You had some long sea days, didn't you? I can see where some passengers would have difficulty with that on the PG if they were used to larger ships - both for the motion and the entertainment offerings.

Yes, some found that to be the case with the long sea days.

I like reading other people's reviews of their trips, so I have tried to make mine interesting, and truly hope people are enjoying it.

I am sorry that as yet I haven't mastered the magic art of adding photos to illustrate text!

Later today I will enlist help and see if I can add some to enliven the printed word.

Almost finished writing, only a couple of days more of the trip to tell you about.

So sorry about the font size, not sure what happened.:o

I had typed in Word document and copied and pasted, but obviously made an error.

I need to get my magnifying glasses out to read this.!

what a shame, I have spent so much time typing all this, quite disheartening.

Wednesday August 27th Port Vila, Vanuatu, - scheduled arrival 8am – all aboard 5.30pm.

Another early morning wake-up and a 6am walk to La Palette for a cup of tea and a croissant and say hello to other early morning risers. Enjoyed the ship’s arrival in the beautiful outer harbour of Port Vila.

We didn’t book any ship’s tours for this city but saw people get ready and off to their transport for selected trips.

My husband and I went to Le Grill, we had breakfast, I just watched the world go by from the deck and chatted with a few other guests and we decided to take a taxi into town later.

I had read reports of chaotic scrambles with taxi drivers vying for custom, so was a little apprehensive as we got to the wire gates at the dock in case we were overwhelmed with eager drivers.

Well, by the time we got there – (after 10am) there were so few drivers it wasn’t an issue, we were told it was about $5 AUD per person to take a taxi to town - we walked towards a vehicle – it turned out to be the most un-roadworthy vehicle I’ve seen for a long time.

Air conditioning courtesy of sliding windows and vehicle speed. One of the features of visiting poorer economies is recognising just how long a vehicle can remain in service, without instruments, perfect upholstery or sat nav.

The driver agreed to take us, he was charming and friendly. His bus was such a mess but he was proud of it, the upholstery was almost non-existent, rust was everywhere, but he drove safely and the brakes worked!!

We were dropped off in town, walked to the market and several shops. We saw several other guests from the ship who were exploring the dusty town. My husband bought me a lovely necklace from a good shop. There were plenty of tourist shops, lots of traffic.

Speaking to another couple a few days later we discovered that they had paid a taxi driver $120 USD for a tour of the sights.

But he began to pick up other people and drop them off en route, and after taking the couple to 3 destinations he indicated that was far enough and they decided to go back to the ship.

I realised later they didn’t do too well, as others managed a full day trip with a taxi for $50.

Put simply, if you don’t do your research on remote destinations and local customs you will probably get taken advantage of. Either by a smiling local or through an overpriced organised tour.

Well, the evening meal tonight is a South Pacific theme and ladies are asked to wear pareos or tropical outfit and the necklace went beautifully with the pareo purchased for me from the ladies in the craft market in Luganville the previous day!!

After lunch we went to the Grand Salon to watch the movie “WW2 in the Pacific – the Air Battles”, it was interesting and gave me so much more information about the war in this part of the world that I did not know.

I am also surprised just how many people fall asleep during the afternoon lectures, and movies - a little more difficult today as the movie soundtrack was a little noisier with the planes!

Seven potential meals a day and 24hr room service and limitless alcohol eventually getting the better of some guests.

We sailed away from Port Vila this evening around 6pm, leaving the beautiful harbour and heading for Fiji. This voyage would take 38hrs.

It was little windy and this caused some chop during this time. Pleased we had some medication, we also watched several DVDs in our room for diversion.

The evening meal was a delightful choice of South Pacific dishes, we had a table for 2 in L Etoile. Many people made an effort with their tropical attire, - men in Tommy Bahama type shirts and ladies in Pareos or tropical print outfits.

After dinner was the “Krew Kapers” show in which many of the crew perform. It is always a great show and such fun to recognise those who take care of us during the cruise having fun on stage.

Music in the Piano Bar and a disco in La Palette until 2am for those that can party into the night!

almost finished...... just another day or two to tell you about!!:)

Feedback graciously received

(hmmmm}. Ok, so seems I got a bit ahead of myself the last paragraph I wrote.. I seem to have got the last day a bit confused… need to pay more attention, probably writing too much, give the feeble brain a chance to work and keep the memory working!!!

TODAY we are at sea, (-it’s sure is a long way to Vanuatu).

So this is a corrected day:::

Monday 25th August. AT SEA …. En route from the Solomon Islands to Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu.

(This was about a 40hr sail, I seem to remember some of it being a bit choppy too, so the Meds handed out by Reception were welcome. It worked and diminished the queasy feeling, thankfully.)

Early breakfast at La Palette, coffee and Danish pastry, bit of carbohydrate, get some oatmeal later too…. thought I’d skip the healthy juice option…

There was a lecture this morning in the Grand Salon, “The Pacific – an Ocean of Islands” presented by John Hay.

Later an opportunity to join the bar staff in the Piano Bar to learn how to make those cocktails – great fun for a Sea day. Make shell ear-rings, watch a Fashion Show from La Boutique, attend a Zumba Class, or have afternoon tea and go to Trivia Time!

We went to the enrichment lecture in the Grand Salon this afternoon given by Mick Fogg which was so very good. It was an insight into the life of naturalist Alfred Russell Wallace and the geographic boundary in the Pacific that bears his name – a truly fascinating story.

Lots more information on Charles Darwin and Plate Tectonics too!!! Made me want to discover more about “the Wallace Line”. Have since been reading and researching more about this.

Then a surprise to hear Aaron Meyer, the Rock Violinist and Monica and Seth. (Violin and Piano) play together in the intimate surroundings of La Palette, the room was overflowing with chairs and audience spilled out on to the deck.

It was at 6.30 on a warm evening, and lovely as the breeze from the ocean cooled us as we sipped evening cocktails and the staff handed out hors d’ oeuvres to stave off those hunger pangs!

It seemed as if everyone (including the musicians) enjoyed this previously unannounced concert.

After a delightful dinner in La Veranda there was a show in the Grand Salon at 9.30pm – “Five Archipelagoes” – the new show featuring Les Gaugines.

Every evening there is the opportunity for after-dinner drinks in the Piano Bar, La Palette and into the night at the Disco.

Tuesday 26th August - Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu

We arrived at Luganville in the morning, and not having booked any tours we had a leisurely breakfast. I had lamb chops, a treat for me, as something I would not normally have for breakfast.

My husband had decided to have fruit for breakfast, salad for lunch and fish for dinner, not having any of the afternoon tea offerings. He must have been one of the few to weigh less after the cruise than before (!) .

Walking into town, was only about 5/10 minutes we looked in several shops, spoke to locals who were indeed very friendly and the “bonjour” was immediately rewarded with a shy smile.

Because we can fly to Vanuatu in only a few hours from Sydney we decided to come back here for week’s holiday in a few months’ time, spend time exploring the countryside, visit the snorkelling and diving sites at our leisure.

Incidentally, I found my copy of the Lonely Planet South Pacific Guide invaluable for information, tours and accommodation on places we visited and also checking out reviews and suggestions on the trip advisor forum too.

In Luganville we stopped and spoke with a New Zealand expat at the Tourism office who was trying to get the local people to make crafts to sell, rather than import Chinese souvenirs.

He understood that tourists were happy to buy local craft and possibly pay a little more to help the local economy and keep traditional skills alive. So we asked where we could buy locally-made products.

We visited the handicraft market where the local mamas make the dresses. We spent quite a lot of time here talking to the ladies as they made the dresses and I took photos. We bought some items.

Back to the ship for lunchtime in La Veranda, a French themed buffet lunch.

In the afternoon Santa Rosa played music on the Pool Deck and in the Grand Salon a game of Liars Club was played. With a team trying to discover who was giving the correct dictionary definition of obscure words…it was quite entertaining.

Michael said he spent some hours trawling through the Dictionary to find words to confuse the teams.

Mick Fogg, John Hay and Capt. John Foley. - One told the truth, they all told devious tales relating to the meaning of the word. We had to guess the liars!! It was a fun hour.

We had dinner in Le Grill. By night it is transformed into an Asian Fusion themed restaurant, - the food was good, the staff very attentive it was and it was a pleasant evening.

I would recommend booking this restaurant when the ship is it anchor, last time we did this it was in Moorea on the previous cruise. It was a magical, calm, starlit evening, didn’t even notice what the food was!

Showtime in the evening in the Grand Salon was a performance of Sonatas for Violin and Piano. It is good to see that the inclusion of Classical music and Rock Violin was a refreshing change to the usual repertoire provided.

More to follow

Oh boy, nice thing to read the night before we leave for our 6th cruise on the PG!

 

It would be nice to have some A/C, for sure!

Wendy, by their very nature reviews are so subjective! I sympathise with the OP, as A/C in Asia is necessary. It is sad that it was such a bad experience.

We got off the PG last Saturday and I cannot understand the comments about "falling apart". I am in the process of writing a review of that trip with my own personal thoughts and feelings about it. (Australia-Fiji)

You will be on the ship in a few days and will be able to see for yourself and make up your own mind.

Bon Voyage and have fun!!:)

Tess

Thank you Dontdiwundrim for taking the time to post your review. I am enjoying reading it.

That's kind of you, I am enjoying writing it. I am trying to include as much detail as I can, but not to be too repetitive.

Tess

I have some photos to illustrate the text, but struggling a bit to work out how to do it!!!! :confused: Don't laugh all you clever people out there.....

Saturday Aug 23rd leaving Kieta around midday we went for lunch at la Veranda where a South American buffet was the star feature, we were joined at our table by some interesting guests and had a lively chat about the ports we had visited.

After lunch we went to the documentary movie in the Grand Salon: - WW2 in the Pacific – Sea Battles. Followed by a discussion with Capt. John Foley, one of the guest lecturers on board, who added his insightful comments.

Afternoon tea was quite necessary for me by then, as it had been at least a couple of hours since I had food (!). I had to especially ask for Twining’s Tea as all the restaurants just have something called Tazo which I found weak and flavourless (so, if you have a favourite tea – bring your own (!) The speciality, along with the sandwiches, ice cream and cakes was Pineapple Flambé.

There was also an enrichment lecture in the Grand Salon, but sadly I missed that one. – Reflections of 45years living on a Pacific Island, by Helen Hay.

Cocktail time with the music of Les Gauguines in La Palette, or the Piano Bar relaxing listening to the melodies of Voltaire.

Dinner at L’Etoile – just for 2 tonight.

Sunday Aug 24th Guadalcanal – a word etched in the memory of many an Allied serviceman.

As we arrived at the dock there was a troupe of dancers from Honiara, playing music to greet us. They were hoping to collect money to assist them to get to Australia. They were on the dock playing and dancing for hours in the sun.

Guadalcanal is well-known for its role in WW2 in the Pacific. As may be remembered the Japanese got to Guadalcanal in May 1942, and the US Marines landed here in August, and battles ensued. I won’t go into to the story of the battle, but it was a turning point in the Pacific and very important strategically.

We chose the ships excursion WW2 Historical highlights, it was quite hot, and thankfully we took hats and bottled water. We were picked up promptly by our coaches and our guide spoke quite good English and gave us a fair commentary of where we were going.

To the US Memorial, very moving to see the monuments and descriptions of the action, To Bloody Field where we were almost besieged (but sweetly) by many children offering to sell “treasures” they had found…..metal lids, WW2 coca cola bottles, medicine bottles. Why so many children not in school – it’s compulsory, but school fees are about $100 USD per year.

We asked our guide about the Solomon Islands, - 75% unemployment, so how does one pay school fees? Again the chewing of betel nuts is common, and our guide said he couldn’t chew any more as

he didn’t have the teeth,. Many stalls by the roadside selling a few vegetables, betel nuts and whatever else they could.

Honiara (the capital of the Solomon Islands) was devastated by a cyclone recently and the evidence was clear. It was a thought provoking sightseeing tour. We also went to Henderson Field (which is now the International airport, and the Memorial Garden. There are trees with memorial plaques for Allied forces personnel killed in battles here.

To reinforce what we had learned about battles in this area there was an enrichment lecture this afternoon in the Grand Salon– “The Lost Fleet in Iron Bottom Sound”

A story of the Guadalcanal Sea battles, - heroism, victory, incompetence and tragedy on the high seas. The talk given by Capt. John Foley was thought provoking and full of fascinating content, with many photos that brought the story to life and made us realise we were sailing over the graves at sea of many, many thousands of sailors killed in battle.

This piece of ocean is called Iron Bottom Sound because of how many ships (the list of how many – both US and Japanese was astonishing) were destroyed and sunk here.

Every year on the anniversary of the battle a US ship sails through here and drops a wreath to commemorate the dead, and for many Navy sailors this area is considered sacred and silence is observed when sailing here.

Other happenings aboard, a Honeymoon and Anniversary get together – I forgot to mention when we booked the cruise but it was our Anniversary in August, so we could have gone,,,,oh well, next time.

Games of Bridge, Bingo, Zumba classes for the energetic, - afternoon tea or cocktail of the day for those a little more sedate!

After dinner, which again at L’Etoile was excellent. It was Showtime in the Grand Salon, in which one of the Aaron Meyer, Rock Violinist was joined by Santa Rosa. Sadly for me, this wasn’t the best pairing and was way too loud. I thought Aaron was excellent and his skills were not matched by the band.

Monday 25th August. En route from the Solomon Islands to Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu.

This was about a 40hr sail, I seem to remember some of it being a bit choppy too, so the Meds handed out by Reception were welcome. It worked and diminished the queasy feeling, thankfully.

We arrived at Luganville in the morning, and not having booked any tours we had a leisurely breakfast and then decided to walk into town. We stopped and spoke with a New Zealand expat at the Tourism office who was trying to get the local people to make crafts to sell, rather than import Chinese souvenirs. We visited the handicraft market where the local mamas make the dresses. We bought some items.

Strolled back to the ship for lunch, there were families on the roadside playing tunes and singing

Decided to have a quiet afternoon, the film in the Grand Salon was “South Pacific” – the James Michener book (Tales of the South Pacific) formed the story for the musical.

Million Dollar Point is a famed snorkelling/diving spot as when the US dumped most of their unwanted equipment, (tanks, jeeps, etc.) at the end of the war. There are many great diving sites in Vanuatu.

More to follow

Aug 18th, Day 1

Welcome Aboard.

I forgot to mention about the cruise lecturers, - John Hay, Helen Henry, Mick Fogg, Capt. Wel Gamble and Capt. John Foley.

Aug 19th Day 2. At Sea

en route to Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.

In the afternoon there was a great lecture by Capt. Wel Gamble about PNG.

There were many activities during this day (and every day) ranging from craft, language, dance classes, bingo, etc.

The Captain's Cocktail party was this evening, and the Nationality Breakdown for passengers for this cruise was quite a blend.

USA 145, Australia 60, New Zealand 23, France 9, Canada 6, Italy 6, Germany 6, Switzerland 6, Slovakia 5, UK 4, Netherlands 3, with Mexico, Belgium, Brazil and French Polynesia 2 guests each, and Japan 1.

Aug 20th Day 3 Port Moresby.

I already mentioned detail for this town earlier, but on board ship late afternoon a dance troupe of children from Rabaul came aboard and showed us some of their traditional dances.

The Welcome Aboard block party was held at 6pm, - only a few guests of our Deck came out to say hello, - maybe they were shy?

In the evening in the Grand Salon, Monica Ripamonti and Seth Taylor played Sonatas for Violin and Piano.

Aug 21st Day 4 Samarai Island.

Already mentioned that we didn't get here until 5pm, that was disappointing.

However, - during the morning there was a lecture by Capt. John Foley entitled "Turning the Tide" which was about halting the Japanese advance in New Guinea. the battle of Milne Bay - which Australians may well know about.

The afternoon lecture by Mick Fogg "Choose your Pacific Poison" was on Betel Nut (already mentioned in earlier post) and Kava.

Showtime in the Grand Salon at 930 was Ia Orana Tahiti - songs and dances from ancient Tahiti.

Aug 22nd Day 5 En route to Kieta, Bougainville

Numerous daily activities available -

In the afternoon an enrichment lecture from Mick Fogg - An introduction to New Guinea and its people. This was quite a revelation.

Another lecture at 5.30pm by John Hay, Tourism and Climate Change, - Risk and Opportunities.

An opportunity to hear Seth and Monica play music again in La Palette at 6.30pm, and Michael's New York cabaret was presented in the Grand Salon at 9.30pm.

Aug 23rd Day 6 Kieta.

I believe I have covered this in the earlier post.

Ok, on to typing the next bit to catch up. I really hope some of you are enjoying reading this!!:)

Can't wait to hear the rest. We had wanted to take this cruise but the timing was bad. Now I get to hear what I missed.

Just realised when you said what you'd missed, maybe I hadn't done this accurately.:o

My first 2 posts were written pretty much straight out without really thinking of days in sequence.

So, in order (hopefully) not miss anything, and to give you a flavour of daily happenings, I'll try to get it right! - and give you a day-by-day account as far as I can.

I know previous posters have put photos of ship, cabins, public areas, pool etc, etc so no need to repeat that. Also I am sure I have seen a scan of the daily program Ia Orana too.