Dave’s Trip To, Around and Into Australia, Sept. 26 – Nov. 23, 2016

[Krazy Kruizers]

I have checked every menu you've posted, and most of them have constituted "yuk" for me. More often than not, the "always available" was the choice. :(

What I find strange is that when I read what is offered on another HAL cruise sailing right now in the same ocean, it's as if it were a different line! Night and day difference.

 

I don't get it.

 

 

 

I have noticed that also -- different menus on cruises that are sailing nearly the same itineraries.

DH is not a picky eater, but on our last few cruises we have ended up eating in the Pinnacle Grill (and Tamarind when available) as he would look at the menus and said that nothing impressed him.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Great reporting Dave.

The Indian Menu for the Pinnacle looks great.

[POA1]

Great stuff as always, Dave! Thank you so much.

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

I would love to try that Indian Dinner - hope it will be considered on other HAL cruises.

[Galley Slave]

Have you seen or heard of any of the problems with plumbing, heating or cooling that have been mentioned previously? We are considering this cruise next year, so a lot could change as it gets closer to the transfer to the new owners in 2018.

[RetiredMustang]

Oct. 13, Suva

 

 

We spend today in Fiji’s capital, Suva. We have no tours, and no definite plans excepts changing some money at the handy service on board and then walking ashore to walk about.

 

Here are the first four pages of today’s On Location:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More in the next post,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Oct. 13, Suva (Cont.)

 

 

Here are the other two pages of the On Location:

 

 

 

 

 

And here are the Explorer pages for Suva:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More later,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Have you seen or heard of any of the problems with plumbing, heating or cooling that have been mentioned previously? We are considering this cruise next year, so a lot could change as it gets closer to the transfer to the new owners in 2018.

 

 

They are fixing the doors to the Seaview pool area, so that deck has gotten warm a few times. I've seen workers replacing carpets, and yesterday they were working on the lights/wiring in the atrium, but I've not seen any big problems.

 

Dave

[fatcat04]

VuPoint Magic InstaScan Portable Smart Scanner model PDS-ST420-VP-BX2.

 

Okay. DH and I both had wondered about that too. Very affordable too and does a good job. Thank you! :)

[dmcfad2]

kftw and dmcfad2,

 

 

 

 

 

To get back to you both, I earlier passed on your greetings to Ayep, and his assistant Ronny. They were pleased to be remembered.

 

 

 

 

 

Dave

 

 

Thank you!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[RetiredMustang]

Oct. 13, Suva (Cont.)

 

 

The captain opened the bow for our sail in to Suva, and many of us watched from there as we made our way to our berth, next to the container port and by the main bus station. But, that meant we were right downtown. The ship was cleared about 8:30 or so, but we took our time. A collaboration of HAL and Fijian authorities resulted in a group of people from shore who set up near the front office and exchanged money – mostly U.S., Canadian and Australian dollars -- for Fijian dollars. We stood in line and changed some, and got about two Fijian dollars for each U.S. dollar.

 

There were also two women who were selling post cards and stamps set up by the passage to the wine area and the theater/culinary arts center. It was a nice thing to do for us.

 

At any rate, fortified with Fijian currency, we went ashore. It had been lightly raining since our approach to the harbor, and we had our floppy rain hats, and ponchos if needed. It rained for about 15 minutes, and then stopped and gradually cleared. Yay! But then the sun came out, the temperature climbed and the humidity went into extra high gear. Not yay.

 

But we did some shopping, visited the handicraft market, and walked about for quite a good distance, but mostly near the port. The heat and humidity eventually chased us back to the ship.

 

Here are some photos – one of Suva as we approached, a creek we crossed a couple of times back and forth, a typical street scene, a pretty park called Ratu Sukuna Park, and a shot of Maasdam I took as we walked back along the seafront promenade back towards the port:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More later,

Dave

[erewhon]

The Fiji Army band usually performs prior to cruise ships departing, but I note that All Aboard is 1030 pm.

[RetiredMustang]

Oct. 13, Suva (Cont.)

 

 

We relaxed for the afternoon, then hit happy hour before dinner. When we went to dinner, we noticed a lot of empty tables – some no doubt were at the barbeque on the Lido deck, and others were ashore, since all aboard is not until 10:30 tonight. We decided we would prefer a quiet dinner in the air conditioning to the barbeque.

 

Here are the MDR dinner and dessert menus:

 

 

 

 

 

 

DW had the butternut squash soup for starter, while I had the soto ayam, which I have not seen on a regular menu before, only at a rijstaffel, for Collector’s cruises or something like that. It was delicious!

 

For main dish, we both had the orange-ginger pork, which was even better than a Chinese take-away joint does. For dessert, it was hot fudge sundae for us both.

 

 

More later,

Dave

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

Thanks for the pictures of Suva. We were there back in 2004 on a Transpacific cruise and your pictures brought back wonderful memories. And nothing has changed from when we saw those areas. Barbara

[RetiredMustang]

Oct. 14, Dravuni Island

 

 

Today, we are scheduled to visit a small island in the Fiji archipelago, Dravuni Island, which we are told has a small village, hiking trails and lots of beach. We plan to tender ashore, hike some of the trails, perhaps do some swimming/snorkeling, and possibly have a refreshing cool drink.

 

Here are the first four pages of the On Location for today:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More in the next post,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Oct. 14, Dravuni Island (Cont.)

 

Here are the other two pages of the On Location:

 

 

 

 

And, here are the pages from the Explorer guide sheet:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More later,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

All,

 

Since our approach to Dravuni this morning, we've been in an internet dead (or at least barely twitching) zone. I will upload photos and update the blog when I can. Short version: Dravuni is great!

 

Dave

[kazu]

All,

 

Since our approach to Dravuni this morning, we've been in an internet dead (or at least barely twitching) zone. I will upload photos and update the blog when I can. Short version: Dravuni is great!

 

Dave

 

Thanks Dave. You have done very well internet wise so far. Hopefully the unresponsive zone doesn't last too long:)

[Krazy Kruizers]

Catching up.

Sadly I am not able to see the pictures for some reason.

All I see are boxes with "x"'s in them.

[dfish]

Same here.

[dmg1956]

Big Bad Dave:

 

Same for me. No Pictures. Still hoping you'll post one of you and Mrs. Dave.

Paul

[dfish]

Pictures are back for me. Yeah!

[RetiredMustang]

(Note: the internet is fair this morning, although Photobucket was balky. But, I hink I've got all the images loaded, so will resume the blog.)

 

 

 

Oct. 14, Dravuni Island (Cont.)

 

 

We were moored on time, and tendering started soon after; we got the tender that left at 8 a.m. We wanted an early start, so we could climb the mountain/hill on the island for what was said to be a great view while it was still relatively cool. We could see the path from the ship, and it looked a bit steep in parts (it was )

 

The tender docked at a floating pier, and we walked the beach to the village. Here are some photos of the village and beach, a village market stall, and a village house – note the water container, and the slatted shutters, to let in the breeze.

 

We turned right at the village, passed the elementary school and various houses and market stalls and struck the trail leading to the summit. A short way along the trail, I got a photo of Maasdam framed by coconut palms:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shortly after that, a path led off to the beaches a bit further up; several fellow passengers took that path and got to an area where there was a large coral reef, where we imagine the snorkeling was excellent.

 

Partway up the hill, I got a shot of the reef:

 

 

 

 

 

More in the next post,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Oct. 14, Dravuni Island (Cont.)

 

 

We were among the first to reach the top (a family with a boy of about 10 beat us). At the viewpoint, there were some rocks (some with graffiti on them), and some poles that had been erected, but I couldn’t discern why.

 

The views from the top were indeed excellent. Here are some of the many photos I took, and one that DW took of me to prove that I really did make it. O.K., I admit that I am sitting on a rock, and gasping for air, but I made it:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More in the next post,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Oct. 14, Dravuni Island (Cont.)

 

 

We returned to the village, and picked the seeds and burrs from our cuffs and socks, and then rested on a bench by the beach. It is a very pretty beach, and a many people were enjoying it. Here are several photos, the first of which shows the viewpoint above the beach:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We did some strolling through the village, and bought a print shirt for me and just enjoyed the beautiful setting for a while before returning to the ship for lunch (there were no food stalls in the village that we could find, and the only drink stall we saw was one selling coconuts with their milk inside. The ship crew had cold water and lemonade for us (and much appreciated), but no food. And, we have been admonished that we could not bring food of any kind ashore in the South Pacific islands or Australia.

 

A lot of passengers went back to the ship for lunch and then headed back to the beach as they had time to do so, since the last tender was at 4:30. We stayed aboard and relaxed, mostly. I organized my photos and blog, but then found we had poor internet connectivity, so I just got the files ready to go.

 

We really enjoyed our visit to Dravuni, and were glad to get a chance to do some hiking. What a lovely place!

 

 

More later,

Dave