Apia, Samoa Excursions

[chrisruthsmith]

Hello,

 

I'm trying to find out about the excursions that Cunard does/may offer for Apia Samoa.  I can't find any info on Cunard website (I've also tried looking on the Holland America website as they both part of Carnival). Has anyone got any information?

 

thank you

Christine

[bluemarble]

Here's the only information I can find on the Cunard website. I found this drilling down to "Find out more" about Apia, Samoa on the itinerary details for QV's 2021 world voyage.

 

Samoan Culture and Aggie Gray’s Homestead

Cost $86

 

A brief transfer takes you to the Samoa Tourism Authority Village, where upon arrival you’ll be greeted with a traditional welcome in the form of an Ava Ceremony. The ceremony is one of the most important customs of the Samoa Islands and involves a solemn ritual where the traditional drink, Ava is shared to mark an important occasion. During your visit, you’ll see firsthand how proud the Samoans are of their strong Fa’a Samoa, meaning ‘the Samoan way.’ Local men will show you how Samoan food is prepared and cooked in a ground oven, the ‘umu,’ as well as demonstrating mat and basket weaving and other handicrafts. You’ll also have the opportunity to purchase their homemade wares. A highlight of your visit will be displays of traditional dances, such as the graceful Samoan Siva, the lively mosquito dance and the pulsating fire knife dance. After bidding a fond farewell, your tour continues with a scenic drive towards the Mulin’u Peninsula, during which photo stops will be made at Parliament House and the Tombs of our Paramount Chiefs. Complete your tour with a visit to Afiamalu Organic Plantation. Take a walk through the plantation and discover the various growth stages of the organic fruit and vegetables. Afterwards, refreshments of juice and local fruits will be served, before your scenic drive back to the ship.

[lissie]

If you like swimming and have normal  mobility - Sua Trench is awesome - you have to climb quite a long ladder down though - so I doubt they take tour groups there. Be easy enough to organize using a taxi (get him to wait) or a local operator https://www.traveller.com.au/is-this-the-worlds-strangest-swimming-pool-gseobo is maybe 30km? out of town. 

 

Not much to see or buy in Apia itself - though Stevenson's house is well worth a look (on the outskirts). 

 

You can also snorkel off the reef - there's an access point near Aggie Greys on the waterfront.  You can hire (poor) gear - better to bring your own. 

 

You need to pay the locals for access to any of the beaches - so pick up  some Tala at an ATM 

[bronte2]

One of the possible reasons for no information on excursions in Samoa is due to the severe outbreak of measles over the last few months.  Sadly, over 70 people (mainly children) have died and thousands have been infected and if memory serves me correctly the Government declared a state of emergency.  There has been a mass vaccination campaign to try to stop the infection.

 

Therefore, I suspect the cruise lines are waiting to see what the situation is closer to the time of their arrival.

 

Fiji and Tonga are also now experiencing issues with measles and just last week passengers on Maasdam were not permitted to disembark in Fiji (I can't remember which port) unless they were born before 1956 or had proof of vaccination against measles.

 

Hopefully, by the time you cruise the outbreak will be done and dusted.

[lissie]

1 hour ago, bronte2 said:

One of the possible reasons for no information on excursions in Samoa is due to the severe outbreak of measles over the last few months.  Sadly, over 70 people (mainly children) have died and thousands have been infected and if memory serves me correctly the Government declared a state of emergency.  There has been a mass vaccination campaign to try to stop the infection.

 

 

That's true - and yes you should have proof of vaccination when travelling in the Pacific - but we are going to PNG in Feb and Cunard hasn't got any info on shore excursions either - they have some headlines with prices - but no actual details. 

[Sauer-kraut]

The above post had Ava instead of Kava, just so you know.😊 As in Kava ceremony.....

I've been to both Samoas, had a fantastic 2 weeks on the islands, it was culturally amazing.   In one village I stayed, the chief didn't allow females to wear shorts or trousers....we had to wear an ie lava lava or skirt at all times.

It was one of my best vacations.

 

Edited December 24, 2019 by Sauer-kraut

[chrisruthsmith]

Many thanks for all your replies.  I really must look through the Cunard website in more detail as I couldn't find anything on Apia (thanks Bluemarble).  Sua Trench looks very exciting / tempting (thanks Lissie) and I'll see if I can work up the courage! 

 

So far I've only done very short Cunard cruises to Hamburg and Bruges. Do Cunard give useful tips e.g. 'needing Tala's for beaches'  in their port talks? Or should I rely more on my own research via Cruise Critic/ Guidebooks /websites etc.  Are there any websites that you would recommend (other than Cruise Critic 🙂 )

 

By the time we sail in Jan 2021. I'm hoping that the measles epidemic has ended.  I wondered if Cunard gives advice regarding vaccinations or is it up to the individual to make sure they have done their research and got all the required vaccinations.

Many thanks 

Christine

Edited December 26, 2019 by chrisruthsmith

[alibabacruisers]

Hi, we were on a longer cruise on QE  in 2015 and I found my shore excursion booklet (yes, I keep these kind of things...lol).

 

On Apia, at that time, there were 5 excursions.

 

Island Highlights - 3.5 hr

Coastal Villages & Tropical Gardens - 3.5 hr

Essence of Upolu - 6.5 hr

Aggie Grey's Beach Resort & Cultural Show - 5.5 hr

Samoan Culture & Organic Plantation - 3 hr

 

I think that we just walked around the town which was just off the ship.  We first walked left off the ship and then came back and went right.

 

If you have any further questions, I will try to help.

[chrisruthsmith]

Thank you Alibabcruisers for posting the excursion information. Apologies for the delayed response, my excuse being I was having a short break on the wonderful QV 😀 

 

Would you mind checking for me whether the 'island highlights' and "essence of upon" are scenic drives. if they are I might do what you did and simply go for a wander 

 

Many thanks

Christine

[alibabacruisers]

Hi Christine,

 

No problem and I hope you had a good time on QV.

 

The Island Highlights is a scenic drive with stops at a local market, the Theological College and Robert Louis Stevenson's house.

 

The Essence of Upolu is a scenic drive with stops at Plum Pudding Rock, Botanical Gardens with a presentation about the daily life of Samoans, and then to Tafatafa Beach where you are served a BBQ luncheon.

 

Just keep in mind that this information came from our excursion booklet that was from our 2015 cruise, so may be different now.

[LewiLewi]

There are private taxis available as you come off the ship. We hired one to take us around the island and stopped at Aggie Grey’s for lunch, the first time we visited in 2017. On our second visit we just walked around the port area where there were displays of local crafts and went back to the ship in time for lunch.

[chrisruthsmith]

Hi LewiLewi

 

Thanks for you post, its good to know that it appears easy to do your own thing.