A new cruise on the Muse

[MrsWaldo]

Background:

Last minute booking because Miss W suddenly had an extra week of holiday time, we wanted beach, we wanted relaxation and we wanted value.  Booked a Vista GTY as on vista suites available.  Won the lottery with a Deluxe Verandah on deck 6 which is pretty much exactly where I would have chosen.

 

 Embarkation: 

One of the main reasons for booking was the proximity for me to home.  I have to admit being very apprehensive about Muse due to her size.  She’s the biggest ship we’ve ever been on and was fully booked. A 25min limo ride saw us arrive at White Bay just as check in opened. Waldo Jnr had a day pass.  Went through the process smoothly and was in Atlantide for lunch just before 12.20.

spent the day eating drinking and exploring the ship. WJ was evicted by us reluctantly just on around 3:30.  It’s the first time we have cruised without him but his wife was calling.

 

Cruising: 

i was a bit meh about sailing out of White Bay but going under the bridge is a definite plus. We ate at Pool Grill to maximise the experience. Miss W is not a pool grill fan so we chose it to suit a purpose and that it did.  Staff were excellent.

i wasn’t give a blow by blow, except that our Trivia team, once we found one, came second and has continued this trend on most days, except when we won. It was a little odd to be rejected but OK, which hadn’t happened since  Miss W was 11, their loss 😜

 

We had a few service issues which have now been rectified.  Mostly a share table on formal night in Atlantide, but this has seen us make friends with some others on board and we have eaten at Indo Chine and Kaiseki as well. Kaiseki is a favourite. We cancelled our Silver Note as 8pm after a Port day was just too late.  Also cancelled La Dame because on a Sea Day 6pm is too early.

 

Ports:

Thus far we have 3 new ports for Muse under our belts. Isle of Pines, Mare and Port Vila.  We did s ship tour in Pines, shuttle but to Yejele Beach in Mare and an independent day in Port Vila (I’d been there before on land).

 

Our SS tour to Moro Island on Isle of Pines was excellent and exactly as described.  I thought we may have spent a little too long looking at turtles floating around from the boat but others were excited. The snorkelling site was also pretty good.  They allowed Miss W to go quite a distance out and she had a good 1 hour snorkel. I know others were unimpressed but they clearly had not read the description of being able to get in and out of the the boat,  to expect a speedboat ride and to bring your own gear.   Would I do the tour again.  Probably.  

We also snorkelled at Kanumera beach which was actually better than Moro Island and there were turtles there as well. Doing the first tour gave us time to do both.

 

Mare is not quite as impressive as an island to me. It’s a bit more developed and definitely a tourist place. $US5 for a coconut and $25 for a 20 minute massage is way beyond the price point on most pacific islands.  So we just snorkelled at Yejele using the shuttle and then went back for an afternoon on the ship. Worked well.

 

Yesterday was Port Vila where I had tried to book Willy or Dick. Neither were available so they suggested Stanley from ReditoGoVan whom I dutifully booked. No surprise that Stanley was the. Booked by SS but sent his cousin Arthur from FAS tours.  Perfect day doing exactly what we wanted and when we wanted.  Cost for the day was $US75 including Lunch with wine at the Moorings, visit to Hideaway Island for snorkelling and a few spots such as Tanna Coffee etc we wished to see.  We were back on the ship in time for an afternoon sleep and Trivia.

 

Thus far we have thoroughly enjoyed Muse and haven’t noticed that she is bigger at all, infact I think there is more space per passenger and the extra venues really give it an edge.

 

Oh and one of the enrichment lecturers is from the Australian Ballet and we got to do a Barre class 👏🏻😀

 

A much needed sea day today

 

 

 

[Claudia33]

Thank you MrsWaldo for relaying your experience, I'm highly interested as we're departing for a similar itinerary (just a couple of different ports I believe) on the 18th of Feb.

I like your idea of dining at the grill while cruising under the Sydney bridge, we might do the same!!

 

In Isle of Pine we hesitate between Turtle Bay and Moro Island SS tour, so good to know that you enjoyed the latest. 

We're still trying to decide what to do in Port-Vila.

 

I'll be following the rest of your adventures, enjoy your day at sea!

[MrsWaldo]

Don’t leave it too long to book either.   They only take 8 passengers on each 

 

Turtle Bay is a compact version of Moro.  

[Claudia33]

I had Turtle Bay booked, just changed it over for Moro Island! :-)

[MrsWaldo]

Well, we had a great time on board and are now finally home so here's a quick run down of the tail end of the trip.

 

Our next port was Lautoka and here once again we chose a ships tour because it was offering the one I would have booked otherwise.  Lautoka is very much an industrial location and certainly isn't a spot you would choose to wander around. We booked the Sailing on Oolala, which was supposed to be a catamaran with only 35 people on board.  Unfortunately the company sent an old dive boat which was not a sailing vessel and we ended up with 51, so not quite what the Oolala website  was advertising. 

They left from right near the ship, hence saving a bus ride into Denarau and it became obvious why when it turned out you could actually see the ship from the island. The 35 minute trip both ways was done at snail pace, not fast enough to even create a slight breeze.  The island required tendering, so 3 trips to get people from the boat to the island and this took around 20 mins.  It was hot and unpleasant while waiting.  Miss W probably would have swum except a little bit too much Panorama the night before had taken its toll. The snorkelling was probably the lowest quality of the entire trip. The beach was pleasant and plenty of room for everyone to find a nice spot. Kayaks, paddle boards etc were also on offer.  I did manage a very nice massage for 60FJD, so all was not in vain.  I think I would look at something different next time.

 

Then came my favourite (Miss W preferred Isle of Pines). Dravuni is a small island and has several walking tracks.  Tenders drop right at the beach and village. The people were friendly and welcoming.  We decided to head up over the hill to the beach at the back.  The hill is very very steep (so if you plan to walk over, go the long way round) and the prevailing winds had blown the beach out. The "ship" side beach had plenty of space and we spent over an hour snorkelling from the end of the village to the end of the beach and back. Anemone gardens, soft and hard corals, and a variety of other sea life.

 

Our final port was Noumea and we had booked a kayak adventure which the tour operators cancelled.  There was nothing else of interest on offer for us, so we did a wander around the town. The markets are closed on Mondays (yep, it was Monday).  We wandered up the hill to the Cathedral via some back streets and then back and forth to see what may eventuate.  2 hours later and quite a few km under our belt we admitted defeat and lazed around for a while.

 

 

Disembarkation at White Bay was chaotic to say the least.  We weren't in the main terminal and this created issues on a number of fronts.  Torrential rain, a gangway that was impossible for those with poor mobility to negotiate and shoreside SS staff who were just down right rude as they were clearly unable to cope with the situation.

 

Sitting here, with the house still gently bobbing as I try to lose my sea legs, I reckon it must have been a pretty good trip because I'm already thinking about a repeat version next year!

 

 

[turtlemichael]

Thanks for the informative report.  We are on the similar February 18 cruise out of Sydney.  As a matter of interest, when did you hear about your cabin allocation ?

[MrsWaldo]

 

52 minutes ago, turtlemichael said:

As a matter of interest, when did you hear about your cabin allocation ?

 

Not until 3 or 4 days before, it was certainly last minute.

[shipsmail]

We have also enjoyed this cruise. A few days before the start we received a call from our TA that Silversea has offered a complimentary upgrade to a Grand Suite. Without knowing the reason for this, we were delighted. 
Yes, disembarkation from White Bay Terminal was really not acceptable and not the quality level expecting from Silversea. Of course it was caused by the cruise terminal, but Silversea could have prepared it better.

[MrsWaldo]

Curious as to your thoughts on the kids in the pool?

 

 

 

 

Opens can of worms

 

Edited January 17, 2020 by MrsWaldo

[les37b]

On 1/17/2020 at 4:20 AM, shipsmail said:

We have also enjoyed this cruise. A few days before the start we received a call from our TA that Silversea has offered a complimentary upgrade to a Grand Suite. Without knowing the reason for this, we were delighted. 

 

Yes, I bet! The wrap around balcony is awesome.

 

What we're you upgraded from?

[shipsmail]

9 hours ago, les37b said:

 

Yes, I bet! The wrap around balcony is awesome.

 

What we're you upgraded from?

...from Silver Suite.

[les37b]

44 minutes ago, shipsmail said:

...from Silver Suite.

 

Ok, nice.

 

Reason I asked, someone recently was bumped from Vista to Silver. I was curious (and envious) you may have eclipsed!

 

Must have been nice to find out. It was definitely the balcony that impressed me the most.