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The Marooning.....and Ports....


Breathless4

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Ports

Noumea was our first port. We had heard it wasn’t a great place, even the cruise directors and entertainment staff joked about skipping Noumea and staying on the ship.

My first impression of Noumea was ‘broken and dirty’ but very friendly. We took the tour Le Petit Train and everywhere we went people waved. Tours are easy to book on the ship, the cost comes off your cruise card, and when you disembark it is very easy to find your tour, everyone is very helpful.

The train took us around some very picturesque parts of Noumea and stopped at a lookout where we were given champagne, soft drink, pastries and cakes. On returning to the terminal we took a walk around the shopping district and then, unbelievably walked to the only McDonalds in New Caledonia. I know I know but my only defence is that I have a 9 year old daughter addicted to the stuff. Anyway we got to use some of our high school French ordering a cheeseburger and it was air conditioned in there so it was nice to sit after looking around the shops.

It is very humid in Noumea, but has nothing on Port Vila, Vanuatu.

We went to the supermarket across the road from the terminal. We had been advised by the staff on the ship that there is a building behind the terminal with a sign CASINO on it. It is not a casino, but a supermarket. So we went through it anyway, the deli section is amazing. So many different cheeses, pate, cuts of meat, you actually thought you were in France.

It was interesting being a foreigner in another country, our first time out of Australia.

Oevea

Be warned, there is a 20-30 minute walk once you get off the tender to get to the part of the beach where there are stalls, a church and where the locals gather, and it is a hot walk. You can pay for one of the locals to drive you, it will cost about 300francs I think, anyway we were ripped off on the way back, but no matter, you don’t really want to argue, they mostly only speak French anyway. Another hint: On our walk to the main part of the beach we lagged behind the main group because our daughter got a blister on her toe, so my husband had to piggy-back her. There are places marked taboo on the side of the road, and at one of the places 3 men were standing as if to guard there taboo spot, in actual fact they would let you go on the land if you paid them, but they didn’t look very friendly and we remembered that in the Daily Pacific Sun newspaper they had said to stay in groups and never stray from the path, for a moment we were a little worried (read,scared) but luckily another group from the next tender was coming up behind us…felt safer.

The beach is beautiful, the water clean and clear and the most beautiful pale green colour, and the Pacific Sun looked beautiful out in the water. Be aware: it was a cloudy day with the sun peeking through some of the time, and we got sunburnt terribly,( so no massages for me at the Lotus Spa!).

Tenders were great fun, music playing and we all sang along. Just about everyone goes back to the ship for lunch, so be warned the lines for the tenders can be a bit long, but the go fast with the tenders able to carry 120 passengers.

Lamen Bay and the Marooning

Lamen Bay looked beautiful from the ship and we could see small boats from another close island going over to where we were going to disembark. They were setting up stalls. The Pacific Sun goes to Lamen Bay on Epi Island 5 times a year so it is a good opportunity for the islanders to sell their wares and get a little bit of cash. Hair braiding was $10 adults $5 children, I suggest you get it done at Port Vila they do it with beads not just elastic bands and it seems to be a better job, probably because they do it a lot more often.

Lamen Bay is a coral beach, definitely wear reef shoes or thongs. There is a hut set up with a few tours, but it is all very simple. A glass bottom boat tour $10 turned out to be a canoe literally dug out of a tree, with an outrigger attached and hanging over the side was a box made out of 2x4’s with a plastic bottom so you could see the coral and fish, very simple. We paid for it but didn’t end up going on it as the waves got a bit rough for them to get the canoes back in, left him one of the $10 though, hard to ask for it all back.

There is a toilet, a grass hut over a box, over a hole with a plastic toilet seat chucked on the top of the box, pretty good actually.

The stalls sell, bags, fans, mats, wooden items (be careful, quarantine etc) soft drink, hair braiding, photos of their children and for a price a photo of a piglet!

Now the MAROONING. We decided to go back to the ship at about 1pm, we were really hot, and hadn’t had breakfast since 7am. You are not allowed to take food off the ship and it is best not to eat anything on the island. P&O has built a 50 metre (guesstimate) concrete jetty for the tenders. We got on the end of the line and were about the 200th person waiting, but that was only 2 tenders. It was hot standing on the concrete jetty and everyone had their pool towels wet and hanging over their heads as we stood there waiting. Waves were starting to get bigger and the tenders were taking longer to tie up to the jetty, but we still waited. Then a security officer announced that they were going to move the floating jetty to one side of the concrete jetty to see if the tenders could tie up there. So they manoeuvred the jetty around and fastened it down with an anchor to the other side of the path (jetty). Calls came out for anyone who was feeling sick, was diabetic, heart problems or had heatstroke, quite a few people came forward (not going anywhere with that here and now, but you could tell who was sincere and who wasn’t, enough said). They got away on the last tender before the anchor got caught by a wave, came unhooked and nearly hit some people standing in the line, a very scary moment, I actually yelled ‘look out’ as I could see the wave and the anchor coming loose. Though at all times, I had the utmost confidence in the staff, and they didn’t fail us.

The security officer a big burly, grey haired guy, told us to go and wait on the island as there would be no tenders going out until they worked out a solution. No one wanted to leave their place in the queue after now standing for 2 ½ hours, but mother nature fixed that as a storm came over the top of us and pelted us with a tropical rainstorm. Most of us laughed, cooled off and went back onto the island and stood under the stalls, which were just branches with tarpaulins for a roof that kept filling up with water as it rained so that we kept draining it off so that the stalls wouldn’t collapse. We were covered in black sandy coral, wet through, muddy feet, but cooler and laughing at our predicament.

After the rain stopped we went and sat on some logs with some other passengers. We had heard a rumour that they were going to move the jetty to the other side of the bay, so people had already started walking around there. We stayed put as the walk was long and now into a steamy jungle after the rain.

As we sat spiders fell out of the trees onto us, (small) leeches and worms were everywhere, as well as bugs all over the ground that I had never seen before. Pigs, scrawny cows, chickens and the skinniest dogs I have ever seen mingle with the passengers, we were definitely not in Ozland anymore….lol.

On one of the last tenders to make it ashore the doctor and nurse had been sent over, the nurse called out for anyone with food as the situation for some of the diabetic passengers was becoming dangerous. I had sugarless gum, no help, one woman had an apple (naughty) and one person had some barley sugar, which was great. We were then told that they had hooked up the jetty to the other side and to start walking over to it. So a long line of about 900 of us (the ship said there was 1000 of us stranded on the island, but I guess 900) trekked through the jungle path, over a stream onto a beach and back onto the track, squelching through leaf litter, but all time we were confident.

The line stopped as the 350 people in front of us reached the jetty. The line did not move for 2 hours and some people were getting exasperated with little information. Staff from the ship somehow made it out to us, with water and a packet of biscuits for the diabetics. The doctor and nurse constantly went up and down the line checking on everyone’s health. A few people had to be carried to the front of the line, and a few fainted, some of the entertainment staff kept us updated and helped carry people who could not walk. We all stood and waited, not knowing that the tenders now could not tie up to this new jetty and that a plan to get the islanders small fishing boats to take us to the tenders was being designed. This took a while because the one fishing boat that was nearby had to go to the other islands to tell the others to bring their boats. These boats are small! Seating 6 to 8 people at a time, rusty little tin shells, or little wooden boats. Eventually 4 fishing boats turned up to help us. Now taking such small numbers across to a tender that can hold 150 passengers took a while. The sick were taken first. By this time a lot of us decided to sit on our towels ( the ship pool towels, with all that black sand and now mud on them!) It was 5.15pm we had been standing in a line for over 5 hours.

The next call came for women and children. Our 9 year old daughter was fine, sitting with us, though whingey as hell, (thought to leave her there at one stage, joking), we decided we were fine and we would be together. But others around me convinced me that it would be best for our daughter as we didn’t really know what was going to happen next, and when it got dark, would we even get off the island that night. So I walked to the front of the line with my daughter, a horrible feeling leaving your husband, you see it on the movies and say, well it’s the best thing, but when you have to do it, it is a bit of a heart-breaking experience. When we got to the front of the line I was told it was only meant for small children to come to the jetty, I was fine with that, but a few weren’t. So we walked back past 350 people to our spot in the line, with 600 people behind us. But then some other staff came and were shocked that we were sent back and told me to go back as children dehydrate faster and become stressed, so back we went passing all those people again. Some people took advantage of the wait and swum in the clear waters and had a ball, so it wasn’t all bad.

We climbed into a small fishing boat and were taken to the tenders. It was fairly rocky and you had to climb out of the little boat up over a metre into the tenders, but the staff were great pulling us into the tender. It was like coming home….and getting back to the ship was wonderful, showers, food and shelter, 3 major luxuries of life.

It was now 6pm and the ship was an hour behind sailing schedule. My husband was still on the island and it was getting dark. Passengers on the ship said that the captain had made and emergency announcement for all staff to meet to be briefed and for some to go over to help out. The staff were great and did all that they could to make us comfortable, and to care for our well-being.

My husband said they built bonfires and M&MS were handed out, and the island entertainers, a few guitarists played for the passengers. On the way back in the tender my husband got the most beautiful photo of the ship and a sunset, if anyone can tell me how to put it on here for all to see, I will do so...

So all in all it was an adventure, a bit sticky, a bit scary, but banded together as we all were and with the staff being so calm, helpful and concerned it was not a bad experience at all. Those who made it back on the earlier tenders were really concerned for us with the humidity, heat, lack of food etc and were astounded by our high spirits. So that’s the marooning story.

Port Vila

Even more humid, better merchandise, fairly good prices. There is a market where the ship docks, you can get your hair braided with beads, $10 and hula skirts are $5 for children, beware again of buying anything made of grass, wood or shells, these are all not allowed back into Australia. In customs they had a big pile of all these things that had to be left there, a pity, but the money does help out the islanders. Heaps of buses ( see minivans) and taxis (see local cars) to take you into town. Duty Free shopping was good, though there is a duty free shop on the ship, just know your prices and what you want to buy.

We went on the Jetboat tour, fantastic, then had lunch at the French restaurant that is attached to the jetboat tours you get 10% off if you dine there. Don’t. It’s a bit overpriced and I think the seafood restaurant down the road was better from what I heard and less flies!

We then took a taxi to Eracora resort. We had been advised this was a nice place for children to swim as Port Vila doesn’t have any beaches near the town except for the island that doesn’t allow children on it. There is a free ferry to Eracora resort from where the taxi drops you off, though the taxi driver did say Breakers Resort is a better place to swim, wish we had gone there too. The water was way too warm, warmer than a bath and not refreshing on a hot day. There is a lot of huge starfish in the water that look a bit menacing with all their spikes.

But Port Vila the town looked a bit third world, it was still a beautiful part of the world.

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Interesting!! I think the main thing is, we can't control mother nature, and as you say everything possible was done in the situation then that is what is most important. I shall certainly carry a few lollies and drink with me, which I normally do anyway.

Again a very good review, will take a note of those two resorts, for when we visit Port Vila a week on Sunday.

Val

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breathless4. What a time you all had. Iguess cruising can be a bigger adventure than any brouchure tells you. Happy to hear all turned out ok. Boy you have a story to tell all of your friends and family. This review as the first one is GREAT. thanks for taking time to do it. With the few mishaps of late my DH says Are you sure we want to cruise. I say You bet ya. sue

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Great review Breathless,what an adventure you had.In my past travels when something like this has happened it makes a better story to tell over time than if you just had a "nice" day :D

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:confused: was it Lamen bay or Ouvea you were marooned on? Lamen bay was were the crew and locals played a soccer match and there was a lot of stalls.Past the stalls on the left there was a school that opened there toilet block.I haven't been to Ouvea yet.

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Wow, what a story. You told of the "marooning" in a well spoken factual manner without making it sound like a big whinge.

 

Thanks aussiedisneyfan, loved to actually have it down before I forget it all or tell the story so often that I have changed it too much...lol

 

Yes it was Lamen Bay. Oevea is a nice island, beautiful sand and water, but the locals arent as friendly as those on Lamen Bay.

 

Going to post soon about the entertainment and what we found to do on the cruise....till then

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Great job telling your story Breathless. If more people had your attitude about problems they face, this world would probably be a better place! And besides you now have an exciting story to tell about your trip.

 

The best thing is that with a positive attitude you are not likely to turn people off cruising but more likely to have them a little disappointed when they return from an uneventful cruise (like they ever happen!).

 

Look forward to hearing the continuation of your story. Don't forget to share who your cruise director was??

 

Cheers,

Chaz:)

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Thanks Chaz....Yep didnt know how positive a person I am until I met so many people willing to see the negative. People were actually taking photos and video of the conditions and the line to send to P&O and their insurance companies!

 

Our cruise director was Demo ( heard he is marrying Shana from the star? my Gaydar was certainly down if this is true.) He was funny.

Adrian was the assistant cruise director and was really good at his job.

The one standout in the entertainment troupe was Cameron a good all-round singer and dancer and talked to the passengers as well.

John Bell was one of the star entertainers and a guitarist, cant remember his name....the shows were good.

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Fantastic Breathless....loved your account of the events. The marooning must have been frustrating but good to see some people took the opportunity to have some fun. Not much else you can do. What a great story to bring back home.

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Glad everyone enjoyed my account of the marooning. Would love to hear of other problems overcome on a cruise holiday.

Sorry for Pacific Sky and its run of bad luck, or the passengers bad luck I should say, but I hope it doesnt colour anyones opinion of cruising, it's GREAT.

Thank you P&O for your exemplary care of passengers on N609 the Magic Melody cruise.

Breathless4:D

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