Sunday 23rd November 2014 Lost an hour with clocks wound forward overnight.. At sea, so guess it was yet another leisurely day J . Much of the same with another good main show to finish off. There are 3 other bands on-board as well as the orchestra. A violin duo, solo singer/instrumentalist, and solo pianist.. Always something going on one lounge or another. Monday 24th November 2014 Due too heavy headwinds overnight our arrival into Lautoka Fiji was around an hour late. Clocks forward yet again overnight, but our bodys have still not recovered from all the constant change we went through a month or so ago.. So, not bothering us, ‘cos we don’t sleep much anyway ;;; The city had a free shuttle arranged to take passengers for the 6 minute ride into the city centre. Surprisingly, this was a very fast and painless exercise. They utilised out of hours school buses and against all odds, moving thousands of people was very efficient. Many others went on organised guided ship tours, but we “did our own thing” Spent several hours wandering the city., and as everywhere else in Fiji, the local people are happy and very friendly, and greet everyone with “BULA” and a hand shake at as one walks around. Can seem confronting to us at times, because at home, such behaviour would make us suspicious and wondering what is going to happen next. Lots of shops with very cheap clothing on offer. Pregnant beggar women with 3 or 4 kids next to them, often seen on the footpaths gives another perspective of a hard life here for some. Back on board, another great evening and the show, “A man from Mars” Tuesday 25th November 2014 Suva Fiji was todays port of call, and we were once again greeted with singers/dancers on the dock. Wandering about town we were also welcomed with BULA by citizens going about their normal daily business. Since we were here earlier in the year, some extensive renovation work is underway on many of the government buildings. Local buses with no side windows, (air conditioning), constantly sounding horns whilst trying to jockey for position at the bus terminus near the port. The fresh food market next door has some very good looking produce, albeit market very dull inside with little natural, and certainly no electric lighting. The outside fish market not very attractive, with the “refrigeration” of fish, and the shooing off of blowflies carried out with hand held fans. Ship sail-away farewell by the Suva police band brought tears to the eyes of some passengers. Wednesday 26th November 2014 Clocks forward by one hour overnight, so an extra hours sleep??? No, not really, whilst last nights entertainment was rock n roll, the ship was doing a lot of that overnight. A sea day heading west once more, so a little more about this ship. Actually liking this ship a lot. About to leave the fleet after 20 years, the buffet area, (where we mostly have our lunch) has trays and rails to slide them as you make selections from about 4 lines which each include carvery. We have not seen this on any other ship apart from the old Marco Polo. Most now have island specialty stations where you slide in to get your choices and move to the next. This ship also has a nice outdoor area at rear of buffet. Add a specialty spag bar, freshly made pizza bar, hamburger dog bar and icecream bar.. The ship never seems crowded, plenty of nice bright lounges to relax in. The Hemisphere lounge in the drivers seat of deck 12 is our favourite. During our nightly cocktail hours, we are also offered very nice horse doovers. Senior officers visit and join us at our lounges/tables for a chat every night, and genuinely seek out our opinions and vibes of how the trip is going for us. They do this on other ships too, but make a much bigger presence on the Century. The second of 3 Formal Nights, for this voyage tonight. Thursday 27th November 2014 Arrived at Vanuatus beautiful Mystery Island early this morning. This is just one of the 80 odd islands in the Vanuatu archipeligo, and is uninhabited. On-shore before 8am, for an early exploration. A welcoming party of local people from a neighboring island was there to greet us. When cruise ships come by, they bring all sorts of wares to sell through around 25 stalls. Other operators, hire snorkel gear, glass bottom boat trips and kayak hire. As with most of these islands, a visit is not complete until a group of island children sing for you. A big day on-board after we set sail early afternoon.. It is Thanksging dinner, but also, for us what they provide is an Elegant Tea, during afternoon, which we were told, can really spoil dinner.. Coupled with that, tonight is Captains Night for Elite Members, at 8PM. While writing this, don’t know what we will do.
Posted on: Thu, 27 Nov 2014 00:08:20 +0000
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