Back from holidays

[noelm]

Just got back from holidays, did I miss anything? No world changing events or wise words from the site?

[LFBB]

What holidays?

[noelm]

Nothing special, did an 11 night cruise to South Pacific Islands, got a special deal too good to refuse, so my wife and I went. We left the day before a cat 4 cyclone hit Port Vila, quite a bit of damage done. Cruise was pretty good, no Covid cases "noted" but who knows if there really was any? A bit of excitement, a woman was reported missing, security searched ship, looked at all CCTV footage, could not find evidence of her falling overboard, later that night she turned up, had a couple of glasses of wine and fell asleep under a towel behind a sofa on deck!

[Surfercross]

I was on a cruise about 8 years ago and some guy jumped overboard. Ship literally turned so hard you could hardly stand up. They immediately sent out search boats and had every light on the ship on. Helicopter from the coast guard was searching as well. Never found the guy. Apparently the guy jumped because he had a fight with his girlfriend.

[Sans Peur]

"later that night she turned up, had a couple of glasses of wine and fell asleep under a towel behind a sofa on deck!"

Sounds like someone had a little fling and couldn't come up with a good excuse.

[noelm]

Could be? Only she (and possibly another) knows.

[Coastboater]

I thought the same thing. The old “bang a bartender” excuse 😀

[savedbygrace]

Glad you’re back Noelm.

[noelm]

I know cruising is not a big hit with most in the US, but, here seems to be nothing like it is there. We got a very cheap deal, $250 for 11 nights with one of "our" more budget cruise lines (P&O) but, the ship was very clean, quite modern decor, three specialty dining options (included) an Asian, Italian and an Australian type of proper sit down, table clothe type dining, plus the usual buffet setup. Nothing was crowded as such, the buffet got busy right around dinner time, but any other time, no waiting, or at best one or two in front of you, so no big deal. The nightly shows were just OK, mildly entertaining but that's about it. The Islands are varying from spectacular to OK. Fresh just cooked huge Lobsters were $50 (aus) with a big fruit platter, lots of swimming and snorkeling if that's your thing, cheap alcohol (very cheap) but damned hot weather! We went on a local "water taxi" which was basically a 15' "canoe" with a Smokey old 40HP two stroke, they loaded 10 of us on wooden seats, then one sitting next to the "skipper" on the back, and another person hanging on to the front small deck, no life jackets, no boating rules, it was just hang in and hope........great fun though, everything seemed to be $5, taxi, ice cream, can of beer, bag of fruit, all $5 (AUS) had a great time really.
edit....I'm off again on the 19th of March, with our grandson this time.

[blaster]

The problem with American cruise lines is the clientele. Lots of fights and germs.

[noelm]

Not much of that here (it has happened of course) but mostly it's just families enjoying a holiday. Mind you, one particular race (I won't say who) started to get me somewhat pissed off, always needing to be first on, off or anything else, sleeping for hours laying down on lounges inside, so instead of a dozen people, there is three or four in an area! but, luckily they were the minority! The ship staff/crew do an amazing job, so friendly and nothing is too much trouble, tables cleared, wiped the instant you finish a drink or food.

[noelm]

A couple of random pictures.

[Coastboater]

We don’t do cruises anymore, but something about cruising the South Pacific sounds appealing.

[noelm]

There is some fantastic Islands to visit, of course, a big ship can only go to a select few, some you dock in industrial ports and need to get out a bit to see anything decent, others the ship anchors and you get taken ashore in tenders (life boats) they all have markets, but, markets are the same everywhere, just cheap junk passed off as "local handcrafts" a couple of islands are not worth getting off the ship, Santo is one, it's just a small port, a dirty shonky town and a tour to some beach were the US dumped tanks, planes, trucks and everything else during WW2 but all you can see is some rusted "stuff" that could be anything, supposedly you can snorkel there and see good stuff, but, our "tour" was about 2 minutes standing on the beach because the next bus was coming! Another place is Noumea, you dock in a working container port, then get a (free) bus into town, the best thing is hiring a little open, almost army Jeep like car called a "mini moke" that have been converted to electric motor. The guy hiring them says they are good for about 6 hours, but, it's common to see a bunch a hot tourists walking back after about 2 hours! Driving them is a hoot, except.....being a French Nation, they drive on the wrong side of the road (right side for you) and the locals drive like a cross between India and Thailand, it's kind of survival of the fittest, red lights, pedestrians, stop signs mean nothing!

[Lprizman]

Welcome back!! Hope you had a great time!!

[noelm]

Thanks, yes, we did have a great time.

[Lprizman]

Awesome !!

[Bstnsportsfan]

Wow for $250 you can’t go wrong. Looks like a fantastic time! My wife and I love going on cruises. The past 2 years we have gone to Alaska and this year heading to Aruba and the southern Caribbean. Next year the bucket list is the Norway fjords.

[noelm]

Yes it was very cheap, just one of those deals that come along, I recently saw a deal for 5 nights for $150 with $150 credit for the casino, but......you don't get to choose the cabin, or the destination, we nearly purchased that one, but passed on it.

[noelm]

Cruising is not for everyone, some hate it, some cruise lines are low budget and attract low budget people, but here, even the cheaper lines are good. Lots of people do one cruise and never go again, others can't go on another one quick enough! For us, it's being able to unpack then do what you like, lay around and do nothing, or do everything, no driving to restaurants or shows, no driving/taxi home after a few drinks, everything is there, ready to go. I have friends who just did their 150th cruise, they spend a few months (our winter) in the Caribbean, then cruise back here on a repositioning cruise, they are Pinnacle on Royal Caribbean and Diamond on Carnival (the highest loyalty points you can go) Carnival doesn't appear to have a great reputation in the US, but here, it's not the bottom of the list, sure it's cheaper, but, it's market here is aimed right at families, not drunks or low income, some don't like that, so, they don't go with Carnival, it's a choice once you get it all sorted. Another example is Viking, that's a no kids company here and everything is free, drinks, shore tours, the whole thing, some love that, but, it's very much a jacket and dress trousers/suit thing, nothing wrong with that, if it's your thing! (It's not mine)