Fiji

Has anyone done this cruise lately? Thinking about going October 31. There is not a lot of information compared to the Society and Tuamotus Islands. We got invaluable information from this board before we went on that cruise.

This would be our third cruise with PG.

We have done a land based 2 week stay in Fiji (included 7 nights on Blue Lagoon Cruise) and we did the PG Australia to Tahiti cruise with scheduled stops in Fiji, Tonga and the cooks.

The ports in Fiji are not great and you have to leave the port area to get to decent snorkeling or diving (what Fiji is renowned for). On our cruise we unfortunately missed most ports due to bad weather. We are doing the 10 night again and I personally would be hesitant to do a Fiji trip.

The October 31 trip is a round trip from Fiji. I am sure I will be in the minority but that itinerary for me is horrible. The PG is at home in the Tahitian waters. That itinerary is Fiji, New Caledonia and Vanuatu. We stopped in Noumea and it is OK but subpar as compared to any port they stop in in French Polynesia. Another scheduled stop for you is in Vanuatu and due to weather we made an unscheduled stop in Port Vila as well. Maybe because it was unscheduled but it was a dump. I call it a dump but wait for Twin to weigh in as I think dump may be too kind for him.

At least for me the itinerary is horrible.

Very helpful. Thanks for responding.

We did a 14 day Fiji cruise on the PG back in May, and it was outstanding. Was it has nice as Tahiti no, but different experiences, for example on one island Tanna in Vanuatu we were the first cruise ship ever to stop, and all the locals came out for a big time celebration. An experience that can't be duplicated. If you're a scuba diver this trip is a must, some of world's best diving is located in Fiji and New Caledonia. Some day trips from Noumea for example to Amedee Island was an enjoyable day.

Port Vila is a dump, but Vanuatu is a 3rd world country.

That's my two cents worth.