Has anyone actually stopped at Christmas Island this year??

[canadagal]

I thought that the Tahitian Princess was to stop at Christmas Island in April of this year. From doing a search I can't see anyone reporting that they have actually set foot here in the past couple of years. How come??

Pat

[marly]

Our cruise in May on Pacific Princess from Tahiti to Hawaii stopped at Christmas Island. We didn't get off the ship because the tender was taking so long, but many of the people who did get off seemed to enjoy it.

Marly

[canadagal]

Thanks Marly for your input! We have been to Tahiti before on the PG and also Hawaii on a defunct line but we were hoping to combine the two this time around on perhaps a Princess cruise........it would be our first experience with Princess. However, so far no one other then you has stopped at Christmas Island and even you never got off the ship as the tenders were taking too long..........this to us is a big factor........to spend 4 days at sea without a stop in between would not be something that we would be too crazy about. In fact it would probably make us decide to do a separate Hawaiian cruise and a separate Tahiti cruise again. I know that Princess can not control the weather and if the seas are too rough then there would justifiably be no stop at Christmas Island but to hear that not everyone got on the island because the tender service was too slow is disappointing or when I read something from another member stating that they just don't want to stop there but still insist on advertising it as a port stop.........it really leaves one to wonder what the chances are of stopping there. Surely there must be others that have actually stopped here enroute since last fall.

Pat

[marly]

Pat: I'm sure others must have stopped there too. In fact I know Tahitian Princess did -- they had the opposite itinerary from us. It's a very, very small place and it didn't seem like there was much to do. The ship didn't stay there long. According to the people that got off, the locals put on a little show singing and dancing and there were souvenirs. The fact that we didn't get off the ship was our own fault because we went down to the tender later in the day sort of on a whim and then chose not to wait to be called. The people that had planned to go early on were able to.

 

We loved both Tahiti and Hawaii. I think if we were to do it again, we'd do both places separately. It was a great cruise, though, and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

Marly

[canadagal]

Thanks Marly for clarifying the point about why you never made the tender. That does make a difference. I do appreciate your taking the time to post.

Much appreciated!

Pat

[calikak]

You might also want to check out this thread about Christmas Island:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=152313

 

We're on the first Tahiti to Hawaii sailing on the TP next year, so I've also been wondering about that stop, because it sure is a lot of sea days in a row if we don't stop there. But, we decided to go for it anyway, because we wanted to see a little bit of both Tahiti and Hawaii.

[Paladin]

We were also on the Tahiti to Hawaii cruise in May. We took the tender to Christmas Island and really enjoyed the visit. There was a group of school children who sang songs and wanted their pictures taken. There were tables of local handmade crafts of all descriptions that were for sale at very reasonable prices. While it is true that there isn't much to see on the island and our visit was pretty short, it was definitely worth it!

[Times Prince]

As you can see from my cruise history, we stopped at Christmas Island. Princess used to only have 2 cruises a year that went between Tahiti and Hawaii. The island is an atoll with a very shallow lagoon, so there is a tendancy to not overload tenders, lest they bottom out on the coral.

 

The island itself was undeveloped and very charming. We beach combed and saw a migration of hermit crabs. The natives from Kirabati sell souveniers, all hand made, for reasonable prices, and there is a post office by the pier with really unique stamps and first day covers. We were entertained by two different groups. One was a group of men who sang with the strength, enthusiasm, and vocal power of LadySmith Black Mambaza. I don't know their name, but they were REALLY GOOD.

 

Don't let the tender wait deter you from going ashore. It was one of the truly memorable parts of the cruise for us.

[canadagal]

Times Prince and Paladin: that was encouraging news hearing that both of you made the stop as well as Marly. Thanks for taking the time to share your experience.

Calikak: we are considering taking the cruise May/06.

I'm feeling better about booking this itinerary. Although the Christmas Island stop is not a make or break situation, it is a big draw.........just to see some place so primitive and to break up the sea days, even if only for 4 or 5 hours.

Much appreciated guys!

Pat

[marly]

Pat: Have a great time! I wish we could go with you :) The zipline in Maui is a lot of fun, and the scuba diving in Bora Bora and Moorea was awesome. The sea days went by quickly -- as life does when you're having fun.

Enjoy!

Marly

[calikak]

Pat, I'm with you, 5 sea days in a row would probably start to make me a little stir crazy. I like a few sea days, but not that many all at once, so hopefully we'll make our stop there. If not, then I guess we'll be the first off the ship in Hilo! :) We have a roll call started for this sailing if you decide to join us:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=192656

[Amy G]

We stopped here in May 2003. It was a trek to the island via tender, and a few times we did scrape the coral. But, that made the trip even more adventurous. A few things we thought were cool were all the children singing, find out out that the island is actually across the international dateline (the islands did not like being on two different days, so years ago they adjusted the international dateline to include all the islands), finding an American living on the island with a wife and children, and then the general foreign-ness of the island. The best part was that our picture Christmas card had a picture of us with a sign that said Christmas Island! A few drawbacks were that the people threw their trash on to the ground, including tons of beer cans. Metal wreckage was everywhere, and it smelled like rotting fish.

 

Don't forget to use lots and lots of sunscreen. :) I put some on, but not enough, and I got burnt so bad that I blistered on my shoulders. I forgot that we were at a latitude of 2 degrees!