Has anybody been to Christmas Island?

Pacific Princess is stopping at Christmas Island for four and a half hours on our way from Tahiti to Hawaii. Has anybody been there? And is there anything to do there in that short amount of time?

Marly

CHRISTMAS (KIRITIMATI) ISLAND

from

http://www.janeresture.com/christmas/

It's one of the most primitive places you can visit on this earth

from

http://www.world66.com/australiaandpacific/kiribati/kiritimatiisland

Yes, we have been there once back in 1993. We had booked a back to back Hawaii/Tahiti cruise several years later as we really wanted to see it again, but the ship didn't stop there on either leg of the b2b cruise because of problems with the dock. :(

It is VERY primative. We were only the second cruise ship to ever stop there the first time and it was unbeliveable. I have seen pictures taken of it many years later and they have done a slight bit of work to the pier area, but it is pretty much as it was back in 1993.

Make sure IF you stop, as sometimes the port is cancelled because of sea conditions and different problems, that you wear water shoes. There was a lot of broken glass all over the island and many people cut their feet that removed their shoes.

The water was so crystal clear and warm, if you could see past the poverty, it is fascinating.

Also if you take a bit of wrapped candy with you, you will have a line of children behind you the entire time you are visiting. They were wonderful and will thank you with gathering shells and other things as a token of their appreciation.

I am very jealous, I would love to go there again, even for just a few hours.

Oh yes, we were there twice on the Crown Princess on a b2b Hawaii/Tahiti. Well, its....interesting. We rented at cab for the day and he took us around...well, interesting. What struck us was the large amount of garbage (pop cans, paper, etc...not really wet garbage) on the beach. But...it was the sight of one of our favorite recollections of travel. A little girl came up to us and asked us "is your island as big as our island". Let me tell you, that was worth the trip!!!!!!!! She was adorable and put everything in perspective. Any new experience is worth putting in your memory bank!!!!

When was the last time Princess stopped there. I remember reading accounts on this board that Princess hadn't stopped there in years (but it was still listed on future cruises).

Why is there so much garbage on the island - I am assuming from tourists? I would hate to think locals would treat their island like this.

I hope to go one year.

To answer your question Coral, the last time Princess stopped there (that I know of) was September 2004. There are a few overpriced souvenir tables set up and if you wander a bit, a tee shirt guy who would do more business if he were visible.

Arlene

Thanks Arlene!

I remember reading Toto's posts from awhile ago when it appeared that none of the ships were going there (though they were scheduled) but I didn't realize people went there 6 months ago.

I found a place that offers a two and a half hour tour of the historic sites of the island. I'm not too much into history; is it worth doing? Don't think we'd have enough time for scuba diving, but is there a local beach for snorkeling?

Thanks

Marly

Hi Marilyn...

I don't recall anyone doing anything at Christmas Island. We weren't there very long and Princess didn't offer anything. We tendered over, looked around and went back. We were there long enough for Milt to find a collared polo with a Kiribati logo; probably the only one on the island. I suspect that if Princess didn't offer to "sell" a tour, there's really nothing worth "buying."

Arlene

We ran into about the same thing as Arlene, although when we stopped, there was not much to purchase. A few small tables with local crafts were all that was there. Only tours offered back then were in the back of a pick up truck from the locals for $5 to take you around the island. lol

Sounds like they have become just a tad more organized now.

When we visited, you could see remnants of historic sites everywhere, rusted tanks and equipment right in the water, there really wasn't a need for a tour. The trash was not from tourists but from the islanders themselves. Lots of pop cans, beer bottles and it was a mess, I must admit.

The best memory though were the people themselves, lovely. And the crystal clear warm water that was almost like a hot tub.

The trash was not from tourists but from the islanders themselves. Lots of pop cans, beer bottles and it was a mess, I must admit.

That is sad when the locals did not take care of their own area.

Coral, that is exactly what we said. So very sad that they weren't even taking care of their own little island. But by the amount of beer cans that we saw everywhere, we knew what their local pass time had to be. :D I still remember commenting to my DH that I had never seen that many empty beer cans in my entire life. :eek:

Toto - were you the one that was tracking Christmas Island and had contacted the island to find out why Princess wasn't stopping there or was that someone else?

Great memory Coral, yes that was me. I had wanted to check the condition of the pier as ships had not stopped there for several months because of storm damage. I ended up emailing someone in Europe that put me in touch by email with the port agent at Christmas Island. They had said that all repairs to the dock had been done, and the channel dredged to get ready for our arrival. They were looking very forward to the Crown Princess stopping in a few weeks. ($$$$ of coarse).

As we boarded the ship there was a note in our stateroom saying that the repairs had not been done on the island and that we would not be stopping?????????????????????? Imagine the look on the !st officers face when I asked him about this and presented him with a copy of the email from Christmas Island saying that all repairs had been completed weeks before? His story changed about 3 times as to why we were not going to visit there after reading the email. lol

We realized that ports could be cancelled or changed as per the cruise contract. But I had called Princess and contacted Christmas Island on several occasions to see if there were plans for this stop. I had done this mainly because we were on a back to back and DH is not a fan of sea days, without this stop, there would be 5 sea days in a row on both legs. :(

Needless to say, I think we were double crossed on this one by Princess. They never had plans of stopping, but they knew many on the passengers were really not interested in this many sea days in a row and might cancel the cruise IF the scheduled stop was totally cancelled for us ahead of time.

It showed us to never count on the cruise lines answers as they will tell you what you WANT to hear, not what is actually going to happen.

As I said before, as I don't want to get jumped on for this. WE KNEW that any port could be cancelled by the cruise line for any reason, as per the cruise contract. But we were so looking forward to returning to this island that we did a lot of double checking before final payment to make sure it was a possiblity if sea conditions were right, which they were, but that didn't make a difference on both our sailings. :(

I do remember your story and I too would be frustrated if the pier was repaired, why the ship didn't dock. As you stated, you know the line can change their minds at any time - it would just be nice if there was a valid reason for changing their minds about not stopping at a port. That would be a lot of sea days with out a stop.

Yes, five days at sea will be a long time if we don't stop there. It's such a short time, I wonder why they even have it on the itinerary.

Toto: The part of your story that bothers me the most is being lied to. I'm glad you were able to catch them at it.

Marly

Marly, Thanks and I was also glad I came prepared. It was just so funny to listen to him tell me WHY we weren't stopping either way. This was all behind closed doors in his office. He went into a long drawn out story about the storm and the damage. After he was finished, I presented him with the email that I printed off from the port authority there. First thing out of his mouth was 'lady, have you ever been to Christmas Island before'? When I answered YES, it caught him off guard and he didn't know where to turn from there.

But to listen to that story he has just told me do a 180* turn was almost worth not stopping. He was stuttering and trying to make it up as he went along. Totally hilarious from my standpoint.

His closeing statement to me was that our port fees would be credited to our shipboard account. We found out later that the port fees per person ended up being $8. Now that was funny when we saw that one. ROFLMAO

I don't recall anyone doing anything at Christmas Island. We weren't there very long and Princess didn't offer anything. We tendered over, looked around and went back. We were there long enough for Milt to find a collared polo with a Kiribati logo; probably the only one on the island. I suspect that if Princess didn't offer to "sell" a tour, there's really nothing worth "buying."

HAL has a stop there as well on their January Hawaii/South Pacific itinerary. They also don't offer any shore excursions on that particular island.

I was wondering, though, if anyone knows if there are SCUBA operators on the island. I'd like to get some dives logged while on that cruise since it'll be a long time before I ever get back that way.

Blue skies ...

--rita

I thought I remembered a friend telling me that they booked a dive through the ship on Christmas Island, but, I just checked the Princess web site and it isn't showing any excursions offered at all right now for that port. So, I may have mixed this info up with some other island they were telling me about.

I was there two years ago - it was interesting but it's an atoll - only about 12 feet above sea level. Usually school classes of children are on the dock to meet you with singing and dancing and adults singing under a tarp. The children's teacher would not allow a friend to give them candy - remember, this is primitive and dentists may not be affordable or plentiful. Sugarless candy would be a better choice. The dock had been damaged in a storm, so we tendered in very slowly because the water is quite shallow, perhaps not deep enough for Scuba. The water was very clear, so snorkeling is probably doable. The historic aspects are the remains of U.S. bases from atomic bomb testing in the 50's and 60's, at least one base is now a bare bones hotel for people who come to fish. Charter fishing is apparently one of the successful enterprises with people flying in from Japan, Australia, etc. Kirabati is reported to be a protectorate of Australia. They "bent" the International Date Line to be the first place the Millenium dawned in January 2000. Lots of controversy there. They were part of the Pacific Theater during WWII.

Kyros: I did a google search for Christmas Island and found a site that talked about diving and fishing. I sent an email to them, but so far no response. From their web page it looked like they only offered a two-tank dive. We won't be there long enough for that. I'll post if I hear back from them.

Marly

I really enjoyed the stop at Christmas Island. If you go there not expecting it to me like other islands you've visited, its fine. I was there with my cousins, and we walked around because he had been there during WWII as a pilot. The locals had items spread out on blankets, they performed, played songs, danced, it was primitive but nice.

Susie

Kyros: I did a google search for Christmas Island and found a site that talked about diving and fishing. I sent an email to them, but so far no response. From their web page it looked like they only offered a two-tank dive. We won't be there long enough for that. I'll post if I hear back from them.

Wow! Thanks, Marly! I am really hoping it is possible to arrange a one-tank dive. If there is a dive operator, this should be possible since often they have to go back to the dock to get fresh tanks anyway. You should be able to sign up for just the second dive. At least that's how it worked in St. Maarten on my Sun cruise. We picked up a couple of extra divers for only the second dive of the morning.

Blue skies!

--rita

Kryos: I found this site and they do list a one-tank dive. It's three hours. I'm afraid it will be cutting it too close for us since we're only there four and a half hours. http://www.divingchristmas.com.cx/diving.html

Kryos: I found this site and they do list a one-tank dive. It's three hours. I'm afraid it will be cutting it too close for us since we're only there four and a half hours. http://www.divingchristmas.com.cx/diving.html

Thanks so much for that info, and I'll check it out.

I won't be going for a while yet, and am going on HAL's Amsterdam. According to the itinerary published on the website (and of course, we know that can always change), we are scheduled to be at Christmas Island from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., so I'd love to make a dive.

Blue skies ...

--rita