Come sail with me on a virtual cruise on Majestic Princess to Fiji!

[ellie1145]

2 hours ago, azbirdmom said:

We were very glad our bad luck ended too!  My tired eyes didn't see him but it sounds like he was there enjoying exotic cuisine in beautiful Fiji!

 

The weather did seem like it was going to take a turn for the worse but thankfully it didn't.  So we were happy to spend a lot of time on our balcony just enjoying sailaway, something we had not been able to do for a while.  Thinking we just had dinner at the buffet since we spent so much time enjoying our balcony.  Hope you enjoyed the sailaway too!

 

This was a bottle of wine that we chose for our second mini-bar set up.  I know it's not worth as much as the whole set up but we had plenty of our first set-up left even at this point in the trip and we knew the wine would be consumed.

 

What wonderful photos azbirdmom. Gorgeous sunsets. And I love the wine glass one. Thank you for posting them. What camera do you use, by the way?

[azbirdmom]

2 minutes ago, ellie1145 said:

 

What wonderful photos azbirdmom. Gorgeous sunsets. And I love the wine glass one. Thank you for posting them. What camera do you use, by the way?

 

Why thank you!  I just used my iPhone on this trip.  I had my Canon with me but my iPhone takes decent pictures so I just used that.

[ellie1145]

Back to the ship

 

It's a pleasant drive back to the ship, and now it's really hot so the air con is a welcome relief. 

 

We pass a sign to First Landings Resort.

 

There is a lot of building work going on and this is a beautiful house being built.

 

The University of Fiji

 

A College

 

 

 

 

Football is the same the world over.

 

 

What an extraordinary house, a bit like the Castle in Disneyland Paris. 😉

 

 

 

The clouds are rolling down the hillside, shrouding them in mist. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s been a nice morning, not quite the beach we had expected but the resort and the pool made up for it. After a quick shower and change of clothes we pop up to the buffet for something to eat. We really appreciate the fact that the buffet never shuts down completely during the day as it offers such amazing flexibility. Not to mention the fact that you can get burgers outside, pizza in the piazza, or sandwiches etc at the International Cafe. 

 

The rest of the day is spent in a similar way to most days, Trivia followed by afternoon tea, followed by Trivia and a catch up with our lovely Australian friends. They have been to the mud pools and have had a great day. Their skin is looking amazing too! We love to see their photos with them covered from head to toe in mud! 
 

[ellie1145]

46 minutes ago, azbirdmom said:

 

Why thank you!  I just used my iPhone on this trip.  I had my Canon with me but my iPhone takes decent pictures so I just used that.

 

They really are amazing cameras, aren't they? And getting better each year. I don't struggle with my Nikon and heavy lenses nowadays. But I covet one of the new iphones with the triple cameras, they take extraordinarily good  photos for amateurs. 

[PaulS]

You must be a night owl, Ellie. You post a lot around this time of day. With Great Britain 5 hours ahead of us in the eastern US, it would be time for me to think about going to bed!

[azbirdmom]

17 minutes ago, ellie1145 said:

 

They really are amazing cameras, aren't they? And getting better each year. I don't struggle with my Nikon and heavy lenses nowadays. But I covet one of the new iphones with the triple cameras, they take extraordinarily good  photos for amateurs. 

 

It was actually my old iPhone 6s.  A month later I traded that in for a new iPhone 11.  It has two lenses but quite honestly the picture quality isn't appreciably better than my oldie but goodie iPhone.  And sorry I jumped the gun on sailaway!  Maybe that time machine is still acting up!

[ellie1145]

36 minutes ago, PaulS said:

You must be a night owl, Ellie. You post a lot around this time of day. With Great Britain 5 hours ahead of us in the eastern US, it would be time for me to think about going to bed!

 

I am, indeed a night owl, PaulS. I am often typing at midnight if I've been busy during the day and haven't had time to update this thread.

 

Have been busy gardening today so a bit late getting back to CC. 

[ellie1145]

33 minutes ago, azbirdmom said:

 

It was actually my old iPhone 6s.  A month later I traded that in for a new iPhone 11.  It has two lenses but quite honestly the picture quality isn't appreciably better than my oldie but goodie iPhone.  And sorry I jumped the gun on sailaway!  Maybe that time machine is still acting up!

 

Oh please don't worry about being out of sync. Look at me, I was too busy to realise I had left Lautoka before we'd said goodbye to Savusavu!  We will definitely blame the Tardis. I am expecting it back later as we have a little trip left to do in Lautoka - after we have left....my technicians tell me they have changed various components and it should now be working perfectly. 🙃

 

Photos were brilliant whatever i-phone you used. 

Edited August 5, 2020 by ellie1145

[ellie1145]

Something a little spooky, azbirdmom....

 

I was looking at your photos again of your tour, and I think one of them was taken near the resort we went to. You can see a digger in the photo, in the right hand side, and we could see that on our left. 

 

Then, I was just about to post my sailaway photos and realised that we must have been standing directly under your room at the back of the ship as we left Lautoka! And we didn't even know! 

[ellie1145]

 

We could see the digger in the photo on the right handside, azbirdmom, and those mud flats extended across to First Landings Resort where we were sitting! 

[ellie1145]

Leaving Lautoka

 

 

 

These officials were in the buffet eating breakfast this morning! 

 

 

 

Oops! 

These buildings are located on those little islands which appear to be so low in the water - you can see the trees growing in the water - not sure if they are mangroves?

 

 

 

 

 

 

See, azbirdmom, we are standing right below your cabin! 

 

 

I use my Sony camera to zoom in on the islands.

 

 

 

 

 

It really is incredible how close they live to the water. I can't imagine how they survive storms.

 

The  pilot boat is waiting 

A tug is on standby in case of need.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 5, 2020 by ellie1145

[ellie1145]

Au revoir, Lautoka, I hope to come back one day.......

 

 

Those  crew on the pilot boat are taking photos of our beautiful behemoth...

And I am taking photos of them taking photos of us! 

 

 

 

 

Goodbye and thank you for taking us safely out to sea!

 

 

 

 

Our last sight of those brooding mountains with the clouds rolling down them, hiding their peaks from view.

[DUCHESSRN]

I have been watching The Cruise on U Tube ,I think Season 6 is on Majestic ....I think of you Ellie.

[ellie1145]

48 minutes ago, DUCHESSRN said:

I have been watching The Cruise on U Tube ,I think Season 6 is on Majestic ....I think of you Ellie.

Oh gosh, I hadn’t realised it was on Majestic.  I’lll have to try and find it.

 

Thanks for the heads up!

[ellie1145]

Good night from this night owl.... or maybe I should say good evening or good afternoon, to our American friends, and good morning to our Ozzies (that’s if you are still reading! 🤔)

 

Tomorrow I will finish our day in Lautoka, and we will all pop into my Tardis for a quick glimpse of what you won’t want to do in Lautoka......

 

Then it’s a sea day and I will take you round the ship and show you a few more of her delights.

 

The time is going way too fast, so we must make the most of it. 

[TeaBag]

Thank you Ellie for bringing us back to Lautoka.  We, too loved the mosaic walkways and the colorful temples.  i would post some of our pictures but this is your thread!

[Westaussie]

4 hours ago, ellie1145 said:

Good night from this night owl.... or maybe I should say good evening or good afternoon, to our American friends, and good morning to our Ozzies (that’s if you are still reading! 🤔)

 

 

Yes, still reading and loving it, even more so as it's possible our cruise to Fiji in May next year may not happen.

[ellie1145]

4 hours ago, TeaBag said:

Thank you Ellie for bringing us back to Lautoka.  We, too loved the mosaic walkways and the colorful temples.  i would post some of our pictures but this is your thread!

Well, Teabag, we are all in this together and I would be delighted to see some of your photos. We didn’t have much success on our first visit to Lautoka, as you will see later, so anything you can add would be great!

 

Glad you are still with us. I can’t believe so many people are still reading this epistle. 😲

[ellie1145]

Good morning, good evening, G’day..

 

So what have we in store today?

 

Well, later we are all going on a trip in my Tardis, a trip maybe you will be glad is only virtual. 

 

Then there is a beautiful sunset to enjoy, my first really good one.

 

After that we get ready for a lovely relaxing sea day. I think we all need one after the activity of the last few days. It’s been a whistle stop tour hasn’t it?

 

But the wonderful thing about a virtual cruise is that we don’t feel tired at all!

 

 

[ellie1145]

9 hours ago, Westaussie said:

Yes, still reading and loving it, even more so as it's possible our cruise to Fiji in May next year may not happen.

Great to hear you are still with us! I’ll keep my fingers crossed for next May for you.

 

[ellie1145]

 

A Salutary Experience

 

 

Well, here we are in Lautoka again! I hope you’ve all had breakfast and are ready to enter my Tardis for another trip. I’m including this trip as I hope it might prevent someone else being ripped off by these clowns.

 

We have not booked a tour here and hope to find something when we arrive, so, whilst I’m getting ready in our cabin, DH goes for a walk on the dockside to do a recce, and meets our lovely Ozzie trivia mates. They have also been investigating tours on the dockside, and think they have found something suitable. They ask us if we would like to join them and of course we jump at the opportunity. We really enjoy their company so it looks like it will be a good day.

 

We all disembark and walk down the quay, and pay for our tour tickets. We are told that we will be taken to the Gardens of the Sleeping Giant, to see the orchids, then to the mud baths, and finally to a beautiful resort where we can swim. It sounds brilliant. We ask her to confirm that all our entrance fees are included and she is happy to affirm that.

 

Our ticket, which we should have checked more thoroughly. We should have insisted the lady write everything that is included on this ticket. We don’t realise our error until much too late.  

 

She says we need to hurry as the coach is waiting, and directs us through the dockside to a car park where a large air-conditioned coach is waiting. This is looking good. It’s a really nice comfortable coach and so we get onboard and sit and chat while we wait for the tour to start.

 

We thoroughly enjoy being with our trivia mates who are such good company, so the time passes, and more and more people arrive on the coach.

[ellie1145]

Off we go to the Gardens of the Sleeping Giant.

 

 

Finally, over an hour has passed with us just sitting waiting. Some people are getting fretful, and one party gets up and tellS the lady in charge that they want a refund, as they aren’t going to wait any longer. It’s nearly midday and we haven’t moved an inch.

 

At this stage, we, too, should have got off, but we are enjoying being with our friends, and finally the doors shut and we drive slowly towards the dock gates before turning round and driving straight back for more people to get on.

 

But at last we are off. It’s an interesting journey and I love seeing both the countryside and the way people live. It’s a very fertile island, and everywhere you can see fields full of crops, and behind them the brooding mountains. It’s a beautiful day and it’s a comfortable coach, we are with convivial company, so all’s right with the world.

 

 

[ellie1145]

 

We set off and drive through the lush countryside. It appears to be a very fertile island with fields of crops growing. 

 

 

We pass lots of animals in the fields. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then we leave the main road and drive up a narrow track to the Garden of the Sleeping Giant, in the foothills of the Sabeto Mountains, and close to the airport.

 

It has around 40 different species of orchid, and was once, apparently, owned by the famous American actor, Raymond Burr, who played 'Ironside' in that detective series as well as Perry Mason. We have been told that once we have explored the gardens a complimentary drink will be offered. We can’t wait!

 

Then the  guide stands up and says to the whole coach, that if we have paid more than $20 (we have paid considerably more!) our entrance is included. It seems that many have paid just $12, so that seems fair to us. 

 

However, when we actually reach the gardens we are denied entry and are told we must pay again. We try to speak to our guide but she doesn’t want to know. She even denies having told everyone that entrance was included. We ask her to contact the tour operator and she appears to make a phone call to her base, but says we must pay and seek a refund when we get back to the ship. 
 

Wonder what Aussie Tucker is on offer....we haven’t seen any kangaroos or crocodiles...

 

Edited August 6, 2020 by ellie1145

[azbirdmom]

Well our paths had to almost cross at some point!  One bad thing about using my iPhone is that I couldn't zoom in as you did with your photos.  It was interesting to see the houses up close!  And sorry you had a bad experience on your prior visit.  I can certainly relate to that!

[TeaBag]

I'm so sorry about your tour, Ellie.  Did you manage to get some money returned?  We really liked the gardens.  Here are some of o ur pictures.  I hope you don't regret giving me permission to put them on here.