LIVE South Pacific (Fiji, Samoa, American Samoa and Tonga) - Eclipse, twelve nights 14 January

[nz1]

Loving your daily accounts, @Redking! And what a lovely selfie of you and Findlay! 

 

Your dinner at Murano sounded incredible - brought back memories of it from our previous time there on the Solstice - the venison and the grand marnier soufflé were the standouts for me! We haven’t decided yet whether we will dine there this cruise but I’m tempted!

 

[nz1]

I forgot to also say that we enjoyed our experience at Tuscan on embarkation day much more than when we tried it on the Solstice, so I hope you’ll really enjoy it this evening 😊

[Northern Aurora]

We will be returning to the Eclipse in March for a B2B2B2B series.  When we were on the Eclipse in April 2022 the Michaels' Club concierges and the Suite Manager were all excellent.  The Suite Manager remembered us from when he  was a Luminae waiter in 2016.  In any event, who is the current Suite Manager?  Do you have one or two Retreat Concierges?

 

Enjoying your posts.

[Redking]

3 hours ago, Northern Aurora said:

We will be returning to the Eclipse in March for a B2B2B2B series.  When we were on the Eclipse in April 2022 the Michaels' Club concierges and the Suite Manager were all excellent.  The Suite Manager remembered us from when he  was a Luminae waiter in 2016.  In any event, who is the current Suite Manager?  Do you have one or two Retreat Concierges?

 

Enjoying your posts.

We met the suite manager the other night he seemed very approachable. Unfortunately I can't remember his name. Marlene is the Concierge and was previously on Beyond. She is a magician! I think she is the only Concierge.

 

Enjoy your cruise, sounds amazing.

[Redking]

Tuscan day 3

 

This will be a brief review. For the third time in recent years we didn't enjoy our dining experience at Tuscan.

 

Findlay's Branzino looked and tasted like leather and he said his ceaser salad failed to impress.

 

My tuna was uninspiring.

 

Etc etc.

 

Service felt perfunctory. 

 

It's really not the Tuscan of some years ago.

 

That's my twopenneth. Thankfully we all have different tastes and preferences in food.

 

Back to Murano tomorrow!

[Redking]

Lautoka 

 

We had nothing booked for this port. A chance conversation with another couple at breakfast in Luminae saw us heading into town on the shuttle, where we picked up a taxi to take us to the Garden of the Sleeping Giant.

 

The Gardens are about a 30 minute drive from Lautoka. It's a beautiful orchid and tropical garden originally owned by William Burr of Perry Mason fame.

 

 

 

 

Our taxi ride was somewhat interesting,  a touch of irony intended there. I'm thinking of starting a thread on the most entertaining and nerve racking transport experiences you've had on shore. Photos to follow will hopefully give you the just.

 

 

 

[Redking]

 

 

Back on board and mixed ourselves a Brandy Fruit Cup. Very pleasant even if it is lacking some fruit and mint accoutrements.

[Redking]

Some shots of our salubrious taxi

 

 

[Redking]

On 1/15/2023 at 11:04 AM, lexmiller said:

Hello, @Redking- can you please let us know how things went regarding this insurance issue with Fiji  - were you checked on boarding, is it actually an issue at all or are cooler minds prevailing?  What exactly is the procedure?  I believe Fiji is your first port of call......? Definitely want to hear about it, thank you!  I mean, it's absurd to think that Fijian government officials are going to sit around and evaluate every passenger's personal insurance policies!  And again as we've stated, we are in Fiji for a day, as cruise passengers - under no circumstance would covid insurance ever come into play in this actual situation.  If a passenger has covid, they wouldn't be allowed off the ship!  And no one is going to be like, oh wow, it's noon now on my one day in Fiji, I'm just got off the ship a few hours ago, I need to be back on board in a few more hours, but gosh I think all of a sudden I feel ill and will go for a covid test!  Never gonna happen.  I concur with you, that this is yet one more anti-cruise move designed to discourage cruise ships from coming.  The government says it's open to cruise passengers but naaaaahhh, not really.  Thanks in advance!

We've arrived in Fiji and not a whisper of needing to provide evidence of travel insurance. Attached is the communication we received, along with the health dec forms. 

 

 

 

 

[lovecruzin]

Excited to follow along. We are flying home today after being on EC for Dec 9 and Jan 2 cruises. 
You mentioned Captain Theo? Is Captain Leo gone already?

[Redking]

27 minutes ago, lovecruzin said:

Excited to follow along. We are flying home today after being on EC for Dec 9 and Jan 2 cruises. 
You mentioned Captain Theo? Is Captain Leo gone already?

Oops, thanks for the correction! 

[Redking]

A few more shots from the Gardens, including their delicious fruit cup.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Peer97]

Just going to jump in here to let you know that we were scheduled on this itinerary for a b2b2b and decided to cancel this one and proceed with the back to back out of Auckland beginning on January 26th. We then booked Fiji as a land trip. I don’t know if that’s the difference, land vs cruise, but we were asked prior to checkin at the airport for proof of medical insurance and our Covid vaccinations before coming to Fiji. I just don’t want people to think it’s a non- issue for entry into Fiji. Less travelled folks reading these boards may find it confusing and no one wants to see anyone run into any trouble. Happy to be following along on these great posts about the ship, the food etc. Looking forward to joining you aboard on the 26th. Safe travels to everyone. 

[Redking]

15 minutes ago, Peer97 said:

Just going to jump in here to let you know that we were scheduled on this itinerary for a b2b2b and decided to cancel this one and proceed with the back to back out of Auckland beginning on January 26th. We then booked Fiji as a land trip. I don’t know if that’s the difference, land vs cruise, but we were asked prior to checkin at the airport for proof of medical insurance and our Covid vaccinations before coming to Fiji. I just don’t want people to think it’s a non- issue for entry into Fiji. Less travelled folks reading these boards may find it confusing and no one wants to see anyone run into any trouble. Happy to be following along on these great posts about the ship, the food etc. Looking forward to joining you aboard on the 26th. Safe travels to everyone. 

Very valid points and thank you for the follow up. From earlier discussions on the this and other threads the confusion arises as to whether the requirement applies to travellers entering Fiji by cruise ship. You are of course quite right in saying that it's always better to err on the side of caution and refer to the relevant government websites for information. Thanks again.

[Redking]

2 hours ago, Redking said:

Some shots of our salubrious taxi

 

 

I should add that the driver himself was lovely and keen to show us around.

[Mark_T]

3 hours ago, Redking said:

This will be a brief review. For the third time in recent years we didn't enjoy our dining experience at Tuscan.

Our first Tuscan reservation last week was disappointing as well, service was fine, but the food extremely poor. So bad that the Maitre D’ requested a chance to show they could do better another night, and to their credit they did deliver a vastly improved experience on the second occasion. 
 

Murano was the opposite for us, the food as always, perfect, the service just lacked all of the usual engagement. With our second and third reservations, with the same waiter for all 3 occasions, being asked by him, if we had even dined in Murano before…

 

That was far from the standard we would expect there. 

Edited January 17, 2023 by Mark_T

[lexmiller]

On 1/16/2023 at 10:58 PM, Redking said:

We've arrived in Fiji and not a whisper of needing to provide evidence of travel insurance. Attached is the communication we received, along with the health dec forms. 

 

 

 

 

Thank you so much for this!  Did you hear any chatter amongst the guests, ie from those that might have had to purchase a covid policy last minute, but ultimately for no need?  And the other islands that you're heading to,  also no need for a separate covid policy (as of yet anyway, since last minute notification seems to be all the rage?)  Again, thank you for the information, so helpful.  Continue to have a marvelous cruise!

[lexmiller]

On 1/17/2023 at 12:30 AM, Peer97 said:

Just going to jump in here to let you know that we were scheduled on this itinerary for a b2b2b and decided to cancel this one and proceed with the back to back out of Auckland beginning on January 26th. We then booked Fiji as a land trip. I don’t know if that’s the difference, land vs cruise, but we were asked prior to checkin at the airport for proof of medical insurance and our Covid vaccinations before coming to Fiji. I just don’t want people to think it’s a non- issue for entry into Fiji. Less travelled folks reading these boards may find it confusing and no one wants to see anyone run into any trouble. Happy to be following along on these great posts about the ship, the food etc. Looking forward to joining you aboard on the 26th. Safe travels to everyone. 

Thanks for that, and of course the covid insurance need for someone on land makes sense, there is logic there.  No logic at all for a cruise passenger there for a day, in with the ship and out with the ship in a matter of a few hours - good to see that sound judgment had  prevailed.

[lexmiller]

On 1/17/2023 at 12:50 AM, Redking said:

Very valid points and thank you for the follow up. From earlier discussions on the this and other threads the confusion arises as to whether the requirement applies to travellers entering Fiji by cruise ship. You are of course quite right in saying that it's always better to err on the side of caution and refer to the relevant government websites for information. Thanks again.

And that was indeed where the confusion did lie - Fijian gov't site seemed very clear that we as cruise passengers would not need to prove insurance whereas it was Celebrity that caused the confusion, it was Celebrity that notified the passengers on your cruise that proof of insurance was required.  We are not in Fiji until a few months on Eclipse, and we thought it was interesting/revealing/telling, that we never received an email from Celebrity at the same time as you received your stateroom notice, notifying us that we better get cracking and make sure we have insurance for our upcoming cruise......your cruise here seemed to be the guinea pig.  I understand how policies shift and change but I feel that Celebrity made a significant error here with telling you all that 'covid insurance is needed basically immediately or you won't be able to get off in Fiji but oh that's ok as we have so many lovely trivias planned',  causing I'm sure many passengers to scramble - unnecessarily.  

[Redking]

Day 5 Suva, Fiji.

 

We were welcomed to Suva with a beautiful sunny day.

 

I was quite taken with all the fishing boats standing to attention in the harbour.

 

 

We left the ship at 8.30 to pick up our private tour to the Uprising Resort, a 45 minute drive to Pacific Harbour which is billed as Fiji's action capital. From here you can take tours on the Navua River or head out to Beqa Island. 

 

There was a bit of a glitch with our tour because Celebrity had booked out the resort, so we headed next door to the pearl resort where our $50 day pass included food and drink to the value of $40.

 

We managed to book an amazing back, neck and head massage on the beach front. No need for piped rainforest music when you've got the mesmerising sound of the waves lapping on the beach. 

 

Feeling totally chilled we heading off to pool for cocktails and spot of lunch before the drive back to Suva.

 

 

 

 

 

[Redking]

Playing make believe we're in an Iconic Suite whilst they service our stateroom 🤣

[Redking]

By some miracle there is another Mary Frances bag in our stateroom. No idea how that happened 🤔 I'm sure there's room on that shelf for at least one more 🤣

 

[lexmiller]

13 hours ago, Redking said:

By some miracle there is another Mary Frances bag in our stateroom. No idea how that happened 🤔 I'm sure there's room on that shelf for at least one more 🤣

 

Stunning!!

[Redking]

Day 7 Apia, Samoa

 

Talofa!

 

We received the most beautiful welcome to Samoa yesterday. The warmth and beauty of Polynesian cultures always stirs emotions in me. 

 

We shared a taxi with our new cruise buddies to the Robert Loius Stevenson Museum. Stunning grounds and beautiful house largely restored after being damaged in two cyclones during the nineties; only the staircase escaped damage. We had planned to walk up the mountain where Stevenson is buried but decided against it because of the rain and slippiness of the track.

 

 

 

First editions of Kidnapped, Treasure Island and Dr Jeckyl and Mr Hyde.

 

We then headed further into the hills to see a beautiful water fall.

 

In follow up the handbag situation, the solutions for the massage dilemma was to have one whilst in port. In this case a lovely facial at the Taumeasina Island Resort which also had beautiful views back over the island.

 

 

 

Our delightful taxi driver came back to pick us up for the return to the ship. He does seasonal agricultural work in NZ close to where we live, so we hope to meet up again. The people in Samoa were so friendly and eager to help.

 

Having arrived in the rain we departed in glorious sunlight. This island is most definitely going onto my must return list.

 

 

 

 

[asnaleah]

Did I miss something about massages? Are they not available onboard?