First time cruising - a couple of questions

[Yamatji_]

Hello,

i’ve had a browse through the forums and i can’t see much for the ship I’m going on. There’s still many months to go before my cruise but I would like to get my head around it early. 
i will be cruising with my sister who has an intellectual disability and she doesn’t do well with changes to her routine and that’s why i’m trying to understand everything as early as possible. This way she will have many months to ask questions and i can reassure her. 
We’re going on the Pacific Adventure on July 30 to New Caledonia and Vanuatu. 

questions:

1) should we take a powerboard if i have a plug with 4 USB ports? I think the 4 usb ports should be enough as we only have 2 iphones, 2 apple watches, a GoPro to charge as well as her c-pap machine. 

2) New Caledonia: are there any suggestions for activities in Noumea that give the opportunity to learn about Melanesian culture? I can’t find much. I’m aware there’s a cultural centre but it’s not quite what i’m looking for. At the moment we’re thinking about snorkeling at Signal island, hoping to see turtles, but after that we have nothing for about 3 to 4 hours.

 

3) Vanuatu: we’ll be there on a Sunday. Most things are closed on a Sunday. I know they say some things will open on a cruise day but should i trust that the places i want to go to will be open in Port Vila? 
also, they don’t sell alcohol on Sundays. I always buy a bottle of local rum when I visit a country. Will the duty free store be open even on a sunday? And will they sell alcohol? 
 

4) we can’t take alcohol on the ship but i read that they will store our duty free alcohol until we return to Sydney. If i buy alcohol in New Caledonia that isn’t from the Duty free store, will they also hold this for me until Sydney or does it have to be specifically bought from the dutyfree store? 
 

I do have a few more questions that are ship specific but i will ask those at a later date. 
 

thanks for the help

Edited January 10 by Yamatji_

[crystalspin]

30 minutes ago, Yamatji_ said:

i’ve had a browse through the forums and i can’t see much for the ship I’m going on.

Hello and welcome to Cruise Critic! I think the board you should be posting on is here:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/332-pampo-cruises-australia/

 

There might not be posts specific to your ship, but others in the area may be similar/visit the same ports.

 

Here's to a safe and fun trip, for you and your sister!

 

ETA: There is also a board for Aust/ND cruisers, here:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/564-australia-new-zealand-cruisers/

 

And one for cruising with disabilities:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/114-disabled-cruise-travel/

 

And Pacific Islands (most for French Polynesia, but scan a few "pages")

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/62-pacific-islands-all/

 

Edited January 10 by crystalspin

[Mum2Mercury]

On 1/9/2024 at 5:12 PM, Yamatji_ said:

i will be cruising with my sister who has an intellectual disability and she doesn’t do well with changes to her routine and that’s why i’m trying to understand everything as early as possible.

I know you've already chosen a sailing, but Royal Caribbean does a once-a-year trip called a Buddy Cruise, which is about 50% people with a wide variety of disabilities.  We accidentally sailed it once and would absolutely sail "with the Buddies" again.  It was a quiet, family-oriented cruise and everyone was very friendly /understanding of the children and adults with disabilities.  

 

[Yamatji_]

14 hours ago, Mum2Mercury said:

I know you've already chosen a sailing, but Royal Caribbean does a once-a-year trip called a Buddy Cruise, which is about 50% people with a wide variety of disabilities.  We accidentally sailed it once and would absolutely sail "with the Buddies" again.  It was a quiet, family-oriented cruise and everyone was very friendly /understanding of the children and adults with disabilities.  

 

Thanks for the tip. I looked it up but it’s nowhere near us. We’re in Australia. 

[bbwex]

As for the powerboard, it seems as if the plug you already have will be sufficient for the limited number of items that you have. 

 

Jumping to the question about storing liquor, you are going to have to ask your cruise line about that one.  They generally don't allow you to bring liquor on board, but they might allow it under these circumstances.  What one lines does or doesn't do is too specific a question to not ask them, unless you posted that question on the section for your cruise line.