First Timers

[phantomoz]

Hi all

 

We are off on our 1st cruise in Feb 2008 on board the Pacific Sun to Noumea, Lifou and Vila. Already excited.

 

This forum has some great information on it, however we have a couple of questions for all you hardened cruisers...

 

1. What are the arrangements for cash on board and on the on shore tours, do we need to doing any money exchange, we expect our credit cards will be fine in most places.

 

2. Our 17yr old daughter would love to know if the onboard entertainment for her age is good (mmm is that the right word in this age) :-)

 

3. Love to hear any recommendations for our on shore stopovers e.g must see places, any tips in general and obviously the wife has an interest in the best shopping options

 

I am a photographer, so looking forward to the sights and photo opportunities:-)

 

Look forward to any feedback....

 

Cheers

 

Rick

[cheznandy]

Hi all

 

We are off on our 1st cruise in Feb 2008 on board the Pacific Sun to Noumea, Lifou and Vila. Already excited.

 

This forum has some great information on it, however we have a couple of questions for all you hardened cruisers...

 

1. What are the arrangements for cash on board and on the on shore tours, do we need to doing any money exchange, we expect our credit cards will be fine in most places.

 

2. Our 17yr old daughter would love to know if the onboard entertainment for her age is good (mmm is that the right word in this age) :-)

 

3. Love to hear any recommendations for our on shore stopovers e.g must see places, any tips in general and obviously the wife has an interest in the best shopping options

 

I am a photographer, so looking forward to the sights and photo opportunities:-)

 

Look forward to any feedback....

 

Cheers

 

Rick

 

 

Hi Rick, welcome to CC,

 

We are doing the same itinerary on the Sun from Brissy in 4 weeks:)

 

Ok, ALL onboard spending is with a cruise card, so no cash on board, you give credit card details and any spending for drinks, shore tours etc is charged to your card, the bill is finalised at the end. For port stops, larger stores in Noumea may take credit cards, otherwise its XPF which you can get onboard, in Vila, large duty free stores take credit, the taxi drivers take Aussie coins but will give Vatu in change!! You can also get Vatu on board at the pursers desk. Lifou, I will tell you in 4 weeks, we havent been there before:)

 

My daughter was 15 when we cruised, she had a ball, she met lots her age who she is still in contact with, one boy was from Canberra, she caught up with him when we were there a month ago! They didnt tend to do much with the teen group and just "hung" out together. I would suggest for your daughter to attend the teen club once, even its just to meet others. They have their own discos and movie nights etc.

 

As for port stops, have a look at the shore tours and see what you are interested in, we dont do them anymore, we do our own thing. Noumea is very expensive for shopping, Vila is you best bet for duty free, alcohol and perfume. Lots of stores in the main street. My suggestion as a first timer would be to do a morning tour in Vila and spend the afternoon wandering the shops. In Noumea, perhaps the le petit train or a city/anse vata tour.

 

Hope that helps a bit, keep asking questions, there are heaps of knowledgable CCers on here:) The search key at the top right is great, just put in what you want, and search threads for reviews and info.

 

Chez

xx

[phantomoz]

Chez,

 

Many thanks for the reply, that helps a lot, still getting used to the forum :-) should know about search by now ;-)

 

Cheers

 

Rick

 

PS. enjoy that cruise

[phantomoz]

Chez,

 

Many thanks for the reply, that helps a lot, still getting used to the forum :-) Thanks for the search tip ;-)

 

Cheers

 

Rick

 

PS. enjoy that cruise

[cheznandy]

Chez,

 

Many thanks for the reply, that helps a lot, still getting used to the forum :-) Thanks for the search tip ;-)

 

Cheers

 

Rick

 

PS. enjoy that cruise

 

Rick, it took me ages to get used to this site:rolleyes: now its my second home, or first if you ask my husband!! If a green light is on next to someones name, it means they are logged on CC, also if you go to the main board and click on Rollcalls for P&O Australia, you can see if anyone has started a rollcall for your cruise, if there isnt one there, start one yourself under Pacific Sun, its good way to meet others and discuss shore tours for you particular cruise!!

 

 

Rick, just had a look and there is a roll call for both February 2nd and 9th, you didnt say which one you were on, but there are already some of our ccers here on there, your in luck!!!

Chez

xx

[aussiedisneyfan]

Yay, another Canberran.

 

 

In Lifou, got to Jinek Bay on the other side of the island for snorkelling, I thought it was wonderful. Vila is the best place for duty free and Fung Kwei is the shop to go.

 

Chez, are you sure about the vatu onboard? It has never been available on my cruises.

[cheznandy]

Yay, another Canberran.

 

 

In Lifou, got to Jinek Bay on the other side of the island for snorkelling, I thought it was wonderful. Vila is the best place for duty free and Fung Kwei is the shop to go.

 

Chez, are you sure about the vatu onboard? It has never been available on my cruises.

 

 

Yes, I thought that at first, but Andy says yes, I know we didnt get any on our last cruise but have done before, but then that was on the Sky:rolleyes:

If not, just as easy to go to the ATM in Vila

 

Chez

xx

[Skyrules]

Yes, I thought that at first, but Andy says yes, I know we didnt get any on our last cruise but have done before, but then that was on the Sky:rolleyes:

If not, just as easy to go to the ATM in Vila

 

Chez

xx

 

Only currency they do on board the ships is Central Pacific Francs for New Caledonian ports. They didn't have Vatu on board in September, Vatu can be obtained in Vila. Cruises that call at Suva acutally have someone from one of the Fijian banks come on board on arrival in Suva and do currency exchange for Fijian dollars.

[icemaiden2310]

Hi all

 

We are off on our 1st cruise in Feb 2008 on board the Pacific Sun to Noumea, Lifou and Vila. Already excited.

 

 

 

So Which cruise are u on in Feb Phantom You might want to visit the roll call for the ship your going on . I the cruise u want isnt listed start one up !

[cheznandy]

Hi all

 

We are off on our 1st cruise in Feb 2008 on board the Pacific Sun to Noumea, Lifou and Vila. Already excited.

 

 

 

So Which cruise are u on in Feb Phantom You might want to visit the roll call for the ship your going on . I the cruise u want isnt listed start one up !

 

 

Hey Jen, I just said that above, I figure they must be on the 2nd or the 9th, which is yours or Sarah's??? I think.......

 

Chez

xx

[Anissa72]

I recommend taking foreign money with you onboard but they do change it onboard also.

 

My 17 yr old daughter was 15 at the time and she didnt like the teen clubs as they all partied and drank (older kids buying drinks for them) but remember this was 2 yrs ago before all the security changed with the Diane Brimble stuff. She just didnt find it appealing. This was on the Sun.

She stayed with us most the time.

 

Mind you I seen alot of kids having a ball in the teen club last week on the Star but it stunk like smoke outside all the time!

 

We spent out most money in Vila as they have lots of things and our girls loved the shopping there. They have DVD's etc and lots of greas skirts, bags etc. We done a tour in the morning and got dropped off at the main town and got some money out of the ATM there.

 

Fiji, we did do some serious shopping etc as well and there are ATMs and banks in Suva but on the ship they exchange money as well in fijian $

 

Enjoy! You will have a ball. I remember so much information for the 1st cruise in 2005 to consider but you have come to the right place. CC's have all the info you need and you may even make some friends for life! Welcome aboard!

[icemaiden2310]

 

 

Hey Jen, I just said that above, I figure they must be on the 2nd or the 9th, which is yours or Sarah's??? I think.......

 

Chez

xx

 

 

Hey chez mine is the 2 nd and sarah is the 9 th i think

BTW great email Im already for kareoke do u think the others will be in it ? :D

[cheznandy]

 

 

Hey chez mine is the 2 nd and sarah is the 9 th i think

BTW great email Im already for kareoke do u think the others will be in it ? :D

 

Haha, yes, would be a good one, actually I think Karmac sent me that one, she probably has been practising:p

 

Chez

xx

[LouLou28]

I

Fiji, we did do some serious shopping etc as well and there are ATMs and banks in Suva but on the ship they exchange money as well in fijian

 

Hey Anissa72 - would love to get your tips on where to shop and what you shopped for in Fiji! :D

[sarah_in_townsville]

 

 

Hey Jen, I just said that above, I figure they must be on the 2nd or the 9th, which is yours or Sarah's??? I think.......

 

Chez

xx

 

 

Mines the 9th!

[LuckiePuris]

Hey Anissa72 - would love to get your tips on where to shop and what you shopped for in Fiji! :D

 

Hi Anissa72

 

Any tips for Port Vila?

 

Happy Cruising!!

[Anissa72]

On the Islands we just bought some sarongs for the kids and they had some jewellery (Fiji this is) In Suva you can shop for just about anything you want! They have duty free but be careful that you might get things cheaper in Australia and on the ship. We bought the same things t-shirts, Sarongs, sunglasses and little things like that.

 

In Port Vila we bought some DVD's that hadnt been seen here yet. They were really cheap but in there money I cant remember I am sorry. We also bought t-shirts,bags are really cheap like clothe ones. We got some for $2. The kids loved the little dolls with the grass skirts they sell cheap on the wharf. I know we only spent $100 AU and we bought so much stuff like this. The jewellery was lovely in Vila. There is so much to see and do in Vila. They have the markets when you get off the ship directly at the bottom of the wharf which run all day and they have the markets in town.So you can shop all day if you like. We really loved this place alot!

 

There are so many taxis waiting out the gates in Vila you can hop in one for $2 per person so they are like maxi taxis but falling apart so to speak!

We had a family of 5 so this cost us $10. I wouldnt recommend doing the gardens tour(Botanical) as this was long and boring and the kids didnt like it! We learnt this way really quick. They did enjoy the jetboat in the harbour. Although it was to short they said! (Hubby and kids now) depends on what you like.

 

As for Suva, it is a really dirty place and it has changed since we went we I was a kid. The street sellers used to be able to bother you all the time but now they arent allowed although they will try. I wouldnt recommend buying anything from these people but again up to you. There is everything you need in Suva such as supermarkets and KFC etc. They have plenty of markets and there type of department stores. I would recommend doing a tour in Suva as FIJI is a really beautiful place having holidayed there on land many times you should get out and see some of the sights. Lovely people and they just love Australians and look after them well. This would be by far my favourite place "Fjij" not Suva but like I said you can go and see some resorts or take boat tours like the Nalallili one we did and have a great day.

 

Hope this helps in someway!

[Brushtail]

but like I said you can go and see some resorts or take boat tours like the Nalallili one we did and have a great day.

 

Hope this helps in someway!

 

Hi Anissa,

 

We have booked the Naililili tour in Suva (just got the book out to see if I had enough li's in the spelling) :D

 

We booked the early morning one. Can you tell me anything about it? You mention that you had a great time.

 

Thanks heaps 19 days to go........ (hug myself with glee) :p

[phantomoz]

Wow didnt expect so many responses, many thanks to all. The advice will really help us get the best out of our cruise. We are on the cruise starting on the 9th of Feb (Valentines Day included, I didnt even realise until I saw a comment in another entry). I will check out the roll call or start one.

 

Cheers

 

Rick and Tina

[LouLou28]

Hi Rick & Tina

 

We did the same cruise in Feb/Mar this year - it was a great introduction to cruising for us (family of four including 2 kids who were then 6 & 9).

 

We totally enjoyed the whole experience ... I'll have a look through our documentation and see if I can get the names of the tours we did.

 

(I know we did Cliffs of Jonkin in Lifou ---and loved it, did the glass bottom boat and snorkeling in Vila which the kids loved ... )