Category: Pacific Ocean

Posted in Pacific Ocean, Travel

Solving mysteries on Mystery Island, Vanuatu

Posted on by Willemijn

During our Carnival Christmas Cruise on the Pacific,  after visiting New Caledonia, the second country we visited was Vanuatu. We anchored near Mystery Island, a small tropical Island that does not have any residents. What sounded very idyllic in the description, I was a bit skeptic to visit this island while on a cruise. Why?

Can you imagine a small tropical paradise that gets invaded by 2.000 people at once?  No wonder the comedian on the ship left out the ‘t’  and called it Mysery Island.

Continue reading “Solving mysteries on Mystery Island, Vanuatu” →

Posted in Daily life, Pacific Ocean

Eat-Sleep-Cruise-Repeat

Posted on by Oliver

Eat-Sleep-Cruise-Repeat. That’s the motto on one of the T-shirts they sell in the gift shop on board and which a couple of people on board are wearing. And that’s pretty much what we are doing on any of the five days at sea we have on this cruise.

Our usual wake-up time for us is around 8am, which is pretty early by ship standards. – I actually managed a 7am once to go running around the promenade on deck 3, but that, I have to admit, was the exception rather than the rule. Another one for the “do better in 2017”-list.

Continue reading “Eat-Sleep-Cruise-Repeat” →

Posted in Daily life, Pacific Ocean

Noumea – first Landfall

Posted on by Oliver

After two days at sea with lots of food, a bit of rest and pretty good weather, we made our first landfall in Noumea, the main city of biggest island of New Caledonia. This was the first landfall of the cruise and also the only one without tendering (i.e. anchoring the ship out at sea and shuttling the guests in on some of the lifeboats).

But if we expected a big cruise terminal, we were mistaken. Instead, we got a piece of the quay wall in the container terminal. Continue reading “Noumea – first Landfall” →

Posted in Daily life, Pacific Ocean

Christmas vacation 2016

Posted on by Oliver

When I grew up, Christmas always followed the same rituals and traditions. The Adventskalender, the food on the 23rd, setting up the tree, the Christmas room being locked on the 24th, fondue and presents, everything was following the same script every year. And, since I really liked it that way, I was determined to follow the same path when I had kids.

Well, apart from the Adventskalendar, that didn’t really work out. Out of the last 5 years, I think we’ve had “the same” Christmas maybe twice. Instead we’ve been at my mothers place, been skiing and spent the day at the beach. And this year we’re doing something else again: we’re out on a cruise. Continue reading “Christmas vacation 2016” →