SEAS THE DAY
Planning for our recent
trip to Fiji began in earnest last winter. Having enough frequent flyer miles
gave us much latitude to travel for free wherever we wanted and so the only
cost in flying halfway across the globe for a vacation would be the jet lag.
With the world finally emerging
from the COVID pandemic we ran into an incredible deal with the small cruise
ship line Blue Lagoon Cruises in Fiji. Eager to fill cabins that had long been
dormant Blue Lagoon gave us a 30% discount on our passage if we paid in full at
the time of booking, plus they gave us a voucher for onboard expenses of FJD$100.
They also upgraded us free to a larger “Orchid” deck cabin. We were cabin #2,
across the hall from the captain’s quarters.
All told it was a
savings of $2,000, and, cobbled with free airfare Fiji was a smart surprise and
an exotic trip to a distant beautiful island country that brimmed with big
smiles from the friendly Fijian people.
TIMING IS EVERYTHING
Although a bit larger
than other small ships we’ve sailed with, Blue Lagoon’s Fiji Princess has just
34 cabins. It was still small enough to be intimate and yet still roomy enough
with several decks, and we were able to mingle or be alone when we wanted. Making
such an early decision on this trip proved to be as lucrative as it was
enjoyable.
Other than our onboard bar
bill we incurred only two extra add-on costs. One was for scuba diving with the
Barefoot Manta Resort. Their tender picked us up at the Fiji Princess for a
beautiful two-tank dive, and later the Blue Lagoon catamaran came to pick us
up.
The other was before
the cruise began when we chose to spend a day at the Malamala Beach Club.
Rather than waiting around Port Denarau for the time to board the Fiji Princess,
we paid roughly USD $100 per person to laze about on this idyll speck of land.
Included in the cost though was a FJD$100 voucher to cover the cost of drinks
and food while on the island.
All other snorkeling
adventures or visits to villages were free, and Blue Lagoon even gave us the
requisite sulus for our excursions.
We did not opt for the “Celebration
/ Romance Package” add-on Blue Lagoon offered though we did celebrate our fourth wedding anniversary while on the Fiji Princess. We simply swiped a bottle of champagne; one of several put out each morning for breakfast mimosas; and popped our cork in private…..
Unfortunately, because
of this global economy they did tack on a “fuel surcharge”. Currently their
surcharge is FJD$15 per person per cabin night.
SPECIALS
 |
| MALAMALA BEACH CLUB |
We took a 7-night cruise
with Blue Lagoon. They call it “Escape To Paradise”, but on the same ship they
offered 4-night and 3-night cruises, called “Wanderer” and “Explorer”. At first
this concerned us, afraid the commotions of people coming and going would be
tumultuous, but the departure of some and the influx of new passengers after
the third day while we lolled about on one of the “Sacred Islands” was easy and
calm.
We like to mingle and
chat and among the four-day passengers were a couple from Los Angeles who flew
to Fiji to take this shortened cruise because that was all the time they had to
travel.
Fiji is roughly a 10-hour
flight from Los Angeles.
September is the high season
for traveling to Fiji. It is winter there although it is warm in Fiji all year
round.
I went for a run one morning
while on the Coral Coast and though it was a “cool” morning I did quickly work
up a sweat, and I did pass a man wearing a hoodie tied tightly around his head and long pants to stave off the "chill."
“Summer” begins in Fiji
in October and the crowds and prices drop during this “wetter” season.
Check out Blue Lagoon’s
website for a list of their specials.
Bula
Thanks for reading!
Love Janet and greg
© 2022 by Gregory Dunaj
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