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cruisenews from down under WORDS ROD EIME

Celebrity Cruises chief executive Dan Hanrahan was taken to task by an Australian national travel editor over his comments on tipping aboard the soon-to-head-south, Celebrity Solstice.

Hanrahan is quoted as allegedly saying: “We will teach Aussies to tip”, when describing the gratuity system aboard Celebrity vessels. This immediately set off a series of discussions across social media from Australian travellers who are not accustomed to the mandatory tipping practices common in the US. Claiming he was misconstrued, he claimed “I would have to be either really really dumb, or arrogant, to say something like that, and

I’d like to think that I’m neither,” during an interview with a local cruise newsletter.

Meanwhile Carnival line, which begins operations here next year with Carnival Spirit, has removed tipping completely from on-board accounts. “The shipboard experience will be tailored to the Australian market with on-board spending in Australian dollars and no tipping required,” says Carnival in their media release.

One agent said: “[Gratuities] has caused confusion in the marketplace with some agents – including the RCCL owned Cruise 1st – removing the service charge when advertising and quoting.”

›› NEWS IN BRIEFCaptain Cook Cruises sold to SeaLink›› Captain Cook Cruises, Australia’s largest small-ship cruise company has been sold. Adelaide-based SeaLink Travel Group is the new owner and the transaction includes 15 vessels that service flagship operations in Sydney Harbour, as well as the paddle wheeler operation in South Australia. Captain Cook Cruises’ founder, Captain Trevor Haworth, described the sale as ’a major development’. The Fijian operations of Captain Cook Cruises are not included in the transaction.

Historic Cunard voyages›› Cunard’s Queen Mary II will make a maiden circumnavigation of Australia in 2012. With pre-registrations already closed, the historic voyage is set to be a sellout. Also announced for March 2013 will be a circumnavigation of New Zealand. The 12-night New Zealand cruise will sail from Sydney on 7 Mar 2013 with a longer option, a 19-night NZ voyage from Sydney to Fremantle, departing the same day.

Maintenance complete at Port Melbourne›› The Port of Melbourne, which saw its maiden visit by QE this year, has completed a 325,000-cubic-metre dredging program. Cunard, P&O, Celebrity, HAL, Princess, Costa, Silversea and Crystal all have scheduled visits over the next 12 months. The heritage-listed Station Pier was opened in 1854 and sees around 500,000 guests annually.

Cruise terminal concerns›› The White Bay (Balmain) cruise terminal debate continues with Royal Caribbean’s MD, Gavin Smith, calling for the newly elected NSW government to switch some of the A$60m funding toward a facility east of the bridge. “This is an opportunity Australia must grasp with both hands,” he said, with a solution for large cruise ships east of the Sydney Harbour Bridge “urgently needed”.

Australia’s cruise industry grows

Orion II heads aground

Tipping Aussies over the edge

The annual Cruise Down Under (CDU) conference recently took place in Newcastle, New South Wales’ second largest city. CDU aims to grow and develop the Australia Pacifi c region as one of the world’s leading cruise destinations.

With the country’s major city terminals, especially Sydney, spilling over – bringing regional ports into the itinerary mix is an important consideration.

Newcastle, two hours by road north of Sydney, is the gateway city to the famous Hunter Valley wine region and offers food and wine, nature, adventure and heritage excursions within easy reach of the city terminal.

“As Australia’s cruise industry grows, Newcastle is in the perfect position to take advantage of that growth, attracting additional visitors and taking pressure off the facilities in Sydney,” said the former Minister for Tourism, Jodi McKay.

Currently the local P&O vessels dominate port visits, notably Pacifi c Sun. Royal Caribbean’s Rhapsody of the Seas, Princess Cruises’ Dawn Princess and Holland America Line’s Volendam have all been recent visitors.

Orion II, the latest addition to the Orion Expedition Cruises fl eet, experienced another hiccup recently in Borneo when the vessel had “a soft grounding into mud while departing the wharf at Sandakan in Sabah”. Affected passengers will receive a partial refund, and Orion II is now apparently beginning its next voyage a day later than planned.

The 88m 100-pax Orion II thrilled passengers when it passed just a few nautical miles from a 7.3 magnitude earthquake epicentre in the Aleutian Islands in June and, thanks to Captain Frank Allica, narrowly avoided typhoon Muifa while heading to the Philippines in August. The 20-year-old vessel has suffered minor technical issues since delivery to OEC and will go into dry dock in Singapore at the end of its next voyage.P

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Tales of the Tales of the Tales of the SOUTH SEASSOUTH SEASSOUTH SEAS

Tales of the Tales of the Tales of the SOUTH SEAS

Tales of the Tales of the Tales of the Picture-perfect postcard beauty and an increasing choice of cruise operators are

making the most far fl ung of islands ever more accessible WORDS RODERICK EIME

Fiji fi rst captured my imagination in 1971, when I made my fi rst trip to the then newly-independent state on P&O’s Himalaya. I was entranced by the beaches and the people, but not so much the

hotel offering...Fast forward forty years and Fiji’s hotels, resorts

and islands (all 332 of them), rank among the best the world has to offer. The input of major hotel chains, airlines and entrepreneurs has led to the standard consistently rising.

Back in the early 70’s, the fi rst offi cial tourism plan set a modest target of 50,000 visitors. This year tourist arrivals are close to the 700,000 mark. Cruising has always contributed signifi cant numbers to that fi gure, and is a rapidly increasing segment. In 2005, around 7,000 passengers disembarked, while that number is now consistently more than 20,000.

In 2011 alone, Fiji received visits from 14 ships from a number of big lines including Cunard, P&O Cruises, Princess Cruises and Holland America Line for a total passenger count of 22,254. PH

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But it’s not just the big ships that are putting Fiji on the cruise map. Three boutique cruise companies – Blue Lagoon Cruises, Captain Cook Cruises and Tui Tai – operate in and around Fiji, Samoa and her islands year-round (see over), offering superlative itineraries that take in such evocatively named locations as Taveuni, Rabi, Kioa, Yasawas and the charming old capital of Levuka.

Here you will encounter the kind of Fiji fi rst seen by early traders and explorers. In sleepy villages devoid of tourist infrastructure you are met by the chief and invited in for a traditional Yaqona (kava) ceremony.

In recent years, Fiji has been developing some islands into private resorts. One such is Port Denarau, which is the gateway to the stunning Mamanuca and Yasawa archipelagos of volcanic islands, which have crystal-clear waters, beautiful white-sand beaches and, below the water, plenty of coral and marine life.

Yet as much as Fiji is becoming known for these self-contained, so-called ‘integrated’ resorts, it’s still the fundamental idea of a tropical getaway that appeals

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to most visitors – including a certain Tom Hanks. Hanks chose the island of Monuriki in the Mamanuca Group off the coast of Viti Levu to film Cast Away in 2000. Movie buffs can take a day cruise there from Denarau.

Beyond FijiPacific island infrastructure naturally limits the ports accessible to the larger vessels. However, local stalwart P&O have made the waters of the South Pacific their own for decades. Pacific Sun, Pearl, Jewel and Dawn regularly visit the tropical ports of Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Tonga, Samoa and even French Polynesia.

Remote and almost inaccessible, Samoa and French Polynesia lie at the limit of most regional airlines, so cruising is the best option. Samoa (page 70) is the epitome of the much admired Pacific people whose migratory reach stretches as far as Hawaii, New Zealand and Easter Island.

French Polynesia is a year-round, romantic, dream destination. It was Paul Gauguin, who sailed here to “escape everything artificial and conventional”, who put Tahiti and her islands on the map for Westerners longing to get away from it all. Today Paul Gauguin Cruises operates a luxury yacht-style ship which carries 332 guests, and has recently acquired a second ship, MS Moana, which comes into operation in November 2012.

But be warned, if you are looking for untouched paradise, the waters are fast getting busier. Holland America Line, Celebrity Cruises, Royal Caribbean, Princess and Carnival are either set up or setting up Down Under.

The good news is the extra deployment means international visitors can take a local cruise. Pacific Island cruises depart from Sydney, but Brisbane and Newcastle are also handling more traffic, notably from P&O.

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Kioa & RabiIt’s hard to imagine a more complete Fijian experience than that aboard a Tui Tai cruise, which visits the more remote and lesser-visited islands, immersing passengers in local culture.

They specialise in Northern Fiji, offering five- to seven-night cruises around the islands of Kioa and Rabi – curious little islands known for their transplanted Polynesian and Micronesian populations – and Taveuni’s Bouma National Heritage Park (see over).

Yes, there is a premium price tag attached (from £260pp/day twinshare) but the inclusions are generous and the scope of the expedition astonishing. Diving is a big draw and packages can include full PADI certification courses in some of the best diving locations in the Pacific.

Then add snorkelling, light trekking, mountain biking, village visits and cultural displays all aboard a vessel not much bigger than Cook’s Endeavour.tuitai.com

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Yasawas & Lau Islands Blue Lagoon Cruises will operate the first ever cruise to visit the remote Lau Islands as part of their Historical and Cultural cruise which ventures off the beaten track to the international dateline and the northeast tip of the Fiji Islands.

Highlights of the Lau Islands, first seen by Captain James Cook in 1774, include Qilaqila, the jewel in the crown of the Lau group’s ‘Bay of Islands’ and Taveuni, known locally as the ‘Garden Island’.

Taveuni is everything you could imagine any mythical tropical island paradise to be. Sparsely populated, intensely green and dissected by streams of liquid silk, narrow paths guide you through the undergrowth to the next waterfall, and then the next. Every so often a cranky, bright red land crab will throw up a challenge. If you allow time, trek all the way to the volcanic crater at 800 metres where Lake Tagimaucia nurtures its legendary namesake bloom.

Taveuni is the third largest of Fiji’s 332 islands. It’s a distant third though, less than a tenth the size of Vanua Levu, the second largest. But size isn’t what Taveuni is all about. Still heavily foliated, this paradise draws birders, bush-walkers and divers drawn by the heritage park that occupies almost half of the 436sq km island.bluelagooncruises.com

Vanu Levu & Northern FijiApart from regular sailings among the glorious Yasawa group and Northern Fiji, the choice for adventurers is the recently revamped Captain Cook Cruises’ Discovery Cultural Cruise, the first ever Fiji cruise to circumnavigate Vana Levu, Fiji’s second largest island. The cruise also visits Tivua, beautiful Nananu-i-ra and Yadua where passengers visit the crested iguana sanctuary and swim with manta rays. A trip to Kia Island, the world’s third longest barrier reef, offers snorkelling, diving and glass-bottomed boating excursions. There are school and village visits including a sevusevu ceremony, meke and lovo feast. captaincook.com.au

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SamoaSamoa’s lack of pervasive tourism infrastructure is a key selling point. The relatively few resorts are low impact, relaxed and uncrowded. Experienced travellers in the Pacifi c Islands compare the relatively unsophisticated beauty of Samoa to the Fiji Islands of 40 years ago. Big brands are just beginning to creep in, but the pace of life remains relaxed.

Cruisers have ‘rediscovered’ Samoa thanks to its cruise-friendly port facilities, engaging excursions, rich culture and relaxed atmosphere and many cruise lines pay regular visits to the busy port of Apia, where Robert Louis Stevenson, who sought seclusion here in his fi nal years, is laid to rest.

A typical visit would likely consist of a drive through the lush hinterland, perhaps stopping for a dip in any of the gorgeous spring-fed waterfalls before staying at one of the secluded beachside resorts such as Sinalei Beach Resort or Coconuts. Activities such as surfi ng, swimming, boating and scuba diving are popular throughout the islands.

In the city, the evening’s entertainment is typifi ed by the spectacular fi re knife dancing (siva afi ), part of the entertainment program (fi a fi a) at venues such as Aggie Grey’s Hotel. Downtown the nightlife gets more boisterous and you might want to stop for a beer at one of the Fa’afafi ne (trans-gender) bars (the concept of cross dressing is much more widely accepted in Polynesian culture).

French PolynesiaTahiti and her islands have long been the stuff of history and legend, made famous by French artist Paul Gauguin, writes Vivien Devlin. Today Paul Gauguin Cruises explore distinctly different archipelagos – Society, Tuamatos, Australs, Marquesas, as well as Fiji, Tonga and the Cook islands. On a seven-night voyage from Tahiti around the Society Islands, shore excursions include kayaking, shark and dolphin watching trips, fi shing, snorkelling and scuba diving: the ship’s Marina runs certifi ed PADI courses. Seasonal cruises feature expeditions with Jean-Michel Cousteau and Ocean Futures Youth programmes. I enjoyed a beach party on Motu Mahana, an islet off Taha’a. We swam in the lagoon, the natural habitat of parrot fi sh and sunset wrasse, before sailing overnight to the pearl of Polynesia, Bora Bora, with its towering peak, Mont Otemanu. We took a 4x4 jeep mountain drive – or take a helicopter fl ight – for views of transluscent, turquoise water surrounded by a sparkling necklace of emerald atolls lining the coral reef. The lush, fertile island of Moorea is magical – full of pineapple and banana groves, waterfalls, rainforests, wild hibiscus and jasmine. You can visit archeological Marae temples, Oponhua Bay where James Cook anchored in 1777, and the jagged mountain of Bali Hai from South Pacifi c. pgcruises.com

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