Seabourn Odyssey New Caledonia to LA February 16 , 2016 to March 21, 2016
Feb 16 and 17th Sea Days
Feb 18 - 20th We stopped at three islands in New Caledonia. We had vacationed in this country and we did not find visiting by cruise ship was nearly as enjoyable as staying at the resorts. The first stop was at Ile des Pins. We took a nice long walk along the shore but were on the opposite side of the Island from where we had previously stayed at the Meridien in an over the water bungalow. The second was at Noumea in a very industrial port area. I got off the ship in Mare and took a short walk along the waterfront which was quaint, but not as nice as Ile des Pins.
Feb 23rd I took an Island tour in Honiara, Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands, primarily to visit Memorial to US soldiers killed there during WW II. The Island was very poor, but the people were friendly.
Feb 25 - 26th We stopped at two ports in Vanuatu. The first was a rural area called Loganville which was scenic and the people extremely friendly. The second was at Port Vila which did not look at all appealing and we stayed on the ship. Local taxi drivers threw rocks at one of the tour buses in the morning, so the afternoon tours were cancelled.
Feb 28th - Mar 1st The next three stops were in Fiji. A massive cyclone had ripped through the islands prior to our arrival, but well to the northeast of the ports we visited. Once again because we had stayed in Fiji on two previous occasions we found returning on a cruise ship to be disappointing. Unfortunately we recieved an email from the owners of Qamea, where we had stayed on previous trips. The resort was pretty much flattened by the storm. Other than 2016, photos are from previous trips to Fiji.
Mar 3rd Pago Pago in American Samoa turned out to be surprisingly pleasant. It was nice to see the American Flag flying again. The people were great and we had a nice time walking about. I struck up a conversation with two different locals who both travel back and forth to the Mainland US, one as a fisherman in Alaska and the other an entertainer who actually had been in Connecticut a couple of times. It is long way off, but we would not hesitate to recommend it as a get-a-way vacation spot.
Mar 8th I was especially looking forward to visiting Fanning Island which would have been a new destination for us. I never understood why the Captain decided the sea conditions were not proper for us to anchor and we continued on to Hawaii. At least I got to take a photo of it from afar.
Mar 10 - 14th We visited four of the Hawaiian Islands. Ports were Kona and Hilo on the Big Island, Honolulu overnight on Oahu, and Lahaina on Maui. Once again we were disappointed we did not have more time (as in months) to stay on the Islands and both decided we will be back for an extended stay again for the winter in a couple of years. We did not take any tours and limited our activities to long walks and a haircut for me at a barber shop I had used in the past in Honolulu. The following links are to photos primarily taken during our land based time in Hawaii.