Cruise Day #28 - Sea Day

After our great beach day yesterday, we were a bit tired heading into the evening. Still, we managed to rally and make it to the Observation Bar a little earlier than our usual time to celebrate Engen’s (Head Bartender) birthday. Sean, the ship’s Bar Manager, gave a lovely speech, and then we all sang Happy Birthday! 🎂🎶

Sunset from outside the Observation Bar...

Not being very hungry (thanks to a huge lunch at the Colonnade), we opted for a light dinner… again at the Colonnade. After that, a movie while lying in bed sounded absolutely perfect.

I have to say, we are very impressed with the massive library of movies on Seabourn’s on-demand system. There are literally hundreds of options—far more than we’ve ever seen on Princess voyages.

Since today is a sea day, we were able to have breakfast in The Restaurant. We’re still puzzled by how few passengers come there in the mornings. Most seem to prefer the Colonnade buffet instead. 🤷‍♂️

After breakfast, we secured our poolside loungers for the day. I now wait until around 10:00 to head to the Fitness Center, which seems to be the sweet spot for finding it fairly empty—and both of my preferred ellipticals available.

It’s a sad state of affairs when you’re discussing your next meal right after breakfast… but that’s exactly what we did! Veggie burgers at the Patio are the lunch plan. 🍔

If anything exciting happens during the day, I’ll update today’s blog. If not, see you mañana!

Tomorrow we will be in Vanuatu!

Cruise Day #27 - Savusavu, Vanua Levu Island, Fiji

Our ship anchored at Savusavu, known as Fiji's Hidden Paradise. 

Yesterday afternoon by the pool was wonderfully relaxing—even with three or four torrential downpours! We stayed nice and dry in our protected loungers, and thankfully the lack of wind made all the difference.

We had another early evening in the Observation Bar with great music from Charlie. 

His set included Cat Stevens, America, Christopher Cross, James Taylor, Bill Withers, and even a little Frank Sinatra—fantastic from start to finish!

Dinner followed in The Restaurant with Italian dishes that were absolutely delicious. Afterward, it was a quick trip up the stairs to the Grand Salon on Deck 6, where the Seabourn Singers and dancers performed a Latin-based show. Once again, it was extremely professional and entertaining. These dancers are technically excellent and have true entertainer flair!

Our Cruise Director, Ross, with the Seabourn Singers and Dancers. 

After saying good night to several friends, we rushed back to our stateroom to watch the Men’s Final at the Australian Open. What a match!

The seas were very calm overnight, and we didn’t have far to travel—about 150 miles—to Savusavu. It was shaping up to be a very hot and humid day.

Following breakfast in the Colonnade, we took a water shuttle into town.

The scenery was lush, green, and absolutely breathtaking.

Once off the pier, we walked a bit away from the tour hawkers and taxis selling their services—something we tend to do in most ports. That’s when we were fortunate enough to meet Livia from Maze Tours. What a pleasant woman! We told her we were looking for a quiet beach where we could swim for a few hours. She suggested Blue Lagoon Beach, about 30 minutes away. We agreed on a very fair price, and her husband, Michael, drove us to the beach and promised to return three hours later.

The beach was completely empty—no other humans in sight! Due to low tide, we had to walk out about 100 yards to reach the water, but once there, it was incredibly warm and calm. For the next three hours, we were in tropical heaven. We swam, searched for shells, and relaxed on the sand. It was very hard to leave! 

A Pacific Kingfisher spying on us! Those of you that know us well, know about my bird obsession!

Right on cue, just before our time was up, we heard Michael’s car making its way down the jungle road to pick us up.

Some views on our way back to town...

He dropped us off back where we started, and we spent some time meandering around town while Debbie did a bit of shopping. 

Eventually, we returned to the ship and enjoyed lunch in the Colonnade.

As we were heading back on the water shuttle, I noticed a platform open at the waterline at the rear of the ship. One of our fellow passengers explained that when permitted by local authorities, Seabourn puts out water toys—kayaks, paddle boats, and even banana boats and rafts pulled by speedboats. How cool is that! 😎

We are not sure what we are doing for dinner tonight. Check tomorrow's blog for our decision!

Cruise Day #26 - Suva, Viti Levu, Fiji

Note: Today is Sunday, February 1st. After turning off Airplane mode, the app did not change to the correct date. 🤷‍♂️

I hate to sound like a broken record, but last night once again started out at the Observation Bar. This time, though, we were a bit more dressed up since we had dinner reservations at Solis. We sat next to a couple we’d seen around the ship but hadn’t had the chance to talk with yet. They’re from Detroit and are sailing on the full 129-day World Cruise—impressive! We really enjoyed chatting with them and getting to know their story.

At 7:30, we made our way to Solis, and wow… what a dinner! We both started with the Stuffed Zucchini Ricotta—absolutely delicious. 

Our waiter, George, also insisted we try the Watermelon Salad to share, saying we couldn’t leave without it. He was right—it was fantastic. 

Next up, we each had a small portion of the Seafood Risotto, another big hit. 

For our main course, we both chose the very rich Lobster Parmentier. Over-the-top in the best way and cooked to perfection. 

The 2019 Silver Oak Cabernet was the perfect pairing 🍷.

After dinner, we headed back to the Observation Bar and listened to Charlie for a while. We figured it was best to stay upright a bit longer to help digest that amazing meal!

Today, we are in Suva, the capital of Fiji, on the island of Viti Levu. After being told there isn’t a nice nearby beach for swimming, we decided to explore the city instead. We were also cautioned that since it’s Sunday, many locations would be closed—which turned out to be true. The town was a complete ghost town!

Only a handful of souvenir shops were open, and a small army of taxis was parked around, all trying to sell tours to a village and beach about an hour away. We were tempted, but knowing we’ll be heading to a beach tomorrow in Savusavu, we decided to pass. Instead, we walked back to the ship—completely drenched in sweat. 🥵

We strongly feel cruise lines should avoid scheduling port days on Sundays, as this seems to be a common occurrence.

Morning views from Deck 9...

We will now have another day by the pool.