Like There Was No Tomorrow

The title says it all. Today was all about maximising our last day on the ship. We took as many photos as we could, attempted multiple trivia quizzes, ate all the short ribs, prawns and lobster tails, had silly fun with old and new friends, as well as farewelling the amazing crew who looked after us for the last 2 weeks. 

Time had never passed by so quickly. We had such an incredible time. The extended duration with so many sea days let us settle into a wonderfully relaxed, comfortable routine with crazy step counts, as well as getting to know the cast members and fellow cruisers. It had been 8 years since our last Disney cruise! And our first without the children...hopefully we'll be back for more. 

Unfortunately the grand entrance into Sydney Harbour was in the wee hours of the morning. The big fanfare is being saved for her reposition from White Bay to Circular Quay.

Tim the weather man from Channel 9's Today Show. We tried to be in as many shots as we could for various segments

We had to sail through a cold front to reach Sydney which meant high winds and rough seas

Our eventual medal haul!

The saddest sight :( means it is home time

Last chance for character photos!

As well as ones of the 2 of us...

Koala?

Penultimate Sea Day

 

Our last matching outfits!

Not surprisingly we were running around the ship, cramming as much in as we could. Another action packed day!

The art machine was broken so they had to rely on old fashioned latte art technique...

Churro Mickey Waffle. This could be my last so...damn the calories!!

Mmm...this ain't no Chris Hemsworth!!

I mean, why is this hand washing contraption more commonly used. Ingenious!

One of the amazing kids spaces. We were here to take photos with Woody and yes...adults were allowed!

Hurray for the architect! He took our scraps and turned it into a boat

And she floats!!!

Our competition...

I mean...we had no chance

If I was disappointed feel sorry for the kids!!

More gifts keep coming!

Pre-dinner homework

I'm pretty I won't be an animator anytime soon

Our creations popped into life onscreen

Finally a controversy free towelgami!

Signal Island

 

The small but beautiful Signal Island

Noumea, our last port of call before Sydney. We had cobbled together our own group of 9 and arranged a private water taxi to Signal Island for a 4 hour turtle encounter. It was cheap and cheery but great value! Snorkels and masks were included if you didn't have your own. Our cruise mates were good enough to meet up early and we were first off. This meant that our water taxi was the first to leave for Signal Island and the first to return to port. It did get busier the later you arrived but not so that it wasn't manageable. We later found out that some cruisers hated it...oh well can't please them all! The seas were rough on account of some tropical cyclone lurking nearby, but the little pontoon boat was better than expected! The snorkeling itself was decent. We saw 3 turtles 5 metres away from the beach within the first 5 minutes, and plenty of colourful fish. If you do decide to come here, you have to bring your own food and drink and facilities are minimal. There is apparently a toilet block but it doesn't have toilet paper. There are, however, tables and chairs with shade.

The evening was a blur of further trivia attempts, photo opportunities and the soft opening of Marvel deck show. Only 2 more days left!

We docked at the cargo terminal. Free shuttle to the city terminal

Our water taxi

We're off!

First views!

Beach landing but civilised with a stool

Walking around the island. You can see the storm clouds getting darker

Parts of the route took us inland

where we encountered sea snakes....eek

Soft opening of Marvel show for the Australian season. Pretty long and complete with pyrotechnics!

Man Down

 

Sunrise

We're finally back to the same time zone as Sydney which made the end of the cruise seem horrifyingly close. There are still so many things yet to do...like swim in the pool!

Another short post so we don't bore you with our sea day activities. Highlight...Mal's alcohol overdose. A very fun pub crawl followed by a cocktail class was probably not wise! (Fortunately or unfortunately, my asthma was playing so I had a nap during pub crawl) He ended up crashing and sleeping right at dinner time! Hope he's good to snorkel tomorrow!

The mixology class was ok. Some of the cocktails like the margarita was amazing but others were a bit of miss. The class was mainly a guy talking through the cocktail and the flavours/layers of the various ingredients. The cocktail making class that we did at the Sydney Opera House was better, perhaps because there was more doing. The process of adding each step ourselves and tasting/smelling as we went was more educational and less dry than someone talking at us.

Another cool gift. Bottle opener!

Gameshow time

The mixology class that tipped Mal over the edge

An excellent margarita

This was "Laksa Lemak", not bad for onboard a cruise. Flavour is very close, needed an extra oomph but tasty enough

Our waiter remembered Mal liked satay and it was on the menu tonight so he organised a takeaway plate as well as some dessert.

Unfortunately he was gone for the night!

Suva

 

Excursion on the Navua River

There was much angst amongst the cruisers when Disney changed our port of call from Lautoka to Suva. It was frustrating as there were seemingly less offerings of the typical island beauty with regard to shore excursions. We picked what we thought was the most authentic and the most fun. If there are no beautiful beaches within easy distance, then let's go for a river. It turned out to be a great call!

We did an excursion with River Tubing Fiji on the Navua River - made famous as the backdrop to the classic feature film: Anaconda... 2. We had enough people from the ship (25ish?) to run our own group which included pick up and drop off at the ship. As our port time was short, the usual tour itinerary had to be shortened and the village visit was culled. Annoyingly, 2 passengers didn't show up and we wasted precious time waiting for them at port.

In short, the excursion was fantastic. It was simple and a lot of fun. The guides were all local to the village of Navua and were great fun to be with. The river was pristine, we saw locals doing their thing along the river banks, and the tubing was so relaxing. The highlight was our guides singing for us on the river. They sang so beautifully in harmony, singing for us in lieu of being at church with their families. 

We get why the other cruisers were upset. We docked at a commercial port

Our welcome part was a...marching band in skirts! Unexpected but fun

First off the ship again

They were there waiting as promised

A 45 min drive inland took us to their "base"

A 30 minute boat ride upriver

Had to walk around the rapids as the boats otherwise couldn't make it past with the weight

First waterfall. This was unfortunately the same one that the Disney excursions took their guests to. So there were streams & streams of passengers

ummm....water heels?!?

We were taken to a smaller but quiet waterfall opposite our lunch stop

Lunch. Simple, cooked on the spot, healthy. 

Cassava, chicken, sausage, fish. Something for everyone

Seats with a view

Just to highlight how clear the water was

Tubing for around 50 minutes down the river

Rabbit? 

Local children playing by the river

Our awesome group