Day 13-17: Cruisin’ Part II
We are back in Sydney, so I am now able to write about Day 13-17 of our trip, the back half of our cruise. Last post, we were in Port Vila, Vanuatu. We went to Irriki Island and had a great time at the resort there. We stayed until early afternoon and then headed back to the ship. I wish I had taken a picture of the water taxis we rode in to get to and from the ship. They were a hoot! For someone who doesn’t swim very well, I was a little anxious. Jimm on the other hand, he loved it! Christina and Steve were already back on the ship so we hooked up with them on our return and went to dinner in the Main Dining Room. We had 5 dinners at their speciality restaurants (Chops, Giovanni’s and Izumi) and 5 dinners at the Main Dining Room. Our main dining room waiters were Miya and Ray. They did a great job for us and were so attentive. We ate SO well during the 10 days and I am sure we added on some extra pounds by the time we got back. I would love to know if they weighed everyone before they left the port and then after we returned, what the total weight gain would be for 2600+ passengers 😂
On Day 7 of our Cruise we stopped at Mystery Island. A very small island that is part of Vanuatu. The island was originally called ”Inyeug” or small island. Cannibalism was widespread throughout New Caledonia and Vanuatu. The last recorded cannibal killing on Vanuatu was as recent as 1969. The locals will not stay on the island at night because they fear dark spirits inhabit the island, so they work there during the day but everyone leaves the island by nightfall. Jimm, Steve and Christina took a tender to the island to explore and snorkel, but I decided to have a nice quiet day to myself on the ship. They did enjoy the island and saw some cool fish including the humuhumunukunukuapua'a which is Hawaii’s state fish and also found in other areas of the south pacific.
Day 8, our port of call was Noumea’, New Caledonia. It was the most advanced of all the islands we visited. We were able to get a “hop on / hop off” bus ticket to check out the island. We did a little shopping and picked up some “Tim Tam” cookies at a local grocery store, which are well known in the area. They were delicious. We picked up a few souvenirs at the market and had lunch at “Margaritaville-like” restaurant called “LaBarca”, whose logo looked surprising similar to Jimmy Buffet’s brand. Food and drinks were good though and we enjoyed spending some time there. Then it was back to the ship and dinner at the Izumi restaurant for me and Jimm. The sushi was really good and our waiter did a great job for us.
Day 9 and 10 we were at sea headed back to Sydney. Our days at sea consisted of laying by the pool, playing some cards, reading, eating, a little casino play and pretty much just relaxing and enjoying our time together. None of us were much for all of the cruise ship “activities” except for the occasional trivia game. We just enjoyed doing our own thing.
My thoughts on the Brilliance of the Seas is that is was not as nice as the ship I was on my first time cruising with RC. We would definitely pick a larger ship next time. I also was not a huge fan of the port of call. There was very little do and very little infrastructure. Some people might enjoy it, but it was not for me. I absolutely love having a balcony suite so you can hear the waves at night. For our next cruise we are looking at Greece and Croatia which departs out of Venice, Italy or a Caribbean Cruise on the new Icon of the Seas. We definitely do love cruising though and it will continue to be part of our retirement plan!