Hey Brooke – where are you?

Brook Shields diving through crystal clear waters in the 1980 movie Blue Lagoon must have had some sort of profound effect on me and I reckon a heap of other blokes, because when I found out that I was going on a Blue Lagoon Cruise in Fiji, that was the very visualisation that crept immediately into my mind!

OK, my mind was living in the past, but the experience on Blue Lagoon was very much in the present, with the 70 passenger Fiji Princess, pictured right, the most recent member of the Blue Lagoon fleet allowing me to experience some of the most pristine, clear waters in the world, with the vessel, our home for the seven day six night Gold Club cruise, often seeming to float in space on the amazingly clear and transparent waters of Fiji’s idyllic Yasawa Islands.

The Yasawas have to be without question the fulfilment of everyone’s archetypal south sea blue lagoon fantasy with the Fiji Princess taking her passengers right to the heart of the dream in Fiji’s spectacular island archipelago of more than twenty island, everyone seemingly with a deserted, palm fringed white sand beach, beckoning for footprints, lapped by turquoise, clear water and protected coral reefs, teeming with every exquisitely coloured fish [pictured left].

The ultimate romantic cruise in my opinion, I reckon that the Fiji Princess is a place for adults not children, with kids getting bored very quickly, and a great opportunity for adults to get away from the screaming masses, with a maximum of 70 passengers and on our cruise only 25!

There are oodles of time and space for getting together or just silent, but idyllic solitude – read that book, or just close your eyes and relax.

The Fiji Princess tugged us gently away from the bounds of civilisation in the sugar and rum port of Lautoka, which is about half and hour to forty five minutes north of Nadi airport, where we flew from Sydney with Pacific Blue on their excellent daily service, gently easing us into island hopping, relaxing, just enjoying the view, as we cruised past the Mamanuca group of islands, home to some of Fiji’s top island resorts.

We soon settled into the routine of eating, sleeping, snorkelling – how stressful is that – interspersed with the occasional visit to islands to meet the locals, with the high point a visit to local school on one island, where we were entertained by children with amazing heavenly voices [pictured left].  

We were shocked to hear that they have no computers and no internet and very few books and equipment , so TravelMole is helping to set up a programme to get books, pens, educational equipment and perhaps even books and internet access to the Ratu Meli Memorial school on Nacula  – so if you can help contact TravelMole.

While the food on the Fiji Princess was not great, so do not go on this cruise and expect a gourmet experience, that was more than compensated for by the excellent, happy, smiling  Fijian Captain and crew, who create a very relaxed and truly Fijian atmosphere and the opportunity every day of being able to float in the crystal clear waters, looking at massive coral reefs and canyons, even feeding masses of brilliantly coloured fish, with the most strenuous thing in a day being either counting how many blue star fish we could see or making a decision to have another ice cold Fiji Bitter or Fiji Gold.

A highlight of the cruise had to be right at the end, when we tied up at Blue Lagoon’s private island, pictured right, with the Fiji Princess tied stern on to a couple of a palm trees, seemingly suspended in mid air in the clear water, where in the evening under a clear and star speckled sky, we enjoyed a traditional Fijian evening including a lovo, a meal of roast meat prepared in the ground in a bed of red hot coals, with roast pork and fish of course a kava drinking ceremony, with the kava much stronger than any I had ever tasted!

It wasn’t long before we were sadly heading back to civilisation with the mobile phones starting to beep, but it is hard to imagine that any of the passengers aboard the Fiji Princess as she approached Lautoka will ever forget their unique Fijian islands cruise experience.

Would I recommend this cruise? 

Yes definitely, if only because you will travel to some of the remotest and unspoilt islands in the world, experience some of the clearest waters in the world with amazing reefs and fish, but also because you will meet the most amazing people, who have so much less than us and because the crew on the Fiji Princess cannot do enough to make the trip truly memorable, yes the food is not great, but that pales into insignificance compared to the quality of the Blue Lagoon experience.

The only downside is that Brook never did appear!  Thank goodness, how would I have explained that one!

In the meantime and post the cruise taken by The Mole, Jo Tuamoto, Blue Lagoon’s GM has announced that the company has concluded a USD300,000 refurbishment for both its ‘Gold Club’ cruise vessels, the company flagship MV Fiji Princess and MV Mystique Princess.

New in-cabin features on both vessels include flat screen televisions, soft furnishings and bedding, a feature of which is the much acclaimed Australian-made ‘Dream Angel’ sprung pillows.

Exterior fittings include new teak deck furniture, shade cloth on the MV Fiji Princess’ sun deck and MV Mystique Princess’ sky deck, new carpeting throughout both vessels and exercise bikes for the more energetically minded.

An on location report by The Mole from the Fiji Princess, Blue Lagoon Cruises Fiji