81 Days to go

There has been quite a few developments since my last post. The Cruise Critic Rollcall has several new members including, ellenh, Seachangers and Janset, and Evon (Ela2) is busy organising a Meet and Greet for us all once we are on board.

We have all been very busy researching the ports for DIY shorex. Nobody seems very keen to pay out for the Princess/P&O tours. Both Evon and I have had friends return from the same trip onboard the Pacific Dawn just recently and the information they have passed on plus the fantastic blog written by DucknChook has certainly helped our own efforts in deciding just what we will do in each port.

To date this is what we have come up with.
In Noumea we originally were sharing a hire car with Evon and Peter but now will probably spend a bit of time at the markets and around the port area and then hop on the Explorer bus to visit a few of the sites. Evon suggests the aquarium, the zoo and the Tjibaou Centre. Sounds like a busy day.

In Nukualofa we are doing the same tour that DucknChook wrote about. Since I last wrote we have managed to fill the tour with the inclusion of Evon and Peter (Ela2) Jan/John and Bill/Diane (Janset)

In Rarotonga Peter has agreed to drive our hire car. This should be a great day. All day hire of the car with unlimited mileage for only NZ$59.

In Papeete we will spend the morning exploring the town and the port area before an afternoon Tahiti Island Circle Tour with Marama Tours. The ship is scheduled to stay along side in Papeete overnight so I hope we can find some evening activities as well.

In Apia, Samoa, we have booked Berties Tours for a full day around the island. This tour started off as costing Mary and I US$60 each but we have managed to get a full tour bus now and the cost is down to US$30 per person plus the cost of lunch. A bargain when you compare the cost of a much shorter tour offered by P&O for $129.

There's quite a bit of work still to be done for Vava'u, Raiatea, Moorea, Bora Bora, Pago Pago, and the four Fiji ports. So far we have not considered any P&O/Princess tours. The more I read and the more people I talk with on the CC site the more I'm attracted to DIY or, as Chez from DucknChook put it , wing it when you get there.

More next time.