Tropical paradise here we come!
Meeting at the International Passenger Terminal, Trusted Travel staff and participants were bouncing with excitement at the thought of spending seven nights cruising the South Pacific.
With the stunning backdrop of the world’s most beautiful harbour, we got to know each other over smiles and photos in front of spectacular icons like the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge.
Readying ourselves for two days of travel before our first port of call, we were pleasantly surprised to find a wide array of onboard fun available. On Carnival Cruise Lines, they certainly don’t skimp on the onboard entertainment. Playlist Productions takes tunes you know and puts them live on stage, transforming them into full blown musical productions featuring pro singers and dancers rocking the house.
Then of course there was the comedy. Locally famous and international acts at the Punchline Comedy Club provided belly-aching laughs with acts ranging from physical tom-foolery, through sharp one-liners to blood-vessel-busting bardiness. Trusted Travel became regulars at the late night comedy shows and even took the opportunity for a quick snap and a joke with the comics themselves.
It’s not only the nightly entertainment on board the good ship Carnival Spirit. There’s also all range of activities from hot saunas and gyms, to water slides and cinema screenings.
Before we knew it, we were in Noumea! Noumea is the capital city of New Caledonia and constitutes one of the largest industrial ports in the South Pacific. As such it offers a uniquely authentic insight into the way people live in South Pacific cities. Trusted Travel self-guided our way around local markets, beautiful parks, sites of historical importance and interesting French colonial architecture.
The next day was the big one; the day we had all been waiting for. The Isle of Pines is a spectacular tropical paradise in every sense of the word. We spent the whole day swimming in crystal clear waters, eating fresh local seafood, drinking coconuts straight from the tree and revelling in the culture of the local Kanak people. This was the day we’ll be telling people about for years to come.
The cruise home to Sydney was an opportunity to rest up and quietly contemplate how lucky we were to have such an experience. Of course there was no shortage of song and dance, comedy, movies and fancy dinners. We even got to meet the captain!
We returned to Sydney on a cool Monday morning to meet families and carers. No doubt we will be sharing stories of our times on the high seas for a long time to come.
