For a change, instead of traditional 4th of July with fireworks and grilling, our gaggle of eight gathered in the remote archipelago of Fiji for a South Pacific adventure across the international date line aboard the intimate 312 guest Windstar Star Breeze.
A rather lackluster non-stop flight on Fiji Airways from Los Angeles to Nadi behind us, 2 nights of tropical pre-cruise nights awaited us. After careful research of the many options on offer, I set my eyes on the well situated and reasonably priced DoubleTree Resort by Hilton Hotel Fiji – Sonaisali Island. Only a short 20 minutes away from Nadi Airport, our arrival early morning permitted us a full first day on its sandy shores.
Tip from the pro: By the way, I always recommend traveling at least one, if not 2 nights ahead of any cruise to assure no flight delays and other interruptions mess up your trip.
While the setting of this resort was fabulous, the service and staffing management were an embarrassment at best. The list of complications during our stay is too long to list them all. Suffice it to say, none of us were impressed by what was supposed to be warm Fijian hospitality. Fortunately, everyone in those groups was a trooper and we all made the most of it.
On July 3rd, we transferred from our forgettable resort to the ship and explored the area on foot. one of the highlights was our visit to the Gardens of the Sleeping Giant. Lush tropical settings, majestic views, and a rum punch for the ages made this a spectacular and easy day in the tropics.
Once the ship left Lautoka, we enjoyed peaceful breezes at sea to relax and discover all this former Seabourn yacht has to offer. Early highlights are the very spacious cabins, open deck areas, and the Amphora main dining room which became our meeting place for culinary delights every evening.
Titled “Flowers of the South Pacific”, our itinerary is only offered twice a year and transports guests from Fiji (to the West of the international date line) in easterly direction via Tonga and the Cook Islands to Tahiti (on the East side of the date line). This means that everyone on the ship got to repeat one day (all 23 hours of it) twice – weird alright. Fact is that all in our group had previously flown across the date line in both directions but doing it by ship was new to us all. It was definitely one of those highlights we’ll never forget. We will all remember “where we were on July 8th 2026,” including the 12 year old girl who got a 47-hour long birthday. Cheers to that!
As I am about to board Air Canada flight 740 for Toronto from SFO, I will break it here and pick up the rest of the voyage in an upcoming blog post stay tuned…
