Family cruising in Fiji

Every photo of Fiji conjures images of crystal clear water, gorgeous happy children, breathtaking beaches and stunning scenery.

From The Blue Lagoon movie to Tom Hanks in Castaway, many of us have thought being marooned at a private beach has sounded like paradise.

In reality, few of us get to experience that. Denarau and the Coral Coast is home to many resorts and hundreds of thousands of visitors every year. Never overcrowded and always full of memorable experiences, mainland holidays just don’t often offer an exclusive, private stay however.

Of Fiji’s 300 islands, the Lau group in the country’s far east is one of the least visited. I’m told just 700 tourists get to experience these truly stunning islands a year – most of them with Captain Cook Cruises small ship the Reef Endeavour.

Seven nights on board a cruise ship was never on my bucket list, particularly not with four children in tow. But the thought of seeing the islands where superlatives are insufficient, where the photos don’t do the surroundings justice was all the incentive I needed to brace for the great unknown of ‘cruising’.

When you first board the Reef Endeavour, smiling crew welcome you with hand sanitizer, a cool drink, shell lei and an invitation to lunch.

The open air deck has a swimming pool, lounge chairs and around 70 fellow passengers all curiously looking at each other wondering what the next seven nights will bring.

Many look like experienced cruisers to me, decked out in Birkenstocks, cargo shorts and fast dry hats. They take advantage of the welcome drinks and lunch as the rest of us novice cruisers wait for directions.

Our family of six includes four intrepid kids, desperate to explore the ship, unpack and jump in the pool.

The crew is laughing, speaking Fijian language and appears genuinely excited to meet the latest guests they will care for, feed, entertain and serve for the next week.

My attention is drawn to a large framed photograph in the bar of a couple on a white sand beach with magical clear waters. It’s the sort of shot that evokes dreams of finding yourself on that beach, enjoying the tranquility but never expecting to actually find it.

“Where is that?” I ask Levi, a barman we would come to know very well over the next seven nights.

“Oh, that’s Fulaga – we go there on day three or four I think.”

“Is it as beautiful as it looks?” I ask.

“I’m not sure – I’ve never been there myself,” he laughs.

And the same goes for much of the crew and nearly all on board. Captain Cook Cruises visits Lau just three times a year, a relatively young cruise for the Fijian company, Lau’s remoteness meant the company spent many years setting up the perfect voyage to ensure those looking for a part of Fiji few others would see would not be disappointed.

Lau’s 57 islands are dotted throughout aquamarine hues of sparkling water. White sand beaches, volcanic mountains, and turquoise lagoons would under-promise and over-deliver during our voyage – every single day.

The thing about cruising, I discovered, is that whilst you know you’ll wake up in a different location every day, being greeted by a spectacularly different site each morning comes as somewhat of a surprise.

It took our family a couple of nights to settle in to the cruise and work out where we were each day. Some nights we would cruise just 40 nautical miles, but wake to a completely contrasting environment.

The morning we awoke to find ourselves at Fulaga, truly as beautiful as the photo in the Reef Endeavour suggested, we felt as though we were in a dream.

Tendering to shore in a glass bottom boat, the turquoise waters this time looked like the best kind of lemonade, the kids said. Palm trees on small mushroom shaped islands stood still under huge blue skies with puffs of white cloud.

The sand beneath our toes is powder soft and pure white and we think we’ve found paradise. Local women sit on woven mats selling crabs and coconuts. Both passengers and crew take up the offer, with the tender ride home in almost equal number seafood and passengers.

That night at dinner, several of the passengers enjoy their Fulaga crab, prepared by Captain Cook Cruises ever accommodating kitchen staff.

The food on board the Reef Endeavour is what surprised me most about the whole trip. Every day after taking in the new surroundings, we’d head down to the dining room for breakfast.

Each morning a hot buffet of bacon, eggs, vegetables, pancakes and pastries was available. You could order omelettes or choose a continental breakfast of fresh fruit, yoghurt or cereal.

Morning and afternoon tea were also served daily and included fabulous cakes or biscuits. Lunch was again buffet-style BBQs, curries, salads and dessert.

Canapes were served around 6pm before dinner. Most dinners were à la carte, with some themed dinners.

We dined on lamb, seafood, fillet steak, soup, panna cotta, cheesecake, chocolate mousse. This certainly wasn’t a holiday to diet on!

Of all the islands and villages we visited, it was difficult to agree on a favourite. Totoya, Kadavu, the Bay of Islands, Vuaqava – each one with pure white sand beaches and warm, iridescent coloured water.

For us it was a tie between Fulaga and Vanuabalavu Island simply because we just loved spending time together on the beach, snorkeling and finding shells, seeing fish and imagining we could stay for the rest of our lives as a new Swiss Family Robinson.

The Captain Cook Cruises Lau Discovery cruise comes in 7 and 11 night options. My tips for making the cruise even more enjoyable include packing travel sickness tablets for the inexperienced cruisers in your group (ahem inland kids); mosquito repellant for village visits; gifts of books, clothing and sporting equipment for the village schools and definitely Fijian Dollars for any carvings or souviners you wish to buy.

For more information see:

Captain Cook Cruises www.captaincookcruisesfiji.com