We thought about you all while we were away and often mentioned you.
In fact a couple of nights we went up to where the ship webcam is and did a dance and gave a wave, just on the offchance.
But early morning they always turned the webcam back to sea.
The weather every day was perfect-warm and balmy and calm.The ship was incredible and i wouldn't know where to start. Danet will have better photos as photography is her thing, but just let me say, it was like being in a mini city, with 14 floors of rooms, shops, restaurants and bars etc.
The cruise was unusual in that as it was school holidays, the crowd was younger than the norm, with quite a lot of teens on board but the behaviour was good-you would see them in lifts, on their way to the pools and hogging the hot spas during the day
but they were good really.
We went to five places-Noumea, Port Vila, Lifou, Ouvea and Isle of Pines.
Noumea was bustling and i really liked it.
I will try not to bore you with too many pics-not sure where to start.Hope they are not too big but with all this sway going on i am not sure i could find the place in he computer to resize them.
This was a typical scene-the islanders are colourful, they wear clothes that are probably a lot more comfortable in the heat than all the stuff we tend to wear! They made hats and baskets out of leaves. I had a couple of the hats but left them behind as i doubt they would have made it through customs.
The ship itself was a surprise. This is a scene from my favourite deck-deck 7, promenade deck. It was made for walkers or joggers-3 times round equals a mile. Plus there are deck chairs and waiters ready to serve a coffee or a cocktail if you wish.
But we enjoyed just sitting out chatting and also at nights (when it was always still warm), watching the wash and the waves. The seas are pretty empty out there-we basically never saw another ship.
Another surprise (for me anyway) onboard was that each day there were a lot of different activities, including scholarship at sea and free lectures eg on the flora/fauna or voyages of james Cook or navigation or computer programs etc by lecturers and also a series of art auctions by the most amazingly entertaining man-apparently princess cruises run one of he biggest art buying groups in the world and a lot of people buy their art on these cruises.
Here's the art gallery entrance.
The prices are generally competitive, or I suspect so but I am no expert.
There was a Picasso print sold on our trip.
There were several works on sale by Alexandra Nechita
Here are some others i liked. These were really big art pieces though.
Inside the ship-not as panoramic as it looked in real life but gives you an idea I hope.
I spent too much in the shops. They had different sales nearly every day
Food-incredible-ate too much. They had a different national theme every day.
Did a tour of the galley-they also did vegetable art and ice sculpture.
Here is a picture for shadow. I thought of him a few times as we passed some interesting little cemeteries with incredibly colourfullly decorated graves-much more joyful looking than our style of cemeteries- and i would love to have taken a pic to show him but we were in little mini buses and I couldn't photograph them. But here is a statue in Noumea. It was extremely hot and humid when we walked over to photograph this though the pics might not look it.
Biggest surprise-Isle of Pines-inhabited but on a small scale and the most unspoilt place imaginable. There is a resort tucked away, but expensive. If you ever get a chance, see it before it is 'discovered'. The beaches are just magic.
The waters are safe and filled with the most incredible varieties of colourful fish that come right past you within inches. i did some snorkelling here and could have stayed hours longer.
The ship could not dock-we had to catch the tenders to the island.
Interesting forest.
Rubbish bin with a difference.
On the beach
On the ship-Passing through a narrow volcanic channel as night fell.
Ah well, back to reality.
No more......
.....where a buyer bought it for $13,000......plus buyers premium and GST on top of that!
.....anyhow can anyone tell whether I had worn them under my blouse or not? I told everyone I worked out at the gym you see 
