Day 123: Lifou, New Caledonia

Lifou (say LEE foo), New Caledonia is a port we had never visited before this year, but it has turned out to be one of our favorite ports of the season. Beautiful, clear water in a hundred shades of blue, fantastic snorkeling, and then there’s that long stretch of powdered sugar beach. It’s hard to have a bad day here, particularly if the weather cooperates. And it sure did today. 

Once again, G was my alarm clock, urging me awake. I packed for the day- floaties, snorkel gear, beach tarp, ear drops and mask defogger- with eyes half-closed, slathered on the sunscreen (I needed a lot today, even with long-sleeved rash guards and swim shorts) and we grabbed a quick breakfast, eaten on the Open Deck Behind the World Fresh Marketplace.  The view from back there was spectacular. 

Tender pier

The beautiful beach where we spent our afternoon

Notre Dame de Lourdes chapel

We went to the Harmony Restaurant to get our Elite tender tickets, and had no wait at all. I love the tenders on this ship!  In terms of the passenger experience, it’s hard to imagine a single bigger improvement over the Grand Class ships than the Royal Class tenders.  The double-wide stairs leading down to the tender platform, no gap between the platform and the tender, and a tender boat with no steps up or down to the main seating area. And they’re larger and faster, too. These are an all-around win. In just a few minutes we were walking up the hill from the tender pier to the main road. A further 10-15 walk put us at Jinek Bay and its spectacular snorkeling. 

We saw it again today, countless people turned away at Jinek Bay because they didn’t have tickets to the marine reserve. These must be purchased ahead of time on the ship through the Shore Excursions Desk (for AU $15 each). Frankly, I love that it’s limited. Otherwise it would be overrun. I snorkeled the trail four times, and then returned to the Nemo fish (just past the second buoy) to hang out for a while longer. It’s some of the best snorkeling we’ve seen lately. The coral, in particular, looks very healthy, especially further from shore. 

Sufficiently wiped out, we returned to the beach by the tender pier, found a shady spot, lay down and fell asleep. And then we woke up, used the floaties, and fell asleep again. When we finally woke up for the last time, two island dogs were similarly sacked out nearby. One of them took a real liking to G and followed him back to the tender pier around 4pm. We named him Lifou Lou. He had a hurt foot. I wanted to take him home. I always do, with these island dogs. Take them home, clean them up and care for them. And then what, I don’t know. I’m horribly allergic and I travel too much. 

We had time for quick showers and then raced to dinner. We’re always racing somewhere. It exhausts me, this adherence to a schedule. We’re currently in negotiations about how we’ll approach tomorrow. It will be Australia Day, and there is a big party scheduled on deck for sail away, and another one later in the Piazza. Partying Aussies; I’m so there. 

Day 5 dinner menu, page 1

Day 5 dinner menu, page 2

Day 5 dessert menu

We capped off the evening with production show Sweet Soul Music. So good. So short. I always say that though, don’t I? Sleep will come very quickly tonight. A day spent in and on the water is the best sleep aid there is. 

At sail away. Baie de Jinek is on the left side of the cliffs on which Notre Dame is located. 

Day 5 Princess Patter, page 1

Day 5 Princess Patter, page 2

Day 5 Princess Patter, page 3

Day 5 Princess Patter, page 4

Day 48: Lifou, New Caledonia

This is another of those nights when I’m typing these first words at 11pm, so you know it was a fantastic day. Luckily, I’ve already uploaded all the photos during our wait in the Princess Theater for tonight’s show, so the post is half done. Go me!

Today was our first-ever visit to the island of Lifou (say LEE foo), New Caledonia and, based on information I received from reader Chez about how to spend our day there, we were really looking forward to it. Our arrival was scheduled for 9am, and, to save time, we had breakfast in the Horizon Court Buffet before we caught one of the first tenders to the island. The 10-15 minute tender ride was a welcome change from those long tenders in Queensland. 

Where in the world are we?

Lifou Island is one of the Loyalty Islands grouping of New Caledonia

We didn’t go to breakfast in the DaVinci Dining Room but I ran down

to get this photo..

We tendered into the Lifou Pier, and spent our day snorkeling at Jinek Bay, climbing up

to Notre Dame de Lourdes church and enjoying the beach near the tender pier.

 A beach, a hill and a snorkeling spot; we couldn’t have designed a more appealing

island for us to explore. 

Notre Dame de Lourdes church as seen from the tender

The beach as seen from the tender

The tender pier

There were several vendors offering local crafts and hair braiding

Some things I can’t explain. ;-)

Items could be purchased with Australian dollars or French Polynesian Francs

We walked up a small hill and back down to reach Jinek Bay on the other

side of the peninsula where we would snorkel. 

Destination Expert Hutch had advised us to purchase the AU $15 marine reserve tickets through

Shore Excursions on the ship, and I did this yesterday. According to Trip Advisor,

the number of snorkelers is limited to 100 in the morning and 100 in the afternoon.

We saw several people turned away for not having a ticket and they were not selling 

them at the marine reserve. 

There was an underwater path marked by buoys, but we were free to snorkel anywhere. 

Our first look at the marine reserve. Check out that coral!  It was gorgeous. 

While I was laid up last summer, I ordered a lot of things we’d need for our cruise from Amazon. Two of the items I bought were mask lens defogger and  post-swimming ear drops to prevent ear infections. While we were pulling our snorkel gear out of our bag today, I applied what I thought was the lens defogger to our masks. It was a brand that was new to us, but it was highly recommended on Amazon. As I was snorkeling the first time, my eyes were burning and my lenses were constantly fogged up. I got out for a short rest and grabbed what I thought were the ear drops...without my reading glasses, I had mixed up the containers. I had put the ear drops, largely alcohol, on our lenses.  This is SO me. When I finally got the right stuff, the defogger did an excellent job. And G may never let me forget about the time I almost blinded us. 

Entry was via stairs, and reef shoes and sandals were not allowed to protect the coral. 

Limiting the number of snorkelers really enhanced the experience. 

The coral, especially a little further out from shore was in excellent condition. 

I found Nemo almost immediately, lots of Dorys too, and the largest 

parrot fish I’ve ever seen. 


There were limited places to keep our bags while we were in the water, and 

no beach here at all. 

We snorkeled until noon when our time was up (the afternoon session ran from 12:30pm to 4pm). Our tickets had cost AU $15 per person on board (about US $10), which was a bargain. Several reviews I read on Trip advisor stated that Carnival cruise ships charge AU $26 per person for the same ticket. As we were leaving, we ran into several waiters, including Ricky, who wanted to snorkel. We loaned them our gear and advised them to use their crew status to gain entrance for free since they didn’t have tickets. It worked. ;-)

Our next mission was to climb the hill up to Notre Dame de Lourdes church. I knew this might be tough on my foot, but I was determined. It helped that the beautiful views started early in the climb. 

The Ruby Princess at anchor 

The 100 shades of blue water we’d come to see. 

I call this one Perseverance. 

The view toward the ship from the top of the hill. 

Notre Dame de Lourdes church

It was really more of a chapel 

Looking toward Jinek Bay and the marine reserve from the top of the hill. 

The climb up and down was a little rough going in places. It helped that there was 

a handrail along all the tricky parts, but that metal rail was scorching hot. 

Given a choice between tripping or burning my hand, I chose to burn. 

Postcard-perfect 

Once we were down the hill, we continued our walk back toward the tender pier and the beach that ran next to it. We passed a few homes along the way, with typical island architecture, and one even sported a pig in the yard. 

The family pig 

Typical architecture

I was quite happy get into that beautiful water to cool off from our climb, and then soak in the views from the beach tarp.  We had taken just one float and took turns using it.

My favorite way to spend a day

My favorite photo of the day, a palm tree shadow in crystalline blue water with 

our cruise ship home in the background

We arrived back on board at 4pm, rinsed everything out quickly, set or hung it all up to dry (we have to walk very carefully to the bathroom overnight!) and showered even faster. We had a few minutes in the Elite Lounge before we went to dinner in the DaVinci Dining Room. We were starved, having spent the day in or near the water and skipping lunch. It’s such a good feeling on a cruise. 

Day 4 dinner menu, page 1

Day 4 dinner menu, page 2

Day 4 dessert menu

I could easily have been convinced to skip the all entertainment tonight and return directly to our cabin after dinner, but neither one of us wanted to be the one to cry uncle regardless of how tired we were. Instead we arrived quite early in the Princess Theater for Patrick McMahon’s new show tonight. He had been such a hit two nights ago when he performed that the Princess Theater was standing room only 30 minutes before his show began. We talked with Entertainment Director Rich Joseph after the show; Patrick will be on again next cruise. Yay!

G must have caught a second wind, as he wanted to go to the Explorers Lounge to hear party band The Sound do a Beatles set. He didn’t have to twist my arm too badly. I love that music, too. But as soon as it was over, he was asleep and I was...typing this post. An hour later, it’s my turn now. 

Lifou Port Guide, page 1

Lifou Port Guide, page 2

Lifou Port Guide, page 3

Lifou Port Guide, page 4

Day 4 Princess Patter, page 1

Day 4 Princess Patter, page 2

Day 4 Princess Patter, page 3

Day 4 Princess Patter, page 4