We have just completed the 7 day Yasawa Islands cruise on the Fiji Princess. We are completely hooked on small ship cruising. We sailed out of Port Denarau which is 15 minutes from Nadi airport. The cab cost us $25.00. Boarding was very simple and we were greeted on the gangway by the crew singing, "Bula, Bula", the Fijian welcome song. The ship only holds 65 passengers which makes for a very intimate cruise. After only 20 minutes from shore, the ship slowed down because we had already caught a fish! The crew pulled in a beautiful 2 foot long Spanish Mackerel which was cooked up for dinner. Talk about fresh!!!

After sailing about 2 hours, we reached the island where Tom Hanks filmed Castaway. We had a chance to swim and snorkel and enjoy the beautiful island. Back on the board, we got ready for the Captain's dinner with pre-dinner cocktails on the Sky Deck. The crew sang and we all had a dance. Such a great night.

Every morning, we had an opportunity for an early morning swim on shore before breakfast. Then, we would set sail for the next gorgeous deserted island. The crew would set up umbrellas and beach blankets on the beach. The crew took us out to the reef to go snorkelling. We even did a shark feeding snorkel which was incredible. Little 2-3 foot Reef Sharks swam around us. Totally safe and very exciting. On returning to the beach, the crew always had a table set up with tea/coffee/ice water or juice, fresh fruit and delicious fresh baking. The food was incredible....as they say, "The more you eat...the more you float"!!! Read more