Looking to do something unique after a stressful and hectic week at work or school?
Join us on board for a Sunset Dinner cruise along with your work mates, friends, families or a loved one for a peaceful yet an enjoyable evening. Enjoy a beer as you cruise along Suva Harbor and catch the beautiful sunset views with on board entertainment- live music, Fijian Dance performances, buffet dinner and bright city light views.
The check in opens at 4:30pm till 5:15pm with the courtesy bus departing for Princess Wharf at 5:30pm. Convenient and safe parking spaces are allocated for passengers who can park their vehicles and hop on the bus carefree, taking advantage of complimentary return transfers all-inclusive in the sailing cost per person.
The sunset dinner cruise which sails every weekend from Suva on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings has a menu upgrade option that includes a half lobster tail and a full lobster tail. Upon checking in at Grand Pacific Hotel (Now changed to Devos on the Park) the friendly staff of Captain Cook Cruises provided us with hand wrists accordingly to our menu upgrade orders. They assisted us with check in and temperature checks as part of Tourism Fiji’s Care Fiji Commitment procedures to ensure travelers safety and Covid-19 record tracing policies.
After a 10 minutes bus ride to Princess wharf, we were welcomed on board Fiji One cruise with a complimentary welcome orange drink. We were introduced to each crew on board and what their roles were in making our cruise experience comfortable and enjoyable . We had the bartender to attend to all our bar needs, the lovely ladies to assist us with the food, and the entertainer who ensured we were fully entertained with his live music followed by a dance performance by the crew.
As we departed Princess Wharf, we were all very excited and overwhelmed with the hospitality of the friendly staff. We headed to the deck from where we had the opportunity to graze beautiful views of Lami Town and Suva Harbor.The weather was a bit unfavorable and we couldn’t spend too much time on the open deck. So we enjoyed ourselves in the air-condtioned dining area of the boat.
We were ushered to our respective tables. The dinner setup was beautifully done with white and Blue sea themed table covers. Artificial roses, candle lanterns and seashells on each table, used as salt and pepper holders adorned each table.
We ordered our drinks from the bar as the live- music entertainment began and we were invited to shake a leg with the crew and were fully entertained on board by the crew. We were also provided with finger foods as we patiently waited for everyone to settle in for dinner.
Almost an hour later we were invited inside the dinner lounge where the dinner buffet was open for guests. The friendly ladies assisted us to the buffet table and assisted us with dishes as we served ourselves with the yummy food options available. We were provided with numerous dishes from Grilled Chicken on Honey Mustard Sauce, Garden Salad, Grilled Walu fish on White Cream sauce, coleslaw, grilled steak on pepper sauce, pasta salad, sauteed vegetables and fresh friut salad.
We returned to our tables with our plates full and we were also served with our upgraded lobster menu with garden salad and sweet potatoes on the side. We ordered our drinks from the bar and began feasting as the entertainment continued. Everyone seemed to be having a great time and the food was delicious as well. The friendly staff continously made visits to our table and kept chatting and getting reviews on how the night was going and as we finished with our meal we headed towards Manasa, our entertainer for the evening and we had the opportunity to join him and sing as everyone happily cheered. We were ready for dessert and were served with ice cream and tropical fruits in a small bowl as we continued to enjoy the night.
After dinner, our attention was driven to the crew at the front of the lounge, who invited us to enjoy dance performances from the team. We sat back as the crew dressed up in their traditional itaukei wear with black paint on their cheeks and forehead and began with their tribal dance performances. Everyone on the cruise began cheering and dancing to the song and enjoyed the performances presented by the crew as the ladies also joined the men in performing ‘meke’ as everyone cheered. Manasa invited every guest to join in for a dance as he led everyone through the dinner lounge in a line showing a few of his dance moves and asking everyone to follow. The cruise was full of laugher and joy as everyone made their way dancing between tables around the lounge.
We were exhausted and couldn’t dance anymore as we sat at our tables laughing as the cruise came to an end. We were thanked by the entire crew as they sang the famous Fijian farewell song ‘Isa Lei’ for us. As we prepared for departure back to Suva harbour, we took a moment to go out on the deck to experience the Suva city bright lights. We were back at Princess Wharf enjoing the cool breeze, calming views and took the final opportunity to take pictures with the entire crew.
As we reached Princess Wharf, Captain Cook’s team escorted us safely off the cruise and helped us board the bus. As part of the cruise we were provided with complimentary transfers back to where we started from.
The cruise was indeed an experience like never before and a must do in Suva along with your friends and family.
By Najwa Mohammed.
