Island hopping

By MEGAN SINGLETON*

We'll take you Sky high, we'll take you Sky high" promises the crew in a singalong ditty that stays in your head all day on board the Pacific Sky, bound for Fiji.

The air is thick with excitement as 1600 passengers file through the tangle that is New Zealand Customs in the Hilton Hotel on Princes Wharf to board the first of P&O's New Zealand-based cruises around the Pacific. Fortunately, the maze of formalities is well sign-posted and we eventually arrive for the compulsory cheesy photograph in front of a backdrop of the Pacific Sky.

At 46,000 tonnes and 240m long, this new attraction to the Hauraki Gulf will become a familiar sight to Aucklanders as P&O bases more cruises in our waters next year. With 11 floors and 1600 passengers, not to mention the 600 crew, it is like a mini city - or at least a mall. Shops selling duty-free perfume, electrical gadgets and jewellery are open daily, as well as a photo store capturing the onboard activities, as snapped by the ship's photographer. .

Last summer it seemed like all the world's cruise ships stopped at Princes Wharf, bombarding us with large Americans wearing bum-bags and sandals with socks. But stories of singles and shipboard romances are ringing in my ears from certain relatives who made the long journey to the motherland in the 1960s, so maybe the Pacific Sky will be more like its celebrity cousin, the Love Boat.

Nine glorious days of sailing from rainy Auckland to Fiji and back lie ahead - and there isn't a bum-bag in sight.

For less than the cost of a resort holiday in the South Pacific, a holiday on the Pacific Sky seems to be within the reach of pretty much anyone, from grannies to families with young children or teenagers; Northland farmers to a Kura-kaupapa school trip; mullet-headed westies to sexy singles. There is even The Edge radio station's Dating Game to see who will "hook up" and win $5000.

However, as we file on to the fabulousness that is the Pacific Sky, I am alarmed to find all the passengers armed with their life jackets heading in the same direction. Surely we couldn't be sinking before we've even left the wharf?

I soon discover we are being swept along the narrow hallways to a safety briefing at our designated muster station, to practise trying on our life jackets and receive instructions on leaping into the sea if need be. "Someone should have told us about these drills," I think to myself as my heart rate returns to normal.

After putting all notion of a ship emergency aside, and joking with some folk around us who had trouble securing their jackets, we walk back to our cabins to throw the life jackets in the cupboard and unpack.

The twin-bedded cabins sleep up to four, with pull-down bunk beds if needed. They have surprisingly roomy bathrooms with a large shower, toilet and basin and each cabin has a TV showing the daily activities (as announced by spunky cruise director Dan) and a music channel. For a small fee you can buy a video card to watch the selection of in-house movies.

Two rectangular portholes are our view to the rolling Pacific - and rolling it is. The first sensation after leaving the relative calm of the Waitemata Harbour is a light-headedness, not unlike the dizziness experienced after too much wine. Unfortunately for me this takes nearly three days and several siestas to subside.

By day two, sea bands and nausea pills are everywhere as rough seas, are churned up by near-gale-force winds. The queue for the doctor is into the hallway.

Most people are fine and immersing themselves in ship life during the three-day journey to the first port of call, but for the really ill, a jab in the rear is all that they need to party in the Starlight lounge or casino until the wee small hours before the weather settles.

And once it does settle, the islands of the Pacific await. We stop at three islands for sunbathing, snorkelling and shouting "Bula" to the locals.

First at Yasawa-I-Rara Island, then Lautoka on the Fijian mainland for an excursion, and finally Dravuni Island, where we again drop the nine-tonne anchor about 1km offshore and ferry in on diesel-powered tenders (life boats) for more sunbathing, eating coconuts and drinking kava - if one dares!

Back on board, the organised activities and excitable staff do have a ring of "hi-de-hi", but after nearly winning the bingo, I am hooked. Then it's off to earring making, followed by the trivia quiz and a game of shuffleboard before meeting friends and relaxing with a cocktail while we wait for our meal sitting.

Ten thousand meals a day are served in two sittings in two restaurants and on the Promenade Deck for a lunchtime buffet. The galley is a whirl of highly organised activity, as we discover on a tour with the head chef. All the food has been bought in New Zealand, taking about seven hours to load. Nothing is frozen and even the bread rolls and pasta are made from scratch daily.

Staircases provide the only exercise most of us get to work off the three-course lunches and five-course dinners, although I did look in on the well-equipped gym and took to pounding a few laps on the running track at sunset. Apparently 15 laps equals one mile, but whether that is true we still feel we deserve a New Zealand Natural ice cream from the kiosk every afternoon.

The non-exercising can use the six lifts and room service for breakfast.

The Pacific Sky has a great way of allowing you to create the cruise you want to have. Kids can enrol in the cool activity centre with paints, PlayStations and their own swimming pool, and under-5s can have afternoon naps together and be looked after at night in their cabins by baby-sitters.

Reclining lounge-chairs line the decks for the adults who want to soak up the sun and the library is a quiet haven away from the UV rays, with 1000-piece jigsaws for the addicts.

During the afternoon, the cruise director and his team can be found compering a belly-flop competition in one of the three swimming pools or entertaining an audience in a game of "pillage your cabin and join the afternoon madness" in the show lounge.

But the true essence of the ship is revealed after midnight when the oldies and families are tucked up and many of the crew finish their shifts and join the passengers for a drink and a boogie. As everyone mingles, the dance floor can become like a scene from An Officer and a Gentleman with white uniforms everywhere.

Dancing under the stars in the middle of the Pacific Ocean is a surreal experience - the air is warm, the music is pumping and you can't help bumping into people as the rolling waves make for creative crab-like dancing in the same direction.

At the end of it all, I'm not sure if anyone has found true love on board the Pacific Sky, but one thing is certain - it was the most fun you can have at sea, and after nine days most of us want to turn around and head straight back to Fiji.

P&O Cruises

* Megan Singleton travelled on the Pacific Sky courtesy of P&O. Next year's New Zealand season will be announced in the next few weeks. For more information ph 0800 441 766.

Case notes

Cabins are fitted with a three-point power socket (220/240 volts AC at 60 hertz), hair dryer, safe deposit box, telephone and TV.

Laundry facilities are available at no charge, although you will need to buy washing powder. For a small fee your cabin attendant can arrange for your laundry to be done.

Passengers are given a Pacific Sky cruise card and an opening balance of $100 which needs to be repaid at the purser's desk in the first 48 hours. You can add funds at any time. You need these cards to pay for things such as shore excursions, the medical centre, beauty salon, shops and casino, as well as drinks and food from the bars and other restaurants outside the main dining rooms. You cannot use your credit or eftpos cards on-board.

On-board prices are in Australian dollars.

Snorkelling gear is available for hire.

What to take

* Passport.

* Beach towel for island stops.

* Smart/casual clothes and outfits for up to three formal nights, when men wear a jacket and tie and women something sparkly.

* Overnight bag, as all luggage is collected the night before you arrive back in New Zealand.

* Ear plugs, as the ship constantly creaks and moans (all quite normal apparently) as it goes through the water.

Cruises are planned to start next year in March with prices from $1554 a person for a 10-night cruise to Tonga and Fiji.