Cruises to the South Pacific
Cruises to the South Pacific are a great way to explore this incredible region of the world.
I’ve been lucky enough to sail on many cruises to the South Pacific. Cruising to this region gives you an opportunity to visit so many islands and experience the picturesque beaches, tropical vibes, and history that brings this incredible region to life.
Cruises to the South Pacific
The only thing you could possibly compare it to is a picture on a postcard. It’s nearly too pretty to be something that actually exists.
A cruise to the South Pacific gives you an opportunity to experience so many of the islands that make up this part of the world. From the islands of French Polynesia to Samoa to Fiji, each island and country has their own history and vibe.
Open air markets, snorkeling in the clearest waters you’ve ever seen. And, the pearls! Black pearls and white pearls and pink pearls.
There are so many reasons to make the trek to the other side of the world to cruise to these beautiful islands.
Where does a South Pacific cruise go?
There are a lot of islands in the South Pacific. This region – which we’re generalizing a bit here, but really including South Pacific, Polynesian, and Oceania regions comprise over 25,000 islands.
There is no way to go see all of these islands and cruises tend to focus on some of the more famous. Where exactly they go depends on the length of cruise both also the size of the ship as some ports now have cruise ship size restrictions in place.
Here are some of the ports you may visit on a cruise to the South Pacific:
- French Polynesia
- Papeete (Tahiti)
- Moorea
- Bora Bora (there are some restrictions on ships going there now)
- Fiji
- Suva
- Dravuni (my favorite)
- Lautoka
- Vanuatu
- Mystery Island
- Port Vila
- Luganville (Santo)
- New Caledonia
- Easo
- Lifou Isle
- Noumea
- American Samoa
- Tonga
- Samoa
🌴 Check current pricing and availability for
cruises to the South Pacific by clicking here
Where do South Pacific cruises sail from?
Most cruises to the South Pacific that are sailing on roundtrip itineraries will start and end in Australia in either Brisbane or Sydney.
However, there are a number of types of cruises that sail to the South Pacific including longer itineraries that are sometimes offered roundtrip from San Diego in the United States.
There are also a number of repositioning cruises available, sailing from Sydney to Honolulu You will also find cruises to the South Pacific as a segment of a World Cruise or Grand Voyage.
What is the best month to cruise the South Pacific?
The best time to cruise to the South Pacific is during the “dry season” which is Northern Hemisphere summer, or May-October. That’s not to say you won’t have beautiful days if you travel over our winter, it’s just that you may get a bit more rain.
Most cruise lines have more ships in the region from October through to April as a lot of the ships spend the summer in Alaska and will then make their way over for the winter season.
There are a few cruise lines that have ships in the regions year round.
Which cruise lines go to the South Pacific?
Which cruise lines go to the South Pacific?
There is a broad range of cruise lines sailing in the South Pacific, including expedition, luxury, premium, contemporary and even South Pacific specific cruise lines. Here’s a breakdown:
- Luxury/Ultra-Luxury:
- Cunard
- Very limited sailings
- World cruise segment available
- Oceania
- Year round itineraries
- Regent Seven Seas
- Seasonal itineraries
- Seabourn
- Seasonal (Dec-March)
- Additional sailings through their expedition ships
- available as World Cruise/Grand Voyage segments
- Silversea
- Seasonal (January – April)
- Viking Cruises
- Available as part of a Grand Voyage
- Cunard
- Premium:
- Celebrity
- Seasonal itineraries (October – April)
- Disney Cruise Line
- Repositioning cruise options available
- Princess Cruises
- Year round itineraries
- Holland America
- Available as segments of World Cruises
- Longer combination Australia/New Zealand with South Pacific options
- Celebrity
- Contemporary:
- Carnival
- Year round itineraries
- Royal Caribbean
- Seasonal October-April
- Norwegian Cruise Line
- Year round itineraries
- Carnival
- South Pacific Specialists:
🌴 Check current pricing and availability for
cruises to the South Pacific by clicking here
5 Things to Know About Cruising to the South Pacific
5. Public Transport might not be what you’re used to
On a lot of the islands the taxi’s/shuttles are open air either benches or bus style seats. Once you get used to it, it’s quite fun. Just always assume you’ll end up having “beach hair”!
4. The markets are pretty awesome
You can buy everything from lei’s and pearls to souvenirs and underwear to fresh fruit and veggies and pretty much everything in between! Nearly every major port has a market that is absolutely worth going through even if you don’t buy anything.
The majority of places people leave you to shop without bothering you too much. I found in Tonga and in Fiji they were a bit more aggressive to try to get you to buy than in Tahiti for instance.
3. The water is as beautiful as you’ve heard
3. There’s quite a bit of income disparity
My first draft of this post I had used the picture on the left to describe the poverty seen on some of the islands. Many of the homes are built like this, with plywood and roofing as walls or doors, dirt floors, and usually not much in the way of windows. These homes are often fairly close to the water (like gorgeous beautiful water) and sometimes just around the bend from the turn to one of those overwater bungalow resorts.
However, I do not know the people that live in this home. I do not know their story or situation. I do not know if it is a 20 year old just starting out or an elderly lady that wakes up with a smile and a gratefulness for her good health. I don’t know if they suffered through a catastrophic storm and they are happy to have rebuilt to this point. We can all make judgements based on what we see on the outside, but I’m working hard to judge less.
In the past I’ve also made written about the discord between $650-$1200 a night bungalows being down the road from this home, but we easily could make those same comparisons about people sailing on the Grand World Voyage and a lot of the crew members working on them.
So, just know that it’s not all overwater bungalows and people lounging by the beach and that a lot of homes on the various islands look a bit like the one on the left, and a good chunk of the other ones look like the ones on the right.
🌴 Check current pricing and availability for
cruises to the South Pacific by clicking here
2. It can be expensive
Think the island life means it will be inexpensive? Think again! While some islands are less expensive than what mainland USA is used to (at least outside of airports and big cities), the big tourist islands of Tahiti and Bora Bora will feature higher than average prices at their restaurants and hotels. Think $20+ for a burger.
However, be on the lookout for two for one drink specials or early bird dining specials. For instance, famed Bora Bora restaurant Bloody Mary’s (get a reservation or you will be sitting at the bar!) offers Happy Hour drink specials every day from 5:30-7:00pm. In contrast to the higher prices you might pay at some restaurants, you can also walk down the beach and have locals offer you $1 or $2 beers and sodas, or buy a necklace of black pearls for $15. Go figure.
The Lucky House Bar Restaurant, Pool, & Sports Bar is where Stuart and I ended up at the day we got engaged (we had asked for a restaurant on the water… little did we know while it was on the water it featured no direct water views), has become one of our favorites over the years. It has giant beers and good pizza, is a bit more reasonably priced and is somewhat away from the other tourists being around the bend from Matira Beach.
When you take a look at the menu right now 1500 CFP (their currency) is $14.71 USD. Not terrible for a basic margarita pizza. At 3 Brasseurs (a crew favorite) in Pape’ete, Tahiti the prices are similar.
1. It’s Pretty Damn Awesome
There are islands in the Caribbean, there are islands in Hawaii, there are islands in the Mediterranean, but they just aren’t quite like the islands of the South Pacific. A lot of them are still touristy, but somehow they aren’t as touristy. The beaches favor lying down to read a book over renting jet ski’s. The pace is a bit slower. You aren’t hounded for souvenirs like you are in the Caribbean or Central America.
FAQ’s
Will I have to use “tender boats” to go ashore?
On most cruises to the South Pacific you should plan you will need to use a tender in at least one port or more. This is especially true if you visit some of the smaller or less populated islands, such as Dravuni Island in Fiji.
Tendering is when one of the lifeboats that has been specially designed is lowered into the water and then acts as your water taxi to get you from the ship to the shore. This is normally done if the port either doesn’t have a pier or if the ship you are on is either too deep to access the pier or simply too large to utilize it.
🌴 Check current pricing and availability for
cruises to the South Pacific by clicking here
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