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Captain Cook Cruises was this weeks special treat for the family. Yes, true, we have our own sailboat but it was time to be pampered and to have a few days off of preparing meals, itineraries and doing dishes.  I was particularly excited that all of the itinerary planning was going to be done by someone else as the islands of Fiji are so incredible that I have a hard time deciding what we should do and where we should go. Kirsten and the kids usually wait until I’m pulling my hair out before they decide that they need to research travel plans a bit to help me out.

I had wanted to visit the Yasawa island group in the North West of Fiji and so our four night cruise has been scheduled to take us there. These islands are well known for their blue water and white sand beaches. The perfect places to get some rest and relaxation.

We pulled off the Port Denarau Marina pier just after checking in at 1pm and being serenaded by the staff singing Fijian music. Within two hours we were already at our first destination, a snorkeling spot on the Captain Cook Cruises’ private island of Tivoa. Everyone was excited to take the glass bottom boat to shore with our newly checked out snorkel gear.

The beach was beautiful soft white sand with plenty of shells for the kids to collect. Zak was excited to bring his new bucket Kirsten had picked up at a shop in Denarau and no matter what we tried, we could not pull him away from the shoreline.  Just off shore many of us were dropped off to check our the beautiful coral just below the surface of the water. We took a leisurely swim to the beach. It was the perfect little snorkeling introduction to the islands and only one of many planned over the next five days.

Once back on the boat we were pampered to have Zakary, Teyauna and Eli attend a private dinner meant just for the kids (Eli is sweet to help his younger siblings feel comfortable). While last week there were 24 kids onboard during the Australian school holidays, ours were the only three kids under 12 this week. This meant that they had the undivided attention of the ship’s nanny and for the first time in a long time, Kirsten and I were not trying to rush our meal before Zakary threw his all on the ground. We sat with the rest of the kids, ordered off of the menu and actually relaxed for dinner, a novel but rarely experienced concept.

It won’t take me long to get used to this peaceful life on-board. I just fear that I may get too used to being spoiled like this. Hmm, maybe we should stay longer.