The Blue Lagoon Cruise, made famous by the movie starring Brooke Sheilds in the 80’s, is still going strong. The Fiji Princess has 34 cabins and typically does a seven-day cruise in the Yasawa Islands, north-west of the mainland but you can also join her for just three or four nights.

The high speed catamaran leaves Port Denarau to bring guests to the Fiji Princess

I’m aboard the high-speed catamaran from Port Denarau, heading out to the ‘Princess’ for four nights.

In typical Fiji style, the boat’s engineer, in his working overalls, cracks open a couple of bottles of bubbly and pouring it into plastic flutes, welcomes the ‘soon to be guests’ onto the Fiji Princess.

Bubbles served by the boat’s engineer

Aboard, I am delighted with my cabin. It’s spacious with a very comfortable queen bed, an ensuite with everything a girl needs, albeit a little tight, a small bar (with complimentary wine and beer) and coffee nook and yes, a window, well above sea level.

My cabin

Fruit, a Nespresso machine and complimentary drink are a lovely touch

There are four decks on board the Fiji Princess. The cabins are scattered cover three of the decks, with a dining salon, library, bar and pool. There are numerous indoor/outdoor places to chill including the sky deck and bar, but sadly, I never spent much time there as I was always on the beach.

On the sundeck there is plenty of space to get away for a quiet time

The pool is filled with sea water and is like a wave pool in the swell – so much fun

Slipping into cruise mode aboard the ‘Princess’ was easy. The wake-up call from the captain was always my first moment of consciousness, followed by breakfast and fun. Daily activities included beach time, fishing, snorkeling, paddle boarding, dinner at a village, visiting a local high school, walking yonder to a village and of course visiting the Blue Lagoon and watching the movie that evening. Brooke Shields looked like a baby…. oh, time can be cruel!

The Fijian staff go above and beyond to make the cruise memorable, ferrying guests back and forth from the islands to the boat, setting up bars in idyllic setting and providing morning and afternoon tea, where ever we happened to be.

The cocktail bar became a fixture on the beach

A great way to really see ‘the real Fiji’, beyond the resorts.