Suva Cruises Popular

Luxury Liners to Visit Fiji in 1935

From Our Own Correspondent.

SUVA, January 18.

SUVA has been discovered by Australian shipping men as a good spot to send their steamers on pleasure cruises. Last year several cruises were arranged, and had such a popular appeal that for 1935 half a dozen more cruises have been announced.

The first of this year’s steamers was the Katoomba, which arrived with 400 passengers on January 7, coming via Nukualofa. Unfortunately, the weather broke just before the ship arrived, and the tourists took away a damp recollec tion of Suva, The Katoomba is to make other cruises at Easter and again in October.

In February we are to have the Stella Polaris and the Franconia —luxury cruises for which programmes of native mekes and motor drives have been arranged. Both these vessels are regular visitors on world cruises. As far as is known at present, the Matson Line will

not send out cruises to the South Seas this year. However, a newcomer will be the Rotterdam on a world cruise out of New York, and entertainments are to be arranged for her on a lavish scale.

The most important, however, of all cruises from the Suva point of view are those of the P. and O., carried out with the Strathnaver and Strathaird. Each ship visited Suva last year, bringing on each occasion a full complement of over 1000 passengers. Very comprehensive programmes enabled their passengers to put in a hectic 36 hours at Suva —native mekes on Albert Park, and a special per formance by the fire-walkers of Beqa were arranged by the P. and O. agents.

Brown and Joske Ltd., whilst the Methodist Mission, the Church of Eng land, and the Roman Catholic Mission organised entertainments which proved most interesting to the passengers, and lucrative to the organising bodies. A Strathnaver race meeting, and dances at all the leading hotels, found many sup porters.

For 1935 the Strathnaver is scheduled for early April, and Suva hopes to see her sister ship, the Strathaird, later in the year. It is even rumoured on the beach that the Orient Company are so struck by the successful P. and O. cruises that they plan to send the Oronsay to Suva about September.

All these cruises are wonderfully good bargains. The fortunate Australian with £20 odd to spare can get luxurious accommodation, first-class food, and a lot of fun for a fortnight. Compare this with the return fare charged by the Union and Matson companies for a fortnight’s travel £50 minimum first class. It looks, therefore, as though cruises to Suva have come to stay.