A deluxe family cruise from Sydney, Australia highlights the pirates' lore and pleasures of the South Pacific.

Modern travel can make my head spin. Jump on a plane, whiz into a different country, whiz around the place and jump back home. Cruising is the perfect antidote for those of us who believe the journey should be as enjoyable as the destination, and the South Pacific is an ideal family friendly region with beautiful weather, lovely ports to explore and calm seas.

Once upon a time sailing the oceans involved a long and tedious undertaking in cramped quarters on sea routes fraught with dangers.  One never knew if one’s home port would be seen again. Monsters lurked at the edges of world, mermaids lured the unwary to the bottomless depths and scurvy created more space on board as the voyage progressed.

Now, like other necessities-turned-recreation activities such as horseback riding, people sail for the fun of it. Cruising is one of the fastest growing areas of international tourism and cruise lines are expected to add more than 50 new ships to their fleets in the first half of this decade.

Floating Facilities To Suit Every Guest

Ships are getting bigger and more sophisticated, sporting state-of-the-art technology and innovations in engineering. Once in Australia, its a short hop by plane to the South Pacific from the east coast, but by sea, it’s an indulgent nine-day roundtrip over warm tropical waters to New Caledonia and the Loyalty Islands: a far better way to experience the beauty of this region.

On offer along the way are all the facilities and programs you would expect from a luxury cruiseship such as the one we were on: P&O’s Pacific Sun. Five-course meals, child-care centers, entertainment venues, day spa, beauty salon, Internet, in-cabin movies, a library, art auctions, well-equipped medical center, cocktail parties, fitness facilities, seminars and fun competitions.

We were surprised to find the broadest range of people, ages and backgrounds among the passengers. There are five levels of cabins accommodating everyone from comfortable couples enjoying the balconies of the Verandah Deck to young foursomes sharing the lower Riviera cabins. It made dinner table conversation lively and diverse, with the friendly waiters from around the Pacific, providing occasional additional input into the cauldron of topics and opinions.

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