Blue Lagoon Cruises

The Story of Blue Lagoon Cruises

The history of Blue Lagoon Cruises is simple and unique. It’s the story of a love affair with the islands of Fiji – and of a man who dared to dream and then created one of the most enchanting cruise experiences in the world.

The Beginning of Blue Lagoon Cruises

Blue Lagoon Cruises was founded in 1950 by Captain Trevor Withers, a young New Zealand stockbroker with a passion for the sea. Withers and his friend, Harold Gatty, the renowned Australian aviator, came to Fiji with the intent of establishing a fishing industry, at a time when the then British Crown Colony had no tourism. Visitors to Fiji, for the most part, transited Nadi Airport or were shipboard passengers enroute between North America, New Zealand or Australia.

The Withers-Gatty team set up headquarters in the capital city, Suva, and began assessing the potential for tuna fishing using two small chartered boats. However, before they could proceed, protocol and Fijian tradition demanded that they make a special visit to the islands to pay their respects to the local chiefs.

At the picturesque Yalobi village on the island of Waya in the Yasawa Group, Withers discovered that the Chief, Tui Waya, and his people could neither speak English nor share a common dialect with his crew. Communication problems were resolved when the chief indicated that they should sail to the nearby island of Waya Lailai, where they enlisted the help of a young villager, Epeli Voli, as an interpreter. With Epeli’s help, Captain Withers obtained the full support of the Yasawa people for his fishing venture and established firm friendships with the chiefs and the people of the Yasawa Islands, which would later be crucial to Blue Lagoon Cruises.

After four years of effort, Withers and Gatty finally concluded that their hopes of establishing a tuna fishing industry in Fiji were not viable. But, both men had fallen in love with Fiji and wished to remain in the islands. Gatty went on to establish Fiji Airways, the forerunner to Fiji’s national airline, Air Pacific. However, the future for Withers was not so clear and he began to dream of taking visitors on a cruise through the idyllic Yasawa Islands: a dream that was to become Blue Lagoon Cruises.

Blue Lagoon Cruises - A slow start, but an enduring icon

Withers’ enthusiasm for this new cruise line project was not shared by many. Critics asked logically, "Where are the tourists?" Still, determined to make his dream a reality, Withers returned to the Yasawa Islands to solicit once again the support of the chiefs and his people. To his delight, the cruise line proposal was met with enthusiastic promises of co-operation.

While pondering over a suitable name for the cruise venture, Withers remembered his association with the original version of "Blue Lagoon" filmed on location in the Yasawa Islands in 1948. He had lent a hand on the set, where he had met and liked the attractive English star, Jean Simmons and the name "Blue Lagoon", therefore, seemed totally appropriate for the idyllic cruise line he envisaged.

Withers purchased his first boat from the New Zealand Civil Aviation Authorities in Fiji . The vessel was christened Turaga Levu (Great Chief, which was Withers’ local nick-name), and, amidst much merriment, it was launched down the slipway into Suva’s Walu Bay.

The first cruise date was then scheduled and advertised – with a complete lack of response. As the hour of the inaugural departure drew near, it appeared that if the Turaga Levu was to sail at all, it would sail empty. Withers, though tempted to cancel, was reluctant to disappoint the islanders anxiously awaiting its arrival and invited six Fijian men on the wharf who had previously assisted him to become the Turaga Levu’s first cruise passengers.

For the first month, Withers set sail every Monday, often carrying Fijians to their Yasawa villages but without a single paying passenger. Finances began to run low and it was 10 days into his second month before Withers secured his first charter, an American Colonel and his wife who had made it quite clear that they expected the perfect holiday. Unfortunately this didn’t prove to be the case. Withers had earlier conducted a painstaking inspection of the Turaga Levu to see that everything was shipshape: the only place which required improvement was the ship’s toilet, where the seat would benefit from a new coat of paint.

At the appointed time the Turaga Levu set sail and soon the Colonel and his wife were relaxing in fishing chairs trolling for tuna. Later that morning, the calm of the cruise was shattered by a pained bellow from below. It transpired that the Colonel was firmly joined to the seat, still sticky from the fresh coat of paint. Some delicate and painful manoeuvring luckily parted man and seat, but the damage to his nether regions was such that the Turaga Levu was obliged to head back to shore in search of a doctor. On his return, drinks and lunch restored the Colonel’s humour and, after overnight treatment, he decided to continue the cruise.

During the following three months, only 27 passengers were carried on the cruise. Bankruptcy was imminent and Withers was forced to make a final desperate gamble. After securing agreement with the airlines flying the Pacific to undertake a joint promotion in North America, he sold all his worldly possessions for £7,000 to finance a whirlwind visit to travel agents in the USA and Canada. The gamble paid off. The trickle of visitors rapidly became a steady stream and Blue Lagoon Cruises was underway.

By 1966, Blue Lagoon Cruises had established an international reputation and Withers, now suffering from poor health, was ready to retire to his beloved Waya Island. After much deliberation he sold the venture to Captain Claude Millar, a well-known New Zealand shipowner so completing the first chapter of the blue lagoon cruises history.

This briefly is the story of Blue Lagoon Cruises. A simple story of a dream that became a reality and a reality that fulfilled a dream.

The Blue Lagoon Cruises Ships

• Blue Lagoon Cruises - Lycianda Princess
• Blue Lagoon Cruises - Mystique Princess
• Blue Lagoon Cruises - Nanuya Princess
• Blue Lagoon Cruises - Yasawa Princess