It's a wrap!

Three months away is a long time, but the memories are fresh – well, fairly fresh and probably an opportune time to sum up.

I’ll not dwell too long on the UK month, other than to say we thoroughly enjoyed it.  The weather was great (just three patches of rain in 30 days), the company was great (especially the family) and the food was as good as anywhere.  Somewhat surprisingly for some, the service and friendliness in shops, cafés and restaurants was also most impressive.  Prices, particularly in the larger supermarkets, including their non-food outlets, were a lot cheaper than we expected and it is only the cost of petrol which makes the UK seem expensive.

Driving in the UK is still a revelation compared to NZ, as generally, they keep left except when overtaking and apart from the southern end of the M1, where they seem to have installed a load of average speed cameras (revenue collectors), traffic moves pretty quickly and safely.  Given the proliferation of speed cameras in the towns, there seems to be far too many sleeping policemen/speed bumps, meaning extra pollution and poor fuel consumption.  Parking is a bit of an issue in some places and thankfully, back at our home base, they have abolished the paid parking for the first two hours, which is an application of common-sense.  Within the City it is a different story and most travel by bus and the car parks always have spaces.  With even the local buses now having free WiFi and on most routes, buses about every 10 minutes at worst, no wonder.

 

The middle section of our trip was the 14 day Emerald Princess Baltic’s Cruise.   We loved it!  Sure the Emerald is bigger than the Dawn and a bit less homely, but for a cruise where most days were in port anyway, the ship assumes less importance than on a long cruise with loads of sea days.

I compared the Diamond Princess with the Dawn way back at the beginning of 2012.  Much of what I wrote then still holds, as the Emerald is similar.  Not identical, but similar.  In terms of the deck 5 area, the Emerald boasts an International Café which we enjoyed, but the secondary entertainment lounges, just like the Diamond, are disappointing.

Where the Emerald really scored over the Dawn was the theatre.  Far more modern.  A larger production cast and good scenery made the Dawn look drab by comparison.

The destinations were excellent and the only down sides were a couple of Princess tours where the guides talked non-stop and bored us to death.

Northern Europe’s life style isn’t so different from what we are used to.   I’ll cover that later.

 

Having a few hours with brother Malcolm between transferring from the Emerald to the Dawn Princess was a bonus and an opportunity to visit the National Motor Museum.

Hopping aboard the Dawn was like returning home.  Loads of people we already knew from past cruises and three of the entertainment staff just made is so easy to slot back in.  It wasn’t long before we caught up with those we’d met previously at Alana’s dance classes (and on then to those great fun evenings in the atrium).  The one sour note of the whole cruise was the deck 7 atrium area...  Putting the same self-centred and rather arrogant pianist in there last year for 90 days was bad enough, but having to suffer again all the way back to Auckland was just one factor in deciding to cancel next year’s second half.

 

To his credit, Cruise Director Mark was well aware of the feeling of those who were not sycophantic choir members (the pianist also runs the passenger choir) and did his level best to get other musicians in there for dancing, even if only for a couple of hours most nights.   It helped, but whereas in 2011 and 2012, those who’d been to a dance class in the morning were encouraged to come along in the evenings and practice, so the group continued to grow.   Without that continuity and support, the dance group didn’t grow at all this time, which is  shame.  We are convinced the deck 7 bar takings would be well down on 2011 and 2012!

 

As you may well have read from the blog, this leg of the cruise didn’t really inspire us to repeat it next year.  Too similar and unlike the Med last year, it was much cooler once we’d left the Panama Canal than we expected.  With Easter Island cancelled and nothing more than a sedate trundle around Pitcairn Island, a history of the ship never managing to get passengers to Easter Island, we felt that the ten continuous days at sea and basically most passengers indoors, wasn’t ideal.

Those who made the trek to Machu Picchu thoroughly enjoyed it and for them, it probably made the itinerary worthwhile.

As always, the on board staff were superb on both cruises and our Elite status giving us free laundry and a fair few internet minutes, makes continuing with Princess attractive.

Over the last three years we have been fortunate enough to experience various different cultures and seen some of what is behind the glossy brochures.  Looking at a white sand beach resort for the wealthy on Antigua for example, is one thing.  Seeing the poverty one street back is an eye opener.   Those on benefits in NZ, UK, Aus etc., moaning about their lot in life, need to check out Peru and other countries where there is no dole money.  The eldest son pays for the upkeep of his aged parents,  the eldest daughter looks after them and if a brother loses his job, they all chip in to help him out.  So on the streets, in the traffic queues, you get people trying to sell you tea towels, drinks, sweets, water.  Anything to make a dollar.

The Baltic cruise we loved, as we probably identify with the people rather more than the Caribbean, the Arab States, South America, the Pacific Islands, even the Mediterranean.

We now look forward to doing Sydney to Southampton on the Sea Princess (sister ship to the Dawn) next year.  Hopefully, we’ll be catching up with even more old friends but the last word has to be a massive thank you to Darryl and Sue from Adelaide, for the fun, the laughs and even 2 trivia wins!

 

POST SCRIPT

 

We have booked for the Royal Princess round Britain 12 day cruise July 20th 2015...

Auckland and home - but with visitors!

Although it was late to bed and we were tired, Paula couldn’t sleep!  We’d set the alarm for 6:30am and the ship was already lining up to dock at Queen’s Wharf – not Prince’s Wharf as last time.  That meant the meeting instructions I’d given to Darryl & Sue were a bit out, so I scribbled a quick note and pushed it under their cabin door.

It didn’t take long to get sorted and we left the cabin quite early and parked ourselves in the dining room on deck 5, awaiting the clearance to disembark – once the luggage had been off-loaded.

It didn’t take long and we were first off along with M & M!  Two immigration booths open and then we collected our luggage. The lack of sleep must have affected Paula’s eyesight as she’d loaded someone else’s case onto our trolley!  Luckily we spotted it straightaway so we rolled up to the MAF (Ministry of Agriculture & Fisheries) to declare our wood/nuts etc. after first passing the beagle test. 

For future travellers arriving at that wharf, currently, no Duty Free facilities on arrival.

The official was quite happy with the Panama hat in its balsa wood box and the three or four small ornaments made out of ivory nuts, so straight out for a taxi, parked at the exit to the shed.

First time I had ridden in a Toyota Prius.  Eerie silence…

The trip home was against the traffic, so easy enough, but the queue going into town from Onewa Rd. stretched the full length (about 2kms).  Missing out on the daily rush hour traffic is something I really am happy to have left well behind.

The house was still standing and heaving the four suitcases, two carry-on bags, the backpack with computer and camera and a zip bag with the balsa box and the left over cans of cider, was easy enough. The advantage of arriving home by ship!

First jobs were turning the water and electricity back on and heading for the garage to see if the 2010 vehicle would start.  Luckily it did, (the AA man lives across the road and was on standby) though the remote unlock button is on the way out.  Ditto, buttons on the CD/radio remote and also the Sky TV remote…

After a quick sort out and a partial unpack of one case each, we nipped out to the supermarket for a couple of basics.

Out again and into town to pick up Darryl & Sue at 11am – though we’d forgotten what a pain it was dealing with Auckland’s unsynchronised traffic lights.  All OK and off then to our regular garden centre for the best coffee in two months.  Ship coffee is OK but it pales against the local brew.

A bit of a trundle around with our guests then home.  We relaxed and also watched Ganjo’s first two DVDs of last year’s cruise, as Darryl & Sue were on until Rome.

Out then for an excellent Indian meal before returning them to the dock, for their last three days to Sydney. It was rather cool so the heaters were on at home.

So that is it.  Three months away and blogging our progress at every stage.

I’ll post a summary in a day or two but that will be aimed more at the future cruisers who I know followed this hoping to pick up tips; those who keep in touch because they couldn’t travel this year and oddly enough, those who were also on the cruise.

I hope you enjoyed the ramble and weren’t too bored but any comments, positive or negative will be welcomed. 

 

 

Day 93 - The last sea day of this cruise - for us.

We are now on NZ time.

A fair sleep and the cough has almost gone, thank goodness.  A bit late breakfasting as trivia wasn’t until 11:30 as Chef Marzi had another one of his cooking demonstrations, followed by a tour of the kitchens for those who hadn’t done the tour before.  That increased our chances of trivia success, but despite Paula’s earlier Zumba session, it didn’t kick the brain into gear any more than usual.

We headed to deck 5 for coffee, but once again, no seating.   With so many staff being so friendly, it comes as a bit of a shock to find a couple of the deck 7 waiters/waitresses distinctly cold.  (It hadn’t gone unnoticed by our head waiter Vasco, so it wasn’t just our assessment.)

So packing was on my agenda for the afternoon and that all went OK and then an escape to the final Ukulele class with Alex at 4:15pm – exactly the same time as trivia…

One of the group (another Ray) had organised a whip round for Alex but asked me to propose the vote of thanks.  Hopefully Alex will use the loot to buy his own ukulele.

Sadly, due to the late scheduling, the drinkers started rolling in well before we’d finished and as I was at the rear of the room, their noise was drowning out Alex.  I managed to move a couple on, but they were coming in too fast so we just had to put up with it.



With Dave Watson 

It was a busy night with another show (that is 3) from Roland Storm.  He is a real encyclopaedia of popular music and this was another show backed by the orchestra.   Another enjoyable show too.  Too few of the entertainers have enough decent material for three shows, some can't even cope with two and several rely on old material.

A bit of dancing and some farewells then our last dinner and I managed to grab a pic with former England football player Dave Watson.  He started his professional career with Notts County in 1967 when I was a regular spectator at Meadow Lane then he went via Rotherham and Sunderland to Manchester City and 65 England caps. 

A spell overseas before bowing out back at Notts County 1984/85, though he retains a strong interest in the club.

After dinner and a few other farewells and down to the Vista lounge for a Princess favourite, the Marriage Show.

We were thrilled to find out that Theresa and Errol had put their names in – as newlyweds.  That is a relative term on cruises when the average age is well over 60.  They had been married 8 years, but known each other 24.  They had no idea what they were letting themselves in for, expecting it to be simple stuff such as what is his favourite film, or her favourite colour.

For those new to Princess cruises, it is a little bit bawdier than that and depending on the Cruise Director/Host and the three couples, can be so-so or hilarious.  This was definitely in the latter category, with all three couples creating the laughs.  As Errol & Theresa were the newlyweds, the middle couple had been married about 35 years and the final couple 57.

It started a bit late (no idea why) so after it had finished, we still had Danny McMaster again and another good show.  Yes, we’d seen it before but still funny.

So, on our last night, Paula was just about asleep standing up as we headed to the cabin for the last time but we managed to drain the last of the port before falling into bed just after midnight.

Just a few hours more and we are home.

We wuz robbed - August 25th

Well, what a con.  We went to bed August 24^th and when we woke, it was already August 26^th, so no treats, no top line guests, no free drinks.

On the positive side, August 25^th was designated a low calorie fasting day.

 

(For those unaware, we crossed the International Date line, which is 180 degrees west of Greenwich, so we lost a whole day.)   

Day 92 - Penultimate sea day

More rocking and rolling and at 2am we were awake so I switched on the TV.  The Grand Prix wasn’t on live but the sports news channel was enough to find out that Hamilton had been tapped by his team mate.  Oh dear.

I finally woke 8am and did manage to watch the last 5 laps.  Better than nothing!  Paula was still asleep so I managed to watch most of ‘The Sting’, one of my favourite movies and one that brought Ragtime piano back into popularity for a while.  The title tune ‘The Sting’ is in fact ‘The Entertainer Rag’ and when (if) my left hand is restored, I am determined to learn how to play it, having started to learn it well over 30 years ago.

Juts for a change, breakfast was with ace Rock n’ Roll dancers Graham and Linda. (That first pic is Graham resting his feet, ready for some energetic dancing later.) 

After trivia, once again, no seats so no morning coffee, but lunch at 12:30.

For our last formal night, we had an early show – impressionist Danny McMaster.  We’d seen his show before and enjoyed it this time too.  An amazing range of characters and almost all done very well.  On then to the Captain’s farewell drinks in the Atrium, but this time, Paula steered well clear of the red wine!  We caught up with new evening musical trivia friends, Theresa and Errol from the UK. (Picture 2.)

Dinner was one of my Princess favourites ‘Veal Orloff’.

The last Production Show for us was a tribute to ‘The Beatles’ – ‘ Here There and Everywhere’.   Not very impressed.  As noted before, the scenery is virtually non-existent and the mismatched male singers (one tall, hefty and bald, the other small and swarthy – who can at least sing);  mismatched male dancers (one tall, thin and young, the other solid, dark and squat and looking more like a boxer) made it almost awkward to watch at times.

However, tomorrow is the big day, August 25^th, with so many promises and treats.

Can’t wait!

Clocks back another hour tonight.

 

Day 91 - At sea - Rock 'n Rolling

A good, undisturbed sleep – which is a bit of a luxury, but not long after leaving Pago Pago (pronounced Pango Pango) the ship started moving around a bit, so not the smoothest of nights.  The coughing seems to be fading but hasn’t yet gone altogether.

We were up for breakfast about 9am and headed for trivia at 11am, but as usual, Alfredo Marzi, the Princess Executive chef was doing one of his culinary demonstrations.  In the past, he has always been ‘assisted’ by the Maitre  d’Hotel, but not on this cruise.  The Maitre D’ is a very likeable and quite funny so maybe he doesn’t care for the rather arrogant Excecutive chef?  As usual, the demo ran well over time (20 minutes) which then puts pressure on several other activities.

We didn’t win.  After a deck 7 coffee, Paula and I went to the front desk and drew out the remainder of our credit in cash.  We now have a positive balance of just $2.51, which I am sure we’ll be able to spend.

Paula and Sue went off to see the film at 1pm – but there wasn’t one!

Meanwhile, I’d been sorting out some minor packing, including the contents of the drawers and also the safe.  I started to panic when I couldn’t find my wallet containing my UK driving licence, Costa’s coffee card (most important!) and my credit card.

I didn’t really panic, but as the safe is located in a dark cupboard and the lining is black, the black wallet was eventually found tucked up against the dark end.  Phew!  I know I am not the first who has had that problem.

We headed for trivia but Mike didn’t make it as he’d cut his head.  We were joined by an odd lady who didn’t exactly endear herself as she took over the writing and spent more time writing out the questions than contributing to the answers, leaving gaps all over the place, which didn’t go down too well – nor did her very smelly feet!   Paula was just about gagging and we were so pleased when trivia was over and we could grab some fresh air.

The early show at 6:15 was Roland Storm again, this time just with his keyboard.  Lots of short versions of various Rock ‘n Roll numbers and a bit of current history of the stars of yesteryear.  He just loves performing.  Given the chance, I think he’d be running for at least 2 hours but at least he has that amount of material, unlike some.  I really enjoyed his style and presentation.  He loves performing so much that he overran by 15 minutes, so the second show people were queuing up in the corridor and we had to rush to the pizzeria, where we were supposed to be at 7pm, with the dance group.

A nice meal and 14 of us to enjoy it.

The 9:45pm show was billed as ‘comedy vocalist’ Shayne-Ann O’Leary.  A rather buxom blonde and her show was all about blonde singers.  She wasn’t a vocal impressionist (if she was, they all sounded the same) and she wasn’t really much of a comedienne either.  No better than a 7/10 I’m afraid.

Just Paula and I for a late night drink on deck 5.

Bed 11:40pm and hoping that the Belgian GP would be live on TV.  It wasn’t.  The ship was still rocking and rolling and I suspect we won’t have an easy night’s sleep.

  

Day 90 - Pago Pago - our last port - and a good one.

 

 

Once again, the Tannoy woke us in the middle of the night.  At 2am, there was a call from the bridge for the ‘1^st Aid’ team (not to be confused with ‘First Aid’ – which is a medical response and is called differently!) to investigate dense smoke in the garbage sorting area.

The Captain came on a few minutes later to confirm and then again a few more minutes later to stand down the team when all was found to be OK.

Whilst one or two passengers have moaned recently about these announcement calls, they are obviously unaware of the fallout from the Costa Concordia, a couple of years ago.  The maritime industry has had to lift its game.  Along with having to do the lifeboat drill within every 30 day period, the Captain is presumably now obliged to make passengers aware of any incidents that could in any way escalate or put passengers or crew in danger.  Princess takes all aspects of safety seriously so we just have to put up with these minor hiccups.

However, Paula’s sleep was disturbed and I started coughing again!

We docked at Pago Pago in American Samoa about 8am and as this is a very small island, there was no rush to go ashore.  We made it about 9:50 with D & S and just wandered through the stalls set up on the dockside and straight out to the street.

We studied one or two tour offers – most of which were about $20 (USD is the local currency) but on what can be best described as Toyota Hilux utes with truck bodies atop (see pic), basic wooden seats, no windows.  The thought of sitting on those with no knee room and a very lack lustre tour for three hours, didn’t really appeal. 

We spied one fit looking guy, quietly holding a plain ‘TAXI’ sign and just patiently waiting to be approached.  A very quick discussion followed and we agreed a 3 hour tour for a total of $120.

Ziggy was his name and he led us across the road to a Toyota showing a few battle scars.  He explained later that he owned a truck but had picked up this Toyota for $800 from someone heading overseas and had converted it to commercial just yesterday, so we were the first paying passengers. 

We headed out through the town (that took approximately 3 minutes!) and past the very smelly tuna canning factory to open country.  Well, the one road that runs out to the eastern end of the island anyway.

With a 25mph speed limit and a rather pot-holed road, progress was stately and we passed through several villages.  On the island, there are 67 of these villages, each with its own chief and that means that misdemeanours are usually dealt with within the village.  We have to say that of all the stops on this trip, this would be one of the very few with minimal graffiti.  The Tsunami of 2010 had left its mark so there was a mix of buildings still unrestored, buildings that were new and others that had been repaired.

At each village was an open walled building which was the chief’s guest-house. 

Land is cheap here with a 1/4 acre section at about $30,000 and a three bedroom house could be built for about $20,000.  No planning permission required as it is YOUR land.  Sounds blissful, though the 25mph limit and a tiny island wouldn’t be much fun for petrol-heads.

We thoroughly enjoyed our trundle out and Ziggy was more than happy to stop for photos whenever we wanted.  He happily answered questions and pointed out a few things of interest.  We hopped out briefly at ‘The Barefoot Bar’ at an idyllic beach setting to take pics and found our table mates, Mike and Sue sampling the local hospitality.

Out effectively to the end of the island, to a church (there are a fair few churches here, most are Anglican) then we turned around and called in at ‘Two Dollar Beach’ where there were several Princess tour trucks and taxis, enjoying a local show.  There was a charge to enter the beach area, even to take photographs.  That is how it gets its name…  We didn’t stay more than 5 minutes but Paula decided that as we’d paid, she may as well use their rest room!

Back then to ‘Tisa’s Bar & Grill’ – the ‘Barefoot Bar’.  Tisa is a local chief – the only female chief on the island and she owns the bar and runs it with her NZ partner.  By this time, there were cruisers everywhere and we relaxed with a cold drink.

Ziggy had turned down our invitation for a drink but time was marching on so we returned to the taxi.  He drove us back into town then out the other side to the ‘flower pot’ rocks and then to the abandoned cable car station.  We passed one of the world famous Wyland whale paintings on the way.

Another Wyland Whale mural

At one time, this was the longest unsupported cable car in the world, but years ago, a military aircraft clipped it and several lives were lost and it has never been used since.

Back then to the ship and as we’d extended our tour by half an hour or more, we paid Ziggy the extra.

We preferred today to Apia in Western Samoa three years ago so along with Moorea and even Papeete, the gloss was restored to this section of the cruise.  When we do a summary at the end of the trip, it may well be that the South American stops were the ones that didn’t really live up to our expectations.

Back on board and suitably refreshed, we joined not only the regular Cruise Critic group for our final sail-away, but also those of our dance group.

The abandoned cable car

At dinner, I managed to mix a starter of beef and chicken satays, with a main of vegetable korma, to make a very nice curry.

I introduced myself to an ex-English league soccer player on a nearby table who I’d been told about and he is happy enough to have his pic taken with me, so hopefully I’ll manage that.  There is a good reason for that as son Stewart keeps posting pics of himself with soccer players, usually ex-Nottingham Forest.

To the theatre to see a performer we’d only half seen before, last year I think - Roland Storm.  I really enjoyed the show.  He was well known in Australia in the 1960’s and has a pleasant voice and although with the orchestra, plays his own piano (keyboard) accompaniment.  The tunes might have been a bit before Sue’s time, but we knew them!  I’ll give him an 8.5/10 as I believe much of his show was as before as he covers quite a few musical icons of that era but without trying to be a vocal impressionist.

A hot chocolate before bed.

Just three days at sea now and we are home.  Not sure whether or not I’ll be posting again before then, but keep your fingers crossed.

 

Plans are filtering through about August 25^th. These include free drinks at the bar and a class entertainer making a special one night appearance, just for the Elite passengers.  Rumour has it that it may even be Rod Stewart.

Days 88 & 89 - At sea, but at least it is warm.

With no shark attack nightmares, the best sleep I have had in months, right through to 7am.  The cough seemed to have taken hold as soon as I woke, so all is not yet back to normal.

The usual morning routine other than coffee had to be on deck 7.  No favourite waiter or waitress, so two clips on the coffee card, which seems to have lasted very well.

Ukulele class was scheduled later than normal so too late for trivia.  The group have been so impressed with Alex that we have had a whip round so that Alex can get his own ukulele.  He hadn’t even played one before this voyage so he has done really well, though I believe he does have some musical experience.  Probably almost everyone’s favourite Entertainment staffer.

We had been pre-warned, so we were all at dinner on time for another table special, lamb curry.  Too much this time and also a bit spicier than before – though still not potent enough for Mike.  I didn’t make the same mistake as last time and over-eat.

A quick call into the Vista for the end of the ‘Movie Themes’ trivia, joining Errol and Theresa from Essex and Darryl and Sue of course.  We didn’t win that one either.

The late show in the theatre was guitarist Bob Howe.  I thoroughly enjoyed it as it was very much my sort of music.  He was playing and promoting an Australian custom built Thompson guitar.  The others weren’t exactly excited by the show, which is fair enough, but enjoyable enough.

We had to put up with Deck 7 for the late night hot chocolate, as deck 5 were all cleaned up.  However, we have become aware of a younger female passenger stalking the wait staff!  Embarassing.  As if the wait staff didn’t have enough to put up with old RB’s, without unwanted attention from the younger generation. 

August 21^st – Thursday

Very much as yesterday other than not quite as a good a sleep.

After the deck 5 coffee, we took the plunge into the Oasis pool at the rear of the ship.  With D & S, we had the pool to ourselves.  Lovely warm water so we made the most of it.

A bit of computer updating and then Paula went to a movie with Sue and after a light lunch with Mal & Megan, a casual lap of deck 7, I eventually found my way to Jammers.  The Ukulele class had been shifted - but I hadn’t noticed the change in the Patter.

We headed for the Wheelhouse bar before dinner for a dance, but it was a bit crowded. 

Just four of us for dinner and an excellent pate, followed by my favourite – French onion soup.  Delicious.

Paula and I went to the Vista lounge for a ‘Flags’ trivia and we managed 15/25 – but the winners got 20.

We shifted to the end of the row for comedian (sic) Glynn Nickolas.  We had heard that several people walked out the night before and reviews were mixed, ranging from crude, to slow, to not funny.

He wasn’t crude – he was definitely slow.  Apart from one skit (that went on too long anyway) using three members of the audience for an imaginary flying flea act, an abysmal performance.  We had more laughs from Alex and Kim doing the flags trivia.  A 3/10 and I think I may be being generous.  Loads of people walked out again but we hung on.  We are just too polite sometimes.

Fortunately, we got to the deck 5 Patisserie (though no pastries at that time of night) before they’d shut up shop.

Last port for us tomorrow.  Pago Pago in American Samoa.  No plans as it is a tiny place and the ship docks in town.  It will probably be our last warm day for a while too, as we then head straight for NZ, towards the end of their winter.  We have already thrown one or two items into the suitcases as they are returned from the laundry.

More Moorea - pics

 

 

 

 

 

 

Too many to post in one go, at sea, so just a few more, starting with Darryl, who got bored with patting manta rays and patted a passing twin-bumper red head instead.

 

The rays at the beach came right into the shallows.

 

Susie demonstrated her newly acquired French Polynesian wiggle to an appreciative audience.

Day 87 - Cruiser escapes from massive sharks and rays!

Another not so good night so the bugs aren’t yet gone.  When it got around to getting up time, Paula wasn’t sure that I sounded well enough, but once I was vertical and fortified with a Coldrex, I passed myself fit enough to cope with day on Moorea.

We discussed our options at breakfast and decided that if there were any vacancies (only a few left last night according to those on the Papeete dock), we’d take the Hiro’s Tour.  As a tender port, those of us at the top of the Princess loyalty scale get preferential tender access.  In truth, the boats hold about 75 passengers, so the first 55 or so come from the Elite’s meeting area and the other 20 from those waiting in a separate area.

We met D & S at 9:20 and we managed the 4^th tender (D & S still have a few days before they get their prized black cards) and that was only 9:40, by which time, the Elites had all gone, so no big deal.

A smooth and fairly quick run to land and we headed straight for the Hiro’s stand (there were others) and were charged $40 each (without the BBQ).  The guy running it claimed it was the only tour where they fed tourists to the sharks…

We had to wait about 30 minutes for the small boat to come in, which already had some passengers on, as they had already done a whale watch.

What a hoot!  Our tour leader Marco was an enormous man with a great sense of humour.  First of all, we headed anti-clockwise, fairly close to the coast of this spectacular island, towards a shallow area about 15 minutes away, not too far from the burres of one of the local resorts.  At the resort, we just caught a glimpse of their dolphin finishing off a show.

Just past the resort, they dropped anchor and the sharks and manta rays were plainly visible in the crystal clear water.  (Makes ‘Jaws’ noises…)

The dark skinned Marco headed for the water and his parting words were not to worry, as the sharks only ate white meat…

Now as many of you will know, I am no water baby, but Paula is.   So she grabbed the camera and ushered me into the water.  Collecting evidence that I was in fact eaten by sharks?

This was a simply stunning experience.  The massive reef sharks (hey, all fishermen lie about the size of the ones that got away) were around, but the manta rays came up really close and were pettable.   I doubt there was anyone who didn’t enjoy the experience, certainly after they had touched them for the first time.  (They feel very smooth like a wet chamois leather.)   Paula was busy taking pics, not just with our camera, but also one owned by a couple of ladies.  The best pic she took was on their camera.

After half an hour or so, during which time I found a floating cocoanut (taken on board) and Marco fed flakes of fish to the sea life, we clambered back aboard.

We headed for an island just a few minutes away and they ran the boat up the beach, which just happened to be festooned with Princess blue and white striped pool towels.  The crew got busy lighting a BBQ from bits and pieces they found around the place whilst Marco opened the bar.  Which is to say, either fruit juice or ice cold beer.

We had a BBQ table under the trees giving us plenty of shade, just 20 yards from the water’s edge.   More manta rays plus other small fish in the shallows.

Marco did a couple of demonstrations.  The first was several of the ways to tie a pareo using Susie as a willing model.  He claimed he’d learned how to do it on YouTube.  He also showed the male method.

Using nothing more than a wooden spike he also showed us how to split the outer and inner.  The outer fibre (copra?) he claimed they used to clean the pots (along with Palmolive)  and twisted it into rope to tie down anything, including houses, tarps - and their women.

He warned that a dropping ripe cocoanut was lethal so to watch out for them.  The biggest casualties were Japanese, as they were too busy taking photographs.  (Loved his humour.)

We stayed until 2pm and then headed back to the wharf having had a simply great experience.  Probably the highlight of this cruise for many.  Seeing Moorea, even the small portion that we saw, from the water rather than from the land, just added to the magic.  Picture postcard perfect; warm water; interacting with manta rays; fantastic crew, who could ask for more?

No queue for the tender return, as no doubt many were leaving it as late as possible – and who could blame them?

We were of course famished so the first call was the buffet (after washing our hands of course) and just a bowl of soup.  (Hey, I am trying.)

Trivia, then an attractive sailaway, with a whale too far away for my camera to catch.

After dinner, the late show in the Vista was Australian ventriloquist, Sarah Jones.  She isn’t a bad ventriloquist but apart from the last five minutes, with a member of the audience as the dummy, the show was a bit too flat.  She needs a much better script, so sorry Sarah, only a 6/10 from me.

Paula and I had a hot chocolate before retiring.  We were pretty tired but so pleased that Moorea was a huge success.  Exactly what we wanted.  Just two days at sea before Pago Pago now and that is it as far as ports go for us.  After that, just 3 more days at sea and we not exactly looking forward to the huge temperature drop in NZ, but we will be happy to be home.   There are huge plans afoot for August 25^th – more of which later.

 

PS: Reef sharks are about 500mm long and unlike the sting rays, manta rays don’t kill.

Day 86 - Papeete - land at last!

Oh dear.  Cough getting worse not better, so not much sleep after 1:40am.   A Coldrex on getting up helped, so we met D & S as planned.  We simply walked off about 9:45am, past the various enterprising sellers of tours for Moorea tomorrow, across the main road (where everyone stops for you at pedestrian crossings) and a matter of a couple of hundred yards, to try and negotiate for a taxi.  Considering the pushy drivers in other ports, Papeete was almost the total opposite.   It took time to find anyone willing to take us for a couple of hours, but we eventually managed it.

A cost of $120USD was agreed and although Paula and I had been out to the west before, D & S hadn’t.  The taxi driver didn’t say much, but we had a very pleasant couple of hours, with several stops at the usual tourist places such as a lookout, the waterfall and the blow-hole etc.

Back in exactly 2 hours, we headed back to the ship. A very, very light lunch and we all went back out again just after afternoon tea.  We should have gone out a bit earlier as the market was just closing.  I managed to not buy a solid, carved, 8 string ukulele for about $200.  Sue had great difficulty in the pharmacy, explaining that she wanted cough lollies/sweets.  When Paula finally fished out a Strepsil from her bag, after 15 minutes, the pharmacist explained that he had them in stock!

Darryl and Sue did bit more wandering whilst and Paula and I headed back to the dock area.  We got back about 5:30 just as ‘the Trucks’ were setting up for the famous evening food market.  I think they have been relocated from our first visit and are now much nearer the ship.  I’m sure that in the past, they only set up on a Friday, so as a Monday, it probably explains why there were fewer than I remember.   Those who went and ate there enjoyed it, but we opted for the ship’s buffet instead.

We called at the theatre after eating for the latter part of the Folkloric show.  The theatre was packed so we watched from the rear.  Some very good dancing – particularly the shimmy by the girls!  The audience loved it.

We retired early at 10:45 and we now have Moorea to look forward to, but have nothing really planned other than maybe a return to the ‘Lagoonarium’ we visited a few years ago.  Well, that was the plan, until we actually got to the cabin and found out that the ship docks nowhere near the ferry terminal, which means we are half way around the island, opposite where we wanted to be.

We did pick up a flyer on the dock for ‘Hiro Tours’, for $50 a head, so maybe we’ll do that instead.  Maybe we’ll investigate hiring a car – but I doubt it.  We’ll just have to discuss it at breakfast.  Moorea is a tender port, so we won’t be getting off early.

Sailaway from Papeete is about 4am tomorrow, so I think we may just skip that and try and catch up with some sleep instead.

Days 84 & 85 - Yup, still at sea

Two more days of sea life before we hit Papeete.  Cabin fever seems to have made one or two more people than usual grumpy, or maybe it is just that we are still meeting new people?  Darryl’s favourite is when using the lifts, to ask for someone to press the button for deck 13.  Some people really do not have a sense of humour. (For those new to cruise or shipboard life, the superstitions around maritime life include the number 13, so there is no deck 13...)

Another terrible night’s sleep, as despite the Vick’s ‘First Defence’ some enterprising bugs seem to have made it through, so a croaky voice and a bit of a cough.  I had the coffee-bag coffee with the fairly late breakfast – and succumbed to a cherry Danish too.

After a bit of a rest (OK, some may say there is touch of irony there) we ambled up for lunch just a minute or two before the Indian buffet closed.  We probably grabbed the very last pieces of chicken, which may not have been such a good idea.  We stayed outside on deck 14 to watch the tug o’war between the various staff departments.  The first time we have ever seen a team booed!  It was the casino staff team (with the fitness instructors).  Probably the two departments on the ship that empty your wallets with nothing much to show for it. 

The Musician’s team under Sarah Dyer turned up a couple of minutes late and weren’t allowed to compete, which we think was a harsh decision.  The Entertainment staff team had Kim who weighs next to nothing and Prince who probably doesn’t weigh much more, eliminated in round one.  No surprise there.

The casino/salon team won.

The afternoon ukulele class was the usual test of dexterity, before rushing to trivia – but I needn’t have bothered, as I couldn’t add any value to the questions our team couldn’t answer without me.

Captain’s Circle drinks in the atrium before dinner and the Chateau Cask Red had a few takers who may have regretted it later.  One most obviously so, late in the evening needing some assistance to stand after he had presumably keeled over.

We decided to have a go at Matt’s TV Themes trivia.  On Matt’s own admission, giving us too many TV themes that went so far back, that most in the audience probably didn’t even have a TV set, probably wasn’t such a good idea as even the winners only managed 9/15!

On then to another production show “Motown Gold”.  No prizes for guessing the theme.

An atrium hot chocolate and down on deck 5, a fairly well lubricated group were having a whale of a time with a sing-song.  We are not too sure what the deck 7 pianist thought about the noise wafting upwards, but we thought it hilarious!  At 10:50, just before the pizzeria closed, they had a couple of pizzas to share which was a good move.

Sunday August 17^th

Not such a good night, but this time, either the chicken curry or the one glass of cardboard red upset Paula’s sleep.

She felt much better later in the day having watched Federer win.

After dinner and a little bit of dancing to the Tritones Duo, we opted to see Maggie Scott’s second show, ‘Live is a Lemon’ which we had seen before.  As we enjoyed her first show which had changed from earlier cruises, we thought that maybe her second show would also be worth a go.  We were not disappointed and a packed house thoroughly enjoyed what was rated as an R15 show.  She is obviously much loved by the Australians and got a deserved standing ovation.  Some of her material was indeed R15, but we didn’t see anyone walk out - and some of the more risqué material got the biggest laughs.

Land tomorrow!   We never thought we’d be so excited to be arriving in Papeete.  Clocks back another hour tonight.

Day 83 - If we can't go to an island, can an island come to the ship?

A slightly different day in prospect.  If you have ever seen any of the various versions of the film, ‘Mutiny On The Bounty’, you may be familiar with Pitcairn Island.  Our schedule was for scenic cruising (ie. a lap of the island) but a stop first thing to allow Pitcairn Islanders on board to set up a market.  It appears that the ship also traded some of its stock of toilet paper for fresh fruit.

Anyway, all seemed to go to plan.  A fine enough day so a traditional breakfast then we caught up with Darryl & Sue for a coffee in the atrium, ready to see how 1900 passengers would cram into the deck 5 dining room eager to purchase souvenirs.

Anyway, Paula and I legged it to trivia but joined Mike & Sue’s team of three and we were then joined by Sam, who often sits with us.  Much to our surprise, we made the playoff for first place, with a modest 15/20, but lost out as we didn’t get the correct year for the commencement of Wimbledon.

We wandered the open decks for a while before giving the lunchtime ‘International Buffet’ a whirl and we sat outside on deck 14 for a change.  We can’t remember the last time we were able to sit outside and enjoy the ambience.

Back down to deck 5 to check out the merchandise and I am not going here into the history of the island (past or present), but suffice to say that most inhabitants are 7^th Day Adventists and as the population is tiny (and I do mean tiny – like 40…), most also appear to be related.  Tourism provides 80% of their income, so many items for sale seemed to carry the name ‘Christian’ – from Fletcher Christian.  It is still a British outpost, but is administered from NZ.

We left the area about 2pm to carry on towards Papeete after two more days at sea.

After another losing trivia, we had a fair dinner but elected to skip Bayne Bacon’s second show, on the assumption that as his first show was the same for all previous cruises, there was no reason to believe his second show wouldn’t be any different from his previous second shows either.  So we went up to the open deck to check out Maggie Scott’s show, but it was a bit nippy, so we didn’t stay.  We (D & S too) opted for an early night and a bit of reading, rather than a late hot chocolate.  A bit of a throat creeping in.  I thought I was doing well, but now the trip is almost over, I am not too concerned…

I did manage to read a couple of emails from NZ.  Yes guys, we are indeed back WEDNESDAY August 27^th .  Our first yoga will be the Thursday.