Tahiti Cruise--Day 5 (Rangiroa)

Day 5—Rangiroa (January 31, 2015)

Before going to sleep, I’ve been opening my curtains wide for the little bit of moonlight (we’re at sea so I’m pretty confident there’s no one out there peeping in) and when I get up in the morning it’s usually still dark.  This morning I woke to sunlight!  OMG, I slept in until almost 6:00am.  Since I had taken a shower the evening before, I was quickly out on deck enjoying a morning cappuccino and watching as the ship entered Tiputa Pass, the largest pass (more of a narrow channel) in the center of the islands of Rangiroa. 

Rangiroa is the fourth largest atoll in the world and has more than 240 motu (islets) separated by more than 100 hoa (small channels).  The islands are a ring of coral that has built up along the rim of a volcano that had sunk into the ocean.  Our ship dropped anchor in the center lagoon, Paio motu, of what would have been the crater of the volcano. 

There isn’t much to do here other than snorkel, scuba dive, or hang out at the beach, so we hadn’t planned on doing anything at all since we aren’t really beach people.  When I was doing research before the cruise, I had read there was a free shuttle to a pearl farm, so we decided to check it out.  We took the tender to shore and sure enough, there was a small bus with the name of the pearl farm written on it. 

We boarded the bus and were “crowned” with a headband lei made from braided palm fronds with a beautiful hibiscus flower tucked in.  It took about 15 minutes from the pier driving along the only paved road and crossing several small “bridges” linking the islets.  Several times we could see both the large lagoon where our ship was anchored on one side, and the open ocean on the other—the islands were that narrow.

When we arrived, we were guided to benches, with a covered grass-thatched roof overhead so we were in the shade, where we learned all about pearl farming.  One oyster can be “seeded” three times in its lifetime and the pearls are harvested at 5 years, 7 years, and 9 years old.  It takes 2 years to grow a pearl, and the oyster can’t be seeded until it is 3 years old.  We were told that the new pearls had to go to Tahiti where the government would then grade them and provide the appropriate certificates and return them to the pearl farm where they can then be sold. 

We then walked a few feet to where they were harvesting the pearls from the oysters, and watched while one of the men pried open a large oyster just a centimeter wide, and very carefully pulled out a black pearl, then insert another “seed” to create a future pearl.  We watched him do this three times and the pearl he removed was passed around for us to see—it really was fascinating.

Next, we were taken into an air conditioned store where we were shown different pearls and told about the different grades and, of course, all the pearls, both loose and in settings were available for sale.  We were shown one very large pearl—it was huge (as far as pearls go), that was valued at $10,000!  (They didn’t pass this one around.)  There was no pressure to purchase anything which was really nice since we had no intention of buying anything (in fact, I deliberately left my wallet and credit card on board the ship so I wouldn’t be tempted).  One lady was busy selecting all the pearls from the loose pearls available and the pearl farm would drill and string them for her into a necklace (at well over $150 per pearl, that was going to be a very expensive necklace—enough to pay for another cruise).  The shuttle then took us back to the pier where we boarded the tender back to our ship.

We arrived back on board at noon, and went to the buffet for lunch.  Afterward, my Dad and I sat on their balcony while my Mom lay on the couch in their cabin to read (and of course fell asleep).  I told my Dad I would see them at dinner, and went up on deck where I ordered a cherry blossom, a blended drink with rum, cherries, pineapple juice, and coconut milk.  It was ok, but I probably won’t order it again.  (I sure miss the “Mile Island” drink that Mile made for me the times I sailed on the Caribbean Princess, the Star Princess, and more recently, the Golden Princess.  Too bad he isn’t on the Ocean Princess, but I know he and his wife are working their last contract and will soon be headed to New Zealand and their new life there.)  Guess I’ll just stick to pina coladas in the future.

My Dad and I were on Deck 11 forward on the open deck to watch as the ship left the lagoon and headed out to sea.  The captain had announced that they would have to increase speed through the channel as we would be fighting a current, and that the ship could roll so if we were walking around, we should be cautious.  The wind up there was really strong and made it difficult to take pictures, but we managed to get a few as we cleared the channel.  Then it was time to get ready for dinner.

Our waiter welcomed us back and said they missed us the previous night.  I told him we didn’t care for the menu.  Apparently, quite a few of the passengers had ordered off the “available anytime” side instead of opting for the 50^th Anniversary menu.  I had a Caesar salad and the prime rib, which was very good.  For dessert, I had the orange Grand Marnier soufflé with vanilla bean sauce, which was excellent!

After dinner, we went to the casino for a little bit, before heading back to my cabin at around 9:30am.  Tomorrow was a sea day—yay!

Tahiti Cruise--Day 4 (At Sea)

Day 4—At Sea (January 30, 2015)

From the Navigator:  “After departure from Huahine yesterday, Ocean Princess set various courses through the French Polynesian waters.  Today we will pass by the island of Makatea on the port side of the ship.  Makatea is one of the few islands in the region that has naturally occurring fresh water on the island.  Later on we will pass Mataiva Island to starboard, once clear we will set a south easterly course for Rangiroa.”

I love sea days!  There’s something about being on the open ocean watching as the water passes by or seeing the ship’s wake fade off in the distance that simply induces a feeling of serenity.  I can’t think of a vacation that is more relaxing than getting away from it all on a cruise. 

I can’t claim to be totally disconnected since here I am typing this blog on my laptop, then connecting to the internet on board to post, but the cell phone is in the safe, so no phone calls from work, no text messages, no emails that have to be answered.  I’m only posting my blog once a day (assuming the ship has satellite reception which is never a guarantee), and not spending hours on the computer as I would on land.  I’ll catch up with what’s going on with all my friends once I get back, but for now, it’s nice to be partially disconnected.

It was another cloudy day with the forecast calling for “Mostly cloudy with showers” according to the Princess Patter.  With the cloud covering, it didn’t feel as hot as with the sun burning down (we are much closer to the equator, so the sun is much stronger here), but it was still very humid.  Since it was a sea day, we were able to spend it in the ship’s air conditioned comfort.

After meeting my parents for breakfast, I headed up to the Tahitian Lounge, Deck 10 Forward, where I was meeting the other Cruise Critic folks for our Meet and Greet.  I had again organized this event and sent invitations to the officers and staff.  We had 35 people signed up to attend.  Surprisingly, almost all the officers attended, including the captain and staff captain.  When I’ve organized this in the past, we’ve only had a few of them attend.  While talking to Simon Heath, our cruise director, he told me that there was a meeting scheduled for 10:00am that would preclude the officers from attending, but he had asked the captain to move the meeting to 10:30am so they could all attend the Cruise Critic Meet and Greet—wow, I think this is the first time I’ve heard that a meeting was moved to accommodate our group.

The captain was switching out this cruise, and both the outgoing captain and incoming captain were on board.  It was the outgoing captain who attended, and I spent some time talking with him.  I thought that when a new captain arrived, the outgoing left right away, but he told me since the incoming captain was relatively young (experience wise), he was required to be on board a week prior to the outgoing leaving so that a proper turnover could occur with the incoming shadowing the outgoing.  I learn something new about ship’s operations each time I come on board.  I know most passengers don’t care, but I find it all very interesting.

One couple from our Meet and Greet, Doug and Carole, were getting married on Bora Bora and was telling us about the different arrangements they were offered for their beach wedding.  She said Doug could have arrived on the beach in a canoe dressed as a Polynesian warrior, while she waited on shore.  She said they weren’t doing that since she wouldn’t be able to pull off the “dreamy look” of the young maiden waiting for her warrior and instead would probably burst out in laughter.  Another option was that she could be dressed as a Polynesian Princess carried in a chair on the shoulders of four warriors to beach where her warrior husband waited.  Again, she said she’d never be able to pull that off with the proper decorum and instead would be giggling all the way.  She had us all laughing at the descriptions of the possibilities they were offered.  They opted for the more American-style wedding although with a few Polynesian touches—the wedding would take place on the beach, their hands would be tied with palm frond leaves, blessed water poured over their linked hands, then they would both “take the plunge” by diving into the ocean, wedding dress and all! 

The rest of the day was spent doing very little—relaxing in the loungers on the Promenade Deck and reading (and dozing too).  My mother and I went to the dining room for lunch since fried calamari was on the menu and we both loved calamari, while my dad dozed on the Promenade Deck loungers.  Later I attended the pearl lecture and learned all about pearls, both the natural occurring and cultured, how pearls are graded, and the different colors including the more common white pearls, the Tahitian black pearls, and the extremely rare gold pearls.  It was very interesting.

Princess is celebrating it’s 50^th anniversary this year, and the menu for dinner was a special anniversary dinner with an appetizer course from the 50s and 60s (one offering from each decade), a second course from the 70s and 80s (one from each), an intermezzo of sorbet, a selection of two different main courses from the 90s, and desserts from the 2000s.  None of the choices appealed to us, so for the first time ever, we decided to forego participating in formal night and opted instead to eat in the buffet.  We ended up having hamburgers from the grill (I had the bratwurst) and eating out on the aft deck behind the buffet since it wasn’t too hot and there was a gentle breeze.  We watched the clouds turn beautiful shades of pink and orange as the sun set. 

After dinner, I headed back to my cabin, and watched a movie, then read for a little bit before falling to sleep.  What a relaxing day on board!

Tahiti Cruise--Day 3 (Huahine)

Day 3—Huahine (January 29, 2015)

From the Navigator:  “During the night Ocean Princess made her way to the North West through the Tahitian waters to our first port of call, Huahine….”

Ah, to be gently rocked to sleep last night as we made our way to Huahine (pronounced wha-hee-nee).  Although I was asleep early, I managed to sleep in and woke up to cloudy skies at 5:30am.  The nice thing about taking showers before dinner and not bothering with makeup (because it’s really humid) is that I can get ready quickly in the morning. 

I spent the early morning out on deck with coffee from the buffet watching the ship approach the island and pass through the narrow channel into the bay where we dropped anchor.  We had some light early morning showers, but that had stopped shortly after we anchored, although it remained cloudy.  The water inside the reef was the smoothest waters I’ve ever seen.  It was so still, it was more like a lake than a bay with the ocean breaking on the coral reef not far away.  There wasn’t even a breeze to disturb the still waters. 

I met my parents for breakfast, then we got ready for the excursion we had booked by spraying liberally with insect repellent due to the mosquito issue Princess had warned us about (and backed up by the CDC and State Department warnings). 

Most of the French Polynesian islands were tender ports and Huahine was no exception.  Boarding the tender was exceptionally easy for two reasons:  the first is that this is a small ship, so getting only 680 passengers to shore is much faster than trying to do this on a ship that holds over 3,000 passengers; and the second is the glass smooth water since we didn’t have to try to “time” stepping on board a bobbing tender—it was as steady next to the ship as if it were firmly attached.

Once ashore, we met our tour group and boarded the bus for the Island Drive tour.  Our first stop was at a marae.  This marae was an archaeological site that is still considered somewhat sacred among the locals.  It had the usual black stones arranged in a square with a few standing stones as well.  There was also a museum of sorts with a woven bamboo floor (which required everyone to take off their shoes before entering). 

We then visited a small vanilla farm.  Our tour guide explained that the vanilla plant would not produce vanilla beans without individual hand pollination.  Apparently, the flowers only bloom for a few hours, so as soon as the flowers bloom (early in the morning), then have to be hand-pollinated before the flower dies around 10:30 in the morning.  Each hand-pollinated flower will produce one vanilla bean.  Growing vanilla beans is definitely labor intensive and explains why vanilla beans are so expensive.

We passed by ancient stone fish traps that are still used today, and then stopped to visit the famous blue-eyed eels.  These fresh-water eels live in a stream near the coast, are 3-5 feet in length, and are considered sacred by the locals.  Legend has it the first eel crawled onto land and fell in love with a Tahitian princess and the local population of Huahine are the descendents.  Since the locals all feed the eels, the eels all swim to the surface whenever people approach expecting to be fed.  Our guide had a container of rock fish and fed the eels while we watched them practically crawl out of the water to catch the fish slices she threw just at the water’s edge.  I can say for sure they really do have blue eyes! 

Our last stop was Belvedere Lookout high up a mountain where we looked down into the bay where our ship was anchored.  After making our way back to the pier, we boarded the tender and was on the ship in time to watch the “Mamas of Huahine Folkloric show” on the Lido deck, poolside.  Several women and one young child performed local dances accompanied by traditional drummers.

Since we hadn’t had lunch, we were all hungry and decided to have the Princess Pizza—the best pizza at sea!  It sounds strange, but one of the things I look forward to on a Princess cruise is pizza on the lido deck—it’s the little things that make life enjoyable.

I spent some time reading on deck, and watched the ship pass through the reef as we headed toward Rangiroa.  Then it was time to head back to the cabin to take a shower and get ready for dinner. 

We were assigned Table 12, a table for 4, so we weren’t sharing with anyone.  I had the spaghetti carbonara for an appetizer, followed by the roast beef with Yorkshire pudding, so a bit of Italian and English.  I had overheard a guy at the table next to us order all three appetizers simply because he said he couldn’t decide.  The nice thing about being on a ship is that you really can order as much as you want, and even order seconds.  Some people consider a cruise a food fest with the object being to eat as much as possible—this is especially true in the buffet, but then a lot of people think that’s the point of a buffet.  While I don’t do that, I do admit to eating much more on board than I usually do since I tend to eat all three meals—that probably explains why I tend to gain a couple of pounds on board, although I like to think of is as a side-affect of the sea air—all that salt tending to shrink the clothes just a bit.  Luckily, the clothes do loosen up a bit once taken out of the influence of the sea.

After dinner, we spent some time in the casino—of course we lost. 

I was back in the cabin by a little after 9 and asleep before 10:00pm.  Tomorrow is a sea day and also formal night.

Tahiti Cruise--Day 2 (Papeete)

Day 2—Papeete, Tahiti (January 28, 2015)

The ship remained overnight in Papeete and there was no gentle rocking during the night.  But I was so tired after traveling the night before that it didn’t matter that I wasn’t rocked to sleep, and I slept great (or maybe it was just the fact that I was on a ship again and mostly disconnected from the normal day-to-day issues, and disconnection induces such relaxation, that I would sleep well anyway).

After going to bed at 9:00pm, I was up and about by 4:30am (which would be 6:30am Pacific Time so, technically, I did sleep later than I usually do).  We had no real plans other than to visit the area near the dock if we felt like it. 

The “From the Navigator” column in the Princess Patter (the ship’s daily newsletter listing all the activities) usually says what the ship is doing, but since we had stayed overnight, it had this to say: 

“Papeete is the capital of French Polynesia, an overseas country of France in the Pacific Ocean.  The commune of Papeete is located on the island of Tahiti.  The French High Commissioner also resides in Papeete.  It is the hub of French Polynesian tourism and a commonly used port of call.  The Windward Islands are themselves part of the Society Islands.  The name Papeete means ‘water from a basket’.”

After breakfast, we left the ship early to explore Papeete.  We walked to the market (Le Marche) I had heard about.  This is a very colorful market held in a two-story building with crafts, food, and the most incredibly beautiful tropical flowers.  I did buy a few souvenirs using the French Polynesian Francs (XPF) I had brought with me.

Le Marche

Tropical Flowers in the market

Le Marche

We then walked over to a cute church in the center of town, doing the usual window-shopping as we walked.

Church in Papeete

We were back on board before noon, and headed to the Promenade Deck Loungers just to relax and read.  Although it was hot and humid, the Promenade Deck is covered and shaded and there was a nice breeze blowing.  Sailaway wasn’t until 5:00, but what the heck, we were on board and on vacation, so even though it wasn’t quite noon yet (but it was afternoon in California), we ordered the “traditional” pina coladas.  My parents and I lounged on the Promenade Deck of the Ocean Princess sipping on pina coladas in Tahiti—ahhh, this is the life!

Later that afternoon, we went back inside, my parents to nap, and I to find someplace cooler to read (did I mention it was really humid).  I ran into Marilyn, one of the bar stewards I had met on the Diamond Princess way back in 2012 and she remembered me and I remembered her.  After hugs, we spent a couple of minutes catching up and talking about the other folks on the Diamond we both knew.  It really is amazing that I run into some of the same crew on the different ships.

The passenger safety drill was scheduled for 4:15pm and we were scheduled for first seating for dinner at 6:00pm, so I decided to take a shower before the muster drill so that I would be ready for dinner since there wouldn’t be much time between the two.  One thing I did was skip the makeup during the day since there didn’t seem any sense in it with all the sweating from the heat and humidity, but wanted to look somewhat presentable for dinner. 

The ship was slightly delayed leaving port as there were two other ships coming through the channel, so we didn’t actually leave until 5:30pm.  Each of the islands has a coral reef surrounding them, and the ships have to navigate through the narrow channels to the open ocean.  In many cases, the channel through the reef is only wide enough for one ship to pass through at a time. 

My reservation and my parents’ reservation were supposed to be linked so that we’d be assigned to the same table; we’ve never had a problem in the past, but apparently, the ship didn’t have our reservations linked so we had different table assignments.  When we got to the dining room we explained the situation to the Maitre d and he assigned us to a temporary table for that night and said he would have our permanent table assignment the next evening.  We went to Table 31, a huge table for 8 and were the only ones there that night since the rest of that table had apparently made reservations for the Steakhouse.  I had the crab and artichoke dip for an appetizer, the pork loin and sauerkraut (something I don’t usually order in a restaurant) for the entrée, and the apple and walnut spring rolls with vanilla ice cream for dessert.  Yes, I ordered dessert instead of my usual cappuccino (it just seemed too hot for cappuccino).

After dinner, we spent some time in the casino, and once I lost my allotted “play money” for the day, I headed back to my cabin.  I was in bed by 9:30pm, and asleep before 10:00pm.

This cruise is certainly different that my previous cruises since I haven’t frequented any of the bars on board and I’m certainly getting plenty of sleep.  Hey, it’s my vacation, and I’ll spend it the way I want (gee, maybe I’m just getting older….nah!).

Ocean Princess Lido Deck

Ocean Princess Lido Deck

Tahiti Cruise--Day 1 (Travel and Embarkation)

Day 1—Travel and Embarkation (January 26-27, 2015)

Tahiti, a place I’ve read about and dreamed about visiting, and I’m here!  It was “touch and go” the weekend before we left since my dad had caught a cold and we weren’t sure if he would be feeling well enough to travel or if it would be smart to do so.  By Sunday he was feeling better, so the trip was a go…and here we are.

The trip to get here was long, and exhausting.  While waiting at LAX, we met several people who are on the same cruise—not surprising since there are very few options for flights getting to Tahiti.  I would guess that the majority of passengers on the flight would also be passengers on the Ocean Princess.

The red-eye flight on Air Tahiti Nui was crowded, again not surprising since there is only one flight a day from LAX, and although the Ocean Princess is a very small ship, there are still 680 passengers who will be embarking Tuesday.  As expected, we didn’t get much sleep packed into economy class despite the fact the plane took off at midnight and we were by then exhausted.

We arrived in Papeete, on the island of Tahiti, at 7:00am and proceeded through passport control.  While waiting in line (a very long line that went very slowly), we started shedding some of the layers of clothes we had worn on the flight—off came the jackets, heavy sweaters, and long-sleeved shirts.  By the time we got to the front of the line at Passport Control, most of the people in line were down to t-shirts, and some even used the restrooms to change into shorts.  Others who hadn’t planned for the weather in Tahiti were in for a very uncomfortable day with temperatures in the high 80s with 80 percent humidity, making for a “real feel” of the high 90s!

Since we wouldn’t be able to board the ship until noon, and since there isn’t an actual terminal building to wait, Princess arranged for an excursion along with the transfer to the ship.  Once we had our luggage and passed through customs, we met the Princess representative who took our luggage and pointed us to one of the buses waiting.

Our “free” excursion, took us down the west coast of Tahiti, stopping at a Marae, an ancient sacred spot of stones used for worship, and yes even sacrifices (although that was a really long time ago).

Marae

We also visited a black sand beach; our guide told us that all the beaches on the island of Tahiti were black sand since the island was created from volcanic activity (and the beaches would have been created by eroded volcanic rock).

Our Tour Guide on Black Sand

Our next stop was at a botanical garden with one of the many waterfalls on Tahiti.  We were in the middle of Tahiti’s rainy season which is from December-February and the only way the rainfall has to go from the island’s peaks is down the cliffs.  Although we were in the rainy season, the sun was out and the weather was good (except for the high humidity).

Our last stop was at a fern grotto, a large cave with ferns growing downward instead of up (like "normal" ferns.  The cave wasn’t a cave in the sense that it had a small opening, but instead had a huge opening and only extended a little way (we could see the back of the cave from the very large opening.

The bottom of the cave was a huge pool of water and lo and behold there were four men in the water.  Not sure they expected a group of tourists to come walking down the path while they were enjoying a nice soak.  Our tour guide asked if they were naked, and they yelled back yes, and invited us all to join them.  Only here a few hours and we had been invited by a bunch of naked men to join them in the pool in a fern grotto!  Welcome to Tahiti!

Fern Grotto

Fern Grotto

After leaving the fern grotto, our bus made its way back to Papeete and the dock where our ship was berthed.  A Paul Gauguin cruise line ship was berthed next to the Ocean Princess.

The “terminal” was a very large tent set up with a few counters for check in.  There were no waiting areas and no place to sit down (hence the “free” excursion the ship provided to prevent 680 passengers showing up and standing around on the dock waiting till boarding time.  We quickly made our way up the gangway and onto the Ocean Princess and I was back on a ship once again!

My parents had a balcony cabin on Deck 7, and I had originally wanted to book an inside cabin near them, but there were none available, so I had booked a “guarantee” cabin.  This means that I was guaranteed at least the category I had booked, but that Princess was free to put me wherever they had a cabin available.  Unfortunately, that also means that you might not find out what cabin you have until just before you board, although sometimes it's much earlier.  I had been waiting for months for a cabin assignment, and just before we left, I was finally assigned a cabin—an ocean view cabin on Deck 4.  While my parents went to their cabin, I went to mine.  The cabin turned out to be an accessible cabin, so it was much larger than most cabins on board (since it needed to be able to accommodate wheelchairs), and the bathroom was huge.

Accessible Cabin on Deck 4

Accessible Cabin on Deck 4

We met up for a late lunch at 1:30 in the buffet and the rest of the afternoon was spent trying to stay awake, since we hadn’t had much sleep the night before, waiting for the luggage to arrive, unpacking when it did, and finally taking a shower (we all felt sticky—did I mention the high humidity).

With the late lunch, we weren’t hungry so decided to forego the dining room.  While researching Tahiti before the cruise, I had heard about the “Roulettes” and wanted to check it out.  Roulettes wasn’t a casino game, but instead was a collection of food trucks and vans that parked right outside the dock.  Each truck set up tables and each had their specialty food—think of a food court, but with trucks and vans instead of permanent outlets.  Since this was French Polynesia, and I had heard there was a truck specializing in crepes, I wanted to check it out and tonight was the only night we would be here (our ship wasn’t scheduled to depart until tomorrow afternoon).

My parents and I walked off the ship to the Roulettes to check it out (how strange to leave the ship when we had just embarked).  After walking through a craft area, and around the Roulettes, they decided to head back to the ship—it was around 7:00pm and after traveling the day before and all night, my mom was ready for bed.  Even though I wasn’t really hungry, I decided to try the crepes and had one savory, ham and swiss cheese which came with a salad, followed by a wonderful dessert crepe—a pineapple and coconut ice cream crepe (this was French Polynesia after all).

Roulettes

I was back on board by 8:30pm.  There was a Polynesian dance and music show scheduled for 10:00pm and I was sorry I would miss it, but I really wanted a bed to lie down on more, so I went back to my cabin, and was asleep before 9:00pm.