Our first 10 days at sea.

We have not had internet connections on our cruise as it is too expensive and who wants to sit on a computer when we are on vacation, but I have written about our days at sea so far and share it here. 

We got internet access for the day just to check our bills back home to be sure we are keeping everything back home paid. 

Today, October 25th, we have moved to a new time zone and are now 7 hours behind home. In a couple of days we will cross the International Date Line, and instead of being behind the time back home we will jump ahead to tomorrow!! October 27th will not exist for us. 

Also today as we share our first 10 days of this cruise we are in 15 foot seas. The ship is rocking, but again not to a point that we feel ill. It's just that you feel one step is going up hill, while the next step goes downhill. Side to side is fairly stable, but front to back is a bit of  ride.

Day 1 Boarding

We boarded the ship around 3 pm. This ship is a monster, larger than any other we have been on.  So many things to do on board, which is good since we have so many days at sea!

We are still adjusting to the time change so after our dinner on this first night we were sitting on our balcony around 8:00 pm and both of us felt like maybe we should just go to bed. I’m really glad we didn’t.

A show in the “two 70 lounge” showed us the technology behind the many screens and camera’s in this theatre.  It was very interesting.

Afterward we went to the evening show at 10 pm. This was a comedian and like many shows we have seen with Royal Caribbean, this fellow brought tears to our eyes, we were laughing so hard!

The show ended at 10:45 and we were done for the day. Hopefully we can sleep through and finally get over the 6-hour time difference from back home.

 

DAY 2 Oh no we are turning back.

Our first full day at sea and yes, we did sleep through normally.  Let’s hope we have finally adjusted.

We are / were heading south to French Polynesia when an emergency signal was broadcast.  A vacationer here on board became ill, so the emergency call went out and we have turned around heading back to Hawaii to evacuate the sick passenger.  We were told that the Coast Guard was sending a helicopter to pick the person up, but it is very windy so I’m not sure how that will work.

We have been informed that our first stop in Raiatea will still be on time.

We are having a wonderful time on board, more shows this evening after a day of relaxing in the sun and very strong winds. The seas however are not bad, and we barely feel any movement on board.  It would take a lot worse for this giant ship to be rocking. Before this day ends, we should be heading back to the south on our voyage to Australia.

Day 3 – Full Speed Ahead

So, the passenger who became ill yesterday was successfully evacuated by the Coast Guard helicopter near the big island of Hawaii last night around 9:30 pm. Since then, we have turned back south on our course at a faster speed to catch up from the delay of yesterday. We don’t notice any difference on board, it is still a smooth comfortable ride. 

We did pass through a rainstorm out here in the Pacific but there are many places to get inside and still have lots to do.

Tomorrow we will cross the equator; something Barb and I have never done. There will be a special ceremony for those of us on board who have never done this before. Another milestone in our travelling journals.

Day 4 – Polliwogs in the Doldrums

Today we will cross the Equator. The ocean is rather calm with just ripples in the water, not waves. These are the doldrums, very little wind and calm seas. Those who sail across the equator can drift for days in these conditions. Not us however, we continue southward. 

This is the first time Barb and I have been this far south in the world, and since it is our first time crossing the equator, we are polliwogs.

What happens is that all polliwogs are gathered on a ship and are brought in as prisoners to face King Neptune. Now with thousands of people here on board we were not all captured, but about 8 crew members who are first timers were, and they were brought forward to the pool deck. Now normally prisoners are thrown overboard then recovered to be saved. Nobody was thrown overboard on our ship, but they were ordered to kneel in an inflatable swimming pool. The King passed judgement with a thumbs down and these prisoners were covered with spaghetti, sauce, olives, raw eggs and other disgusting items, in their hair and all down their clothes.

Finally, the King stood and absolved everyone of their crimes and are now considered to be shellbacks. They are, as we all are, now experienced sailors who have crossed the equator by sea.

It was also announced on board yesterday that the passenger who was airlifted a couple of nights ago had a successful operation and is recovering and doing well back in Hawaii. We suspect he may have had a heart attack.

Another emergency call came across the ship during dinner last night. The call of Alpha, Alpha, Alpha and then a location is broadcast indicating to the crew of a person needing immediate medical attention. Our route will not change this time as we are closing in on French Polynesia so hopefully this latest call isn’t as bad.

Day 5 – The Routine

So far, the time zone has not changed from where we were in Hawaii. We are still 6 hours behind the eastern time zone back home. That will change at some point but not during this leg of our trip.

We have 2 more days at sea before we visit some islands in French Polynesia. So, we are just relaxing and enjoying the weather. The main show last night was a trio called The Nashville Tenors and they were very good.

Day 6  - Ho hum

It’s not that it’s boring on board but another day here on board. We went to a seminar today on the history of Rock and Roll which was interesting. We sat by the pool a bit, had dinner then off to another show. Tomorrow, we will finally put our feet on land again to change this routine.

Day 7 – Raiatea (Ray-a-te-ah), French Polynesia

We had booked two excursions today, one in the morning for a bus tour of the east coast of this tiny island and this afternoon on an Outrigger canoe ride up the Faaroa River.

Raiatea is an island in the centre of the Polynesian Triangle. The points of the triangle are Hawaii to the north, Easter Island to the East, and New Zealand to the West,

At this island and at our stop tomorrow, we cannot dock as this cruise ship is too large so we will tender to shore, meaning we take the lifeboats. They run about every 15 minutes, but we get priority since we were on an excursion.

The tendering was delayed due to the process of clearing through customs and our morning tour started late.  It wasn’t a very exciting tour but when we headed for the 2^nd tour of the day and found it had already left without us and a few other passengers, because we were late. We were given a refund but instead of staying the whole day ashore, we headed back to our ship and back to sitting by the pool. Hopefully tomorrow will go better.

Day 8 – Moorea, French Polynesia.

We had to tender ashore again today, and we only had 1 tour planned. This was a fantastic tour. It was a beach day with lunch on a Motu (Island). However, it began with a stop in a shallow area where we left the boat and spent 40 minutes in the water swimming with Black Tip Sharks, Stingrays and some other tropical fish. Our tour guide, along with the others had fish food, attracting these fish. We were told not to touch the sharks, which were only about 3 feet long, and we could pat the rays, but not on their underside where their teeth are, and not at the tail where that deadly barb is located.

Obviously, these tours are here daily, the rays are especially friendly and if you get down to your shoulders in the water, they will swim by and actually pat your back with their bodies. A few folks on the tour were terrified but we had a great time.

We then went to the Motu, where we were shown how they prepare tuna without using heat to prepare. A buffet lunch was served, we were given time to swim here and yes, another Stingray passed right by us.

Afterwards, they gave us a demonstration on how to get coconut milk, how to wear a sarong and how to tie it.  We had a wonderful day and our tour guide was so much fun.

Day 9 – Papeete ( Pap-eh-et-eh) Tahiti, French Polynesia

Tahiti is a place where many folks go wow, you’ve been to Tahiti. It is a very nice island, with a larger population, more buildings and infrastructure. Papeete is the capital city where our ship docked. No tenders today, we parked right at the pier in downtown Papeete.

We took two tours around the East and West Coast of the island to see some archeological sites and in the afternoon some gardens and a grotto where an ancient queen used to bathe. It is a sacred location but very  interesting where under a mountain, the grotto looks like one of those domes of an amphitheater formed at the base of the mountain filled with water. The ocean is a source of this water, like ground water, but also moisture comes through the rock of this mountain and continually drips or rains lightly in the water.

Last night we watched a full-length movie out on the pool deck. There is a big screen display up there and it was quite different and nice watching it under the moon and stars.

It sounded like we were on a beach as the boat was rocking a little and the water in the pool was flowing from front to back. A very nice evening!

Day 10 – Back to the Sea

We are back on the Pacific Ocean, heading to Auckland, New Zealand. It will take us 5 days at sea to get there but we are looking forward to lazing around again after the past 3 days of having to get up early for excursions.

Today was overcast, very windy and the seas were a bit rougher than before, but this ship with its stabilizers, keeps the rocking down to a minimum.

We have noticed over the past couple of days more and more people coughing. Barb and I are now carrying our masks and we will put them on if people around us start coughing, just to ensure we stay healthy. We have far too many things yet to do and we don’t want to get sick, even with just a cold. 

The weather is cooling off, from a high of 29 degrees Celsius in Tahiti to a cooler forecast of 19 degrees in New Zealand, we are already seeing folks putting on warmer clothes. This will probably increase the numbers of folks coughing and while we do not think Covid has struck, we want to stay as safe as possible.

Nice dinner today and we spent time talking with our waiters about their jobs, families back home and what it is like to work on a ship for 8 months straight. Many send money home to their families since they have very few expenses while working on board.

The thing we love the most about cruising is visiting places we might never be able to afford to stay at, like Tahiti, where you can spend up to $1000 per night in a hotel. The place is beautiful, turquoise waters and warm weather but they do come at a price.