This is the first stop that we have duplicated on last years cruise. We did the Island tour and Kim complained that she didn’t have time to climb to the tomb of Robert Lewis Stevenson. This time it was offered as an excursion, and she did it. I stayed aboard as the other tour was exactly what we did last year. Kim climbed through a rain forest and the ground was uneven and slippery. It took over an hour longer than was advertised. She loved it and was glad she did it. Once back aboard, a fantastic hamburger on the pool deck revived her.
We are now headed south to Tonga. We will follow the Tonga trench, the second deepest water in the world, almost 7 miles of water beneath our keel, the deepest is the Mariana Trench, but only by 400 feet. With that comes the opportunity for us to see ocean mammals. The depths of the ocean create updrafts that bring nutrients to the surface, this brings fish that feed on them, that brings bigger fish, and even bigger fish, even mammals. We saw flying fish tonight, I hope we see more. This trip has been pretty fish free so far. (sadly, no joy).
The chef sat down with me at lunch today and told me he went to the market and bought several fresh fruits and fish, he said he found one fresh caught ahi tuna for our special ceviche lunch tomorrow. Wow! On the sea day between Samoa and Tonga, we had our ceviche lunch. We found out after we ate it, that the chef himself prepared it for us. Kim said to me after he told us that, “ I didn’t think he actually did any cooking himself”, we feel very special. Kim enjoyed the Pico de Gallo. Yes, that’s cavier on top of the ceviche.
On Tonga, we signed up for a 3-hour excursion that included a botanical garden tour, a traditional Polynesian tradition demonstration, and a free time at a beach. First, I’ll tell you that in the end we really did enjoy it. The botanical experience turned out to be a 1,5-mile hike through the jungle. At times, we were wondering if we would ever find out way back to the buses. I of course said I wish we had brought breadcrumbs…. The description said that we would walk through the garden and and end up at the beach. We were all questioning if this was some kind of trap in which one of us would be sacrificed in some sort of religious ceremony. Someone said, “I hear the ocean, so I think we are going in the right direction”. I of course stated that we were on an island, no matter which direction we go we are walking toward the ocean. It all ended well and no one was lost.
We moved the ship to another place in Tonga and went snorkeling. Kim saw some stuff we have never seen before, including some blur starfish, giant sea cumbers, and someone saw an eel.
Tonight was Indian food night in the dining room, so that meant I had sushi!
For whatever reason, my last 2 published blogs did not go out. Thanks to my webmaster, Steve Carson, he was able to fix whatever it was. Sorry for the long wait, I hope I didn’t lose too many of you.
We are seeing more and more of the China influence as we sail further west. I’m not going there so far. Please keep me silent on that front.
Tonight, we had dinner with the expedition photographer. He stated again that we were in an area that almost no one had seen on a cruise ship, including him. We are going where cruise ships have seldom been. Even the captain has never been here. We have two submarines on board, and they will explore the depths of the oceans when we stop at the islands, for the first time ever. In the past, they discovered a sunken warship that had never been recorded, what lies in these new waters?
Our stop at the Cook Islands was totally beyond anything you can imagine. The beautiful water hues, the pure white sandy beaches were unimaginable. We did a 6-hour lagoon tour, our first stop was snorkeling, then we went to Honeymoon Island, where we swam and walked on beaches that are hardly ever visited and were littered with hermit crabs, the final stop was on One Foot Island where we had lunch, swam and snorkeled. Getting to the Island was challenging, the Zodiacs had to surf the waves into a channel that was dredged by American troops in the World War 2 era. Our boat driver and tour guide “Uncle Bob”, said we got the channel and a lot of war babies from the American military. On the way out of the lagoon, we had to try to not get soaked by the huge waves that were coming towards us. Our driver told us to duck and hold on as a big wave was about to break over the top of us. It didn’t and we stayed dry. A fantastic day for sure. Uncle Bob said they get about 2 cruise ships (all small) a month visiting the Island and that really helps their economy. On the way back, our guide showed the 2 Islands that will be used in 2026 for Survivor.
At the Captains reception, croissant wrapped hot dogs were served as appetizers right along with caviar. My children will tell you, that was their favorite dinner, the hotdogs, not the caviar.
It’s April 12th now and when we wake up tomorrow it will be April 14th. There is no April 13th on this cruise because of the International Date Line. One lady on board who was born on April 13th will not have a birthday this year. Wait, have we found the real “time machine”?
So, I told you that in Tahiti we pretty much unloaded all the passengers except 70 of us and loaded on a whole new bunch of cruisers, well, the vibe has totally changed. People do not acknowledge each other in the halls, In the seminars, everyone is 2,2,2, and there is not a community feeling on board. I suspect that most guests do not have a passport that says “United States of America” on the cover. But among other changes, the sushi bar is packed each night, not normal, Kim gets little egg salad sandwiches in the afternoons when she is going on an excursion the next day, they are all gone when she gets there, We asked several crew and expedition leaders if they noticed a difference and the roaring answer was “yes this is weird”.
So, last year I stated that one can order Caviar anytime you want on Seabourn, and someone challenged that statement, well you can, anytime, anywhere. I have had a graving for Ceviche ever since the Easter Island restaurant experience, so I asked if I could arrange for Ceviche for lunch tomorrow. They said they would consult the chef and came back to me with this answer. “You can have ceviche tomorrow, but the chef said if you wait one day, he will go to the fish market tomorrow on Samoa and get fresh fish from the market for me”. That’s what cruising at this level is all about.
Sea mammals have been pretty nonexistent this trip so far, I hope that will change. But we did see that very elusive beak whale, that explores would kill to see, I guess that was our pearl for this trip.
Yes, the picture was a mirror, Kim missed it, Kip and Sheila got it right.
Tomorrow Kim is hiking to some mountain top, and I am sleeping in.
We have booked the first half of the world cruise for 2027, so, there will be season 4 of Sailwast.net. We also booked a Polar Bear Adventure in Churchill, Canada for October 2026, it’s just a week, but it is an amazing experience.
In memory of Steve McDowell and Tom Sutinem, rest in peace.
More from the other side on the international date line……..
Kim found a phone, we have not had service for over a week.
After a very wonderful day at Anaa Island, we made it to Tahiti for our 3 day stop. At Anaa Island, we were treated to a Polynesian Dance and songs along with tasty treats served on a banana leaf. There was a vanilla bean grower that sold her fresh vanilla beans,we saw them growing, cool.
We’ve had a very busy 3 days here in Papeete. The first day was an Island tour where we saw many historic sights, a beautiful waterfall, a light house and a black sand beach.
Yesterday, we took a catamaran trip to the Island of Moorea where we snorkeled with sharks and stingrays. Followed by a delicious lunch, prepared by the locals on their special Island. This trip was all day and rather tiring.
Today, 147 passengers debarked the ship and 168 new passengers embarked, we now have 238 guests on board.
On the final day in Papetti, we did some shopping. I took this opportunity to do some Black Pearl shopping. I think I did a good job of picking out some that looked great, but weren’t too pricey.
The reason for the long stop in Tahiti was, as you may recall, to repair the stabilizer on the starboard side of the ship. I was excited because I should have a great view from my balcony. After seeing no activity the first day, I asked the captain what was going on. “The water is too murky, and they cannot see well enough to make the repairs”, was his answer. Finally, the last night, some work was getting done. I haven’t seen the captain again to ask if the repair got completed or not. With this being an expedition ship verses an ocean liner, there are no more ports where the work could be done until we get to Darwin on May 9th. Also, while at port in Tahiti, they emptied all the ballast tanks which allowed the ship to rise and the crew was able to prime and paint all the scratches caused by running into ice in Antarctica.
This new group of cruisers has my hopes up for rekindling Cruise chronicles. I was going to use the elevator, but there was a couple standing right in front of the button. Staring at the floor directory, he says, “I wonder why the 9th floor is all faded out?”. He read each line item with a question in his voice, so I told them “Don’t worry, they’re all still there”. He replies, “I know, I’ve been on his ship before”, and walked off. At least I got them to move out of my way. So, about the directory signs, the area on the floor you are currently standing on are bold, assumably to help you know what floor you are on. All the other floors are not bold, pretty smart, ya think?
Then came the 4:00 mandatory safety meeting. I got there a few minutes early and had a margarita in hand. The group of guests next to me saw I had a drink and one of them said should we get a drink? Sure, but where? (There is a bar that you cannot miss as you enter the venue), seriously?
As we left our stop on another Polynesian Island, there are 118 islands in Polynesia by the way, we were treated to a lightning storm as the backdrop to Bora Bora at dusk, sorry no pictures, just burned into our brains.
For those that check regularly and don’t find a new post from me, I apologies, this trip is wonderful and completely stimulating to our minds and bodies. Hang in there, I’ll try to keep you up to date.
We have a nice, insulated ice bucket in our room, but the housekeepers keep putting it in the refrigerator. Out on the pool deck, they have uninsulated ice buckets that sit in the sun at 84 degrees.
We have a great black out curtain in our suite, but the part that comes together in the middle has a sheer trim about 6” wide. I know you all have been in a hotelroom and wished you had a clothes pin to make the 2 halves stay together. A clothes pin wouldn’t help here, who thought that would be a good idea?
We have this huge floor standing champagne stand that takes up way too much room, but they refuse to remove it, does anyone actually use these?
To decorate the only flat surface worth using for typing my blog, they have a very heavy shark on a stick decoration, why?
We are on a ship that offers free drinks 24/7, but they lock up the bars when they close, really why?
There’s a phone in the bathroom in our room; it’s on the wall about 5’ up and behind the toilet. Seriously, I can think of only two times I might use it. If I’m sitting on the toilet and it rings, what? I’m I going to stand up, turn around to answer it? The second scenario would be if I stepped out of the shower, slipped, and fell. It’s way up there on the wall, totally out of my reach, who thought this one out?
There are no bathrooms near the pool, so if you are in the pool or hot tub and need to go, you must get out dry off, cover up to traverse the restaurant and walk over half the length of the ship to the nearest bathroom. Again, who designed that? The Club is a late-night entertainment venue, same thing, no bathrooms even close.
I have decided that there should be an age limit on Speedos and Bikinis, no matter how fit you are at 70, there is a time to trash the skimpy suits. Not everyone on board got that memo by the way.
We have been at sea for 4 days straight and yesterday I overheard a lady standing by the rail ask, wait for it….”I want to go to the Bow Lounge, which way is it”…. Look at the water lady, but I didn’t say it.
Is this a window or a mirror? Log your votes, I’ll let you know later.
Nothing I said here is in anyway a complaint, this is a beautiful ship and we are having the time of our life again.
For you science nerds and just those that want to understand how summer and winter works, this is a very easy to understand graphic. We are learning every day.
And I’ll leave you with a story one of our expedition leaders told us. “So, we went to this remote Island and everyone was very friendly, I visited the school, there were about 30 children there. After visiting with them, I ask if they would like to come aboard the ship and have lunch”. “After clearing everything with the ship and the school, we loaded the children and teachers onto the zodiacs for a ride to the ship”. “First thing I noticed, was they were all freezing, they had never experienced air conditioning”. “So, I put half of them into the lift (elevator) and the door closed”. When the lift returned for the remaining children, there was no way they were getting into that box that made their classmates disappear!” So, he took the rest of them up the stairs to see that their classmates were just fine.
We have reached French Polynesia tonight, more later………
There has been another Mutiny. It seems that the guests of the Seabourn Pursuit, inspired by the tales of the Bounty, have seized the ship and set Captain Steve off in a zodiac with the 2 faithful officers that still believe in him. The problem is, none of them have ever driven a zodiac. They crashed onto Pitcairn Island directly above the wreckage of the Bounty. Fortunately, though battered and bruised, they all survived. The wrecked zodiac was located and brought back aboard the Pursuit.
April fools!
Thank you all for leaving comments. It fuels my juices to write more. There has been some interest in life on Pitcairn Island, so I am going back to answer as many of those questions as I can.
But first, we were sitting on Deck 9 aft as we were leaving Pitcairn Island when we heard a man say that it had been his dream since he was 7 years old to visit Pitcairn Island. He said he was now 74 years old and just retired in February of this year. His sister is a travel agent and set him up on this cruise to get to the island. Okay, I’ll stop here, because if that doesn’t just make you pause for an emotional moment, I’m just sorry you don’t get it. This is real history from 1790. I didn’t get it, until I realized how much of a big deal it really is. There is some serious history in this part of the world, including the ancient Moai on Easter Island and only few fortunate mariners get to step in the footprints of the history makers.
Okay, now to the questions:
The island gets supplies every 3 months. The entrance to the very small harbor dock is very sketchy, they call it “sporty”. There is no way even a lifeboat from a cruise ship could enter and tie up, so only ships like ours that carry Zodiacs can even think of landing passengers there. Basically, boats ride in on a wave and hope to get back out between the waves. The tide must be timed out for the entrance and exit.
There is one store, it is stocked by a small cargo boat and the residents buy what they need for the next three months. They grow vegetables and fruit. They fish in the local waters, they have one boat, the “long” boat, pictured here. Pitcairn Island is also known for producing honey. Their major source of income is tourism (really). When a cruise ship comes in, either they load up the long boat with their wares and set up a market on board, or in our case the lucky cruisers get to experience the island itself, I told you we were the only ship in a year that got to land passengers. I can’t tell you how many t shirts and hats I saw today aboard our ship that were purchased from the residents of the island. Kim bought a T-shirt and a jar of honey.
There is a Doctor and a Nurse among the 42 residents, but for anything serious they must go to Papeete Tahiti, 1000 miles away or New Zealand. There is no airstrip, so transportation on and off the island is by the cargo ship that comes every 3 months.
They have a diesel generator for power, but they have been installing solar panels and storage batteries for the last few years. Currently 80% of their electricity is solar and they expect to be totally solar within a few short years.
They are a territory of Great Briton and receive $5.2 million pounds per year from them. There is a treasury office and a post office. They said most of that money goes to keep the island operational, there is a monthly stipend for each resident. When something needs to be built or repaired, they all work together to do it. Satellite tv and cell phones keep them connected to the world. Ham radio is still their method of choice when contacting others.
They have 4 new residents this year, but as I said earlier, there really aren’t any young people to increase the population, no babies anytime soon.
