Princess Cruise So Far

Saturday, 10/30 6:43 am, Rangiroa:

Apologies first and foremost for radio silence - the last post from Dick was apparently only saved in draft form, so you are receiving it a couple days late.

The internet scene at the Moorea resort was expensive, so we only bought 30 mins time thinking that would be enough to upload pics and publish something Dick wrote - wrongly, I guess.
Now have bought a 100 min package from Princess for $50. Splurge!!

Jim here (though he'll turn over to Dick for some asides/editing which will mostly be in brackets { } comme ca) ... sitting on our balcony as we approach Rangiroa, the one atoll (island formed from coral reef that remains after the volcanic cone that formed the island has sunk back into the sea. Rangiroa's reefs circle a lagoon that is big enough to contain the entire island of Tahiti, meaning that in its prime Rangiroa must have been the largest of the French Polynesian islands. It is flat as a pancake, and basically the tree line is all you can see on approach.

Impressions about the general cruise environment so far:

-- Our cabin, particularly the balcony, is a bit more snug than we were imagining it would be, but it uses space cleverly and we were able to fully unpack and settle in.

-- The only disadvantage we've felt so far with the "small ship" experience is that we feel the motion of the ship a bit more than we did on Diamond Princess. Dick seems to recall feeling the sea on the Diamond Princess the first day of the Alaska trip when we were on somewhat unprotected waters {crossing the Bay of Alaska on the way to Glacier Bay}, but I don't recall being struck by the motion myself. We are certainly much more on open water on this cruise than the Alaska cruise.

-- Air temperature and water temperature have been staying pretty consistently at ~82ºF (just think of that - water temperature on open seas is 82ºF!!!). {I find it amazing that the air and the ocean are the same temperature} The sun seems to be rising at ~4:30 local time {not conducive to sleeping in!}, and boy do you feel it by the time 6 am comes around. My runs on land so far have all been a bit less time than I'd like due to the heat/humidity combination. The runs have been invaluable in helping me eliminate water from my ear that accumulated from the dive I took in Moorea, and in true "down to the wire" fashion, my ears feel fully clear today (Saturday), the day I'll dive in Rangiroa.

-- Like our last experience with Princess on the much larger Diamond Princess, this ship has been carved into lots of nice, intimate spaces.

-- Also similar to our last experience with Princess, there is a somewhat unrelenting series of "opportunities to enhance the cruising experience" (in other words, to spend more money){this drives me crazy!}, but there are also many different activities onboard to occupy time other than lounging on the balcony with a book or music. We've particularly been enjoying a lecturer on all things Polynesian. Douglas has a wonderful enthusiasm, if somewhat chaotic and stream-of-consciousness, and a far-flung set of interests, among which are birding, botany, astronomy, literature and history. He loves everything Polynesian. He is very good at challenging his audience to pay attention to all the little details and observations that can be made by paying attention to the scenery, the maps/charts for our cruise, the names of places and landmarks, etc. {He talks twice a day and has groupies who are there every day - including us}

We've also been enjoying the trivia contests, winning 3 of 3 so far :-) We've recruited 3 other people onto our team (2 Aussies and a Kiwi), who have proven invaluable in rounding us out. One of the funnier questions (which we did not answer correctly): Which country has the lowest birth rate? Answer a bit below ... see if you can reason the answer to this question out. I've also been playing a bit of bridge and am bewildered by the new bidding systems being used, though at last I know what a "Texas Transfer" is!

-- We are enjoying the standard dining option, which assigns you a fixed table/time. We are a table of eight and have met two nice couples from New Zealand and an American couple from Oregon, all of whom are pleasant dinner companions. {Last night was supposed to be "formal night" but they didn't enforce it very much. On our Alaska cruise we saw people, very irritated people, being turned away for being dressed informally, but not here}

Yesterday was an "at sea" day, i.e., no landfall. As a result we took advantage of many of the on board programs including those above. Tomorrow will also be an "at sea" day and the only other one we have.


-- No complaints so far about the food, particularly now that Dick knows ice cream is to be had 3:30 - 4:15 pm :-) {Dick is going to opt for afternoon ice cream and pass on dessert after dinner} One nice change from our last cruise is that there is more international variety to the food, with decent vegetarian options as well as, so far, a series of very good fish dishes.

-- Answer to that trivia question re: the country with the lowest birth rate: We guessed China because of their "one child"policy, but thinking about that it doesn't make sense because even though it is only one child per couple, China is very traditional and most people will get married and have a child. Someone else then speculated one of the European Union countries, suggesting the Netherlands or Belgium. The answer, as it turns out, makes perfect sense: Vatican City. And yes, one would *hope* that the birth rate there is on the low side :-). {We always forget that Vatican City is a sovereign nation.}

-- We've enjoyed several shore excursions so far: we took a drive around Tahiti, a drive around Huahine and a "glass-bottom boat" tour in Rangiroa harbor. While Tahiti feels overall pretty modern and vibrant, Huahine and Rangiroa both strike one with an incredible sense of isolation, of remoteness. Lots of people living in these places effectively live at a subsistence level, which is not too difficult given the proliferation of coconut, breadfruit and transplants like mango, banana, sweet potato, pineapple as well as abundant fishing. When we were told our Huahine tour would include a "vanilla planation", I had thoughts of some Polynesian "Tara" with acres of vanilla bean vines being tended. The reality was a small simple little ranch house alongside the road with a large garden of vanilla beans { Large?? They had about two dozen plants and the store selling vanilla in every possible variation for too much money} and a tarp-covered vending area selling a few nicknacks. Unlike Mexico, say, there is not the same overwhelming profusion of tourist goods manufactured at "Tahiti Inc" that one sees over and over and over. Seems like most people pretty much do their own thing. {Most of the Polynesians make shell necklaces that they themselves sell on the docks or they resell 'aloha' shirts and fabrics.}

{ I was fascinated to see a mango tree -I've never seen one before- that was almost at large as the old oak tree behind our house.}



-- Health-wise we are both doing really well. Dick's energy levels have picked up significantly (lots of walking doing wonders for him!), and the 3 days in Moorea to recover from the trip were, in hindsight, as good an idea as we'd anticipated it would be when we planned the trip months ago. {Yeah..... I spent a significant amount of time stretched out in bed but looking out over the lagoon.} My only complaint was the water-in-the-ear business and some anxiety over whether I'd be able to scuba dive today in Rangiroa, and all seems well on that front. Taking a nap each day, getting moderate exercise each day, and enjoying a chance to catch up on reading (just finished "The Kite Runner" - highly recommended) and Sudoku is doing wonders for the psyche -- definitely feeling like I'm getting recharged! I so needed this trip, that's for sure.

Dick's Notes on Trip So Far

Dick here:

There is something otherworldly about a major airport at 3 AM. It almost seems a metaphor for hell. The most absolute blackness with a cacophony of lights that seem not to illuminate anything.

The flights were relatively pleasant though tedious. Six hours to LA on United and it was only two-thirds full. All of the middle seats were empty and so we had lots of room. The flight from LA to Tahiti was eight hours and the plane was literally only half full. Air Tahiti Nui is another experience in itself. The seating is more comfortable and further apart. I could actually stretch my legs out in front of me. They served a rather pleasant meal (imagine) and several snacks. All drinks were free including all alcohol! The flight attendants were very pleasant and very accommodating. This is not the flying experience I've become used to.

Landing in Papeete was smooth and being in a wheelchair made it even smoother. The people helping were very solicitous and I was given preference everywhere and moved to the front of every line. Oh the guilt!

We had an amusing little shock on arriving at our hotel. The bellhop came out to assist and all he had on was a sort of little sarong from the waist down and a pair of flip-flops. It turns out that this is rather standard here but coming from the Northeast in October ......

Papeete is what I imagine Honolulu was like before World War II but is still a tourist town with lots of shlock stuff for sale. We took a walk and had the worst ice cream I've ever had. Of course, ice cream is a measure of culture for me :-)

Saturday, midday, we took the ferry from Tahiti to Moorea and met a very original couple from Auckland, New Zealand, Julie and Trevor Skeller, with whom we had dinner Sunday and will again tonight. It will also be nice to have someone to say hello to when we get to Auckland. Julie is talking about plans to show us around Auckland which would be very nice. It is always nicer to see a place through a natives eyes.

Julie has the most extreme Kiwi accent I've ever heard. They take short e's and make them long. The color red is "reed" and at night one goes to "beed". It takes a little getting used to.















One of the other beauties of breakfast are the REAL croissants. This is, after all, a French territory.

This resort is very pleasant and quite beatuiful. I love our own little thatched hut with large balcony and king sized bed. The shower is about 7' square and has wonderful water flow. However the concept of 'manana' is here in spades. The Skellers sent us a fax yesterday morning. We didn't know about it until we spoke to them on the phone late in the afternoon. Jim called the front desk and asked if there was a fax for us. All they said was "yes, there was", period, end of sentence. Finally Jim asked them to bring it to the room, just on the principle that we should get what was sent to us even though we knew the contents of the fax. This is a 'luxury' resort. Another little irritation - the water at the hotel is not potable and they expect you to buy bottled water from them at a rather high rate. I noticed a few people going to the local store and bringing back a case of bottled water. In India and China every hotel provides each guest with a litre of bottled water every day. However these are minor irritations.

I have been taking it easy and am feeling better and more energetic every day but still have to be careful not to push myself. Jim has been able to go for runs and this morning took a bike ride. This afternoon he is going scuba diving to practice for the more serious diving he will do on some of the outer atolls.
I have to admit it bothers me that I'm not able to join him and share these experiences.

Except for that, this is the most wonderful experience. We are having a wonderful time together. There is a wonderful intimacy in this trip.


Later -

Tuesday night we sailed from Papeete for Huahine. Our first dinner on board was open seating (i.e. unassigned)and our table mates were very pleasant. Once of the nice thing about this smaller ship is that you get to meet people more easily. We have especially met quite a few New Zealanders.

Unfortunately we won't include photos for a while since the wi-fi on board ship is extremely expensive and ridiculously slow. Photographs take forever to upload and would use up all the time we had to buy. When we get to New Zealand we will include a bunch.

arrival!

Our flights went without a hitch, except for some confusion over the bagge weight rules at United.
Before I complain (this is Jim), let me first of all praise United to the skies for their program assisting travelers with limited mobility. They could not have been more attentive, personable or taken better care of Dick each leg of the journey, and there is no way he could have navigated the airports without this program. For all the times we may think the world is going to hell in a handbasket, it is refreshing to contemplate the extent to which people have gone to make it easier for people with disabilities to travel. (Not being disabled and having to live it day in/day out, I may be going out on a bit of limb by saying that, but certainly it was a terrific comfort for both of us to know Dick was being so well taken care of. I told him he needed to have surgery in advance of all our trips from now on :-) :-)

Both our flights were on schedule. Air Tahiti Nui is a special airline. After we watched the travel video, with one of the best choreographed demonstrations of where the exits were - ballet, almost - we were each given a fragrant white flower to put behind our hair, and the flight crew changed out of suit jackets to tropical shirts. Food and drink were wonderful, the flight was not overcroweded so everyone had room to stretch out, and they had a decent movie selection. More later....

JFK 3:15 am

We opted for the "humane" approach -- spend the night near JFK vs. limo at 2 am :-)
Going to be a looooooooong day! Not sure whether I want the movies on our flights to be interesting or not ....

The trip is on!

http://www.princess.com/find/itineraryDetails.do?voyageCode=1026&trade=H

http://www.princess.com/bridgecams/rp/royal_bridgecam.html

We are so excited! About to do one of Dick's dream trips - 2 weeks in French Polynesia, 1 week in New Zealand!!!!!