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.