Sept. 24-28

Sunday Sept. 24

Another beautiful day at sea. Before we leave our stateroom, we bag up a load of dirty clothes for the ship’s “wash-n-fold” for $35, with a $5 off coupon. Up to the ‘Jammer for fresh fruit all cut up for me, bran muffins, yogurt, and coffee. Next, relaxing in the Solarium (adults only pool) with my Kindle (reading “The Fifth Wave,” by Rick Yancy, another Floridian.) Refreshing dip in the salt water pool. Kind of went rogue today for lunch. Instead of the usual salads, I spotted the carved prime rib roast, and proceeded to load up my plate with various meats and a slice of pizza, of all things. (A pale comparison to Paisans in Madison, my favorite). Anyway, it was all very satisfying. The casino was running a special “low stakes” blackjack at $3 minimum bet, so I want and checked it out, and won $15.

The meat was making me loggy, prompted a nap afterward. Upon rising, I went to the coffee bar and ordered a double espresso to get me kick started again. Another lovely dinner, me Thai-style prawns, and Julie beef Borgenoine (sp?). She was served a huge portion, so I got about half of it. I guess a “meat” kind of day. The show tonight is a piano maestro named Rogerio Tucci. He opened with Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto #1, and did several classical pieces including the Toreadore (sp?) from Carmen among others, then shifted to some popular tunes. A very charming, likable fellow, and a fantastic pianist (Julie bought his CD after the show). And I was really impressed with the RC orchestra, which did an awesome job of backing him up, and all with just one rehearsal.

No casino for me tonight. I figured I already scored with my $15 win earlier in the day, and I didn’t want to tempt the gambling gods twice in one day. So off to the state room for some reading, and off to sleep. This is our final day in the first run of sea days. We dock at our first port of call – Tahiti – tomorrow.

Monday Sept. 25

The island of Tahiti rises up on the horizon as Julie and I take our morning walk up on deck 12. Beautiful sight, and everyone is up early for picture taking and breakfast. Many obviously have shore excursions and want to be the first off the boat. We have a leisurely breakfast and hang back for a while, waiting for the “first wave” to crowd their way off the boat. We leave around 10:00 a.m. and thread our way through the usual tour/taxi hawkers. We cross the busy shore drive with aid of traffic cop, and begin exploring the streets, me keeping an eye out for a tiki bar or at least a coffee shop … anywhere that might have Internet. We have a city map, but it is of little use, because there are no street signs! What the hell? So we stop in couple shops to ask directions, and finally a lovely lady in a pharmacy directs us to a coffee/juice/bakery spot with a very slow and temperamental Internet. Julie orders a smoothie, and I have a muffin and coffee. 1,080 french francs, or about $10.80 U.S. I manage to fire off a couple of emails, but that’s about it. Julie’s portal at Spectrum is so loaded with junk that she can’t even access her email. Gotta get her a gmail account!

We split, and I head for the public market in search of a beer bar. 

It’s busy and noisy, and the one public restroom I find has a guard in front of it. No beer hut. I settle on a café that has beer on the menu, and decide to have lunch there as well. Everything is in French here, and my server is of little help. I eventually settle on a mixed grill platter (more meat!) with taro fries and a side salad. Meat consists of grilled beef, pork, chicken, and a lamb chop, the latter of which I leave most behind because I’m not a lamb lover. My one beer, a local Tahitian brew “Hinano” has good flavor, but is not cold. I pay with credit card, 3,000 French francs, or about $29 U.S. I tour the market in search of a fresh fruit cup, and find one for 320 francs, or $3.20 or thereabouts. I give her a $5, and she has no U.S. change, so gives me 180 francs in change. Damn, now I have to get rid of the change! I toss about half the fruit cup because it is something purple and awful. I eat the bottom pineapple layer, and it is just OK. I buy three “apple bananas” from a produce vendor and get rid of 100 of the 180 francs. I eat those on the way back to the ship, because no local produce is allowed on board. Those are delicious!

I get back on the ship, and strip into my swimsuit and head for the Solarium. I am so thirsty for a cold beer that I pay the $8 for a bottle Corona, and have the bartender put it in in bucket of ice! Refreshing dip in the salt water pool, then finish my Corona. I am just about asleep at this point, so I head for the stateroom and a nap. Still full from lunch, I have a light dinner with Julie in the dining room, consisting of a cup of fish chowder for first course, and a seafood pot die (also on the appetizer menu) as my main course. Finished with a tureen of apple/rhubarb crisp with ice cream. All delicious. Tonight, I finish my bottle of $48 wine, and figure I have gotten about 6.5 glasses out of it. So it saved me some money, because by the glass, the same amount of wine would have cost me around $72.

No casino tonight because we are in port. Also, no show tonight because we are in port until 11:30 tonight, So they are showing “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell no Tales” in the main theater, at 7:30 p.m. Julie and I attend, and that takes us to 9:30, whereupon we return to the stateroom for some reading, and then off to bed.

What are my impressions of Tahiti? The above probably gives you a clue. Like most ports of call, I guess you have to get away from the port city to experience the “beauty.” Tahiti’s port city of Papette (sp?) was noisy, dirty, and disorienting. Most (but not all) of the people we talked with who went on shore excursions reported the beauty. So maybe Julie and I need to rethink the shore excursions and go on a few rather than just ambling around the port cities of these islands. I know … wah, wah, wah. We’re out in the south pacific on this beautiful cruise, and I’m complaining about warm beer. I guess I was just expecting something different along the lines of an island paradise. And for sure it was there (in places) in Tahiti; you just have to get through the first grimy layer of civilization which, of course, is necessary to sustain the modern conveniences the inhabitants (and tourists) have come to expect.

Well, Julie and I are off the Moorea in the tenders (in this instance, the ship’s own lifeboats … cool!) and I’ll see if I can find some cold beer and and wi-fi  to fire off this blog.

Found cold beer, but no wi-fi. Julie and I split at the dock. She stayed put while I took a $5 taxi ride to a nearby “resort” of sorts. Nice little beach with one bar/restaurant, but no wifi. Was picking up signals, but they were all apparently private. Had a cold Hinano for $6 and again got a shitload of franc coins, $4 worth. So I gave them back to the cab driver for the ride back to the dock, adding $1 bill. I think this is the way bars/restaurants get rid of all their change … give it to the American tourists! Anyway, back on the ship and make my way to the 'Jammer for my usual lunch of cold cut sandwich and various salads, and a soft-serve cone for dessert. Whales are surfacing in the harbor, including a mom and her calf. So that is kind of cool. Julie and I reunited and are sitting in the Solarium. It’s 2:15 p.m. Hawaii time, and I am starting to yawn. Time for my mid-afternoon siesta.

That’s all for now,

Bruce

Sept. 28

I am in the coffee bar sipping an iced espresso. We have left our triple island stop … Tahiti, Moorea, and Bora Bora. We are now steaming (dieseling?) at full speed for New Zealand, and will be at sea for the next four days. When we cross the International Date Line, we will actually lose Oct. 1 altogether! We will go from Sept. 30 to October 2. Seas are choppy today, and as we sail south (the barf bags are out in the public areas), the air temperature is dropping. It about 65 degrees out on deck, and we’ve been told that NZ could be as cool as 50 degree. 

The show on Sept. 27 was an Elton John impersonator named Elton Jack. No shit! He was very good, and and had the Royal Caribbean orchestra as back up. He did a variety of numbers, including Rocket Man, Candle in the Wind, and Your Song. Also some faster paced songs like Saturday Night, and Crocodile Rock. Most in the audience could tell he was wearing a cheap toupee, and indeed during his final bow, he took off the wig and showed his bald head. Very funny.

Well, I wish I had better news for you all, but unfortunately I have caught a case of the crud. Felt it when I woke up from my nap on Monday (two days ago). Been coughing so much that my sides ache. I skipped Bora Bora altogether, though Julie went and said it was pretty. Last night I went through a fever that made me so disoriented, I almost crawled into Julie’s bed in the middle of the night. The fever has broken, and I feel a little better. Took a little nourishment this morning for breakfast. At least I have the next four days to get better.

I don’t know why this always happens to me, but every time I take an extended trip, whether by land, sea, or air, I get sick, whether before, during or after! Too many people crowded together in a small space.

But I will prevail. I have a bridge to climb in Sydney and a reef to snorkel in Cairnes! If there is a bright side to this, it happened during a run of “at sea” days.

That’s all for now,

Bruce