Days 96 & 97 On the way to our last port August 28 & 29th

Having had the air conditioning sorted, yesterday, we were somewhat dismayed to find that it was just too cold, even on the warmest setting and woke in the middle of the night and had to open the ranch-slider to the balcony to let in some heat!  Fortunately, the second call fixed it for good and it is now working as it should.

Somehow or other, young Logan wrote our names down for morning bowls but it must have been on the wrong sheet of paper as we never had the call to perform.  Never mind.  Another early coffee with Norm before the 11:30 dance lesson – Foxtrot & Quickstep.

Billed as the International deck party night, our table did its own thing by doing a mix and match with shirts and hats, hence my Union jack shirt and Arab hat. Up on deck we met two lovely ladies we have often sat with for the atrium quiz, Rita and Veronica. Rita is now my adopted Mum!  An amazing lady whose extensive travel experiences are mind boggling.  We didn’t hang around the deck too long (birdie was getting tired of all the attention), even though the dessert buffet was superb and we retired to the atrium for a late coffee and a sit down. 

One of the popular dances Alana has taught has been the disco samba.  A mix of line dance and samba, ideal for those on their own.  With Terry and Kev holding hands, I suggested to Nigel that maybe Kev should be carrying a handbag, and within a couple of seconds, Nigel had it sorted!  The next night, it was Nigel’s turn...

Clocks back again another hour, plus another sea day so no need to go to bed early.

Monday

Much the same as yesterday, a relaxing day, with Alana almost back to normal with a Jive class.  Afterwards, we managed an extremely light lunch with just a couple of small sandwiches and a coffee down on deck five and a long chat to Philip.

After an abysmal 7/20 quiz, then a hot spa, dinner was Italian night and we looked forward to winding up head waiter Maurizio, with a litany of fake complaints from everyone on the table.  Maurizio arrived late, slumped into a vacant seat (No Anthea & Dennis) and after we had gone around the table with our tales of misery, he explained he was late as he had smacked his hand when the ship lurched and may have a broken bone in his hand. Immediate sympathy...

To the Vista lounge with a Mexican singer/comedian, Patricio Rodriguez.  A slightly different show from normal but enjoyable. Once again to the atrium for coffee (Paula claims it stops me snoring....) and Nigel’s incriminating photograph, though he does look quite at home.

Ho hum.  The very last overseas port tomorrow – Apia (Samoa).  We have nothing planned and will probably just wander into town and relax, soak up the sunshine (hopefully) before the three day run back to NZ, where we are delighted to see that the thermometer has reached the dizzy height of 18 degrees. We have had our luggage labels issued and have booked to leave the ship at 8:30am so Julie, hopefully, will pick us up at about 9am.  The ship leaves Auckland at 2pm Sunday, so depending on the weather, we may even head to Devonport wharf or Mt Victoria to wave it away and to wave farewell to so many great Australian  people we have met over the last three months.

Only another 11 months now before we return to OUR cabin on OUR ship! 

 

Day 95 - Bora Bora blue August 27th

Like Tahiti yesterday, the stunning colours of the water and the sky at Bora Bora make it a photographer’s paradise, even without the underwater options that for many, had to be cancelled, due to water and tide conditions. By all accounts, it was only the skill of the Captain and crew that prevented this being another sea day.  As a tender port, it was pointless rushing down to get a numbered boarding ticket so we took our time and by the time we collected our tickets, the was no queue at all.  We wandered aimlessly around the immediate port area, debating on whether or not to take a minibus tour, an old American bus tour, one of the basic truck/bus services or twiddle our thumbs.

We eventually opted for a $5 shuttle to Matira Bay and that parked us right outside the Intercontinental Hotel.  Unfortunately, this coincided with an evacuation of the hotel, due to expected high water between 11am and 3pm. 

After kicking our heels for a few minutes (far better than thumb twiddling) we hopped on another shuttle back to the famous “Bloody Marys”, ($5)  famous for purveying drink of the same name. When I was young, I might well have been walloped for saying that...

Opinions seemed to vary and at $9 a pop, some were less than impressed, but those who were a bit later and managed a meal there were happy enough.  We ambled along the local pier and enjoyed the views and the pleasant weather before catching another shuttle (yes, another $5...) back to the pier.  Nothing really tempted us to spend more money, so we were back at the ship 11:30!

Just for a change,  we had burgers from the grill bar.  Paula’s chicken burger pronounced very tasty and my double cheeseburger pretty good too.  As yet, one of the few items I haven’t sampled is a meat pie.  Unlike almost every other item on board, (I nearly put ‘sold’...), these are bought in, and by the looks of them, Mrs Mac is doing a roaring trade.

Having bought just 6 bottle of cider way back in Darwin, it was time to polish off bottle number 6 at the sailaway and whilst the Australians from our table elected to watch a rerun of last night’s rugby victory, the Kiwis and Americans enjoyed a civilised meal in the dining room.  Paula and I watched the theatre show, “String Fever”, featuring an Australian husband and wife comedy duo on cello and violin. The patter was a bit excruciating at times, but the music was great.

Alana was still off sick but we enjoyed Alan’s solo performance as usual.

Once again, at bedtime, the ship was moving around a fair bit as we head for our last port before Auckland. Two days at sea now before Apia.  For the first time in three months, we are now really looking forward to getting home.

 

Days 93/94 Cruising to Tahiti August 25/26th

Our bowling hasn’t improved so 5 minutes after the start, we were enjoying the coffee – but no mini chocolate doughnut.  Life can be so cruel at times.  There was no morning dance class as Alana was at the cruise staff awards lunch and we had a dining room lunch catch up, with a lady Paula shared a cabin with when she was 17!

To the dance class afterwards but the floor was so crowded that try to do a whisk and chasse was difficult with bouncing into someone so we sat down for a while.

Back at the cabin, the air conditioning engineer called in (it had been reported by our cabin steward) and is now working – rather too well!

The evening meal is often a time to be a little inventive and between us, we cause Watchara all sorts of deviations from standard.  I opted for the herbed shrimp main as a starter, followed by the roast pork.  Garry and Joanne made a tentative announcement that they have provisionally booked on next year’s cruise...  Meanwhile, we are debating whether or not to hop off at San Francisco, as the run back to NZ is almost identical to this sector but with additional Hawaiian stops that we have already done.

Once again, to the Atrium after dinner for Alan & Alana’s entertaining quiz (on Fairy Tales...) then a very pleasant chat with another dance couple from Perth.

Papeete (Tahiti)

A slight relapse on the sleeping patterns and shoulder pain.  Ho hum.  It will give Nina, our acupuncturist something to work on...  We had set the alarm for 7am but woke before that to the usual extra noises signifying a port arrival.

We last visited Papeete about 4 years ago for a long weekend when it failed to live up to expectations due to the weather, a surprisingly sub-standard Sheraton Hotel and the fact that most places were closed for Bastille Day, plus high prices.

This time, the weather was perfect and berthing almost on the sea front is fantastic (a far cry from many stops that are in container ports) with local music to greet us.  We managed eventually to get on an 8:30am Princess Island tour that was originally advertised as being by private car!  It ended up as 4 full sized air conditioned coaches.  Just a two and a half hour tour with about 4 short stops at monuments and a waterfall. Just our luck that as soon as we reached the waterfall car park, it rained! The other stops gave us time for photographs - French Polynesia is a photographer’s paradise, particular if you like beach and waterfront pics, which I do.   I never tire of taking pictures that have nature’s vivid blues and greens.

Returning to the ship at 11:30 meant an early lunch, before heading to town again to wander around.

The contrast between the displayed food here and that in Nice couldn’t have been more marked. How much of that is due to the relative wealth of the South of France is difficult to ascertain.  The harbour-side in Papeete is welcoming and modern, but the town itself is rather tatty and doesn’t have the appeal of the stops in central America for example.  Graffiti blight’s the area, which once again, is rather sad.  

We wandered around for a while but weren’t tempted to spend so we certainly didn’t need any local currency.

We were feeling in need of a drink once back on board so I used one of my reduced stock of Robert Timms coffee bags and we succumbed to temptation by grabbing a (small!) plate of corn chips, guacamole and sour cream and a fresh baked oat and fruit ‘cookie’...

Whilst Paula watched a show by a local cultural group (in the ship’s theatre, which was packed), I spent an enjoyable 15 minutes chatting to young Josh, a Canadian who joined the entertainment staff in Fort Lauderdale.

Just Dennis and Anthea at dinner but a very pleasant meal. Sailaway was very pleasant with a good sunset and the ship cruised out of the harbour past a narrow opening alongside the reef and just beyond the end of the airport runway.  (See pic).

A fair few passengers were excited at the announcement that the Australia vs NZ Tri Nations rugby final would be screened on the large outdoor screen – at midnight...  Before that, we went to an Australian impressionist (Keith Scott) in the Vista lounge.  Another top show and even though we didn’t know several of the Australian politicians, it was still a very funny show.

We grabbed a lounger on deck at 11:30 after Alan’s session (Alana wasn’t at all well) and settled down to enjoy the night air and I elected to try and get excited at the thought of a rugby match.  I’d had enough after twenty minutes but stayed to half time, when NZ were down 20-3. Bed was therefore 1:15am...  Bora Bora tomorrow and nothing much planned.  

   

Day 92 - Crossing the Equator - again, August 24th

A determined effort today to eat lightly, but with the prospect of lobster on the evening menu, for formal night, some leeway had to be applied.

It must have been the ‘Night Nurse’ pill for flu, that seemed to ensure a decent night’s sleep as we were both feeling a little lethargic. After an extremely light breakfast (so far so good... but passing by those fresh waffles with maple syrup and cream takes some will-power), we skipped the bowls, but did have the fresh coffee. With a few minutes spare and having ascertained the state of young ‘Snow’, we took a card with us to the medical centre to see if we could say hi.  Snow was sitting in a chair looking very well and was quite adamant that had he had the heart attack at home in NZ, rather than in the Medical Centre, he would probably now be playing on that great bowling green in the sky.  Most of the medics are South African and the fact that NZ were beaten by the Springboks last week, gave them a couple of opportunities to rub it in.   Snow’s All Black jacket was hanging on the wall – with the logo facing the wall - and they had wrapped him in a Springbok blanket! 

Although another sea day, this was going to be a little special as we had the “Crossing the Equator” ceremony, a tradition on board ship where anyone who has not crossed the line before is deemed a ‘pollywog’ and on crossing the equator is then deemed a ‘shell back’.  On the northward part of the cruise, the ceremony had to be cancelled due to bad weather – a fairly rare occurrence over the last three months.  Garry & Joanne were disappointed but ‘volunteered’ to take part in the southbound ceremony.  The traditional ceremony has a court hearing and when found guilty (as they all are...) the victims are covered with fish guts and other crud, but obviously, on a cruise ship, with such a sophisticated clientele(!) the ceremony has to be modified – just a little.

The ceremony was good fun and they were duly smeared with all sorts of goo. The next ‘victim’, young Todd, was shown one of the dancers doing a seductive dance, then laying on a table.  He was blindfolded and told he must kiss her belly-button.  As soon as he was blindfolded, Garry took her place!

The next victim who had been bragging about how much food he had eaten, was ordered by the court to have some excesses removed, so he was also laid out on a table, with sheets held up around him, whilst strings of sausages and pile of spaghetti were thrown out.

Several crew were also initiated, including three entertainers, three navigators and two engineers.  This was a cue for the entertainment staff to liberally smother them with yet more goo and then this almost turned into a mud wrestling spectacle.  A lot of fun, with several entertainers rendered almost unrecognisable.

A quiet day from then on and another 14/20 quiz score.  (The winners managed 18.)

As it was formal night, 4 of our table did their own thing but the remaining six of us managed more than our fair share of lobster tails.   For once, I didn’t take the extra food and managed to survive on just three courses.  (Such will power – again...)

The production show was “Shimmy” which was OK.  In the Atrium afterwards, Dave and Hirma, who are excellent high energy Rock ‘n Roll dancers, tried to teach us a back to back move that pushed my bad shoulder just a bit too far, so a slight relapse just as it was coming good!

Another relaxing sea day ahead – woo-hoo!

We have heard that there were a fair few complaints filed about the cruise on the last sector, so it is interesting to reflect. We certainly haven’t filed any and nor have most of the people we have met or meet regularly, so it must be a small proportion who are actively complaining.  Of course there are those who weren’t too impressed with itinerary changes and shortened port times, hoping to claim extra compensation. Some take a personal dislike to a member of the entertainment staff or who believe every member of staff should speak with an Oxford accent and can pronounce every word in every language correctly, but the reality is somewhat different.

As any rational person knows, hiccups are going to happen and to jump up and down because a specific pool is closed for a day; or the ongoing maintenance disrupts their normal walking path; or reporting the captain as he was witnessed enjoying a solitary beer with a group of passengers; is rather pathetic.  The unfortunate downside is that directives come back from head office that staff have to keep their distance from the passengers, which elicits even more complaints, that they are not mixing with the passengers enough!

Just for the record, we have zero complaints and can only praise all staff for their attitude and helpfulness at all times.  Outdoor astro turf carpet is being replaced and one poor guy seems to spend 100% of his time scraping off the old varnish, sanding and re-varnishing the handrails!  Maintenance has to be on the move and much of it during the day, so some disruption is inevitable, so why do some people feel the need to complain?

The Dawn Princess is a little tired in places, but overall, a fine ship with a great crew.

Days 90 & 91 Highs and lows - August 22/23rd

My resolution of a light eating day evaporated almost immediately as a fried egg and bacon sandwich with HP sauce was on my mind – and I hadn’t had one since the trip started.  Delicious....

 Australia vs the rest of the world at bowls so Paula and I did our bit and won our match, so we picked up a couple of ship prizes that Josh had scattered all over the playing area.  The rule is that if you win your match, you can select a prize from what is littering the floor.

Dance class was a revision of the Mayfair Quickstep (New Vogue) and the Argentine Tango.

As this class is 11:30 to 12:30, we usually opt for a break before heading to the buffet, which we did at 2pm. One of those 5 star days when the buffet had just what we wanted – a tasty Indian chicken curry and rice and also a nice piece of crumbed sole, plus bock choy with garlic and ginger and a tender, rich, tasty beef stew type dish. Oh, the cream of broccoli soup was nice too. Light eating day?  Yeah, right!

Ros and Arnold were away sorting out their cruise extension to Brisbane (saves hiring an Antunov cargo plane from Sydney) so we co-opted the Americans, Randy and Carole into the quiz team.  Two answers were Florida! As we were equal winners, the tie breaker was also an American question – “What is the length of the Mississippi River?” Our guess of 2400 miles was pipped by a guess of 2,800 miles (the answer was about 2,900).  Sadly, I let the team down badly as I didn’t get the correct number of backgammon pieces...  Shame on me.

Evening meal was so appetising, I had the spinach stuffed cannelloni main as a starter, the soup and roast pork followed by the healthy fresh fruit. 

Monday’s entertainer was billed as an instrumentalist and we had never heard of Roland Storm.   He proved to be a talented Australian Rock and Roll singer from way back, who just happened to play excellent piano accompaniment.  Backed by the Princess orchestra, this was one of the best acts so far, but quite why he was billed as an instrumentalist is somewhat baffling. His patter was basically a trip through Australian and international rock and roll history but I loved his playing and his singing voice.  He was so good, we went to see him again Tuesday night at the early 6:30pm show.

Tuesday – highs and lows

I had been good and hadn’t had a full sized, chocolate iced doughnut for several days, (don’t ask about the mini ones that are available with morning coffee...) but rather than upset the hard working bakery department by ignoring their white iced doughnuts, I did my bit for reducing the on board food wastage, but only after the banana, prunes and tinned apricots. A healthy breakfast I think. 

The sea was a lot calmer (thank goodness) and we headed for bowls anyway.  One of the popular regulars, 80 year old “Snow”, didn’t turn up, which was a surprise and just after the game started (ladies vs gents), there was a tannoy call for a ”Code Alpha”.  Little did we know at the time that it was Snow who had suffered a heart attack.  By mid afternoon he was stable but has to be shipped off in Tahiti. Very sad as we have got to know him well and have often had breakfast or lunch with him.  Just adds more weight to our current philosophy of doing what we can whilst can, as none of us knows what is ahead.

To counteract that sobering news, the dance class was interrupted by Cruise Director Warren, who had come straight from a staff meeting, where, as a results of internal recommendations added to by a pile of passenger nominations, Alana was voted the “Employee of the Month” for August.

The applause and cheers from the dance group were something to behold and a clearly disorientated Alana had to try and pick up from where she had left off with the rumba. Regular readers of this blog will know full well that Alana is one of our favourite people on the cruise and we are thrilled that she was recognised in this way.

There was a brief get together for those doing the 75 day cruise next year before we headed for the food (yes, again...) and the “International Buffet”.  Many look down on buffet food and the concept of people helping themselves, but it is not only remarkably efficient, but it allows a quick taste of food you may not normally order in a restaurant. With enchiladas and also sweet and sour pork as options, the light eating day took another hammering - and it would only get worse...

Paula had a morning massage and at 3pm, I was struggling again with my shoulder, so I was despatched to Arlene once again.  Repair is painfully(!) slow and Arlene takes no prisoners.

For our evening meal, we had specifically requested a Thai Chicken curry (the evening meal options never seem to include a curry) and three people had also requested a polenta dish as a starter.  I therefore ended up with a sizeable taste of polenta (with a Bolognese sauce) to add to the country pate and cream of cauliflower soup, before the specially prepared Thai curry.  Our waiter Watchara (from Bangkok) confirmed (after a sly taste!) that it was authentic and Paula soon discovered that the green veg were not beans, but chillies! I just had to finish with fresh fruit salad though...

A somewhat bloated arrival in the Atrium for the quiz and then just a couple of dances.  Plenty of people still around at 11:30pm too.

Two more sea days including the “Crossing the Equator Ceremony” for the Pollywogs tomorrow... Maybe a light food day again tomorrow too – but – formal night and lobster with monkfish on the menu...  

Day 89 - We are waving... August 21st

As anticipated, the internet is slow (and/or busy) at the moment so no idea when this will get uploaded. We didn’t leave Hawaii until about 1:30am but rumour has it that there were passengers still ashore drinking and had to be rounded up!  We have heard of one family who never stagger out of bed until not much before midday, then complain they can’t get a drink in the middle of the night...  (Smokers too.)

Paula was woken when the ship left and she probably wasn’t the only one, as the sea was anything but calm.  During the night and most of the day, the wave height was no less than 11.5 feet which is about 3.5m in new money. The ship was rocking fore and aft AND side to side, and it is a weird feeling when you are lying down and feel that at any moment, you are going to be tipped out of bed.  Rumour has it that Viagra sales have increased.

Morning bowls was interesting as rank amateurs won – beating many talented exponents of the game.  Early coffee and chocolate doughnut for us as my form continues to decline.  Goodness knows how bad our badminton will be by the time we pick up the rackets.

Dance class was another New Vogue – the “Mayfair Quickstep”.  Chatting to Alana later (much later!) she said that before last year’s World Cruise, she had never danced New Vogue at all, but having done some research, found that it was very popular in Australia and NZ so she swotted up and incorporated it into her programme last year.  The total professional.  The interesting thing is that the range of dances the Australian’s know is vast.  Our previous knowledge seems limited to the competition dances only.  The fact that some couples may know up to 50 dances is mind boggling, as it means that in any given venue or dance, you probably have several couples electing to do different dances!

Of those we haven’t been taught, the “Chicago Swing” (danced to “The Charleston”) looked good, but not too difficult, so Paula was easily persuaded onto the floor and taught it at night by one of the other regulars.  Nice people.  Nicer still that we know already of 6 couples doing the pacific Cruise next year - three of them are the regular evening dancers.

Lunch in the buffet was a “Pâté & Cheese” special and I never got further than the delicious pâté!

Being a busy sea day, the afternoon was a bit of internet catch up time and reading for me, a film for Paula, before our quiz. Another excellent 17/20 - but no win.

The evening dining room menu was “American”, but not the huge portions... I ate off the standard menu apart from the corn chowder.

We just made it to the Atrium in time for Alan’s music quiz and joined two others we hadn’t met before.  Small world yet again.  He is a director of Pukekohe Park raceway, runs an E type Jaguar, an MGB and an MG TF.  We finished equal second.  Afterwards, we spent a bit of time talking to Alan & Alana and DJ Lee.  Alan & Alana have some wonderful cruise stories to tell.

Quotes of the day at the dinner table, (when discussing men’s bravado regarding a successful BBQ).

“No point in me buying expensive cuts of meat for the BBQ, as Arnold will probably burn it anyway...”

“Garry hates to be disturbed by people talking to him whilst he is cooking and drinking, as he remembers to drink, but not to cook...”