BermudaBound2014

Welcoming committee and little flee market in Moorea. It’s a tender port so be very careful here booking your own early tours. Tendering was pretty slow this cruise. The tender ports are: Fanning (we didn’t get there), Moorea (safe for most people), Fakarava (caution for those with walkers or wheelchairs as it’s Sandy gravel), NukaHiva (those with mobility issues should reconsider getting off here. There are a couple steep uneven steps to exit the tender. One lady slipped and an ambulance was needed, not sure what happened to her). Anyway, this is what you will see then tendering into Moorea- a little flee market plaza and a lovely church. IMG_3557.MOV

Im on next years cruise with you. Unfortunately we will be sharing the port with the Volendam on our return (so far we are in the clear at embarkation ). Sharing the pier makes all the difference in the world in San Diego. It absolutely slows the process down and makes things a bit more chaotic (or very chaotic given your perspective). It appears to me that both space and manpower are challenges for 2 ships. Based on everyone I know, and everyone posting on other social media platforms, there were people who missed 11am flights. I suspect those people did not make a conscious effort to be one of the first off the ship (the line to clear customs moves fast but it was long snaking the entire length of the cruise and back). People were lining up at 6:15am. I always like to stay an extra night or two in port cities and San Diego is a great place to explore. imo that would be my vote. Why stress? With that, if you pay attention and get the first luggage color off (they put luggage tags out 4 days before debarking) I think you will be just fine, but no dilly dallying! The volendam is smaller than the Disney ship we shared with this year, but offloading 35 nights worth of luggage is considerably more challenging than 7 nighters. If you can carry your own luggage off even better. My biggest slow down was waiting for luggage to be offloaded. At 10:30 am the last luggage colors were still sitting on the ship. Not sure if that was due to space, manpower, or both but the challenges in San Diego are real.

thank you MaryPat 🙂 I appreciate the encouragement to continue. Part of the reason I do reviews is to go back and reread them much later as that helps to cement my memories. But, this review is now over a month old (blame it on Maui). I really need to wrap this up 🙂

Sure- but the fact that not one has invested should raise an eyebrow (besides poor Maritza who missed the memo and invested his measly 100k). One never can tell what investor trading means, but I do pay attention to patterns.

I’m not actively trading cruise stock at this time so I’m out of the loop, but this came across my desk. Thought some of you may find it interesting to note. insider trading of RCL the last year-

If you want to book in advance (aka the rest of the summer) you obviously pay for that privilege. I mentioned the “bus runs”. Those typical 7 day trips offered by HAL to Alaska, caribbean, mexico (and I’m even seeing some very attractive fares for New England). These sailings tend to offer excellent rates last minute without booking the new program. If history repeats itself (as is has the last several years), the Alaska 7 day runs will sail at very similar rates all season. Of course, if you want last minute rates you have to wait to book last minute;). My point is that you can book last minute (a month in advance) for - similar price as last minute (48 hours prior). I get that the $49 fare may offer better rates for unique itineraries. I’d use this program for legendary voyages in a NY second, but I don’t see those offered.

Other than solos, I’m not following the benefit of this program for 7 day Alaska (or any of the “bus runs”). These cruises are the same price (or Pennies more) than the standby program and you get a regular booking weeks in advance. Heck, in some cases it’s cheaper than the $49 offer. What am I missing?

Then we had about an hour to wait for our prearranged taxi (that never showed, always be prepared to hoof it). The guide offered us his private pool to relax in while we waited. Those were some magical moments that will forever be cemented in my memory. Moorea Sail away- check out this guys driveway…..

Later in the day our guide tossed a ski rope behind the boat and dragged us along an area that had too strong of a current for snorkeling. We came across a couple dozen spotted eagle rays, lots of turtles, and yes even a shark 😁 (omg- I just noticed my go pro has the wrong date stamp. That will bug me into eternity 😂) 20220101_210316.mov These photos aren’t mine but this is what a spotted eagle ray looks like if I knew how to use the zoom on my GoPro 😜)

Back to Moorea (this review is so disorganized even I’m getting anxiety- my photos are a hot mess). I work so much better off my desktop but couldn’t fit that in the suitcase so photo organization will have to come this summer. For those that want to snorkel with things other than sharks, these manta rays were super friendly. 20220101_201901.mov 20220101_202110.mov 20220101_202222.mov

What a shame- we come here every Sunday for breakfast. Not a single child here today. I come for lunch too, and have never seen a kid that I recall, and certainly not a misbehaving one. Perhaps it’s because I tend to eat with the golfers. If you think plantation is bad for kids, don’t go to the very popular Gazebo in Napili. Unlike the Plantation House, it’s more of a family place. I have seen unruly kids there, but half expect it due to the nature of beast.

IMG_4746.mov Coming to you live this morning from brekkie at the Plantation- this one’s for you MissG! ps- Don’t get the bananas foster pancakes unless you have a baseball team and plan to slice and serve it like bday cake.

IMG_3490.MOV I know I’m jumping around a bit but I want to wrap this “live” up while I’m still on Maui. Once I head back to Mich there will be lots and lots of tasks to catch up on. Tahiti/Papeete was much different than the rest of our stops in FP. There are no great beaches there and the snorkeling isn’t terrific either, so I recommend this is the stop to experience a FP bustling city and do a land tour. I used Eden Tours found on trip advisor. An air conditioned van to circle the entire island. Some tours only do either the east half or the west half but this was a full day tour that did the circle. We stopped at many waterfalls, a black sand beach, a blowhole, a grotto, you get the jist. I would highly recommend this guy again and with various discounts (rakuten, targeted Cc offers, TA discount code) I believe the price was less than $50 pp - a far cry from the Hal tours. IMG_3512.MOV FullSizeRender.MOV There are beautiful colorful street murals scattering the city. I was told that Papette holds one of the largest street mural competitions annually and it shows. There is also an international market across the street from where the ship docks. I picked up an amazing bunch of flowers for $10. US dollars accepted everywhere on this trip.

Doesn’t look like the video loaded properly…let’s try this. These videos were taken with my GoPro. No zoom. The sharks aren’t more than a few feet away. 20220101_202815.mov 20220101_201948.mov

Let’s finish with the rest of the black tip shark videos. As most of you know there are very few blacktip attacks on humans. It’s almost unheard of. With that, I wouldn’t recommend splashing around on the surface like an injured fish. I watched a local “call in” a shark on motu Otefro and used my new skill to call one in at the blue lagoon on Fakarava. By calling in I just mean making repeated circular splashing patterns at the surface of the water to get the shark to abruptly turn around and come check out dinner. It’s fun 🤙 This is snorkeling with black tips in Moorea which was my favorite because we were on a very small tour (only five of us). The bottom was Sandy and shallow so we could stand and this lent itself to a much more stable encounter. 20220101_202815.mov If you are looking to snorkel with black tip, reef sharks, I can highly recommend either Raitea or Moorea. But if you don’t know how to snorkel and just want to get in the water with black tip brief sharks, you can probably do that easier in Moorea where no swimming is involved and you can stand for the encounter. Just Look at this guys eyeball …..

oh yes, the water was VERY warm. Much warmer than Hawaii was (even yesterday and we are getting close to May). Unfortunately the warm water is expected to create a large bleaching event in FP like what happened in 2019 😭. Like forest fire, reefs can comeback from catastrophic bleaching but it takes sooooo much time. But, if there is a bright side, you will not need to wear skin and it’s not even a bit chilly getting out of the water and there is evidence to show just how much the reef has returned.

Are from the USA? If so, i highly recommend you rent a car. The pick up is literally across the street from the ship. Hawaii roads are super easy to drive on. No way to get lost. This will give you lots of freedom to hike many trails and see much of the park. The park is huge, you will want to drive around it and not just get dropped off at the main visitor area. You can even swing by rainbow falls on your way home. Car. Car. Car.

Princess went to 8% awhile ago. I expect Carnival will change soon. Worth noting since other cruise lines have been mentioned. Each card has different terms and conditions. RCL/Celebrity cards are much less versatile. Also worth noting, the HaL gift cards are technically not reloadable according to the T&C. The definition of reloadable has different interpretations but I’ve never liked this exclusion.

It’s not that the islands aren’t beautiful, but it’s the water surrounding the islands that draws me to return. French Polynesia reminds me of what Hawaii was like when I first moved to Oahu back in the 80s. There are lots and lots of days to just gaze out at the ocean (and by lots I mean LOts). I would not recommend this itinerary for anyone who doesn’t absolutely LOVE sea days, but since you love the water and sea days I’ll go out on a limb and suggest this is a perfect itinerary for you. 🤙 The color of this water in FP is UnEarthly. Picture yourself gliding across this stretch on the way to lunch on your very own Gilligan’s Island. What’s not to love? IMG_3716.mov

The next quarterly release to the SEC is June. Should hear by then.

I suspect a gift card purchased directly from HAL would be easier to track. A gift card doesn’t code as travel when purchased thru AARP. It codes as a third party purchase. The specific language in AmEx policy precludes me from relying on this cards travel insurance. I love the Amex product, but CSP language is much broader for travel insurance. I think you are wise not to pay for your trip with gift cards if your only insurance is that offered by Amex.

Here is some more from a snorkeling trip Raitea. The snorkeling trips circle the island of TaHaa. You can elect to see the vanilla and pearl plantation, or skip those and just spend more time in the water. You know what I picked :). FullSizeRender.MOV Our gorgeous Motu for lunch (I didn’t particularly like the food but I have the palette of a toddler). I was perfectly happy just spending time here. IMG_3267.MOV FullSizeRender.mov IMG_3245.MOV

Continuing on with more snorkeling videos. These are also from Raitea (I was on the same trip as @canadianbear and @SonuvaBeach). For what it’s worth, to me French Polynesian is all about the water!! I will do zero land trips here next year. The coral reefs are still alive (although obviously some evidence of coral bleaching). Plus, it’s super hot on land. He** hot like nothing I have ever experienced. IMG_3759.MOV For a first time visitor, some land trips make sense, but if you like the water like I like the water, this itinerary is PERFECT for you!!! FullSizeRender.mov IMG_3412.MOV IMG_3437.MOV That shark swam directly underneath me!

That is correct. Premium did not allow videos to be posted to cruise critic (although I could post them to my social media pages). I think it’s mostly a cruise critic problem. I’m going to set up my own YouTube channel like Jim because I think links load better. I loved the sharks too! I swam with them 5 times. The first was the deep sea cage dive on the North shore of Honolulu. Totally different than those tame little blacktips in Moorea and Reatea - FullSizeRender.MOV I’m thrilled I did this (even though I heaved my cookies along with half the boat as it was super rough). We were completely surrounded by a couple dozen 15-18 footers! Perfect for this adrenaline junkie FullSizeRender.MOV Ps this was my first attempt with my new GoPro and the waves were HuGe making it even more challenging. Sorry, I’m just not a videographer. But if you want to swim with sharks I can hook you up!! FullSizeRender.MOV

There are lots of Hawaii experts here, but if you have never been this is my recommendation. Hilo- volcano national park Kahalui in Jan- head to Ma’alea bay for a whale watch Honolulu- Polynesia cultural center Kauai- Waimea canyon Kona- this is a hard one. Before covid Kona was a cool little town to just stroll thru. Now many of the shops have gone out of business. I read Kona brewery is now doing tours, that place is ok. If you are a golfer the Kona country club would be my choice for how To spend that day.