equinelady

Unfortunately we were greeted by winds and pouring rain in Fakarava. All tours cancelled in the morning. One dive did happen, and in the afternoon they added a le truck tour. Some passengers braved the weather, one couple even rented bikes. They had a wonderful time playing with reef sharks at the public beach. Today at sea, at last some sunshine and for the first time in four days the deck chairs are out and the ship is full of smiling faces. The forecast is for good weather for the private motu. The rough seas has affected many so plenty of availability in the La Veranda. Bring a patch if you are going to the outer islands. We are the envy of many with our deck three cabin.

Sjkoen, Loves the pics of the sea sickness bags. And it looks like you got to see some of that Polynesian blue water. Of course I loved the pictures of horses. The crew have been amazing, but the passengers that do not dive are getting a bit depressed. It is 6am coming into Fakarava, and we are rocking on deck 3. Fingers crossed that the snorkeling happens today. We will dive again.

So strong winds again in Rangiroa, so all snorkeling cancelled again. And the grill is closed. And the chairs on the pool deck safely tied up. We feel blessed that the diving went ahead. Though it was touch and go. Very high waves but as soon as you got below, the sea was a different and beautiful world. Possible our favorite dive of our trip. The dive team did a great job. What a team. We saw turtles and six dolphins. And an aquarium full of fish. I will have sweet dreams tonight.

Just a note on eating at the grill for enjoying the sunset. I had to laugh because we did book the first night of Bora Bora . But the sunsets at 6 PM. And the Grill opens at 6:30. So if this is really important for you, you might want to double check the time of the sunset for the month of the year you are traveling.

Although we are completely full, we were able to book all four at one time. Though to be more accurate two of our reservations were on the first half and two were on the second half, as the menu changes half way. As pointed out by tahitianbigkauana this is only on the longer cruises.

Unfortunately the second day in Bora Bora the wind was so strong that all water activities were canceled including diving. Although we only had scattered showers the wind was too strong to put out the pool deck chairs. The grill was closed for dinner as well. Again the Gauguins did an excellent job with keeping us busy. We enjoyed our dance, and ukulele lessons. We also enjoyed making some colorful bracelets. The piano bar was practically lively and we all enjoyed a great sing along. When the magic show was canceled due to rough seas he stayed longer( his longest set ever), some of the staff joined in singing and it was a fabulous way to end the evening. Today the wind seems a little less strong so we are hopeful we make it through the pass into Rangiroa.

We are on the ten day Society and Tuamotus cruise. September is typically a dry month but…. So much rain in Bora Bora on our first day, that our snorkel trips were all cancelled. We were able to add a second dive for today so we can enjoy the famous Boa Bora lagoon. Today we woke up to wind creating white horses in the bay, so they cautioned us that all snorkel trips might be cancelled as well. Yesterday a few excursions were able to happen. Such as the truck tour around the island, and the aqua bike tour. They did a nice job offering lots of crafts. Still we are really hoping for some sun today so we can see those blue colours everyone writes about.

Although we are completely full, we were able to book all four at one time. Though to be more accurate two of our reservations were on the first half and two were on the second half, as the menu changes half way. As pointed out by tahitianbigkauana this is only on the longer cruises.

We are currently on the ten day Tuomotus. When you make your reservations at the La veranda you can book two nights in Grill and two nights in the La Veranda. This is for the ten days. We just had our first meal last night in La veranda, it was delicious!!! If you want to book diving as well maybe split up. We waited two hours to reserve our diving. And we were 6th couple in line. Meanwhile took less than five minutes for us to book our meals. Currently pouring in Bora Bora so all the snorkeling tours have been cancelled 😞

Thank you so much for sharing, so looking forward to diving.

Astrocat, thank you so much for your detailed review. Getting so excited, we leave Sept 20th. Can you clarify a little more the difference, for the Bora Bora pure snorkel, using the PG tour versus private. I booked the PG, my thoughts being to meet onboard passengers more readily. thanks ahead

Flight medic. Thank you so much for the diving information. Can you tell me who they use to dive Fakarava? Thanks in advance

World Nomad does cover diving, but currently has an age limit of 70. Nice insurance plan as also covers many sports including horse riding. Just in case you want to try riding in the Marquesas Islands.

We are currently on the 13 day New Zealand cruise. Just thought I would update regarding mask wearing. We are required to wear masks indoors if not eating or drinking. They are strict about this. Bring extra as they are not freely available. We had to test before going on board Saturday. This was a self test in which we took a photo of the test showing ID and date(watch or cell phone). Then on Sunday morning the ship provided another test, which every one took in their cabin, and then showed results to the room steward.

Starstruckharper, thank you so much for sharing the video. The explanation does help with our disappointment. Covid continues to wreak havoc. Icat2000 thanks for the article. A loss of one port is not enough to ruin our holiday. But we are extremely sad that the itinerary change meant we arrive in Wellington on a different day. I was unsuccessful in changing our tour date for Weta. This is causing turmoil in our group as that tour was our second most anticipated tour. The shire being number one. Will talk to concierge later today in the hope that something can be done.