My Reflections on Tales of the South Pacific - Amsterdam, R/T San Diego

[erewhon]

Maureen,

 

Thank you for taking time to write your wonderful review.

A question about Bora Bora, was the private tour vehicle available at the tender pier? Did you pay with US$ ?

[madera1]

Thank you for such an interesting report of your long cruise. Glad you are able to do so much cruising.

 

 

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[RMLincoln]

Maureen,

 

Thank you for taking time to write your wonderful review.

A question about Bora Bora, was the private tour vehicle available at the tender pier? Did you pay with US$ ?

 

Hello there!! Yes, we walked off the tender and there was a bit of a mob hanging around outside a tourism hut hawking tours. One young man had a sign about this tour and was answering questions, gathering up folks. He had another man who was the driver walk us over to the vehicle. We were 5 passengers and one guide in the Land Rover; we sat in the open sided, covered back with the other couple, could have had another two easily. We were also provided ice cold bottled water from a cooler, so welcome!

 

We paid $70US each. The similar, not exact duplicate, ship tour was $160 or $170pp US. It worked out perfectly for us so that is why we let the plan for the beach slide to the next day. We weren't sure that between the two of us that we could come up with the cash to pay the fee on the spot, but he said we could pay him the rest tomorrow! We did have enough so no need to go find them later on. But very accommodating.

 

Are you heading that way? If so, happy planning and wishing you a grand time. m--

[USN59-79]

I have enjoyed reading your report. As an old Navy person, I had to mention that after Polliwogs are initiated they become Shellbacks, not Turtlebacks.

[scluvsrain]

Such a wonderful review, thank you so much! I was on the spring Westerdam cruise along with Kazu, Traveling Dot and others, and your review brought back wonderful memories of my cruise. I love the longer cruises! I will be on the Amsterdam for the upcoming world cruise so I was especially attentive to your description of the condition of the ship.

 

Enjoy your snow and congrats on becoming 4 stars!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[RBB]

Your review brought back fond memories of the South Pacific on Amsterdam during this year's world cruise. I was particularly glad to hear that the same Adagio group was still on board. Great musicians & they are particularly adept at jazz improvisation. The pianist's name is Attila, & I agree he is special.

 

Rick

[RMLincoln]

Your review brought back fond memories of the South Pacific on Amsterdam during this year's world cruise. I was particularly glad to hear that the same Adagio group was still on board. Great musicians & they are particularly adept at jazz improvisation. The pianist's name is Attila, & I agree he is special.

 

Rick

 

Thank you for following along, and especially for Attila's name. I don't know why I didn't get it and I felt bad that I didn't have it for the review. They were there every night and many people enjoyed their talented presentation, right up to the end of the cruise. I understood that they were staying on until May. m--

[RMLincoln]

I have enjoyed reading your report. As an old Navy person, I had to mention that after Polliwogs are initiated they become Shellbacks, not Turtlebacks.

 

Oh, I'm very sorry for that error! Thank you for the correct terminology. I should have referred to our certificates!

 

I know you sailors didn't get egg whites and gelatin, but a much more serious initiation. Thank you for your service! m--

[Johaz]

I did this cruise, though not exactly the same islands, several years ago on the Statendam. Unforgettable!!!

 

 

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[erewhon]

Hello there!! Yes, we walked off the tender and there was a bit of a mob hanging around outside a tourism hut hawking tours. One young man had a sign about this tour and was answering questions, gathering up folks. He had another man who was the driver walk us over to the vehicle. We were 5 passengers and one guide in the Land Rover; we sat in the open sided, covered back with the other couple, could have had another two easily. We were also provided ice cold bottled water from a cooler, so welcome!

 

We paid $70US each. The similar, not exact duplicate, ship tour was $160 or $170pp US. It worked out perfectly for us so that is why we let the plan for the beach slide to the next day. We weren't sure that between the two of us that we could come up with the cash to pay the fee on the spot, but he said we could pay him the rest tomorrow! We did have enough so no need to go find them later on. But very accommodating.

 

Are you heading that way? If so, happy planning and wishing you a grand time. m--

 

Maureen,

Thank you for this helpful information.

 

While on Maasdam booked for next year a cruise that includes Bora Bora.

Embark and disembark in Auckland, no international flight!.......... a very pleasant change.

[Umbarger]

I was also on this cruise. Just wanted clarify two issues.

 

There are cannibals on Nuka Hiva. I talked to Gene about it. A tourist was killed and eaten in 2014. Believe it or not but the guy that got eaten had a last name of Ramen.

 

Also, Nuie was not canceled due to rough seas. The captain said that but it was not true. We talked to one of the tender officers who actually was on the first tender to the pier. We missed Nuie because the tenders were too far below the pier. People would have had to jump 1 meter from the tender to the top of the pier. We asked Gene the next day and he confirmed the tender issue.

 

The captain was untruthful quite a few times on this cruise.

 

Don't know if we ever met on the cruise or not. I believe I met a couple from New Mexico but don't know if that was you or not. ;-)

[RMLincoln]

I was also on this cruise. Just wanted clarify two issues.

 

There are cannibals on Nuka Hiva. I talked to Gene about it. A tourist was killed and eaten in 2014. Believe it or not but the guy that got eaten had a last name of Ramen.

 

Also, Nuie was not canceled due to rough seas. The captain said that but it was not true. We talked to one of the tender officers who actually was on the first tender to the pier. We missed Nuie because the tenders were too far below the pier. People would have had to jump 1 meter from the tender to the top of the pier. We asked Gene the next day and he confirmed the tender issue.

 

The captain was untruthful quite a few times on this cruise.

 

Don't know if we ever met on the cruise or not. I believe I met a couple from New Mexico but don't know if that was you or not. ;-)

 

Thanks for the additional information. I recall that other ships had trouble docking at Niue; sounds like the islanders need to upgrade their dock if they want ships to be able to visit.

 

It's interesting that it was Gene who told us that the issue on Nuka Hiva was a trespassing issue, and maybe it is that too, but he didn't choose to mention the 2014 incident in that conversation. This is unfortunate to hear, Nuka Hiva is a stunning place, especially so with its massive mountains and cliffs after having just visited the flat atolls.

 

I met at least 3 other couples from NM so there were more of us onboard than expected. Trusting you had a good cruise too. m--

Edited December 8, 2016 by RMLincoln

[RMLincoln]

Post Script 2

Land stuff, in no particular order:

 

Luggage: Earlier I mentioned that I’d address a luggage issue later in the thread. Onboard early in the cruise I met a couple who were missing one piece of luggage; they dropped 4 suitcases with the stevedores on the pier in San Diego and only got three delivered to their stateroom. They made all the inquiries, guest relations said they were working on it and maybe it would catch up to the ship in Hawaii. Didn’t happen. All through the cruise they were given hope that maybe NCL had it (the other ship in port when we boarded) or that maybe another passenger had it, or that it could be at the pier when we got back to San Diego.

 

Well I saw them in the San Diego airport returning home and asked them the outcome… no suitcase. Gone. Is it possible it’ll show up someday? Sure, it’s possible and I hope it does. They took it much better than I would have. I’ve developed a corollary to My Motto: “Pack like you’ll never see it again!”

 

Tonga: I mentioned the issues in Fiji about only native Fijians being able to own land. From what I’ve read and learned from others, in Tonga it’s a very different story – the Crown technically owns all land… sort of. The monarch used to have absolute power in Tonga, of which he delegated a bit to the Chiefs for local span of control. But in recent years there is a little more representation of the masses… sort of, in a newly formed house of parliament. And land ownership can be passed down to heirs, sort of, with the approval of the monarch’s representatives. Non-Tongans might be approved to lease land.

 

One local I spoke with readily admitted that Tonga is mostly supported by foreign aid, it is not self-sustaining. One way they’ve tried to raise money is by selling Tongan passports, for instance to people who would otherwise have a passport from a country that wouldn’t get them very far. When people started coming to Tonga, they modified the applicability of these passports so that the buyer couldn’t use it to settle in Tonga, the holder was considered a “Protected Person of Tonga” and would be free to go anywhere in the world a regular Tongan passport could get them to, except Tonga itself. Tonga raised a lot of money this way but it all went to the monarch, so Tonga struggles on.

 

Cannibalism: This was a very real part of the history of some of these places. It was believed that when you consumed another person you absorbed their power, and of course when you ate your enemies, that was the ultimate statement of victory. The missionary era seemed to put the kabash on it, but in Fiji you can still by a souvenir cannibal fork.

 

Geology: There are two kinds of rock in the South Pacific: Volcanic and coral.

There are two related origins of the volcanic islands:

1. A hot spot under the crust causes tears in the crust, allowing the earth’s molten layer to seep out onto the crust (initially onto the ocean floor) as lava. Multiple eruptions over a long time build-up high enough to form islands above sea level, even into great mountains. The tears periodically seal and reopen, thus there are times of active eruptions and times of quiescence. But as that section of the earth’s crust slowly moves away from being over the hot spot (because the plate is being pushed from elsewhere) the islands form as a chain. The Hawaiian island chain is an example of this mechanism; the newest Hawaiian island is Hawaii (Big Island) in the southeast of the chain; Kauai is the older end and got shoved to the northwest of the hot spot. The Society Islands are similar but from a different hot spot in a different part of the plate. Tahiti in the southeast, the younger end, and Bora Bora is in the northwest, the older end.

2. That big Pacific plate of earth’s crust that’s moving west-northwest is sliding down into the Tonga Trench, back into the earth’s deep layers. The friction of this massive plate getting shoved and sinking into the trench that is east of Tonga causes a lot of heat in the crust and melting occurs. The molten material is lighter and squeezes upward erupting in lava and forming islands, such as the Tonga islands just west of the trench.

 

Atolls: Coral critters live in the warmer ocean waters where they accrete their “houses” together and onto each other building up coral reefs. This happens best in the shallow waters around the edges of islands where they get lots of sunlight So when the volcanism has slowed down and the lava isn’t flowing into the ocean anymore, the coral fringe reef around an island is building up while the volcanic island is eroding (from rain, wind and wave action). Eventually the island gets smaller but the reef-ring stays in the same place because it’s still living and growing; the lagoon forms inside the reef-ring in the space where the island used to be. That’s how the island goes from looking like Tahiti (kind of a high, rounded-surface profile) to looking like Bora Bora with its towering spires formed by erosion of the formerly bigger mountain; and the well-developed lagoon formed inside the reef-ring. Ultimately the whole volcanic island erodes away but the reef lives on with the coral adding to the reef structure as long as it gets nutrients from the sea and warmth from the sun. The atolls are the reef-rings that used to have an island in the middle but the island is gone form erosion and now there is only a lagoon inside the reef.

 

 

Travel thoughts, in no particular order.

Currency: We only changed currency in small amounts and only in two places: In Fiji at the mall we needed to buy an hour of WiFi; on Tonga we changed enough for a taxi in case we might need one to get back to the ship after our planned kayak adventure…. but we didn’t kayak and just walked back (used the money at the market rather than change it back). The ship had money exchange available in Fiji ports; Tonga had changers on the pier. In French Polynesia you’d need a bank and I don’t recall one being nearby in Bora Bora where we first entered that country, so one might have had to wait until Raiatea, our second stop in French Polynesia (I remember getting Polynesian francs from an ATM near the tender pier when we were there in 2013.)

 

Whether you change to local currency or use $US at the markets, it’s most likely that you will not get a good exchange rate. Using credit cards will usually get you the best exchange rate. For small purchases we didn’t worry about it, just figured it is part of the cost of traveling; otherwise we used our credit card wherever we could. If you plan to use local transportation you’ll need local currency.

 

Time Zones: Cruising across great distances has the advantage of having the time zone changes come at you more slowly than when flying. But this doesn’t mean that several time zone changes in a week don’t take a toll, or at least they did on me. I brought some melatonin to help me get my internal clock reset, and maybe it helped a little. But I still found myself waking up ready to rise at odd times. Having a long cruise had the advantage of allowing for adjustments to settle in.

 

Clothes: We found that we wore the basics most days and really didn’t need all that we had packed. Most mornings we put on a swimsuit (mine is a tankini top and swim shorts) with a shirt/covertop, and for me a sarong, plus Tiva sandals. This may not be for everyone but this region didn’t seem good for cotton t-shirts and jeans.

 

Health Issues:

Yes, we got a touch of cruise crud and benefited from having some cold meds for a few days.

 

Coral: The coral is very sharp and there were often currents in the areas where snorkeling was good. Many folks got nasty scraps, abrasions and cuts – it’s good to have some covering clothing like a nylon rasher shirt when snorkeling, aqua booties are strongly recommended and I even wore half/fingered gloves which I use for paddling. Good to carry band-aids (the medicated kind have the antiseptic infused in the pad) in your shore supplies.

 

Sun: Sunburn can range from uncomfortable to debilitating; sunscreen is easy, just do it, including feet, lips and ears. A hat helps protect and keeps you cooler. We wore light, covering clothing kayaking, or I tossed my sarong over my legs and feet to protect them.

 

Water: Having refillable water bottles that we could carry on shoulder straps made it easier for us to have enough water to stay hydrated. It’s a lifesaver. Really.

 

Evacuation: There were several guests evacuated for medical reasons and I saw one man at the front guest trying to get help making arrangements for airline tickets out of Pago Pago. These situations are not easy and are quite expensive. The ports of calls on this itinerary are a long way from everywhere. I mention this to encourage anyone considering this type of itinerary to take the time to review your abilities, risks and options to deal with the unexpected.

 

Well, that’s all folks! We had a grand time and wish you all happy travels! m--

[mame42]

Thank you for the wealth of info in this thread, so useful for those of us considering a similar trip.

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

Thanks for all your posts on your wonderful cruise - especially the tips for longer cruises and the odds and ends.

[CharlesTownEer]

Evacuation: There were several guests evacuated for medical reasons and I saw one man at the front guest trying to get help making arrangements for airline tickets out of Pago Pago. These situations are not easy and are quite expensive. The ports of calls on this itinerary are a long way from everywhere. I mention this to encourage anyone considering this type of itinerary to take the time to review your abilities, risks and options to deal with the unexpected.

 

It's been sometime and I am not sure that you will even see this, but I just wanted to comment to say that I have very much enjoyed reading your posts. My parents were on this cruise as well, but unfortunately my father was one of those who needed to be evacuated. He passed very soon after leaving the ship in Moorea and arriving back home after several grueling and costly days of hospital stays, arranging travel, and traveling. He was fighting cancer and was given the go-ahead by his doctors to travel (against the objections of us kids! But it was his only bucket list item). At some point during the cruise, he fell in the stateroom and unknowingly fractured his back, as the cancer had, at that point, spread. Sorry, didn't mean to overshare! But your point is very valid!!

 

Also, I have immensely enjoyed reading about the last places he was able to experience, and hopefully enjoy. We are unable to speak about their trip without the inevitable painful final parts of his story, so it really has meant a lot to be able to read about the places they visited. Thank you for sharing!

[easyboy]

CharlesTownEer, I am so sorry for your loss.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Thanks for the review..

[CharlesTownEer]

CharlesTownEer, I am so sorry for your loss.

 

 

Thank you!

[Umbarger]

Evacuation: There were several guests evacuated for medical reasons and I saw one man at the front guest trying to get help making arrangements for airline tickets out of Pago Pago. These situations are not easy and are quite expensive. The ports of calls on this itinerary are a long way from everywhere. I mention this to encourage anyone considering this type of itinerary to take the time to review your abilities, risks and options to deal with the unexpected.

 

It's been sometime and I am not sure that you will even see this, but I just wanted to comment to say that I have very much enjoyed reading your posts. My parents were on this cruise as well, but unfortunately my father was one of those who needed to be evacuated. He passed very soon after leaving the ship in Moorea and arriving back home after several grueling and costly days of hospital stays, arranging travel, and traveling. He was fighting cancer and was given the go-ahead by his doctors to travel (against the objections of us kids! But it was his only bucket list item). At some point during the cruise, he fell in the stateroom and unknowingly fractured his back, as the cancer had, at that point, spread. Sorry, didn't mean to overshare! But your point is very valid!!

 

Also, I have immensely enjoyed reading about the last places he was able to experience, and hopefully enjoy. We are unable to speak about their trip without the inevitable painful final parts of his story, so it really has meant a lot to be able to read about the places they visited. Thank you for sharing!

 

Oh I am so sorry for your loss. I am glad your father was able to travel the majority of the cruise. Prayers.

[SmartMoveRobyn]

Hello, I have really enjoyed reading about your experiences on this cruise.  My husband and I have booked this same cruise on the Amsterdam departing in October 2019.  I was wondering if you would share the titles and authors of the tour books you had with you on this cruise?

 

Thanks, Robyn

[RMLincoln]

17 minutes ago, SmartMoveRobyn said:

Hello, I have really enjoyed reading about your experiences on this cruise.  My husband and I have booked this same cruise on the Amsterdam departing in October 2019.  I was wondering if you would share the titles and authors of the tour books you had with you on this cruise?

 

Thanks, Robyn

Hello Robyn!  Maureen here, and I am surprised I noticed your post so long after my review.... maybe the Search function is working and that helped you find it.   

 

Of all our cruises I think this was at the top!  We especially loved learning about the wide variety of histories of these islands.  I prepared for our cruise by reading Paul Theroux's "The Happy Isles of Oceania."  That is the book that was used for the book group during our cruise, but it is rather lengthy and I'm glad I had a good head start on it.  The discussion group only read selections of it.  It was the book group selection partly because of the cruise itinerary, and partly because they had a lot of extra copies on Amsterdam that were left over from the World Cruise pillow gifts.  I had read on CC about the book from the WC bloggers, so I acquired a used copy (probably from Amazon) well before our cruise.   I found the book fascinating and insightful.  Plus we like to kayak so there was fun in following that element of adventure way beyond our kayaking scope!    

 

I'll go back through my review and notes to see if I can remember if there was another book I read, can't think off the top of my head just now but will post again if I find something of use for you.  m--  

[RMLincoln]

On 5/26/2017 at 9:24 PM, CharlesTownEer said:

Evacuation: There were several guests evacuated for medical reasons and I saw one man at the front guest trying to get help making arrangements for airline tickets out of Pago Pago. These situations are not easy and are quite expensive. The ports of calls on this itinerary are a long way from everywhere. I mention this to encourage anyone considering this type of itinerary to take the time to review your abilities, risks and options to deal with the unexpected.

 

It's been sometime and I am not sure that you will even see this, but I just wanted to comment to say that I have very much enjoyed reading your posts. My parents were on this cruise as well, but unfortunately my father was one of those who needed to be evacuated. He passed very soon after leaving the ship in Moorea and arriving back home after several grueling and costly days of hospital stays, arranging travel, and traveling. He was fighting cancer and was given the go-ahead by his doctors to travel (against the objections of us kids! But it was his only bucket list item). At some point during the cruise, he fell in the stateroom and unknowingly fractured his back, as the cancer had, at that point, spread. Sorry, didn't mean to overshare! But your point is very valid!!

 

Also, I have immensely enjoyed reading about the last places he was able to experience, and hopefully enjoy. We are unable to speak about their trip without the inevitable painful final parts of his story, so it really has meant a lot to be able to read about the places they visited. Thank you for sharing!

I know your post was quite a while ago, and I am sorry I did not see it then, in late May we would have been going into our fire season, so perhaps that is how I missed it.... then the posts drift into near oblivion.  

 

I am sorry to hear that your father was one of those who had to make the very long journey home under difficult circumstances.  I"m glad you had a chance to read about the cruise, but please accept my belated sympathies for your loss.  Maureen 

[RMLincoln]

5 hours ago, RMLincoln said:

Hello Robyn!  Maureen here, and I am surprised I noticed your post so long after my review.... maybe the Search function is working and that helped you find it.   

 

Of all our cruises I think this was at the top!  We especially loved learning about the wide variety of histories of these islands.  I prepared for our cruise by reading Paul Theroux's "The Happy Isles of Oceania."  That is the book that was used for the book group during our cruise, but it is rather lengthy and I'm glad I had a good head start on it.  The discussion group only read selections of it.  It was the book group selection partly because of the cruise itinerary, and partly because they had a lot of extra copies on Amsterdam that were left over from the World Cruise pillow gifts.  I had read on CC about the book from the WC bloggers, so I acquired a used copy (probably from Amazon) well before our cruise.   I found the book fascinating and insightful.  Plus we like to kayak so there was fun in following that element of adventure way beyond our kayaking scope!    

 

I'll go back through my review and notes to see if I can remember if there was another book I read, can't think off the top of my head just now but will post again if I find something of use for you.  m--  

Hello again Robyn!  I am sorry that I apparently missed the point of your question when I first read it.  You asked about what travel guide books I had....  Moon Handbook of the South Pacific was the one I brought with us.  It was a little out of date.  I also used the Lonely Planet book in the ship's library reference section, until somebody borrowed it for the duration of the cruise.  It was very useful.   In ports I picked up guide books with maps and they were useful too, especially for the Society Islands - there are booklets that cover each of the major islands.  But again, for history and understanding the different cultures Paul Theroux's book gave me abundant insights.  m--

[SmartMoveRobyn]

18 hours ago, RMLincoln said:

Hello Robyn!  Maureen here, and I am surprised I noticed your post so long after my review.... maybe the Search function is working and that helped you find it.   

 

Of all our cruises I think this was at the top!  We especially loved learning about the wide variety of histories of these islands.  I prepared for our cruise by reading Paul Theroux's "The Happy Isles of Oceania."  That is the book that was used for the book group during our cruise, but it is rather lengthy and I'm glad I had a good head start on it.  The discussion group only read selections of it.  It was the book group selection partly because of the cruise itinerary, and partly because they had a lot of extra copies on Amsterdam that were left over from the World Cruise pillow gifts.  I had read on CC about the book from the WC bloggers, so I acquired a used copy (probably from Amazon) well before our cruise.   I found the book fascinating and insightful.  Plus we like to kayak so there was fun in following that element of adventure way beyond our kayaking scope!    

 

I'll go back through my review and notes to see if I can remember if there was another book I read, can't think off the top of my head just now but will post again if I find something of use for you.  m--  

Wow, thanks for the quick reply — I wasn’t even sure you would see it after this much time.

 

Thanks for the recommendations on the books in both your posts.  I will start looking for them immediately.  We are so excited about this cruise!  We live aboard our sailboat in the Caribbean Sea, we started this adventure thinking we would circumnavigate and explore the South Pacific on our own boat.  The arrival of grandchildren has changed those plans and we are happy to sail (relatively) close to home.  This cruise fit the bill to keep that dream active and relative.

 

Robyn