Pip – Review – Part Two
Saturday – Hooray We Board!
Woke up early for our last day of the OWB, went down for our usual buffet breakfast and just again did our favorite - nothing. We met for lunch with the LCT Group and ate ala carte. Food is quite pricy. I reserved a van/taxi ($25.00 US) earlier in the week to take Pat and Fred with us to the ship at 2 pm. I went to check out while Frank arranged for the porter to get our bags. We all agreed that the Tahitian Porters dressed in their male version of the Pareo would make nice subjects for a beefcake calendar. Anyway, the point is we were early to the dock (2:15) and we were hoping they’d let us on since I was hoping to upgrade at the ship since we had not booked a balcony room and none were available when I had changed my mind about balconies. They asked at the entrance for our cruise docs to let us through the gates via van and we were right there at the gangway. They hadn’t yet set up the champagne but took our luggage right up and there awaited a choice of juice or a glass of the usual from a freshly popped bottle of bubbly for us in Le Grand Salon. By the time we had our keys our room was ready and our luggage there already. We went to Reception to get on the wait list for upgrade but we were first on the list if someone cancelled or did not arrive. We then decided that the room was small enough that unpacking was enough of a chore that if the upgrade did become available we’d forget about moving – it would not be worthwhile.
A quick note about our room – it was beautifully appointed and decorated, but, by RSSC standards, smaller than we were used to having. It was not new, but not shabby in any way. The white marble floor in the bathroom showed some wear and need of perhaps a polishing. I was disappointed that the luxury bedding we were accustomed to on Mariner and Navigator with the down blankets was not a part of the PG. I know that it would not necessarily be available because of the tropical weather but the quality of sheets and towels was only fair. I particularly hated the way they wrapped the blanket between two sheets and the bed was far too hard for our liking. They also used flat sheets on the bottom of the bed so they became untucked every night. My pet peeve of all hotels I when the well used blanket (this one was worn enough to be called tattered) is “exposed†since you do not know when it was last cleaned. We did find out that a foam egg crate topper was available a few days into the cruise which made the very hard mattress more palatable. For those that read my out of context comments, it was Michael (Mailman 055) who said “Mine is hard and I like it that way†referring to the mattress.
We quickly made the rounds to check on reservations for spa and Apicus. Our Shore Excursion tickets were all there in order but we had booked two excursions for Thursday in Moorea and timing would be too tight so we were asked which one we would like to cancel. We decided to take the sunset cruise and not the Moorea Island Tour. We bumped into Cyndi and Tom and Wendy and David and Freddie and Pat right away at 6:30 cocktails in La Palette. We went to dinner in L’Etoile and we were disappointed in the food. I don’t recall exactly what we ate – I had fish, but, it was not what I had expected. Once we had finished eating it was up to the pool deck for sail away. We met the rest of the LCT reveler’s including Ngaire and Ken and danced to the sounds of Siglo into the wee hours. It was a lot of fun and a great way to start the Party in Paradise.
Sunday, Raitea – Day Two
We were up early in the scheme of the last few days so we would be ready for the usual muster at 10AM and then on to the Children of Raiatea show at 10:45. They were holding the drill waiting for one nameless couple, looking rather sheepish, (yes, they were LCT) who had not yet emerged from their stateroom. Once all hands were on deck, we were dismissed and headed right to the pool deck. Not thinking about the sun and lack of shade, we took the first row of seats so that I would get some great camera angles and I was glad I did. I kept hearing Col. Wes’ voice saying “It does not get any better than this†through out the cruise. The show was without a doubt a highlight of the trip. Pat set up his video camera right next to us and we had a really good time watching the dancers and the Mama’s and Papa’s. How cute is it when a 3 year old tries to dance just like the 5 and 6 year olds? It seemed as if there were several age brackets of children each doing their versions of song and dance. They then had a Pareo demonstration and then finally selected several cruisers including our own Suzanne to do the Tahitian versions of hula with them. Down to lunch again and then off to the Bus Tour of Raiatea. Our tour guide was Summer, a California Native who married a local Tahitian about 7 years ago. While the island was poor and yet beautiful, much was closed being Sunday. Summer gave us some great comparisons about life in Tahiti vs. our California life style. We circled much of the island and saw several sacred spots and beautiful scenery. This was the poorest of the islands we visited. We did specifically ask her about the dogs since they were all over. It appears that there have been some veterinarians who come over from New Zealand and donate time to neuter and stop the over population problem. Unfortuantely, the dogs are cared for by their owners but not to our US standards. None are purebred but are not the little small breeds I favor. Most of the dogs have some shepherd mix or are pretty hard to decide what mix they are. There are so few vets that many cannot afford the level of care we give either. A spaying can cost as much as $500.00. We did see two dogs fishing in one of the lagoons for their supper. It was amazing to watch them. I know that the ancestors to my Cairn terrier were adept “fishermenâ€so it was interesting to see. I can see my Daisy in the water after the fish. When the tour was over we walked around the shopping village where I bought a pareo for me.
We returned to the ship to get ready for dinner, and then off to the Captain’s Welcome Aboard Cocktail party. I think we had dinner with Wendy and David and Fred and Pat, but, as I write this I am not 100% sure who else was our dinner companions. After dinner we went to the show to The Visual Artistry of Eric and Wendy, Duo des Iles. Not sure if it was the travel, the wine or what, but, I nodded off during the show and then Frank dragged me off to sleep at its conclusion. A really nice day in paradise.
Day 3 – Taha’a – Motu day – Monday.
Yes, add our names to the list as this being the favorite day for us. We took the first tender so we’d have good seating and why I am not surprised that all the LCT’ers did the same? As a matter of fact, most ended up in the same section of chaise lounges. The lounge for us was almost a storage spot for our stuff. Frank and I ran off quickly for the Snorkel lesson as a refresher. The instructor was from the dive staff and he really made a huge difference in what we learned for our experience. We snorkeled for a few hours and then went into lunch with Ngaire and Ken and several others. After lunch, it was back in the water for more snorkeling and then I used my Swimways raft and floated. I was enjoying myself so much that I cancelled my beach massage and Frank had the full hour since we booked back to back. The beach massage is 25 minutes normally. A group of LCt’ers was making good use of the floating bar, and as I recall emptied it of all drinks at one point. Ken took some group photos of all of us – just standing in the water, I believe. I floated until it was time to catch the tender for my spa treatments. I booked a facial and satin skin treatment. The facial was very relaxing and I almost fell asleep during the treatment. After the facial I had the scrub treatment. When I thought it was finished, she had me shower the sunflower seed paste off and I washed my salt filled hair. She had me return to the room, which, I thought odd, but the best was yet to come and I had a full body massage with that treatment. I did not know it was included. It was one of the best massages I have ever had. Jennifer was the Masseuse. I do not recommend that you book anything on the Motu day. It is too nice to miss. It was our favorite and I would go back on the PG just to experience it again. I will also add that I grew up in California and summers were all day every day at the beach so I love a good day at the beach and this one tops any I have experienced anywhere (well, Megan's Bay in St. Thomas was a pretty close second)
After the slice of heaven, it was time for cocktails at the Connoisseur Club and dinner with the LCT group in Le Grill as arranged by Ngaire.
We brought Fifi Le Frou with us, a Pink stuffed poodle we made at the Build a Bear store specifically for Fred and Pat. Fifi is dressed in a pink and purple swimsuit with purple flip flops and snorkel mask and beach towel. For those of you that don’t know, Fred and Pat have a Cairn terrier who is our Daisy’s cousin. They also have a poodle and they were telling us the hardest part of travel is missing the pets. So we brought them a substitute which their cabin stewards have great fun with by arranging her in a different position and location within the cabin twice a day. Fifi has become a PG legend.
We finally did meet everyone and Dinner Company was terrific. Dinner was a set menu and it was not wonderful. It was steak, but not great quality. Some did seem to enjoy the food, but the company was better. When we finished dinner, some went to see Steve Lewis perform, but, we went to the Casino and tried our hand at the tables and slots before heading off to bed.
Day 4 – Bora Bora – Day 1 - Tuesday
Somehow I booked two excursions for this day. We were up early to catch the Le Truck tour of Bora Bora. It was a complete circle of the island. It was windy so the Bora Bora Motu was cancelled so at least I was not too unhappy that I missed it after a day nirvana the day before. The tour was a good way to see the island. We stopped in many locations with enough time to take photographs of the island’s beauty. At one stop we were told to take the beautiful hibiscus flowers from the bus and throw them out the windows into the holes we saw on the ground. Lo and behold out came some huge ground crabs to drag them back into the holes for dinner. These crabs are powerful enough to flatten a car tire with their claws. Another stop was for a demonstration on how they make the pareo. One was made in our presence and then several of us(including me!) were chosen for a how to wear them including a few men. Coconuts were used as a prop with one gentleman which added to the humor. We also stopped at Bloody Mary’s which of course we found some LCT’ers having, what else? Bloody Mary’s at the bar. The highlight there is a view of the men’s room wash basin which is a water fall and quite beautiful.
We had barely enough time to go back to the ship for lunch and then head back out again for our Aqua Safari adventure. This was one of the highlights of the trip for me. It was very windy outside and the boat which we took from the end of the dock to the dive boat was not the most fun you can have. We were completely drenched with water – including our dry towels - before we even got to the dive boat and we were in our dry clothes for afterward. We transferred to the dive boat and were given instructions. Frank decided it was not something he wanted to do so I got his extra time below the surface. When you start the descent down the ladder of the boat they put your dive helmet on and you descend to the lagoon – ocean floor. Having never dived before, it was an amazing place. I was very buoyant and kept floating up. The dive master went up and got some weights to keep me down. She had me cling to some coral to stay down while she was gone. We had mesh bags of baguette bread and the fish swarmed around us. It was not only crystal clear, but, hearing nothing but your own breathing and the silence down there just spectacular with the multicolored fish around you. I took photos with an underwater camera but will have to scan a few to put up on the board. There was one fish down there that was tipped with hot pink and blue that looked almost painted. The color was so vivid. I was sorry when my 45 minutes were up.
Tonight is at Apicus with Fred and Pat and not one cocktail party was planned! This was the best dinner on the ship for us. Three of us had the rack of lamb which was superb and Pat had the Risotto, which we had as ordered another night later on as a side dish when rack of lamb was on the menu at l’Etoile. Fred chose a really nice Red Burgundy wine that was not on today’s selection, however, it was from the complimentary list.
We missed the Gauguines show time; instead we opted for a little casino time before calling it a night having successfully won back my deposit of the day before.
Wednesday – Bora Bora Day Two
Lagoonarium is on our agenda today up early again to do the excursion. This one was a complete canoe (motorized) around Bora Bora. The first part was to the Lagoonarium and our guide, Xavier, who was from Guadalupe in the Caribbean was a total delight as was his sidekick, who was a local Tahitian, who spoke no English but had a great time with us and a lot of personality. Frank totally enjoyed our swim with the fish and sharks and sting rays, but after the Aqua Safari nothing, even as good as the snorkeling was, it was pale in comparison. Our Tahitian host, pulled an Octopus out of the water and began kissing it which was quite a highlight. He actually showed us the mouth and teeth (he did sustain a mild bite) and it was very comical. We had a fruit snack before our return canoe ride and tour via ocean of Bora Bora.
We went back to the ship and had dinner at after the AMEX cocktail party with The Captain and Claudia, the Social Hostess, Wendy and David, Marc and Arlene. You need to note here that we have bought barely any drinks on board between the parties and wine at dinner. I had a little left over vodka from our shoreside party and it was enough to sustain us through out the cruise. We left with two full bottles of vodka – one Grey Goose and One Absolute. We left the Absolute for the Back to Back group.
After dinner we met up with all at the Martini Night Dance Party in La Palette. It was a pretty wild night of dancing to the Siglo and later the DJ who was playing disco music from the mid and late 70’s. This was a very fun night for me, it’s not often that I get to relive the Dancing Queen period of my early 20’s. I hardly sat down until it was over wearing out my poor husband, who was from the era of the twist. The seas were a little rough from the wind and it was funny to watch the entire dance floor of people sway from one end to the other with the movement of the ship. We all had a really good time, closing out the night’s entertainment until the wee hours. I took many pictures here which I will post later.
Day 6 - Moorea – Thursday
We woke up on the tired side since we were up late and the ship had a lot of movement. We had no excursions today since the sunset sail was cancelled due to bad weather. Diving and the marina were also closed. It was windy outside and our only plan was to walk around the village and visit The Black Gem Pearl Company Store! We set anchor but the ship was not holding in Cooks Bay so the Captain had to relocate to Opunohu Bay. We took the van with Keone, the store rep that is on ship and a few others where Frank realized he was in for a serious expense. The first necklace I chose ended up way over our budget (more than a Tiffany Diamond Engagement Ring!) so we had to start the selection process over again still going over budget, but, I am the proud owner of a beautiful “station†(it has chain between the pearls) pearl design necklace and stud earrings. After our purchase, we walked up and down the street venturing into the little stores including an ABC grocery store that reminded us of Hawaii, but, we think, not the same owners. We were still looking for the perfect item for Friday’s gift exchange. We had lunch at a small open restaurant (Le Patio) that had Panini and Crepes. They were out of the Panini so Frank ordered Calamari and I had a hamburger since I wasn’t sure if it was calamari or octopus and the crepes were all dessert crepes. The calamari was good but the hamburger was about McDonald’s quality of the meat. What was fun was the local dogs and chickens roaming about – inside the restaurant. All well fed, I might add. The dogs came and lay down at my feet just like I get at home. No begging. The chickens were in and out. I wondered if they were part of the menu.
Back at the ship we readied for the Seven Seas Party – always the best on the ship with Caviar and Jumbo Shrimp cocktail. Of course most of the LCT group was there and Suzanne was given a gift for having the sailed the most days with RSSC of any passenger – over 70 days.
We went in to dinner, and while I have specifically forgotten what was on the menu I do know that as the week went on the food was better. I think we had the Rack of Lamb and a side order of Risotto in lieu of the potato that came with.
Frank was tired (probably from sticker shock at the price of pearls) and called it an evening and left me to my own vice in the Casino. Lynette joined me at the table and we had fun playing – she is a good player. Michael and Heather joined in the fun and it really was a group game. The dealer bested me and I went over to play the slots for a while. I played for several hours between the blackjack table and slots without any major damage since I would be receiving a hefty AMEX bill when I got home between the hotel, excursions and pearls - ïŠ
Day 7 Moorea –
Again, we were up early for our Photo Excursion. This was a great way to see Moorea and it made us glad we cancelled the island tour which conflicted with our cancelled sunset sail. We are advanced photographers and this was a perfect excursion for us. The photographer, Bernard, was very anxious to please as was our 4x4 driver, Maui. Maui owns his 4x4 and wanted to make sure you all know he is available for hire when you are there! Anyway, we went all over the island and depending on your favorite thing to photograph - it was all there. Flora, Fauna, Landscape, ocean view, mountain view, animals and ship. It was one of our favorite days doing what we love! I will post some of the photos when I have a chance.
We returned for lunch to the ship for International Buffet, and then returned to our room to find them ready to kick us out. Our bed had its usual “get out the suitcase gray bed cover†and we did pack up – a most dreaded chore. It’s the only thing Frank and I seem to have a problem with since there always seems to be too much to bring home and fit in our suitcases. As usual I could have taken way less and been fine. We had a whole suitcase of unworn clothes. When we finished packing it was time for our Gift Exchange and then pre dinner cocktails which we arranged with Fred and Pat early on. We missed the final staff goodbye. The gift exchange was a hoot with Lynette on the receiving end of a very interesting packaged vegetable thanks to Anne and Gary’s creativity. We had dinner with Anne and Gary who we enjoyed visiting with and sharing travel experiences.
The entertainment for that evening was O Tahiti E which we had seen at home a year ago. That was very entertaining and not to be missed. I went up to the final night of dance entertainment at La Palette and Frank went off to our room. We caught the staff doing some impromptu singing (Phillipe) and it was delightful. After that, there was dancing and Fred was the man of the hour being an excellent dancer. There was some melancholy starting to set in that tomorrow would be the end of a really nice week. Afterwards, I got in and finalized the packing and Frank put the bags out.
Debarkation day and the Radisson Plaza
RSSC has it down pat when it comes to getting off the ship. Tahiti Nui Travel does the land portion and they could use some organization lessons.
We woke up, had breakfast and check our hand luggage in Le Grand Salon. I was concerned to leave my camera gear, but it was done so that you got a claim check and it was all tagged and numbered in plain view so that there could be no lost items. We then went up to the pool and visited with a few people. Then up to the pool deck for the Bloody Mary party. It was too warm for us so we went to the Connoisseur Club for the talk by a former Gauguine about culture and life in Tahiti. We enjoyed it - her warmth and attitude came through and we stayed a visited with her and a few others. Then off to the final lunch on board before our 1:15 pm removal from the ship and housing at the Radisson Plaza. We said our goodbyes and boarded our bus. Check in was well done with keys available right away. We went to the room and had packed our swimsuits not realizing that it would take a few hours to get the luggage. So we napped in the suite they gave us. We had a full 1200 sq. ft suite with bedroom, two baths and huge living room and dream bath room. It was like a slice of heaven after being in a small cabin all week.
When we awakened we found our luggage outside our door and someone else’s luggage placed inside the room door. We called down to tell them, but, they never came to get it. We saw it back down with our own so I am sure it was claimed by its owner. We found the group sitting near the pool bar spending their final time together. We went in to have a bite, since we knew there would be nothing to eat until probably 11 pm . We had Panini which was delicious but very expensive for a grilled cheese and pesto sandwich. Our meal came to $50.00 with a few cokes and a shared dish of ice cream. We went to watch our luggage head out to the bus. I did not want to leave it in the room since it seemed too chaotic and since we had Mr. Winkler’s luggage without them removing it.
The organization was missing that went so smooth leaving the ship that it was like every man to themselves to get on the bus to the airport. But once there everyone was scattered so goodbyes were non-existent for us. Sometimes that is a good thing. I like see you later much better.
Summary:
I’d do this trip in a heartbeat again. If you compare it to other RSSC cruises, than you will find it very different. The closest I can use for comparing is Bermuda since the ships are basically floating hotels. Tahiti is beautiful and expensive (Bermuda is not inexpensive either). The island flavor in Tahiti is delightful. The food is different and not as good by my personal standards as that on the other ships but not bad at all. In fairness, it is hard to get many things in Tahiti that would be obtainable elsewhere and RSSC must need to adapt to be in the market there and stay afloat.
Specifically, if you go you will have fun. If you look for the negatives you will find it - on any ship anywhere.
The one thing I would do if I took this cruise a second time would be to leave early Saturday morning on the Air France 8:20 am flight and miss the day of chaos that is not a proper send off and a night of sleeping in coach class.
As Col Wes said of his day at the Motu,"It doesn't get better than this"
