We made it to Fiji in nothng like a cattle call, the hotel here is very nice....

more later

Hi Grant & Dena! I'm so jealous! After reading Susan's sea mail, I'm dying to be back on the PG. It's ok, though. Alice and I are heading back to Cayman for Memorial Day week and plenty of diving.

Enjoy Fiji! Have an awesome cruise!

BULA from Fiji! Today we are in Suva, which is the capital and a good-sized city.

Yesterday we were at Malolo Island where we did some excellent snorkeling. We have one more

stop in Fiji tomorrow, then we sail on to Tonga, the Cook Islands, and French Polynesia.

We are very glad to be back on the PG. As Andrea and Susan have reported, the ship is

running well under its new management. The crew includes many familiar faces that we have

sailed with before including the cruise director, chef, some of the Gaugines, and much of

the wait staff. The food has been excellent as well.

Here are a few of Grant's photos from the first three days:


BUla Bus at the entry to the Sheraton Resort


Red ginger flower




Malolo Island coconut drink greeting


Grant waterskiing from the PG Marina


Performance by marching band as we docked at Suva


Kava root and packaged Kava at the Suva market


Streetside shoe repairman

Clock tower - Suva botanical gardens


Guard at the residence of Fiji's president

Makes me want to get back on the PG for a more extened cruise! Be honest, how does she handle the seas between these islands? Are you rocking and rolling at all?

Yesterday was our last day in Fiji and now we are headed for Tonga. Fiji was beautiful and its people are fun and friendly.

Pictures from Savusavu, Fiji


Flower greeting


Savusavu


Savusavu airstrip - runway inspection required :)


Savusavu shoreline

Beautiful pictures Dena....enjoy Tonga !!

Thanks Dena, I love it when photo's are posted directly to LCT and yours are beautiful.

Today we enjoyed a gorgeous sea day with perfect sunny weather, breezes, and blue skies. The PG is handling the open sea well - you can feel motion of course, but it's not uncomfortable at all. The staff has kept us entertained and well fed all day.



Fish with vanilla bean sauced prepared by sous chef Guillermo in this morning's cooking demo


Last night we were treated to a performance of Fijian songs and dances before leaving Savusavu


The little boy in the front on the left stole the show. He has a lot of charisma!

Loving your photos and stories from the South Seas!

Loving your pixs and reports!

Dena and Grant,
Feel like I am still onboard with you. Didn't you love that little boy? He is going to go far with that winning smile and personality.

I am assuming you were at the Sheraton on Lautoka. It really was nice as was the Westin.

We had a spectacular day in beautiful Tonga. The approach to the harbor is dotted with many small islands and the water is clear and colorful in a range of shades of blue.


Local musicians


Vanilla beans at the market


St. Joseph's Cathedral


Beautiful beach


Sandy beach, looking across to another island


Looking outside from inside Swallows Cave

Your pics are fantastic, Grant & Dena! :app: Looks like the weather has been picture-perfect as well. Ahhhh, paradise...soak in every last minute!!!

We have two consecutive sea days, so there are no new photos but I thought I'd share some news and thoughts on the ship. We last sailed the PG in 2006 and I will say that there are not many differences at all, other than the use of the new PG Cruises logo. Just about every thing else is still the same, which is a good thing. The deck furniture is nicer than when we were on before, but it's consistent with the new furniture on the other Regent ships in the last few years. The food is very good - I'd say even a little better than before. There are five entrees offered for dinner each night and the variety has been good.

We are in 625, which is a very good location. It's fairly low and midship, and has convenient access to the stairs. The cabins on deck 6 were retrofitted with balconies in drydock which is a nice addition. The ship has never felt crowded to us, and lines have always been minimal, but the ship is not at capacity for this sailing so it seems even more spacious.

The crew and staff is as smiling, friendly, and gracious as ever. We love the small ship feeling and the chance to get familiar with crew who know our names and preferences. There seems to be no changeover in crew or staff due to the management change - in fact we have sailed with many of them before. We've sailed previously with Captain Zupan, cruise director Michael Shapiro, chef Grant, divemaster Dominique, several of the headwaiters, and many of the waiters and bar staff. We have a great entertainment team with 8 Gaugines, Siglo, Hal Fraser, and a magician who is the guest entertainer. We are fortunate to have Jean Michel Cousteau onboard - his lectures have been very interesting and thought provoking.

If anyone has had any concerns about the PG after the management change, we can report that all is well in paradise. If anyone has any questions, we'll be glad to answer or find out.

Sounds good (and consistent) with what Susan was reporting. I'm sure that Gail and I will try to return to "paradise" some day. I still think that French Polynesia is the most beautiful place I've ever been. Maybe we'll look for an itinerary like yours in 2012.

--------------

Eugene

Dena
So happy to hear "paradise" still exists on the PG! I'd love to return, but we're likely not going to soon due to the damage on the reefs around Moorea and Bora Bora from the crown of thorns. However, we've only done the 7-day Society Island itinerary (3 times), so maybe we too should look for an itinerary in 2012 that goes to different islands.
I love the PG!

Kim,
Yes the crown of thorns really have heavily damaged the reefs which won't regenerate for 8-10 years. Quite sad but there are still lots of sharks and marine life. I highly recommend either the 11 or 12 day as the diving in Rangiroa is the best.

Eugene and Gail,
The best news is that French Polynesia is as beautiful as ever. It continues to elude heavy commercialism.

Susan, Wish we could have gone with you this time. Oh well, let's plan something for 2012! woo hoo!
[OOPS! Editing to say that Alice just reminded me we're looking at Nile 2 for 2012. As she says, "Some place we HAVEN'T been!" LOL.

We're off to Grand Cayman tomorrow. If not, I'd be going crazy from all the Sea Mail from the PG lately!

Dena and Grant,
Hoping that you continue to have a great time! We'll have to catch-up with your posts in a week.

Now THAT is the biggest reason we love going there! We've only been twice, but this is one region that we'd return to again and again.

Greetings from somewhere near the international date line! Today was our second Friday, May 28 due to our crossing of the date line. What better place is there to repeat a day? Here are a few photos from our sea days. The weather continues to be great and we look forward to arriving at Aitutaki in the Cook Islands today.



Jean-Michel Cousteau participates in the cooking demo...his dish was portobello mushrooms stuffed with Boursin cheese. Delicious!


The Tahitian Country Fair was held on deck. The bar staff won the people's choice award for the most fun booth.


Junar, one of our favorite waiters, demonstrated his award-winning napking folding skills.

Greetings from the Cook Islands! Aitutaki is definitely one of the most beautiful islands we've ever seen. It's similar to Bora Bora with surrounding motus, a lagoon with turquoise water, and a central "mountain." We hiked to the top of the mountain to take in views in all directions of the island. Later we rented a scooter and went to a few of the beaches. Tonight we are sailing for Rarotonga.



Cook Islands Christian Church, which dates back to the 1820s, but was damaged in a cyclone


From the top of Mount Maungapu


View of motus and reef around Aitutaki


Flowers with the lagoon in the background

Gorgeous photos!!! :app:

Well, if anyone ever gets into Rarotonga, we look forward to hearing all about it! After we enjoyed Aitutaki so much, we were really looking forward to Rarotonga but upon our arrival the conditions were not good for tendering. We'd also learned about a special commemorative sailing of traditional Polynesian canoes using ancient navigation methods. The canoes had departed from Raiatea a few days earlier and were at Rarotonga where we could go to see them. Next time, I guess! So we continued on to Bora Bora, where we arrived last night.

The beauty of Bora Bora never disappoints. We took a taxi around the island for photo opportunities, walked through the town of Vaitape, and spent the afternoon at the ship's motu. Other than an intense afternoon downpour while we were at the motu, it was a lovely day, and best of all we are still here tomorrow. Grant will be diving with Jean Michel Cousteau in the morning, then we are planning a lagoon cruise/snorkeling trip.

Photos from Bora Bora day 1:


Colors of water in the Bora Bora lagoon


Mountain on Bora Bora


Beach view


Bora Bora overwater bungalows


Coastline as the sun sets


Beach view


Jean Michel Cousteau has been extremely gracious in talking with all passengers and allowing photos

Love all your seamail and photos Dena. We've been to Rarotonga but for the life of me I can't remember what we did...probably enjoyed gorgeous beaches?

Napkin folding skills? Joel from the Explorer II demands a rematch, Dena. Glad you and Grant are having a wonderful time.

Cheers, Anne

More beautiful pics. Sorry you had to miss Rarotonga. I am missing the PG big-time right now (and everything that goes with it!). Thanks so much for taking us along with you, Grant & Dena!

PS - when is it that you gain a day? (Or have you already?) I have always thought that would be so neat. (Says the girl who gets excited about "gaining" an hour when Daylight Savings Time is done!)
:D

Kristin,
Dena was lucky and gained a day at the beginning of her trip in Fiji. Conversely we lost a day which is always sad. We too were unable to get into Rarotonga. Seems this island eludes many. Wish we were all on the Bora Bora Motu sipping a rum punch.

The international date line falls between Tonga and Cook Islands. So we left Tonga on May 27, we had May 28 at sea, then we repeated May 28 once again after crossing the date line. We got to repeat one day while Susan had to skip a day on the calendar altogether. I think we got the better deal! :)

Anne, Junar says that napkin folding is just like origami. However we don't to keep his creations...

We are looking forward to motu day tomorrow!

Bora Bora day 2: Grant did a morning dive with Jean Michel Cousteau while I went to the lovely motu. In the afternoon we did a circle lagoon boat trip with excellent shark viewing (while snorkeling), playing with the rays, and coral garden snorkeling. An excellent day! Tonight is Polynesian night with a special dinner and then a show by the Gaugines on the pool deck.


Grant and Jean Michel before their dive






Bora Bora views


Grant plays with sting rays

The Polynesian dinner was a new addition since we were last on the PG, and it was really

nice. The crew went all out decorating L'Etoile including coconut shell candleholders and

shells for the bread/butter plates. The servers all wore tropical shirts and there was a

special dinner menu, then the Gaugines had their show out on the pool deck. It was a very

fun evening! Yesterday was the day at Motu Mahana which is always a great day. Today we're

in Moorea which means that tomorrow is a long travel day home. It's been an excellent trip

- one of our very best ever.

Scenes from Motu Day:

Sure has been fun traveling with you two!!!!

Dena,
I am so jealous that you got an extra day plus the Motu Mahana which we did not have. Yes you definitely got the better itinerary. We had hoped to go with you but alas since Linda and Ngaire already had trips planned I had to opt for the earlier trip.

Be still my heart! Motu Mahana...probably the best two days of my life!

So glad you've had a great trip, Grant & Dena. I think I saw this was a last-minute booking for you?

If only we had won the Powerball Lottery the other night!!!

Lovely shots! So, how is Motu Mahana, really? Your shots don't show a lot of the island itself. Has it recovered from the damage?

Great photos, Grant and Dena. I would love to go back to French Polynesia. I'm happy to hear that the Paul Gaugin is meeting your expectations.

Most of the palm trees are in great shape lots of shade, but a lot of the reef is gone. They just got new beach chairs in PPT today to take to the island on the next trip, other than that seems the same to me...

Dena

Can Junar do THIS with a napkin? I think not!! ;)

Anne - ha! A challenge for Junar to be sure. Maybe a very heavily starched napkin...

Wendy - the motu seemed the same to me except that the small dock was washed away. They are trying to get permission to have it rebuilt, but apparently there are some bureaucratic delays in getting the necessary approvals. But the water landing from the beach tender is fine.

Kristin - we did book at the very last minute - just over two weeks prior to departure. The best part is that the credit card bill isn't due for another two weeks! :) There were great promotions offered on this trip which were very tempting, and we're glad we took the bait.

Jean Michel announced that there will be a special divers cruise in June 2011 which will include members of his Ocean Futures team as well as live remote broadcasts of dives to the ship and to the web.

Also this was our first PG cruise with Siglo - they were on vacation on our previous trips - and I have to say they are definitely the best cruise ship band we've seen. The range of music they can play is amazing, and they do it with personality. The guitar player was excited that they got to play "Free Bird" three times on this trip, based on passenger requests.

Dena