Internet was down all day in Moorea on Thursday. We're off to search for dolphins with Dr. Poole. Hopefully I'll have time to post more later today.

BIG news of yesterday is that all Davis women now have black pearls.

Luke

Wow - how lucky they are!! Be sure to take a pic and share with us! :eek:

yeah for the Davis women!!!!!!

Disembarkation morning ... a/k/a "T-minus ____ and counting"

For anyone coming on the PG soon, look for our fingernail marks in the carpet and the trail of tears from when the crew was dragging us off the ship.

Not only a good cruise, but a great cruise. The entire week was enjoyable, memorable, and meaningful. Family time was invaluable. Sharing with friends, old and new alike, was special.

No two cruises are alike, even in the same location. We look forward to what is in store for us on the next cruise (whereever and whenever that may be).

Now to begin the return trek to Dallas ... and reality.

Luke

Luke,

I'm so glad you and your family had such a great time. Thanks for your reports. I really enjoyed reading them. Hope you have a safe trip home.

Betty

Luke, glad your family had such a wonderful time together. I think that's terrific. Now, getting back to reality, well that's really hard!! Good luck and safe travels.

Resting at the Intercontinental Tahiti before our 10:00 p.m. ATN flight to LAX. Since we are traveling as RSSC “independents,” we did not have a day room included in our cruise package. We opted to pay for two rooms here since we love the property, we are so close to the airport, and we received the Ambassador upgrade to panoramic view rooms (just across from the Lotus swimming pool).

Back to our days on Moorea …

Our only scheduled event was a 1:30 parasailing excursion booked via RSSC. Dad and I arose early to watch the sail-in to Opunohu Bay (in 2001 we docked in Cook’s Bay). The majesty of Moorea becomes more apparent with each passing moment. The island presents a spectrum of geological formations, flora and fauna, and all shades of green. Bora Bora may have the unparalleled lagoon with varied shades of blue, but Moorea is clearly the most beautiful island in the eyes of Team Davis.

Mother and Dad treated Paula and Meredith to facials at the Carita Spa. Mother also had a facial, followed by a hair appointment. All 3 Davis women emerged renewed and ready for the day. We lingered at our favorite table outside La Veranda as breakfast soon faded to lunch … I am convinced this is my favorite place on the ship (as long as we’re sitting in shade).

At noon we learned that our parasailing was cancelled and was rescheduled for Day 2. I made a quick executive decision that we go to “Tahia Collins” (f/k/a Black Pearl Gem Co.). A quick tender and free shuttle took us to black pearl nirvana. This store operates the black pearl boutique on the PG, providing 30-day money back guarantees and the option to trade your purchase toward other items found during the cruise. The shop is beautiful and the sales clerks professional and helpful, and not “pushy.” After days of shopping onboard, Mother finally found THE strand of pearls she had longed for. The store would need to add about 4 inches of pearls, but would have the strand delivered to the ship by 5:00. Meredith then found THE single pearl drop to make her trip even more special. We had a VERY happy ride back to the tender station.

There were no minivans available for rental in Moorea, so I opted to hire a taxi to drive us to the Belvedere lookout. Emilio provided a splendid narration as we drove to/from Belvedere. The vistas from that vantage spot are phenomenal and NOT to be missed. Yes, we would have liked to rent a car to tour the island, but this was a reasonable and worthy substitute.

We arrived back at the ship just in time for the “pearls and champagne” reception at the PG boutique. Mother’s strand of pearls is magnificent and brought smiles to everyone who saw the pearls and her excitement. The highlight of the event was the appearance of the store’s namesake, Tahia Collins. Mrs. Collins is a charming Moorean who took great delight in sharing everyone’s excitement and answering all questions.

By the way, Cynthia, the Tahia Collins rep on the PG, is a GEM of a person (no pun intended). She was very helpful in Mother’s shopping, providing information at all times and opinions only when requested. Interesting tidbit is that Cynthia worked for Marlon Brando in Tahiti during the final 22 years of his life.

After that celebration, we ventured to the Seven Seas Society reception on Deck 9. Great food and beverage, and warm conversation with staff. We had a nice time with the Captain, learning more about the drydock and the various changes … more on that later.

The evening finished with another superb meal in L’Etoile. We dined most nights with our law school friends, the Mott family. AND on all but one evening we had the 10-top “Captain’s Table” (the Captain never ate dinner in L’Etoile this week). Great conversation and cuisine – a recipe for a magical meal.

More on Moorea later.

Luke

Luke, it has been great reading your reports over the past week. What really impresses me is that a MAN/HUSBAND can speak with enthusiasm about the ladies getting just what they wanted in the black pearl category!

Did you do the parasail from the Moorea Beachcomber Hotel? We stayed there pre-cruise a few years ago, and did it from hotel, but that was the site for launching for RSSC at the time. It was exhilerating!

Luke,

Your reports have been terrific. I feel like we were there with you and we got to relive parts of our trip to paradise as well!

Welcome Home.

Luke,

Thanks you SO much for writing us while on the PG. I had MANY conversations with Cynthia the "Pearl Lady". She was wonderful. Answered all questions and never pushy. I liked that. My day at what was known as "Black Gem Pearl Company" then was the best! I certainly can relate the the ladies in your family!

Safe travels!

BAbs

Luke, hope you had a safe trip home. I was laughing at your trail of tears comment. You reports have been WONDERFUL. I didn't expect to see this post this morning so it was a real treat!

Luke- My husband and I really enjoyed your reports since we are doing this trip in July. Should we book the side trips before we go on the cruise or do we do it when we get on the cruise? I think that you took your laptop with you? Were you glad that you did? Hope you are home safe and sound.

Hi Luke and welcome home. Thanks for posting your reports, I really enjoyed reading them. I am glad that the 3 generations had such a wonderful time - what a perfect vacation especially with meeting up with your friends!

Dena

Day 2 in Moorea was going to be full.

We began the day on an 8:30 tender for dolphin watching with Dr. Michael Poole. Due to our busy social calendar the night before, we missed Michael’s onboard lecture (Paula and I attended his talk in ’01 and we highly recommend it if you have time) (he much prefers “Michael” to “Dr. Poole”). We had a small group of 14 with Michael, which allowed for very personal interaction and plenty of Q&A during the morning. Michael is a research scientist who has studied the spinner dolphins of Moorea for more than 18 years. He is passionate about his work and sharing every nuance about “his” dolphins. There are approximately 120 spinner dolphins in the waters of Moore and he knows them all (identifying them via their dorsal fins).

Within 10 minutes of setting out on our excursion, we spotted a group of 25+ dolphins. We spent 30 minutes watching these dolphins cavort and surf the waves. We did not see any of the trademark spinning, but we were treated to the rare sight of young calves (1-2 weeks old!) swimming as part of the group. With each sighting, Paula and Meredith shrieked “babies!” We ventured to other areas of the island coastline, but we did not see any more dolphins. We made a 20-minute snorkeling stop in a beautiful coral development before returning to the tender. This excursion is not action-packed and it would be disappointing to not see any dolphins; however, it provides a unique educational experience and provides wonderful vistas along the Moorea.

The dock in Moorea became Oz’s shopping destination. He did not want a t-shirt or any “souvenir” on the trip, much to his mother’s chagrin (“Oz, we have to get you SOMETHING”). One of the local craftsmen showing wares on the dock had a ukulele for sale which was identical to those played by local musicians. Oz is an accomplished musician (drums, guitar, etc.) and he was immediately drawn to the ukulele as the perfect combination of a trip memento that he would use and enjoy. Proud grandparents made the purchase and Oz had HIS piece of Tahiti to take home. (by the way, as we made our way through the Papeete airport terminal lines last night, a number of Tahitians asked Oz about his ukulele and commented that it was a quality purchase; then the Tahitians proudly showed Oz certain techniques and songs which he quickly played to their approval … it was a dream moment for this father).

Our final lunch at “our” tables outside La Veranda was an “international buffet” (and yes, these Texans thoroughly enjoyed the Tex-Mex food!). We spent lunch reliving the dolphin experience and wondering what parasailing would be like. We soon knew.

Our Davis five boarded the ski boat at the Moorea dock filled with nervous excitement. We received our instructions and warnings … I’m not sure whether that heightened our “nervousness” or “excitement.” Before we knew it, Oz was in the gear standing on the rear of the boat; and THEN, he was soaring above us at the end of a 450-foot tether! We each talked of our 12-minute flight in similar terms: “awesome,” “it was so quiet,” “I LOVED it,”and the unanimous “I want to do it AGAIN.” (the tour operator said that his oldest parasailer was 98!!! That did not diminish our pride in OUR 77 year old flyer).

This was a perfect ending to our cruise activities!

More soon on our departure from Tahiti.

Luke

Luke, thanks so much for all your detailed reports while on the PG that you are concluding now that you are back home in Dallas. I have to say that I enjoyed every moment of your trip! How wonderful that the perfect local craft was found on Moorea for your family's musician. The Davis women found their pearls and Oz, his ukulele, did I miss what you and your Dad brought home in addition to the wonderful memories and experiences?

Luke,
What great stories from your magical trip. I too enjoyed talking to Cynthia. The pearls David bought for me (we were there on Valentines Day, I couldn't miss) were from Tahia Collins. We are very happy with all the purchases. (David received cuff links as well!) It is wonderful to read about a family enjoying a trip so much. Thanks so much.

Did the PG Change their preferred Pearl Company from the Black Gem Pearl Company? They had the Champagne and Pearl Night on Board last year, did all the lectures and sold their wares in the ship's boutique. It is where I got my treasured pearls.

The preferred pearl company onboard did not change ... it was only a name change to "Tahia Collins" (she owns the company with her husband). Tahia mentioned that they felt a need to distinguish themselves from the scores of other businesses that include "black pearl" in their name.

In addition, Tahia Collins has recently opened a store directly across the street from where the PG docks in Papeete.

Luke

More trivia about Tahia Collins: the fellow who owns Albert's Rental Cars is her father. He has many children by, I believe, more than one woman. They're all located on Moorea. Albert was our driver when we went to the shop last June. At that time they had not yet changed the name of the company or added the additional shop by the dock.

Cynthia was onboard one of our weeks in 2004. Cynthia's husband is a pilot for Tahiti Nui and their sons were in graduate or post graduate school in Europe in 2004. We really like her a lot and learned so much from her. Last year we had Jennifer and Moana (Tahitian guy) and they were both really nice too.

Here is a photo of the lovely Tahia taken one of the first days of September 2004. It took several years to collect the pearls (all the same color) to make the very expensive necklace she is wearing. We learned when we went back last year that she recently had her second child so she was a few months pregnant when she visited us on the ship.
<img src="http://i8.photobu...t;Image hosting by Photobucket">

The final hours in Tahiti ....

We docked in Papeete at 7:30 p.m. on Friday night. Having dinner dockside with city lights visible diminished the aura of the evening. That did not deter us, however, from having a 3-hour dinner to celebrate a unique, fun-filled, meaningful, and memorable week with family and friends. At least one of each item on the menu found its way to our table. We savored each moment and morsel.

We watched a bit of the farewell show with local dancers, but we opted out to visit and pack (we had seen the Polynesian show at the Intercontinental during our precruise).

Packing to return home was easy ... get out the shovel and toss things in the suitcase. Due to weight limits we each used two suitcases. I know that there is a goal to pack light, but after so many trips lugging baggage through train stations, airports, etc., the luxury of only unpacking once means that we overpack for cruises and we don't worry about that, as long as bags are not overweight.

We made our own air arrangements, so we were required to be off the ship by 10:00 a.m. on Saturday. We took a couple of hours to go through the market, buying a few final items as souvenirs and gifts. Then a final stop in the Tahia Collins store for everyone to revel in the satisfaction and success of the pearl purchases.

I had reserved a van to take us to our day rooms at the Intercontinental. One room was ready by noon and the other at 2:00 (the panoramic view rooms are wonderful in all respects). The day was pleasant, but I just don't see the value of a post-cruise after a week on the PG. The resort food is VERY expensive and a HUGE letdown from the PG. Our adrenaline tanks were on empty and we were ready to leave, but only after a few final hours in the pools gazing at Moorea. Actually, the highlight of the afternoon was seeing three wedding parties at the hotel!

We left the hotel at 8:00 for our 10:00 flight. There were no lines at the airport and we "breezed" through security (that was the ONLY breeze in the airport). A few duty free purchases and then some final socializing with PG friends.

The flight to LAX was OK, but the "food" was the WORST airline "meals" we have ever had. This was the only disappointment in the trip compared to our 2001 trip. Customs at LAX went smoothly as did the transfer to our Ammerican Airlines flights.

Meredith's luggage did not arrive in Austin from LAX; it appeared 36 hours later, so all's well that ends well.

I will be happy to share .pdf files of PG materials (e.g., menus, evening newsletters, internet pricing, etc.). Just send me a note.

We'll work on a composite travelogue/review to post and will cull through our photos to post online.

Thanks for the kind words about my postings from this trip. What a joy to share experiences with folks who appreciate RSSC cruises.

Luke

Once again, great job, Luke. Looking forward to the final review. Thanks for taking the time to share your travels with us.

WOW - awesome report Luke!!! I'm looking forward too seeing the wrapup. I'll get ours up here soon. It's been slow because the girls have actually wanted me to pay attention to them instead of typing up my report - the nerve!

Bill

Luke's posts have put me in a state of cognitive dissonance.

In one part of my mind I have a case of raging jealousy. That dirty rat Luke having such a wonderful time in my favorite place in the world, and I'm sitting in Toronto still waiting for Spring.

Then the images his beautiful descriptions call up give me literally the shivers as I see FP and the PG in that corner of my mind's eye.

And both of these are alternating with feeling terribly sorry for myself since I haven't been on the PG in 10 WHOLE MONTHS! PHOOEY!

(See .. here comes the raging jealousy again.)

But when that phases passes, however briefly, I will quickly thank Luke for the wonderful posts.

And I hope to see the dirty rat's fingernail marks on the carpet from when they dragged him off the ship soon!

Sniff.

-- David

Luke/David:

You two ought to cruise together sometime. What a sense of humor!

trail of tears/cognitive dissonance :D

Ray
Jealousy is the art of injuring ourselves more than others.
Alexandre Dumas
French dramatist & novelist (1802 - 1870)

Luke:

Great reports!

I do have a question about the new stern suites on deck 7 that you may be able to answer. When we were on the PG Cook island cruise last Sept., this area was still a lounge, and this area was subject to considerable vibrations when the ship was underway. We had spent a total of three weeks previously on the PG, and never before noticed any vibration in this area. Because of our Sept., '05 experience with the vibrations, we have been naturally concerned about how the new suites in this area ride. Did you notice any vibration in the area of these new suites?

Thanks,
Richard

I have meant to post a note on the aft suites. I walked the hallway numerous times while the ship was underway. I did not notice any "extra" vibration in that area.

The captain assured Bill and me at the SSS party that the cabins were thorougly tested and were fit for smooth sailing.

I talked to a couple of staff who are "in the know" about passenger comments. There was not much comment about the vibration issue, but the staff said that these cabins are, in fact, smaller than other cabins on the ship. Their opinion was that this was not a problem unless you were going to spend most of your day in the cabin.

For me, I would still take the risk of vibration in return for a larger balcony. This is especially true since there is so little time "at sea" during the weeklong cruise.

Luke

Hi Richard,
The comments we heard while on the repositioning cruise, was that the rooms were smaller but very nice, and of course brand new!! The balcony was larger than the others as you can see. The crews largest concern about those new rooms was the noise from above although on our cruise it was all crew in there, so I would guese there were no complaints. I felt absolutely no vibration, and walked that hall ALOT. Also keep in mind we were sailing from Sydney to Tahiti, we had rough seas many days, and I will tell you vibration just didn't seem to be an issue. We expected rough seas on 18 days, and were not disapointed......but for US it just wasn't that bad. Others have mor e trouble with that, we are fortunate.

While I agree that having a relatively large balcony at the back of a ship is desirable, I would still want someone to tell me whether noise and lack of privacy would be issues because of the location of these cabins right above La Veranda. From what we could see in February, those factors could be important.

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

Eugene

For me, I doubt that the La Veranda "noise" would be much of an issue for the Deck 7 aft cabins. We ate almost every breakfast and lunch outside La Veranda and it was never noisy. In fact, most people sit on the "sides" of La Veranda rather than on the aft portion. There might be more noise likely from Deck 8 outside La Palette, directly above the aft cabins. That area is the site for early evening receptions and people gathering for a sunset view.

Luke

Thanks, Luke and all!

I was hoping that the addition of rooms to what was once a fairly large open area might add sufficient structural bracing to eliminate the vibrations. In any event, I am happy to hear that the vibration is gone.

Thanks,
Richard

Luke spectacular review, brought me back to the Islands like I was right there with you. Thank You

Luke, I just reread all your reports and feel as if I have a real feel for what a PG cruise would be like. Thanks so much! Your reports created word pictures that are exhilarating, beautiful, soothing, and truly to be treasured. A little bit of heaven, to be sure ....

Wonderful reports, Luke. Thanks so much for bringing your trip experiences to us via seamail.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Luke:
We left the hotel at 8:00 for our 10:00 flight. There were no lines at the airport and we "breezed" through security (that was the ONLY breeze in the airport).

OK, this almost slipped by me. Luke, everyone is always saying to skip the bus and take a taxi to the airport at 6 to avoid the mad rush, lines, etc. I thought: wow, that is early, only to have to look forward to suffering in what may be a hot terminal. I like the sound of going at 8, AFTER the rush (we already have assigened seats). But you are the only one who ever mentioned it. Do you really mean 8?

Has anyone posted any pictures of the PG since the
dry dock?
I sure would like to see what the pool deck and back of the ship look like since the remodeling.

Sue,

I think that only a handful of folks checked in at the Papeete airport after 8 p.m. for the 10 p.m. departure. We had plenty of time for check-in and, accordingly, less time to wait AT the airport. By the way, one of the shops after security had VERY cold bottles of Evian ... among the best purchases of the week.

Luke

Jim,

I "meant" to take photos of the aft of the ship, but I'm afraid my "to do" list evaporated as soon as we landed in Papeete. Funny how the term "to do" is not in my Paul Gauguin vernacular.

Maybe Sue can take that picture for us.

Luke

I have scanned some of the PG documents (including evening announcements/schedule/notes, shore excursion booking form, list of complimentary activities) and they are available in .pdf format. I now plan to scan menus and a few more miscellaneous items. Please let me know if you would like any of these files.

Luke

I can do one better. I have young teens and a digital camera. These 2 naturally born spies will be more than happy to take pictures of things and in parts of the ship I wouldn't dare. Trust me, I'll have some good pix to post here.

Luke, thanks for the airport tip. I'm going to do exactly what you did. And I'd love to have a peek at those pdfs.