"Treasures of Cruising the World" with Bill & Mary Ann: Report # 19 Sailing Towards Nuku Hiva January 18, 2016 Monday Partly cloudy & 84 degrees 21 Pictures

Sent: Tuesday, January 19, 2016 4:29:38 PM
Subject: FW: Report # 19 Sailing Towards Nuku Hiva January 18, 2016 Monday Partly cloudy & 84 degrees 21 Pictures

Report # 19 Sailing Towards Nuku Hiva January 18 2016 Monday Partly cloudy & 84 degrees

Busy, busy, busy…..that's the name of the game on these days at sea on our long haul to the Marquesas. The weather has continued to be muggy and hot, as we are still sailing within 4 degrees of the Equator. It has impacted how many folks utilize the lower promenade deck during the day. There's no lack of teak lounges available on this deck, where many people like to camp for the day. It is not unusual to see the ladies and the fellows reading, working the daily crossword puzzle, or simply visiting with other passengers. Needlepoint, knitting, and crocheting are projects that are done outside. Perhaps the abundance of daylight helps the crafters to see better. Then there are the daily walkers, who seem to be pretty much the same group every day. We are among that group.

The Tahitian team showed the folks how to tie the sarong today. Their classes have been very early in the Lido Pool, well before it gets too hot. We don't know how people can tolerate that extreme humidity in there during the heat of the day. That's probably why they had an activity that got the sunbathers wet playing poolside games. Everyone that participated in the games today got a free tropical cooler drink. Grand dollars were given out as well. That always draws a crowd.

Barbara H. talked all about Moorea, our port of call after leaving Tahiti. We did get some inside info that the ship will not be dropping anchor in Cook's Bay, but will go to neighboring Opunohu Bay instead. The sail into Cook's Bay is stunning, and very recognizable because it has been used in many famous movies over the years. We have been lucky to view the sail in any times on other cruise lines, mostly smaller ships. However, at Opunohu Bay, there is a better boat landing for the tender boats, and the souvenir stalls have been updated to a large permanent structure to keep the vendors and people under a roof and out of the sun and rain. Some tours are offered from here as well as shuttles and vans to shops, swimming, and hotels. So for us, this is better.

Today we all received a packet of arrival and departure cards for Australia, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Thailand. Each country has a different set of cards with various questions to answer on them. Most of the details are pre-printed on these cards, but we have to fill in some blanks. That would include immigration questions like how much foreign money are you bringing into the country, or have you been on a farm recently, or have you been convicted of a crime in these countries.. The correct answers seem to be NO to all of the inquiries. Some of these countries we will visit will require a visa. The only ones we got ahead of time was for Australia. The rest that are required will be blanket or group visas, which will be charged to our shipboard accounts. On past cruises, we met some people that bought all of the visas themselves, thinking that they would save money. However, what they did not take into account was that we might not get to all of the ports. If there are cancellations in some countries, then visas are not needed. The important ones that not everyone has to get involve going on overlands such as to China or India.

While listening to the Captain's daily talk at the pool, we discovered that we are situated between the footprints of the signals from different satellite feeds for the internet. Simply put, this is about the area that we lose the South American feed and start getting the Asian feed. Expecting spotty and unpredictable service, the decision was made to shut down the system until it was stable. The Captain said this was an inconvenience, but far better than attempting to log on, and spending valuable internet minutes to find out you will get nowhere. We totally agree, and appreciate the Captain being upfront about this touchy situation. You might be shocked how riled up some of the passengers get with internet at sea.

One aspect of sailing are the shipboard sales. Sometimes they seem endless, but that is the business end of the cruise industry. The shops onboard are often having special unveilings of jewelry and watches, etc. Tanzanite has been featured, and now we got a flyer on pearls. There is a collection of pearls from Australia now, and we suspect they are South Seas pearls. They can be exquisite, but expensive. Many of the upcoming ports will be selling the pearls, but if you do not know how to tell if they are genuine or not, you can depend on the ship's sellers to give you quality products. There is a highend jewelry shop called Merabella, which is on all of the ships. It's a place where if you have to ask the price of the items, then you cannot afford it.

Another popular product sold here are the Swarovski items. There was a talk all about the world's leading crystal cutter in the Sport's Bar today. Again, they are beautiful, but pricey.

Clothing, specifically the HAL logo t-shirts, hats, and jackets are put on sale periodically. It is not unusual to find tables of these items displayed at a reduced price. And the higher Mariner status you have, the bigger the discount you get.

One of the biggest money-makers on the ship is the Greenhouse Spa, where a huge variety of services are offered to everyone. The usual services are here such as haircuts, coloring, shampoos and setting. But they take it much further, and advertise frangipani scalp massage, hot stone or bamboo massage, foot and ankle massage, hydrating facials, and hair pampering. Some of these treatments can run 75 minutes and cost $139. And that's a special. Hair pampering can set you back from $69. That would buy you a scalp treatment including a scalp, neck, and shoulder massage, finished with a wash and style. Sounds heavenly, doesn't it?

A few folks may have taken them up on this offer today in order to look stunning at the third Gala Dinner. We were invited to the first cocktail party with our travel group in the Explorer's Lounge at 7pm. We really refrained from shaking hands, since our host, Tom M announced that he was coming down with a cold. That is not good. Something must be spreading quickly, because our tablemate Paul was struck with the same thing yesterday. Well, maybe the good scotch whiskey and the smooth bourbon will keep us sterilized and bug-free. For most of the party, we visited with Dr. Ed and Becky, who we met several years ago. This is the first time they are sailing with our travel group. We looked for friends Bill and Leta, but they were seated in the corner, and out of sight. Eventually, they joined us before the hour was up.

We had company for dinner, an officer by the name of Marco from Sardinia, Italy. Since it was another Gala night, we were happy to learn more about the workings of the engine rooms on this ship. Marco said he would see if he could get permission to invite all of us for a private tour of the engine room on this ship. We have seen that deck on the Rotterdam back in 2009, but never here. What we remember the most are the tight quarters, the excessive heat, and the constant noise. Had a new respect for the fellows that work down below after that tour.

Anyway, the menu was different tonight in the way appetizers and entrees. There were frog legs, but no caviar. Barb always orders a handful of the tiny salty eggs, but so far, they have not shown up on the menu. The most ordered entrée was the grilled lamb chops. We added a baked potato to the plate. They were tasty, but nowhere near the quality of the chops you get in the Pinnacle Grill. However, we were pleased to find the cappuccino bomb on the dessert menu. No, not really a bomb, but a dark chocolate-covered ice cream ball. Fairly close to those "Mickey Bars" we had on the Disney ship last year. That dessert was the best part of that cruise for both of us.

Showtime brought the singers and dancers back to the stage this evening. They performed a top-notch operatic show that the audience loved.

When we got back to the room, we had two books waiting for us. Written by Paul Theroux, The Happy Isles of Oceania, was the gift for each of us. It is one of our favorite books, having read it several years ago. It is a delightful story of the author paddling his kayak between the various islands in the South Pacific. He gives an insight into the Polynesian society in an amusing way given his situation.

We have one more full day until we can finally stop writing "sailing towards Nuku Hiva", as we will finally be there.

Bill & Mary Ann

Another sunset