"Treasures of Cruising the World" with Bill & Mary Ann: October 2016

Sunday, October 30, 2016

Report #36 Sailing Towards Avatiu, Rarotonga, Cook Islands October 29, 2016 Saturday Sunny & 88 degrees

Another day at sea was just what we needed to recharge our batteries. We laid low on the "lay lows" at the aft pool most of the day. The weather has remained pleasant, warm, but not too humid. A most delightful way to relax.

In the meantime, ship life continued with talks about the future ports of Rarotonga and Bora Bora. Then everything you wanted to know about Captain Cook was explained by Joesph Kess, the guest speaker.

A new line of jewelry has been brought onboard by New Zealand Wild Jewels. They featured designs made from paua shell (New Zealand abalone), mother of pearl, sterling silver, gemstones, and pearls. The artists revealed their collection today with a raffle included.

We were invited to the Captain's Table in the Pinnacle Grill tonight, beginning with cocktails in the atrium at 6:30pm. Captain Fred and his fiancée, Brooke, have hosted these private dinners for 10 guests every gala evening. The only guest we knew was Dolly, a long time passenger and also President's Club member. But we did recognize a lady that sunbathes near us every sea day. She and her husband were also from California.

We were served our choice of cocktails, and a tray of assorted canapes. Never totally sure what is in these canapes, we declined. Besides, the flaky bottoms would probably end up all over our gala clothes. We were not alone, as only one guest tried them….Dolly. After ½ hour, we were led down the staircase to the restaurant, then seated one by one at our pre-assigned seats.

We were sitting at opposite ends of the long table in the back room. Bill with Brooke and me with the Captain. As a result, we had different conversations, depending on whom we sat next to.

Anyway the menu was specially created by the head chef and the Pinnacle Grill chefs. They began with a bacon-wrapped scallops with a side of caviar. Of course, one of cannot eat the shellfish, and Tina, the manager, always remembers to serve a substitute. Tonight it was grilled halibut. Noticed the Captain also had the halibut.

Next was the tiniest salad ever with everything we like…..a cherry tomato, mozzarella, basil, green onion, and toasted parmesan on a bed of balsamic dressing. Asking the Captain about the lettuce shortage recently, he said that there was no shortage, but a problem with the supplies wilting prematurely.

It was soup time with roasted corn and butternut soup. That was among the best item of the dinner. Hot and tasty.

A green apple sorbet was the palate cleanser. Frozen sorbet was made to look like a slice of apple. Also good.

The entrée was a tender duxelle-crusted petit tenderloin. Small but filling. We also had a continuous service of little rolls through the meal. And of course, Cellar Master Jacques supplied the appropriate white and reds wines with every course.

Red velvet was the name of our dessert. So this is where the rest of the raspberries ended up…….in here for our tasty dessert. It was a plate of small dots of chocolate and dabs of berries and cake filled with berry-flavored whipped cream. A cup of coffee, and the evening was ended with a speech by the Captain. By then, it was nearing 10pm.

We did discuss the possibility that tomorrow's port of Rarotonga may be skipped. With the current deep swells we are having, we kind of doubt that it will be a go. Did we mention that due to missing Niue, the Captain and Henk M treated us all to a glass of sparkling wine or a soft drink with our dessert last night in the dining room. All but two of us asked for sodas to go, and our wine steward gladly brought them to us. Nice gesture.

Bill & Mary Ann

Saturday, October 29, 2016

Report #35 Alofi, Niue October 28, 2016 Friday (again) Partly cloudy & 84 degrees 33 Pictures Too Rough To Land

Things don't always go as planned on cruise ships. Today was one of those days. Our port of call, Alofi, Niue (pronounced new-way) was not to be. Perhaps the largest upraised coral atoll in the world, Niue is known as the "Rock of Polynesia". It is not large, only about 100 square miles with 1690 people. When Captain Cook arrived here in 1774, he and his crew were not welcomed. He named the island "Savage Island" and the name stuck for over 100 years.

Missionaries arrived from 1846 to 1900, then eventually the island was taken over by Great Britain. Eventually, it was handed over to New Zealand in 1901. Although it became a sovereign nation in 1974, most of the residents are now citizens of New Zealand. They also use New Zealand money here.

It is popular for divers and sport fishermen. There are few beaches, if any, numerous caves, and rocky cliffs. Whale watching and swimming with dolphins is advertised, but with inaccessible beaches, this must all be done off of boats.

Back in 2004, Cyclone Heta caused massive damage to their infrastructure. Recovery has been slow. Having been here before, we recall that there were few things to do here. Perhaps a ride around the island, or a walk on the road. The map supplied for this town showed 9 restaurants or cafes, but we sure don't remember seeing them.

The most interesting thing we saw was a huge land crab that a local man had tethered to a stick. He held him with sticks so the folks could take photos. Of course, he had a five gallon bucket asking $1.00 to take a picture.

Then there was a fishing competition being held, where the fellows were weighing their catches.

Our biggest memory was that of the tender boat. It was very hard to transfer to shore, and even worse upon the return. The swells turned dangerous on a dime. And that leads to what happened today.

The Amsterdam had arrived by 7:30am, and dropped four boats. The plan was to transport all of the supplies over to shore, then bring a contingent of 14 local officials back to the ship to get clearance. Bet they were planning on a full English breakfast.

We sat in chairs on deck A watching the platform being set up, and the supplies loaded. It seemed to be taking a long time, so when Henk and Christel said it did not look good, we sort of knew it was going to be cancelled. The HAL Club girl was manning the door on deck one, where the line had gone down the hallway with the high day passengers, as well as suite people. Some of them were putting pressure on the poor girl, insisting she let them down the stairs. So escape the abuse, she snuck down the stairs and joined us. In essence, she was hiding from the mob.

Anyway, by 8:15am, Gene announced that we were aborting the effort. Captain Eversen followed with a more detailed explanation, apologizing. No surprise to us, we still had a chance to make it to the dining room for breakfast. Always a silver lining in the black cloud.

It was too bad for the guests that have never been there before. It would have given them bragging rights to say they had been on the world's highest coral atoll, and add another country to their list. Other than that, we can see no reason for our stop here. There were no tours offered, so there was no loss to the ship.

A new revised itinerary was printed and on our doors by 10am. It would be a very pleasant day at sea with a little scenic cruising as the Captain took us around the island before heading southeast.

We spent a good part of the day at the pool, reading and relaxing. Actually, it was rather nice after such a vigorous day yesterday. It wasn't too hot, and the wind was blowing over the decks keeping it cool.

Lunch was room service salads and a shared sandwich. The service has been excellent at lunchtime, and the food always served with a smile.

We took the time to put deposits on two future back-to-back cruises next fall. One is in Alaska, and the next following one is round trip Hawaii. It will be on the Eurodam, which will be the first time sailing her for us. For the month of October, a sale on future cruises includes double the shipboard credit, and also a reduced deposit. We had hoped to do part of the repositioning cruise from Vancouver to Ft. Lauderdale, but according to the Jones Act, we cannot board in Vancouver and get off in San Francisco. Makes no sense to us since Vancouver is in Canada right? Will have to check into this with our travel agent when we get home.

We had certificates on our mail slot for crossing the International Dateline. We do have a few of these certificates already, but they do have a good explanation of why and where it exists. At least we got the day back we lost over a week ago. Funny to have two Fridays with the same date.

Peter Cousens had an early show at 7:30pm tonight. Not sure why. The regular show was the comedy and impressions of Jeff Burghart. He is also a regular on the world cruises.

All seven of us were at dinner this evening. We both ordered the parmesan coated pork loin with polenta and green beans. Sure was good. A rich mushroom gravy was served on the side….also good. Saved a little room for banana frozen yogurt and chocolate pudding that was really flourless chocolate cake. Go figure.

Taking our PM walk outside, we noticed that the ship has continued to pitch and roll as it had done all day. If this keeps up, we have our doubts that getting into Rarotonga will happen. It is two days away, so maybe the ocean will flatten out.

The clocks went ahead one hour tonight. Our waiters did not like that, since they said it cut into their crew party time, which must be tonight after dinner.

Bill & Mary Ann

Our boats were dropped