Yesterday ended the first segment of the Grand World Cruise. Last night we received the small HAL Journeys booklet along with the first sticker with the itinerary from Ft. Lauderdale to Papeete, Tahiti. It was titled an 18 day passage to French Polynesia and we traveled a total of 6,274.1 nautical miles or 7,215 statute miles. There will be folks leaving, and new ones joining, but we do not know the exact numbers yet.
Along with the new segment, we were all required to attend our emergency muster station between 3 and 5pm. It is a requirement that all guests attend once every 30 days. In addition, we had to watch the safety video to completion on our room TV before it would advance to the main menu. Not all of our tablemates did this, and we never heard any names called of those who did not participate. If we were not staying until 5am the next day, it might be a different story.
The Zuiderdam was already docked in the harbor at Papeete well before sunrise. There were no other large cruise ships here, but we did see a vessel by the name of Arctic, which looked to be an expedition ship. And there was one sleek yacht named Lunasea. Across the way from us were the several ferries that make runs to the nearby islands, as well as a few container ships that service the area.
After breakfast, we went outside on the promenade deck to watch the goings on. Several large shipping containers were being offloaded with provisions. We sure hope the fresh berries are among the orders. At the two gangways, were many officers handing the disembarking guests fresh leis made with tiare flowers and frangipani blossoms. We could smell them three decks up. Usually we are given a single tiare flower, but they went all out today with leis. Henk, Shiv, and Maja looked up and spotted us taking pictures. All of them waved. Then within a few minutes, Edmund, the beverage manager appeared alongside us, and presented us each with a lei. What a nice surprise, as by the time we got off of the ship, all of the flowers would be gone.
At 9:30am, a crew drill was about to take place, so we grabbed our stuff and headed off the ship. The dock area is still under reconstruction, so we had to take a left turn, and go through the park where the carts will set up later. It's not that much out of the way, but it was already heating up to 90 degrees and probably as high with the humidity. We needed to get to the marketplace before noon, since today was a Saturday and they close early.
On the way to the market, we passed by the little fabric shop where one of us always buys a few yards for a blouse. Determined not to buy any more fabric until I use what I have at home, we did have a quick look after the sales person recognized us from last November and motioned us to come inside. He (or she) did notice that the blouse I was wearing was a fabric still on one of their bolts. Prices have gone up since the first time we shopped here. For instance a meter was 2900 Pacific French francs or about $26 USD. It takes 2 meters for a blouse. We have to say the quality is excellent and they last a long time.
In Le Marche Municipal, or the Marketplace, we strolled the lower level, then went up the escalator to the second floor. The market was decorated with Chinese lanterns for the upcoming Chinese New Year. It was quite busy with locals shopping for the weekend, as well as many cruise ship people wandering in every shop. Island clothing and pearls seemed to be the most sought-after items. Our aim was to purchase fresh tropical flowers, but on the way back from our walk.
We took a path we always do, and walked to the Cathedral of Notre Dame, past McDonald's, and to the Assembly of French Polynesia. Once again, the assembly was closed to the public. Even the craft market was not happening, and we had no access to the gardens and ponds in the back.
Crossing the street, we strolled through Bougainville Park, then went back to the market. We purchased an armful of heliconia, ginger, protea, and some exotic blossoms to fill in the spaces. Once back to the ship, we arranged them in the super tall vase, and they look beautiful. And so far……not one ant. They must have been sprayed well.
We chilled out for an hour, then took off for a lunch at LaPizzeria. We swear every time we go there, the pizza gets better and the beer colder. The restaurant was not really busy as we had arrived close to 2pm. We ordered two large Hinano beers and a ham and mozzarella cheese pizza to share. Cooked in a proper wood-fired oven, it is the best we will have on this trip we suspect. We topped off the meal with a shared plate of profiteroles filled with vanilla ice cream and piled high with whipped cream sprinkled with slivered almonds. OK that made our day.
Crossing the street, we made our way back through the harborside park to the ship. This time we were allowed back through the shortcut, mostly because the tour buses had left on their second round of excursions. All in all, we had a full day, exhausting due to the heat, but at least it was not raining.
We cooled off in our room, but also relaxed out on the veranda that had been cleaned earlier in the morning. They seem to do this about every two weeks or more. Then we went to the muster as we explained earlier.
All seven of us were present at dinner. Greg and Heo described their Tamarind dinner last night and said they enjoyed it, but did miss some of the items the menu used to have. We ordered one mahi-mahi dinner and the alternate steak with fries. Compared to the first steak we had, this one was just OK…not the same quality. But the appetizer chicken noodle soup was good as ever. There was a Tahitian Folkloric Show, the same as the one we saw last November. Only Heo and Greg were going, so they will report tomorrow on the performance.
The ship will be in Moorea tomorrow and anchored by 7am. Gosh, it seems like we were just here, because we were.
Bill & Mary Ann
