Our World Cruise Ended Today - 2020年环球之旅半路终止
March 3, 2020 - Unfortunately, our 89 days world cruise is ended today, 49 days shorter than planned. The Crystal Cruise has ……
Unfortunately, our 89 days world cruise is ended today, 49 days shorter than planned. The Crystal Cruise has decided to cancel all port calls to Asia, adding a few more port calls in Australia and more sea days in Java Sea. They also offered us an option to end the world cruise in Sydney. They will refund all unused nights plus provide some credits for future cruise and $500 each person for travel assistance. We decided to take the offer and get off in Sydney to spend some time in Australia and then go home. Putting all of our stuff back into six suitcases was a stressful process but we finished in a couple days. We booked four nights at the Four Seasons Hotel not too far away from the cruise terminal via our travel agent. Because we booked through our Virtuoso travel agent, we got extra amenities like free breakfast, $100 credit, and a free upgrade. This is the first time we have booked hotels via a travel agent. We may consider this option more in the future travel.
Room Number of The Cabin We Stayed During the Partial World Cruise
LAST DAY - March 3, 2020
So today is the disembarkment day for us. We left the ship at 9:45 AM and were picked up by a private car. Four Seasons Hotel is a 5 mins walking distance away from the terminal but it took 10 mins to drive over there due to street traffic in Sydney. We were allowed to check in earlier and placed in a room with a partial harbor view. The room was nice. After settling down in the hotel, we headed out for sightseeing. We had Fish and Chips at the Rocks Café on the rocks first. Then we walked over the Sydney Bridge to Kirribilli. We saw Luna Park from outside and strolled along the coast line. We passed by Admiralty House and the Lady Gowrie Lookout. Then we got on a ferry nearby to get back to the hotel. Our credit card didn’t work for us at the Kirribilli Ferry Terminal but the workers were very nice and let us get on and off the ferry without tickets.
We visited the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney. It is a beautiful garden and well maintained. We met Connie’s friend at the train station and took an Uber to a Shanghainese Restaurant, Taste of Shanghai. We had so many Shanghai cuisine dishes, like fried pork bun, smoked fish, etc. After dinner, we walked back to the hotel. The streets in Sydney are busy at night. There were a lot of tourists and locals. We really enjoyed a full day in Sydney.
COVID-19/Going home - 新冠肺炎
Feb 28-March 2, 2020 (Day 38-41) - The COVID-19 epidemic is out of control as no one can predict. The confirmed cases were ……
Day 38-40 (Feb 28-March 1)
The COVID-19 epidemic is out of control as no one can predict. The confirmed cases were popping up everywhere around the world, especially in Singapore and Italy. One day we were told the Serenity would cancel the port call to Singapore and next day they canceled all port calls to Asia. The cruise revised the itinerary after Sydney to add more ports in Australia and more sea days from Sydney to Mumbai. Crystal Cruise also offered us an option to end the world cruise in Sydney. We took the offer and decided to get off in Sydney. As the COVID-19 epidemic is continuing to develop, it was hard to picture the ship safely docking in Mumbai or Rome. As today, Australia looks like a safest place to get off and go home from there.
Day 41– (March 2)
The ship anchored in Sydney not too far away from the Opera House in the morning. The immigration inspection process was a no-event process but took a little longer than expected. Again no one stamped our passports. Because we were expecting many port visits during this trip, we actually renewed our passports and asked for the 52-pages version to add more pages for all the entry and exit stamps. Funny enough though, we haven’t had a single immigration stamp. In a port in New Zealand, you could pay $2 to get a stamp on the passport.
Sydney in the morning
We went on a tour of “Blue Mountain Adventure”. The Blue Mountain is a mountain that may look blue from a distance. It is not too far away from Sydney. The tour took us to a wildlife zoo first and then we had lunch in a historic hotel in the blue mountain. After lunch we went on a scenic tour around the mountain including a steep train ride down to the valley, 30 mins walking and a cable car riding up. It had spectacular views but the tour was just long enough for everyone to take a few pictures then leave. Today was hot, close to 100 F. After lunch, the bus driver told us the AC unit on the bus was not working and he already asked for a new bus. Fortunately, the scenery tour would take about an hour, enough for the new bus to pick up us. Because of the late start of the tour, we got a 20% refund from the cruise line.
Blue Mountain
The ship relocated from the anchored site to Oversea terminal tonight. We took some pictures of Opera House from the ship.
Opera House
Milford Sound - 米尔福德峡湾
Feb 27, 2020 (Day 37) - s the captain expected, the ship was rocking and rolling last night. A big storm hit the ship really hard……
Day 37 - Feb 27
As the captain expected, the ship was rocking and rolling last night. A big storm hit the ship really hard. We could hear water running as the boat swept back and forth. We were woken up several times as waves hit the boat. It was the worse experience at sea we ever had. In the morning, we decided not to go up to the Marketplace at Deck 12 for breakfast. Instead, we went down to the Bistro at Deck 6 in midship to eat something. We felt a little bit better at Deck 6.
As we approached Doubtful Sound and Dusky Sound in the morning, the weather turned for worse. The Serenity skipped both sounds (a narrow water passage between land) and went directly to Milford Sound in hope that the weather would be better. At 1:30 pm, the park ranger was on board and gave a presentation on Milford Sound. In the afternoon, the sea started to calm down and the rain stopped. At the end of the scenic cruising, even the sun tried to break out. Milford Sound was beautiful. Water was rushing down on both side of the sound. We never saw so many waterfalls in one place. That is definitely one of the highlights in this trip.
At Dunedin, NZ - 新西兰达尼丁
Feb 26, 2020 (Day 36) - We anchored at Port Chalmers, ten miles away from Dunedin. This time we did separate shore excursions for ……
Day 36– Feb 26
We anchored at Port Chalmers, ten miles away from Dunedin. This time we did separate shore excursions for the first time on this trip. Chenggang went hiking and Connie did Dunedin Architectural highlights. The hike took him to Mount Cargill Summit. It was not a hard hiking but it was pleasant.
The architecture tour took her to see buildings around two. The train depot building was the best. After both tours, we went out to town together again and had fish and chips for lunch instead of eating on the boat. We strolled around town and took a lot of pictures of various buildings. The weather was perfect. We had a starter, Fish Liver from Umi Uma.
The next few days we would sail cross the Tasman Sea. The captain spoke on the PA today. There were four major storms emerging in the sea. He expected 10-15 meter high waves in Tasman Sea. He said no mariner would cross it under such sea condition and decided to skip Port Hobart and going directly to Sydney. We would have an extra port day in Sydney. Tomorrow we plan to do a scenic cruise in Doubtful, Milford and Dusky Sound in New Zealand.
As we were leaving the harbor, we passed by an Albatross colony at the outlet, the largest one in New Zealand. We took some pictures with long lens and enjoyed nice weather for the moment.
At Akaroa, NZ - 新西兰阿卡罗阿
Feb 25, 2020 (Day 35) - Akaroa is a small town on Banks Peninsula in the Canterbury region of the South Island of New Zealand, not ……
Day 35 – Feb 25
Akaroa is a small town on Banks Peninsula in the Canterbury region of the South Island of New Zealand, not too far away from Christchurch. Since Christchurch was damaged by a 2011 earthquake, all cruise ships have been anchoring in Akaroa. We didn’t go to Christchurch and instead picked a tour of “high country adventure”, which we were attracted to because it seemed more adventurous. It was 2.5 hours driving to Springfield, a small town not too away from Christchurch. It was longer than everyone on the bus expected. Plus the driver went to a wrong place. The tour has two main parts, off-road drive and jet boat ride. The jet boat ride was fast and exciting. The speed can go up to 50 miles per hour. The driver did several 360 degree turns. We recorded the journey with our action camera. The tour ended in nine hours.
At Akaroa
Picton, NZ - 新西兰皮克顿
Feb 24, 2020 (Day 34 ) - Picton is a town in the South Island, not too far away from Wellington. In order not to damage the coral reef,….
Day 34 – Feb 24
Picton is a town in the South Island, not too far away from Wellington. In order not to damage the coral reef, the sailing speed of all ships was limited. We arrived at Picton in the morning and signed up for kayaking again. The weather was very nice. We kayaked about 5 km in 2 hours in Queen Charlotte Sound. We saw two stingrays pass by our boat. Kayaking was very satisfying. We had great time on the water.
After the tour, we went back to the town for a quick walk. We had a Hokey Pokey ice cream, a New Zealand favorite.
Logs are stacked up in the port because the import to China is stalled.
Wellington, the Capital of NZ -新西兰首都 惠灵顿
Feb 23, 2020 (Day 33) - Wellington is the capital of New Zealand. We docked in the morning and then went on a shore excursion with ……
Day 33 – Feb 23
Wellington is the capital of New Zealand. We docked in the morning and then went on a shore excursion with Wellington Harbor & Sheep Station Visit. The coach bus took us along the coast line. We stopped at the oldest lighthouse in New Zealand. We visited a sheep station to see sheepdog demonstration. However, two sheepdogs there were in training so the demonstration was a bit disappointing.
After the tour, we strolled around the downtown area by ourselves. Wellington is beautiful and the weather was perfect in the afternoon after a windy morning. We visited the Parliament Buildings and the guided tour was full so we didn’t go inside the buildings. The famous Beehive building has an interesting architecture. We also saw the Government Building, one of the largest wood building in the world. Finally, we rode the cable car up to the hill to view the panoramic Wellington city.
Wellington, NZ
Art Deco Festival at Napier, NZ - 新西兰纳皮尔装饰艺术节
Feb 21-22, 2020 (Day 31-32) - Crystal Serenity arrived at Napier at 6:30 PM today. We were the first few in line to get off the ship. Napier was ……
Day 31-32– Feb 21-22
Crystal Serenity arrived at Napier at 6:30 PM today. We were the first few in line to get off the ship. Napier was destroyed by a devastating 1931 earthquake. It was rebuilt with art deco landmarks. The Art Deco Festival was held this weekend. The moment we got off the shuttle bus, we were fascinated by the hundreds vintage cars lined up along the waterfront and by the people dressed in Art Deco attires. Some of the people were also enjoying picnics on the lawn next to their cars. An airshow was also happening. People over there just know how to have fun. The city is well maintained and designed. We had a great time over there. We walked back from downtown to the ship.
Air show at Art Deco Festival at Napier
We stayed overnight at Napier. The next day, we joined a shore excursion to see a Gannet colony at Hawkes Bay over Cape Kidnappers. It was quite a long distance and a rough drive over rugged mountains. There were thousands of birds in the colony. The parent birds have golden heads while the baby birds have grey heads. Since the young ones can’t fly, they are fed by their parents. Some youths are the same size as their parents or even bigger. We took a lot of pictures.
After the tour, we went to the ship to have lunch and then went out to the town again. The town was filled with joy and festival air.
At Tauranga, NZ - 新西兰陶朗加
Feb 20, 2020 (Day 30) - Tauranga, New Zealand is a beautiful small resort town in the north island. It is also a birthplace of kiwifruit…….
Day 30 (Feb 20)
Tauranga, New Zealand is a beautiful small resort town in the north island. It is also a birthplace of kiwifruit. We also learned something about “kiwi” in New Zealand. The kiwi is the national bird. It can’t fly and it comes out at night. The Kiwi is the people of New Zealand. The fruit of the kiwi is called kiwi fruit. We had a wonderful shore excursion of “Redwoods Treewalk, Geothermal Reserve & Maori Home Visit”. California Redwoods were introduced to Tauranga 100 years ago. Redwoods are too soft to have any practical use so someone had the great idea to build a treewalk suspended high in the ancient redwoods. It is about 700 meter long and 20-40 meters high in air. It is a popular tourist place. It is our first time to do treewalk. We had a great time.
Redwoods Treewalk
Then we went to the Whakarewarewa Thermal Reserve to watch the soaring Pohutu Geysers. The geysers were wonderful but can’t compare to our own Yellowstone geysers. We also saw a kiwi living in a dark room within the conservation center.
The tour also took us to a Maori village to have a lunch in a Maori home. The village is located within the geothermal area. The steaming was everywhere. At some locations, they fenced out the boiling waters inside the holes on the ground. It was just fascinating. They prepared lunch on the steamers from the geothermal. After lunch, they had a traditional dance in the church for us. The Maori home visit definitely is one of the best experiences we have had so far.
AT A MAORI VILLAGE
We went out again after a quick late lunch. We did a walk around Maungatapu mountain. Tauranga also has impressive beach front houses. We also saw two stingrays.
Another day in Auckland - 在奥克兰的第二天
Feb 19, 2020 (Day 29) - The ship stayed overnight at Auckland. On the second day, we took a ferry to Waiheke Island, a beautiful wine ……
Day 29 - Feb 19
The ship stayed overnight at Auckland. On the second day, we took a ferry to Waiheke Island, a beautiful wine country. We bought the tickets for Explorer Hop on/off bus. We started the trip earlier. When we got off the ferry, the first Explorer Bus was still 30 mins away. We were told that the first stop, Oneroa Village, was 13 mins walking distance away. Instead of waiting for the bus to come, we decided to walk to the village. After about 13 mins walking, there was no sight of the village. We asked a local woman again and were told the village was just on the top of the road, another 15 mins away. Once we got to the village, the Explorer Bus stop was not clearly marked. After checking with several people, we finally found the bus stop. Fortunately, the bus was late and we were just in time to get on the bus. We rode the bus to Onetangi Beach.
The morning at the beach was beautiful. We walked on the beach little and took a few pictures. Then we ordered a latte from a restaurant on the beach. There was a lot of people there for breakfast and the service was slow. When the latte showed up, the next bus was already there. We hopped on the bus and got off at a seafood market to have a dozen oysters and a cup of raw fish salad. The oysters were very good. After a quick taste of seafood, we got on the bus again to visit an winery. The winery had a nice wine tasting room and a restaurant with a beautiful panoramic view of the bay. Instead of riding the bus back to the terminal this time, we walked back to the terminal following a hiking trail. The Waiheke Island was very beautiful and we wish we could spend more time there.
After back to the city, we went out again to see if we could buy a pair of Allbirds shoes in New Zealand since Allbirds shoes use New Zealand’s wool. Unfortunately, we didn’t buy one since the price is more expensive than in the States. We did have a coffee and pastry in the city.
At Onetangi Beach
Waiteke Island
Crystal Serenity at Auckland’s “the land of long cloud” terminal
Winery
Auckland, New Zealand - 新西兰奥克兰
Feb 18, 2020 (Day 28) - We docked at Auckland at 8:00 am today (Feb 18). After breakfast, we joined a free walking tour at 10:00 AM……
Day 28 - Feb 18
We docked at Auckland at 8:00 am today (Feb 18). After breakfast, we joined a free walking tour at 10:00 AM. Typically, the walking tour is free but they accepted tips or donations. Liz was our tour guide. She communicated well with a large group in a very noisy environment. She took us around the downtown area and talked about the culture and history of New Zealand. The walking tour lasted about three hours. We had done free walking tours in Chile before and found them informative and inexpensive. We really liked them. After the walking tour, we went back to the ship to have lunch.
After lunch, we hopped took an Uber to visit Auckland War Memorial Museum. Then we went to Mt Eden, the highest hill in the downtown area to have a panoramic view of Auckland. Again, we took an Uber to see the Yacht Club. There are hundreds of Yachts there. Many of them are on sale. It is the best season to buy boats in Auckland. We had dinner at Prego.
Mt Eden
After dinner, we went out again to experience night life near Princess Wharf. There are a lot of restaurants and bars. Then we went back to the ship to see the show. After all the activities today, we were exhausted and slept soundly.
Bay of Islands - 新西兰岛屿湾
Feb 17, 2020 (Day 27) - After two days at sea, we arrived at Waitangi, Bay of Islands. We did Waitangi Estuary by Kayak excursion. …..
Day 27(Feb 17)
After two days at sea, we arrived at Waitangi, Bay of Islands. We did Waitangi Estuary by Kayak excursion. One way kayaking adventure was fun. We saw flying penguins from a distance. We were not very good at kayaking and we were always behind the group.
Waiting Estuary by Kayak
After kayaking, we took the ferry to Russel Island, the first permanent European Settlement in New Zealand. We had Fish and Chips. Both fish and fries were fabulous. We visited Russel Museum and Pompallier Mission Print house. We also did a hike up to Flagstaff Hill. It has a stunning view of the bay. Russel is worth of visiting. The town is well organized and maintained. New Zealand is beautiful and the people is very nice. Speaking English there makes things little easier.
Yesterday, we had gone up to Deck 13 (the top deck) to see stars. The sky was clean but with the lights on the ship, it is hard to see anything. At 10:30 pm, the captain had turned off the lights on the top deck to let us see stars. Once the lights off, the sky was seen with filled stars. The Southern Cross was hanged in the southern sky. It is the first time for us to see it. The Orion was easily identified. Our own Milky Way galaxy was seen as a pale strip cross the sky. Today, we went up to Deck 13 little earlier to see the international space station again. At 10 to 9 o’clock, the space station just was seen flying cross the sky. We also observed the Venus.
From Russell Island
Lautoka, Fiji, Valentine's day -在斐济劳托卡度过的情人节
Feb13-14, 2020 (Day 23-24 ) - After Tonga refused our ship, the captain decided to go to Fiji one day earlier. We added an extra tour on Feb 13……
Day 23-24 (Feb13-14)
After Tonga refused our ship, the captain decided to go to Fiji one day earlier. We added an extra tour on Feb 13 to see traditional a Fiji village in the inner island. When the ship arrived at Fiji on the morning of Feb 13, the ship stopped 20 miles outside Fiji port. We knew something was not right. The captain announced that anyone embarking at Tahiti would need to fill out the healthy form before anyone disembarked. After an additional health inspection by Fiji government, we got off the ship around 11:30 AM, two hours later than scheduled. Our original tour was cancelled but we were very happy to be on the land again.
Once on the shore, we booked snorkeling with a local company. With $30 each person, they took us to a beach next to Intercontinental Resort. We paid $10 each for the equipment. Since we were not used to snorkeling and scared of water, we paid another $20 each for a local guy to take us into the water. We felt we were rip off for that service but we were glad to have someone else with us in water. Finally, we did see FISHES in south pacific!
Next day (Feb 14), we were on the Garden of the Sleeping Giants tour. The garden is very nice, started by an American actor. We also did a quick walk up to two lookout views to have a panorama view of the island. The air temperature was 90 F with 95% humidity. It was hot and uncomfortable. Then we went to visit a Fiji village. We participated in a kava ceremony. Kava is a traditional drink made from a kava roots. After the ceremony, they offered us the drink. One of us tried it. This is not much taste and your mouth feels a little numb. The whole thing is very commercialized. After the tour, we went back to the ship to have a quick lunch and then took a shuttle provided Crystal to downtown.
Lautoka is the second largest city in Fiji. We visited a central marketplace selling vegetable, seafoods, fruits, etc. There is a large population of Indians in Fiji. They came there to help sugar plantation many years ago then they stayed.
The ship was decorated with Valentine’s Day theme today. There were several dance parties throughout the night. The ship left Lautoka at 5:30 pm. Once the ship was in open water, it met high waves and >40 kts wind. Both us felt seasick again. After dinner, we went to bed and skipped all the night activities.
Date and Time plus CoronaVirus -日期和时间与冠状病毒
Feb 11-12, 2020 (Day 22- 23) - It is hard to settle on a regular schedule on this world cruise. This is our first time sailing long distance on the ……
Feb 11
It is hard to settle on a regular schedule on this world cruise. This is our first time sailing long distance on the ocean. Today, we crossed the international dateline and skipped a day, Feb 10. For the most part, the international dateline is the line at the longitude of 0 degree. But the line was redrawn in Polynesia islands where we are headed towards. Tonga is at the longitude of 175 W but it is the west side of the date line. During the journey, we adjusted the ship time periodically. Sometimes, we rolled the clock back one hour; other times, we just adjusted by 30 mins. Adjusting the time on our iPhones to match with the ship time created another confusion to us. On iPhones, there are Chicago time, Mountain time, etc but no Tonga time zone. The only way to adjust the time on an iPhone is to adjust the time at Chicago time manually. Since we also track the time at Shanghai and the West coast, changing the time at Chicago time zone manually messed up the other time zones on our phones.
Feb 12
Today, we were scheduled to dock at Tonga in the morning. We have had 15 sea days out of 20 cruise days. Everyone was eager to set foot on the land today. Then, the captain’s morning announcement came. Tonga authority had refused cruise ships entry to the country this morning. There were four cruise ships turned away today. We were not happy about it but we also understand it would be hard for Tonga . We can imagine the financial impact on the people depending on tourist industry. We are ahead to towards Fiji. We were told that we would have extra day on Fiji. Again, we have our fingers crossed. We saw another cruise, CMV Columbus, sailing from a distance.
At Sea - 在海上
Feb 7-8, 2020 (Day 18-19) - Today is another day at sea. Crystal provides enrichment lectures when it is a sea day. Plus it also offers …...
Day 18-19 – Feb 7-8
Today is another day at sea. Crystal provides enrichment lectures when it is a sea day. Plus it also offers various classes like golf, piano, art, etc. We participated in some of the classes. However, what is in our mind and everyone’s mind is the Coronavirus. Crystal Symphony, a sister ship of Crystal Serenity, has been significantly impacted. Taiwan refused the ship to disembark at the port in Taiwan so it was routed to Singapore. So far there is no change to our itinerary. We have our fingers crossed.
On Feb 8, the ship was scheduled to anchor off Rarotonga, Cook Islands today. However, due to high sea, the captain couldn’t position the ship such that we could be tendered safely. He decided to cancel the port visit. We had another day at sea. We were disappointed to watch the ship sailing away from Rarotonga. Like people saying, it is a sea event and nothing is guaranteed .
watching the ship sailing away from Rarotonga without stepping on the land.
We went to Silk for dinner. It has new items on the menu and we had a good dinner. We went to another comedy show and laughed for 45 mins non-stop.
At Raiatea - 法属波利尼西亚
Feb 6, 2020 (Day 17) - The ship stopped at another island, Raiatea, in French Polynesia. We went out on a shore excursion to visit ……
Day 17 - Feb 6
The ship stopped at another island, Raiatea, in French Polynesia. We went out on a shore excursion to visit a pearl farm and do a little snorkeling. The pearl farm is located in the middle of the ocean inside the lagoon. We took a small boat to a small house, which is built on coral reef and used for the pearl farming process. They demonstrated the process including how to harvest pearl from an oyster. The water on one side of the house is 80 feet deep and oysters are hanging underwater. The other side of the house is only a few feet deep, where we can snorkel. Today’s weather wasn’t very good and the water wasn’t very clean. However, we jumped into the water anyway after the farm tour. One of us did see three fishes but the scene wasn’t anywhere close to what we saw online. The snorkeling was disappointing but at least we saw wild fish on this trip.
After lunch, we walked around town again. The town has paved sidewalks along the coastline. The chickens are everywhere in the islands. They are truly free range chickens.
Pearl Farm House
We had dinner at Waterside today, which doesn’t require reservation. It serves modern and classic cuisine. We eat there 2 or 3 times in a week.
On the Island of Tahiti - 大溪地岛
Feb 4-5, 2020 (Day 15-16 ) - Our ship arrived at Papeete yesterday night. Papeete, the capital of French Polynesia, is located on the island …..
Day 15-16 (Feb 4-5)
Our ship arrived at Papeete yesterday night. Papeete, the capital of French Polynesia, is located on the island of Tahiti, which is part of the Society Islands. We stayed overnight at Papeete for two nights. The port is a short distance from downtown Papeete. On the first day, we went on the Temple, Art, and Culture tour to learn a little more about the island. The first stop was the Tahiti Museum, which is under renovation for the most part. We thought the exhibit was well designed and that the artifacts were interesting. We also visited an ancient temple used by a royal family and then visited a private colonial home with a meticulous garden. The almost 100-year-old house was built by English writer Robert Keibel and is now owned and preserved by a Chinese Polynesia woman and her English husband. On the way back, we stopped by Vaipahi Garden. There is a walking trail marked with several displays of “the path of purification of souls” to paradise. It is one of the best water gardens we have ever visited. The lily pond with lotus was our favorite. Maraa Fern Grotto Caves was our final stop. The tour lasted more than five hours.
After lunch, we went out to walk around downtown, where we first bought a comb to replace the broken one. We visited the marketplace around the time it was being closed for the day so there were not many people there. We hope to visit it again tomorrow.
As we strolled in the downtown area, we walked into the government’s Assembly Building. It has a beautiful private garden and natural spring pool of Tahiti’s only Queen. We had a great time there with the whole garden for ourselves.
We had dinner at Prego. After ordering our food, we added another appetizer, Carpriocio of Angus Beef. The slices of beef were so tender that it melted in the mouth.
Our ship stayed at Papeete for another night. This is the end of the first segment of this world cruise. Total sailing distance is 4765 nautical miles and we stopped at four ports over the duration of 12 days.
Today, we don’t have any shore excursion. We had planned to go out walking around the city. However, the weather didn’t cooperate. It was raining on and off this morning. Once the rain stopped, we finally went out to visit the city marketplace again. This time there were a lot of people shopping there. Most stands were selling fruits and flowers. A few stands sold red snapper and tuna fish. There were quite a few fast food places inside the marketplace. The Chinese population in Tahiti is about 10% so the local food is Chinese fusion food. Chow mein is one of them. The other one is a sandwich with chow mein and chicken meat. We didn’t taste the food there.
At Moorea - 莫雷阿岛
Feb 3, 2020 (Day 14) - When we walked up to Deck 12 for breakfast this morning, the cruise ship was already surrounded by …..
Day 14
When we walked up to Deck 12 for breakfast this morning, the cruise ship was already surrounded by beautiful dramatic mountain peaks formed by volcano eruptions many millions years ago. We were tendered to the port and welcome by locals with live music and flowers. Moorea is one of the Society Islands discovered by James Cook.
We later went on a Dolphin Watch Expedition. Our tour guide was an American who came to the island to study dolphins, but after getting his PhD, he ended up staying there for good. The dolphins inside the lagoon are the smallest dolphins species. They like to swim against the waves underwater and surf. In order to watch them surf, he took us to the barrier reef where the waves are highest. We did see several dolphins riding the waves. However, several of us on the boat got seasick. We swore no more dolphin or whale watches for us. After the boat tour, we took a 2-hour land tour to see the crater and Opunohu Bay and Cook's Bay. We think Moorea is the most scenic place in French Polynesia we have visited so far.
Crystal is leaving Moorea
We went to Uma Umi for dinner again. We had ramen noodles and red bean mochi, both of which are special items not on the regular menu and needed to be requested one day in advance so that they could be prepared. The noodles and mochi were very good.
Chenggang took some art lessons during this segment of the cruise. Today, there was also an art show in Palm Court. At 6 PM, we left Moorea for Papeete, which is only 20+ miles away from Moorea. By 7:20 PM, the ship docked at Papeete. Chenggang went out after the ship docked and found a truck food court nearby.
Another Day at Bora Bora - 在波拉波拉岛上的第二天
Feb. 2, 2020 (Day 13) - We stayed overnight at Bora Bora. When we woke up this morning it was still cloudy with high winds. We went……
Day 13 – Feb. 2
We stayed overnight at Bora Bora. When we woke up this morning it was still cloudy with high winds. We went to have an early breakfast since we would have an 8 AM shore excursion, swimming with stingrays and riding on a glass bottom boat. Unfortunately, a few minutes after we sat down in Stardust Club (used as a waiting room for all shore excursions), we were told that the tour was canceled due to the weather. We were disappointed but hoped the afternoon excursion would go on. That was our last chance to see Bora Bora. As the time past, the sky was open up and the sun had come out. Our Mountain Safari by Land Rover tour started at around 1 PM. Four of us from the cruise sat on the truck bed of a Land Rover. There were five or six cars in the group. They took us to several viewpoints around the island. They drove on narrow rugged service roads with 10-15 degree incline up and down. When we looked up or down, we were a little scared, but we knew they had done this many times. We were in good hands. Our tour guide spoke English and was fun. The first stop was a viewpoint next to a water tower in the middle of the hill. As we climbed out the car, a beautiful panoramic view of the picture-perfect Bora Bora jumped into our eyes. We saw several overwater bungalows laid on the lighter aqua color ocean from a distance. We also visited the World War II site and Matira Beach again. Today, it turned out to be a beautiful day for sightseeing.
At Bora Bora
On the ship, the Super Bowl was played in Galaxy Lounge. The room was decorated with a Super Bowl theme. We watched the last 7 mins of the game to see Kansas City win the Super Bowl from behind.
We had a quick lunch at The Trident Grill and had dinner at Waterside. Both meals were delicious.
Bora Bora - 在波拉波拉岛上
Feb 1, 2020 (Day 12) - After another sea day, we anchored at Bora Bora at around 9 o’clock on the morning of Feb 1, 2020……
Day 12
After another sea day, we anchored at Bora Bora at around 9 o’clock on the morning of Feb 1, 2020. The weather was rainy with very high winds. We canceled the shore excursion on the first day. As the first tendered boat was leaving, the weather got worse. It was raining heavily with wind gusts so strong that our anchored ship shifted. The tendered boat was struggling to sail towards the shore as we watched it. We were really worried. There was no way we would get on the boat under this condition. Instead of going to the shore, we went to the Hollywood Theater to watch a movie called “Going In Style”. The movie, which was about a retiree struggling financially, had the “perfect” audiences. After lunch, we went to shore. The boat was docked at Vaitape, a small town with many shopping art galleries and stores selling black pearl jewelries. Black Pearl is famous in French Polynesia. By all means, the town is not like what is shown in the pictures or postcards we saw. A paved road goes through the town, but even with nicely decorated stores selling expensive black pearls, the front parking spaces were muddy and not well maintained. Some houses along the road were flooded due to recent rain.
We paid $5 each to go to Marita Beach about 10 km away from the dock. The beach is beautiful, white sands with crystal clean water. One of us got into water with Osmo camera. We were enjoying the warm south Pacific Ocean. Then suddenly, the black cloud moved in from the west and everyone jumped out of the water to find a place to hide. The rain came down with gusty winds. Our good time was over. As the sky cleared up a little, we rode on the bed of a modified truck for tourists back to the dock. We walked around the town for a while and then headed back to the ship. We have two shore excursions tomorrow. Hope the weather will be better.
Brazil BBQ was our dinner. Tonight's show was another energetic piano performance by an Australian pianist, Ashley Carruthers. It was fun and energetic.