WCB

Report #61 Saturday November 4, 2023 Aitutaki, Cook Islands At Anchor 7am-6pm Partly Cloudy With Sun 78 Degrees 20 Knot Wind Sea State: 3' Swells Part #1 Of 6.,,,,,,,,76 Pictures----Casual Dress As much as most of you have heard this before, today was a perfect day in paradise. Honestly, this island has to be rated number one by Lonely Planet as one of the best in the South Pacific. The third largest island of the Cook Islands, the surrounding lagoon is simply stunning, made even more spectacular when the sun is out like it was today. A few drifting clouds could not hide the beauty of the large reef that surrounds the entire island. The multi shades of blue to aqua waters seem to go on forever. And considering the condition of the seas the past few days, we had our doubts that we would be able to tender here today. We can say that it was almost a miracle to find that “sweet spot” for the ship Captain Paul had hoped for. Protected from the worst of the winds and swells, the tender boats were dropped and it was a “go” from here on out. After breakfast where we have been spoiled with specially-made blueberry muffins, we went out on deck six to get some photos of the lagoons and hopefully some tropic birds. No one else was out there today, and that is probably why Captain Paul suddenly appeared and offered to take us on a tour of the navigation deck. What a treat to go up the narrow side stairway and through the locked door to the brains of the ship. In the past, we have taken a few tours on different ships, but this one was special, since we understand that only virtual tours are done in the World Stage these days. Security being what it is made this tour a privilege for sure. Captain Paul led us from one end to the other, explaining the main functions of most of the high- tech systems involved in running the ship. So much of it was computerized of course. Today the ship was not at anchor since the waters were too deep, so it was being held in place by the engines. Watching the screen, you could see how much the ship drifted several degrees, then automatically corrected. The tendering operation was in full swing by then, so we thanked the Captain and made our way back to the room, collected our few things, and off we went to join the next boat to shore. We figured that we had better not wait much longer, because if the conditions changed, they could stop the transferring. That has happened in the past, like when we were at Easter Island several years ago. Most of the guests had gotten to shore, but then the seas got too rough to continue. Tendering was stopped and you can guess how angry the folks were that were denied going to shore. Thought there was going to be a mutiny for heavens sake. But anything can happen, and you learn to accept it. Loading into the boat was not a problem, but due to a very narrow passage through the reef, the going was slow. Only one boat was allowed to pass through the reef at a time, so between the wait to board the boat, and finally getting to the wharf was as least ½ hour. Just as our boat driver got us away from the tender landing, he accidently drifted into the bulb in the front of the ship’s bow. Ka-boom was what we heard as many of us were launched from out seats. Good thing these boats do not sink, even if there was a hole ripped into the bottom. We are certain that the navigation team as well as the Captain felt the collision. Nothing was said as the driver simply headed towards the reef’s entrance. Once at the wharf, he pulled alongside the pier, and the boat drifted into the side with another bang. All of us were most happy to exit that boat for sure. There was a set of steps added to the exit, but the last step to the concrete was a big one. The fellows on the wharf were able to haul everyone out safely. Listening to Kimberly’s talk yesterday, she indicated that being a Saturday, not everything will be opened. There were no shore excursion sold here today, but there were a few options once you got onshore. We had heard a rumor that there was going to be a type of ho-ho vehicle to take the folks for a circle the island drive. And it turned out to be true as we saw an open-air truck selling the tour for $50 USD per person. It is possible that the vehicle stopped at the resorts and beaches along the way, and they would pick you up later. Last year when we were here, it was a Sunday, and there were almost no taxis or tours happening. And no ho-ho shuttle. The produce market, although quite small, was opened until noontime, and we did find that the info shack was opened to get island maps. We had been told that they were closed today, and we are sure they closed after 12pm. A few stands were set up with souvenirs, and a couple of stores were opened for business. We turned left at the main road and took the same walk we did last year. It was even better because there was no rain today. The town itself is small, then the road is lined with a few shops, small food and hardware stores, a water purifying building, a main church, and many homes in between it all. They are set off of the road and surrounded with beautiful gardens and grassy areas. By the way, we saw no dogs today as they are not allowed on this particular island. Not a bad idea because nothing is fenced and the dogs are left to roam as they wish, leaving their calling cards behind if you know what we mean. The west side of this narrow island that is shaped like a fish hook happens to house most all of the resorts. One that was on the ship’s map was the Pacific Resort Aitutaki. We recalled passing the entrance where we saw several taxis and the ho-ho shuttle go. That was not our destination since we figured too many ship people would flood the place. Going further up the road, we passed by some hillside house that had white goats tethered in the front yards. They were half-buried in the grasses, which they love to graze. It was in this area of the island that we saw several tropic birds last year. They flew from the tall trees out to the lagoon to fish,then they fly back. All we saw were chickens today, until later in the day, we did have the luck to spot some red tailed birds, but a different type. These birds had the red beaks and red tail feathers, almost impossible to see at a distance. But thanks to the fast camera, it caught every detail. Finally reaching the Tamanu Beach Resort Restaurant and Bar, we entered the lobby where some folks were checking in. A bit early for lunch, we found our way to the seaside open-air restaurant and got a table with a breeze. The local beer, Tui, sure was appreciated, so much that we each had two. We ordered a club sandwich with the hottest crispy fries to share. For dessert, we tried their carrot cake with a side of extra creamy vanilla ice cream. So good we recommended to our friends who happened to come in to enjoy lunch as well. One thing we did remember from last year was the fact they do not accept American Express credit cards. Their common practice here seems to be taking the US dollar, but on a one-to-one basis, even though the exchange rate is 1 USD = 1.67 NZ dollar. Much better to use a different card, which we did with no problem and a very small fee to do so. Having relaxed for over an hour, we were ready to move along, taking the sandy white beach almost all of the way back to the main road and the wharf. It was here that we took in every bit of stunning scenery of the lagoon and the fish that fill it. In the shallowest of the waters, were tiny translucent fish which the brown noddies seem to like. As we were beach combing for shells, we spotted some of those bonefish jumping around the volcanic rocks and broken coral. They must have been feeding on the smaller fish. From what we could see, the bonefish were a long narrow white fish about 2 feet in length. Other than turtles, which we did not see, there were no tropical fish here. Also we do not think there were sharks or sting rays in this part of the lagoon. And when the sun came out full bore, it was really hot. Thanks to the palms and the casuarinas, there was some shade to cool off. Even a few scattered chairs here and there. We happened to sit for a moment on some chairs, when a man with a very British accent that we have never seen before approached us. He asked if I had lost some of my cards out of my small wallet, and I said no I had used my room key to leave the ship. He was very sure it was me, and later when waiting to board the tender, I noticed I was missing my driver’s license and a few other cards like the one I use to open the room safe. By gosh, he was right. If he was the man who found my cards, he indicated that he had turned them in at the front desk. Having not a clue how that happened, the first thing I needed to do was go straight to the desk and ask them. The ride back was uneventful and only took about 20 minutes at the most. And the folks at the front desk did have everything I had dropped in an envelope….thank goodness. As careful as I thought I have been, it wasn’t enough. Now all of those cards are paper-clipped together and cannot slip out of the pouch. Hope we see that gentleman who was nice enough to return my stuff to the office. Once back in our room, there was a message waiting for me to come and pick it up. Since the Captain had changed the all aboard time to 5pm, it took time for the tenders to be loaded up. The ship left the island around 6pm. Watching from the back of deck six and our veranda, we did get lots of photos of the Red Tailed Tropic Bird. It was almost chilly outside now because we picked up the choppy seas and big swells once we got out of eyesight of the island and the surrounding motus. The Captain mentioned that tendering tomorrow may be a challenge if it happens at all. If we had to make a choice of the two Cook Islands, Aitutaki would win. We considered ourselves very lucky to have had such a nice day onshore, and more lucky to have recovered the lost items. Dinner time was back in the dining room with a spinach and cheese empanada and one fish cocktail. Salads followed with mains of lasagna and one chicken dinner. Both were good as were the little hot fudge sundaes for dessert. The lower dining room was about empty by the time we finished dinner. And since there was a movie, Hurricane, in the World Stage, we are sure most folks turned in early in anticipation of another busy day in Rarotonga tomorrow. Bill & Mary Ann

Report #60 Friday November 3, 2023 Sea Day Enroute To Aitutaki, Cook Islands Partly Cloudy With Sun Very Windy 30 Knot Winds Sea State 16' Swells Speed 7 Knots Part #1 Of 1........14 Pictures----Dressy Night Our last full day at sea on the way towards Aitutaki found the sea conditions with 14 -foot swells and gale force winds a force 7 on the Beaufort scale. This is not what we had wished for as we get closer to the Cook Islands. The temperature has remained a warm 77 degrees, as long as the sun stayed out long enough to feel the mild heat. Of course, along with that, the humidity has been much more tolerable. During his noontime talk, Captain Paul did mention that he hoped the bay where the ship is anchored will be protected from those winds and waves. But in our minds, he has planted the seed of doubt that it might not be possible to access the island tomorrow. Hope we are wrong with our interpretation, but we can only base it on what we have experienced on past cruises in this area. The biggest excitement this morning was watching the massive waves hitting the starboard side of the bow during our walk. The pitching has become decidedly pronounced, even alarming when you watch the front rise and the aft disappear in the depth of the swells. Rolling is a factor because the stabilizers are not helping a whole lot. Captain Paul reminded everyone to be most careful walking around the ship and also going outdoors. If this cruise was being run by our previous Captain, all of the outside decks would have been roped off for several days now. The teak lounges on the promenade deck had been lashed down to the railings on many Alaskan days. We did hear there was another galley tour this morning. There should be another one perhaps next week, then all of the passenger decks will have had a chance to participate. We highly recommended it our buddies. They also booked a laundry room tour and that was equally as interesting. We did that with the head housekeeper, Shiv, many years ago while on the Amsterdam. You never imagine how many sets of tablecloths, napkins, toweling and bed sheets that have to be laundered for the entire ship’s population. And that isn’t counting clothes laundering….a massive job, and they do it so well. Captain Paul did another talk in the World Stage on the Navigational Debrief of the details on our journey so far. He seems very comfortable in a teaching sort of way, more so than most captains. He said that one of his questions from a guest referred to this ship having been housing for the Ukraine refugees last spring we believe. He happened to be the Captain involved with that humanitarian effort and has many stories to share in a future presentation. Energetic Kimberly gave a talk on the port highlights of Rarotonga, the stop for Sunday. We do know for a fact that most everything is closed on Sundays and there are no ship tours offered that day. We’ll have to look for her talk on TV to see what she recommends for that day. As far as we can remember, the island bus only runs in one direction that day, and could take folks to some beach resorts that might be open. And there is always church, where you can hear the locals singing at their morning services. One time we were invited to share in their mass and after-the-service refreshments. Very friendly we thought. The one thing we know is that American Express is not accepted there, the same as in New Zealand. We heard that it dates back to some banking disagreements, so we need to bring a different credit card if we want to go out to lunch. Or you can use New Zealand dollars (1 USD = 1.67 NZD) if you can find a place to exchange money. So far there has not been a money changer on the ship like there is on a grand voyage. We spent a few hours sitting at the back pool, mostly to get some fresh air. There have been rumors going around that some of the crew members are sick with colds or flu. Now we are making double sure we wash our hands hourly, especially if we have been using railings or touching anything in the public areas. Hard to avoid all of the viruses, but so far, we have been fine. Trying to get photos of a good sunrise or sunset has been unsuccessful. For some reason, there have been no good sunrises and even less impressive sunsets. It’s not like there is total cloud cover either. Maybe it has something to do with the area we are sailing right now. The best sightings so far have been while we were in the Hawaiian Islands. We did take the time to make a visit to the future cruise consultant, Neil. We zeroed in on some cruises for next fall, similar to the ones we have just done. It is always a good idea to book onboard since you do get some extra shipboard credit by doing so, and you are still able to use your travel agent with these bookings. Equally as important, by booking early, you can connect the back-to-back cruises in the same room. Dinner time found most all of the guests dressed “dressy” as suggested. However, we did spot one fellow with a baseball cap on downstairs at a table for eight no less. Wouldn’t he feel out of place when most of the gentlemen sitting with him had on suits? We still don’t get it. The menu was not too exciting, so we opted for a small salad, tomato soup, and a pulled pork patty appetizer. It was formed into a burger, grilled, and served over a bed of BBQ sauce. So good. Then we opted for the mains from the Club Orange menu. Tonight’s blue- plate special was braised beef short ribs, served on a bed of mashed potatoes with a tasty gravy. Incorporated in the gravy were tiny bits of pineapple and a few pomegranate seeds which really perked up the meal. The meat was so tender you did not need a knife to cut it. Needless to say we cleaned our plates, pleasing our waiters to no end. One of us tried the lemon torte for dessert and one glass of watermelon sorbet. Mario had brought another glass of chocolate chip ice cream because he saw that it was nicely frozen. He knew we would like it, which we did as we shared it. The entertainer this evening was saxophonist Barry Seacroft, a fellow we have seen and heard while on this year’s grand cruise. He said it was a new show with more sax on stage. OK. Keeping our fingers crossed for tomorrow’s port. Hoping for smooth seas and little wind. Bill & Mary Ann

Report #59 Thursday November 2, 2023 Sea Day Enroute To Aitutaki, Cook Islands Cloudy With Showers 78 Degrees Sea State: 12' Swell A Lot Of Pitching & Rolling Ships Speed -7 Knots Part #1 Of 2..........61 Pictures---Casual Dress Hardly a day goes by where there is always something to do onboard the ship. Today there were two things……one was an invitation to Behind The Scenes Galley Tour. And the second was the passport collection for French Polynesia. Beginning with the Galley Tour, we were invited this morning at 10am to view what was behind the walls of the lower dining room….namely the kitchen. The only requirement was that we wore flat, closed-toed shoes. We were told that both decks six and seven were invited today. So we thought be better go at least five minutes early to line up at the dining room entrance. Well when the elevator door opened, we barely had room to enter the lobby. The line of folks went up the stairwell already. We figured that the gloomy overcast weather outside and the fact that there was no 10am lecture in the World Stage, most guests were free for the tour. By 10am, we were led in groups of 12 to sit in the dining room and wait for our turn to enter the galley. It ended up being a 20 minute wait. Thanks to a visit from Glenn, the hotel manager, the time went by quicker. We have been on many galley tours in the past, mostly while sailing on the Amsterdam. In those days, we were simply led past the various stations, like in one door, then out the other. One of the best tours took place for a rather large group of President’s Club members on a grand voyage. It was turned into a special event by adding some of the most delicious canapes at the other end. Of course, this was well before Covid hit. Since then, no tours were offered…..until today. There were five places in the kitchen where we had one of the staff greet us and give detailed info on how the kitchen operates. Even the head chef, Javier, was a speaker along the way, as was Eli, the food and beverage manager. His job was to explain this new and huge machine they call the Digester. It can turn all table scraps and other discarded food trimmings into a very small amount. Some items cannot go into the Digester like coconut, squash, celery, or anything too fibrous. We got to see some of the kitchen workers busy with their jobs such as the pasta girl who has a machine to make fresh pasta, and the soup and sauce makers who follow standardized recipes. There were some crew members that came from other countries and specialize in their cuisine prep. According to Javier, everyone who works in the kitchen has to speak and read English well. Towards the back end of the galley, we saw where room service trays are prepared, the breads and pastries are baked, and the salads are created. Lots of prep work there. One interesting fact is that only 5% of the items are purchased frozen. Everything else is made from scratch. Finally it was Maria’s turn, the Pinnacle Grill chef. She showed us the special double grill for cooking meats, which resembled a big waffle iron. The temperatures can reach 500 degrees, cooking the meat on both sides at the same time. No wonder it is so good. The entire time for the tour was an hour and we learned a lot more than we knew before. Then we had 15 minutes to turn in our passports. Tables for collection had been set up on every passenger deck and we had from 10 to 12pm to do it. We were handed receipts that will be used to retrieve the passports on November 14th. This will save us all from having a face-to-face inspection with the French Polynesian officials. With that job completed, we went off to the Seaview Pool to relax in the overcast skies. With some drizzles added. The sun never fully appeared, but it was still quite warm. We still have rather rough sailing on this stretch from Tonga to the Cook Islands. The sea swells are now in the 11- foot range, and the wind was been strong enough to keep the ship pitching a lot. The speed does not help since at 8 knots, the stabilizers are not as efficient. Today during his noon talk, Captain Paul reminded everyone to be most careful walking, especially up and down stairs, and watch the closing doors where many fingers have been getting injured. Even walking the promenade deck takes a toll on the joints as you are constantly trying to correct your stride. Most all of us can handle the motion of the ocean, but now we are concerned about tendering in the upcoming ports in the Cook Islands. It can be dicey in Rarotonga even on a good day. We have seen what can happen to a tender boat that suddenly found itself on top of a coral mound with some good holes gouged it in. On average, that port has been cancelled as many times as we have gone there. Time will tell. Around 6pm, we always go to the promenade deck to catch the sunset, especially when it is not on our side of the ship. With all of the heavy cloud cover, there was no good sunset. The mornings have not been that spectacular as well. Funny that we remember some of the best sunrises and settings on this South Pacific cruise. Luck of the draw we guess. This evening we had dinner in the Pinnacle Grill. It was the usual wedge salads with the tasty clothesline bacon. With some fresh warm bread, we are always happy campers. We added one filet mignon, and one ribeye steak. Small baked potatoes and mushrooms on the side made the meal perfect. Since we have not ordered the Baked Alaska on this extended trip yet, we decided to share one tonight. Our nice waiter, Dede, mentioned that it had been down-sized a little bit, which was better for us. There was plenty even sharing it. On the World Stage was Game Night, call my bluff with The Biddys, a group of three very funny ladies. It seems that we are always finishing our dinner when the show begins, and not wanting to be rushed, we do not attend. And tonight, the clocks went forward one hour. How rude it that, we all joked? Bill & Mary Ann

Report #58 Ground Hog Day Wednesday November 1, 2023 Again! Sea Day Enroute To Aitutaki, Cook Islands Morning Sun Turning To Showers In The Afternoon 81 Degrees 10' Swell Part #1 Of 1........15 Pictures----Casual Dress Today is November 1st, the second one, since yesterday was the same date and same day of the week. This is done by the ship’s clocks being set back 24 hours. No need for us to do that. Those who had a birthday on November 1st could celebrate it on both days. However, those who had birthdays on October 22nd when we lost one day, did not celebrate their birthday. Of course, there are always people that are born in leap year, where they only have a birthday every four years. Technically. Now that we are sailing in an easterly direction, our clocks will slowly begin going forward one hour at a time. Back for breakfast in the Pinnacle Grill, we thanked Anton for his special attentions to getting one of our dinners correct last night as far as the allergies were concerned. We understand that the same meal our group enjoyed last night will happen today for the Cellar Master Dinner held in the Canaletto for a change. The big difference is that ours was complimentary while this evening’s meal pairing will cost $69. Makes us appreciate it even more. We had a later start to the day since we had to catch up on last night’s report this morning. Usually we finish our evening meal around 8:45pm, but last night it went until 10pm. It seemed that the several conversations around the table picked up speed after dinner…..maybe due to the wine consumption. All-in-all it was a fun evening. Spending some relaxing time at the back pool, we caught up with general news with our good buddies. The weather was almost perfect with a strong breeze and 81 degree temps. The umbrellas along the sides of the deck were down…it was just too windy to use them. It is also a good place to be when the Captain comes on with his noon talk. Although this question was asked of him a week ago, it was how do the navigation team measure the height of the waves? Anticipating a very scientific explanation, he simply said that they use their old-fashioned eyeballs. In other words, they guess. Never expected that answer unless Captain Paul was joking. One aspect that is not a joke is how much the ship is pitching and rolling by doing only 7 knots. Had we not missed the stop at Niue tomorrow, that would have broken up the days at sea, and our speed would have been higher. Alas, it was not to be, so we rock and roll. Lunch was room service Cobb salads with a shared club sandwich. For some unknown reason, the room service phone number was not working. So we had to call the front desk and they ordered our food for us. It arrived at the same 30 – 40 minute wait period served by our own dinner waiter, Risman. Our order has been complete with no surprise substitutes. By the late afternoon, it began to rain lightly. Passing showers even produced a brief rainbow. And it seemed like the swells had increased somewhat, making our walk on the promenade deck more difficult. Perhaps this is what the Captain meant by deteriorating weather. Looking up the weather conditions in Aitutaki, Cook Islands, showed some showers but calm enough seas to be able to tender ashore there. At least we all hope so. Dinnertime had some Mexican-themed items offered. Two appetizers were quesadillas and tortilla soup, both of which we like. Mains were one veal Weiner schnitzel and one barbacola beef dish. Not sure what that was, our waiter asked Bayu who said it was slow-cooked seasoned brisket of beef Argentinian-style. Actually, we suspect it was savory prime rib, also cooked slowly….very tender and seasoned nicely. Happy campers, we added a slice of lemon torte cake saturated with lemon juice. Really refreshing and not overly-sweet. Two more days at sea, and we will be in the Cook Islands……hopefully. Bill & Mary Ann

Report #57 Wednesday November 1, 2023 Sea Day Enroute To Aitutaki, Cook Islands Cloudy With Showers And Some Sun 72 Degrees Sea State Pitching And Rolling Part #1 Of 1.........3 Pictures----Casual Dress Well, today is November 1st on the west side of the International Dateline. Once we cross that imaginary line, we will be having November 1st again – same day of the week in fact. Bet this messes with the computers and internet devices for everyone…including the ship’s systems. Now that we have a few days at sea to kick back, we are sure each day will be similar to the previous, something like Ground Hog Day, the movie. A few days ago we received an invitation to join Captain Paul and hotel manager Glenn for an exclusive dinner for the President’s Club members. We found it necessary to inform the Pinnacle Grill manager, Anton, that one of us has a shellfish allergy. So many times we have discovered that some items have even the smallest amount of clam or oyster juice, for instance, incorporated into their recipes, and it would never be tasted. Anton was kind enough to share the entire menu with us last evening in the dining room. He wrote down everything that could be suspect and promised they would substitute something else for me. As it turned out from reading the menu, it was heavily laden with shellfish and oil from shellfish. Good thing we asked ahead of time. Some folks are vegetarian, so that would eliminate almost all of the courses as well. Showtime for this affair would begin at 6:30pm and we shall get back to that later. Our day was a good one, although the ship was only doing 7 knots. At that speed, the vessel can pitch quite a bit, which you don’t notice until you go to the promenade deck. It seems like many folks go out for a morning walk around 9am, making it like a ping pong machine. They fly around you, most times not saying “on your left”, then eventually duck in the next door to go to a talk somewhere. We sure do not know what the obsession is with people that need to be first. But there are a lot of those on every ship we have sailed. We gladly move over and let them by so as not to cause an accident. This ship does not have the mirrors that were installed on the Amsterdam on the promenade deck. They were really a big help being able to see the traffic coming from the opposite direction. Especially if they were using walkers, canes, and wheelchairs. It helped to avoid those nasty head-on collisions. There is no designated direction for walking here, where on some ships, it is counterclockwise. No jogging still applies. The weather remained comfortable with a strong breeze blowing across the decks. It kept us cool at the Seaview Pool. So far we have not heard of any storm headed our way, which is good news. We would learn more later at dinner with the Captain. As we said previously, pre-dinner aperitifs were on the roster for our group of seven PC members at 6:30pm in The Mix Bar. A cozy corner had been reserved near the piano, which was OK until it was time for a game in the Shops. People began gathering to guess the weight of an opal to receive a free gift, a promotion of course. When it began to get loud with one of the staff members talking on the microphone, our group was led to the Pinnacle Grill for dinner. Joining us at the table for twelve in the back room was the chief engineer, Kimberly, Glenn and his wife, as well as Captain Paul. We all had a name tag by our place setting. Hoping to be near friends Bill & Leta, we were at opposite ends of the long table. They shared their end with the chief engineer, while we had Glenn, his wife, Kimberly, and the Captain on our end. One of the PC members was traveling solo without her husband, and she was at our end of the table. At least we have finally met Kimberly, the most vivacious cruise director we have yet to meet. She will be a nice addition to the staff on the Zuiderdam’s Grand World Voyage next year. She admitted that she is quite excited about going on the world cruise, and looks forward to chatting further with us about it before this trip ends. Kimberly also followed up with a book list for future reading, so we do hope these books will be available onboard the Zuiderdam. Now to the menu. It was more of a wine-pairing event with the sommelier describing each wine with each course. They began with Italian wine, then on with one from California, Argentina, and finally France. As we do not drink wine, cocktails were offered. The head chef came into the room and described the meal we were to enjoy. Beginning with lobster tails, a 4 -day marinated salmon with shellfish oil, a tiny shreds of salad fixings, only one of us could eat it. I had a vegetarian plate instead. Tiny cups of a chicken broth and a pumpkin sage cappuccino were served, the latter being the best. Following that, they served halibut with risotto, scallops, clams, mussels and a green mystery sauce. Obviously, I was served chicken without the shellfish. Then a slow-roasted veal tenderloin was the last entrée with artichoke puree (would have sworn it was mashed potatoes) with baby vegetables. If we were not full enough, the dessert arrived which was cheesecake with a tiny panacotta sitting on top with a flower on the top. A little bit of malaga and pistachio ice cream added color to the plate. Almost too pretty to eat. A very nice liqueur was served with this dessert which was dark raspberry and very potent, but a great finish to the meal. This drink we did enjoy served in large brandy glasses. The conversation continued around the table until 10pm, which was a record for us. And asking about the upcoming weather, Captain Paul mentioned that things might be deteriorating, although the brewing storm was in the Vanuatu area, far from where we were heading. We might have deeper swells and choppy seas, perhaps some showers. Glenn, the hotel manager, was quite the conversationalist and all of us felt comfortable asking some basic questions. One of which was why are some things done so differently among all of the HAL ships? His answer was that the head honchos are trying to get everyone on the same page, while giving the staff the chance to do their own thing as well. Grand Voyages are treated differently as they should be, but “Legendary” cruises may not be at the same level of a grand. Each hotel manager has the option of creating various venues as they see fit and keeping within their budgets – a major factor these days. Hearing recent stories of the Amazon River being historically low this year, we were concerned about the Zuiderdam even going up that river on the next world cruise. We do know that this ship, the Volendam, actually got stuck on a sand bar a few years back. Captain Paul reassured us that the Zuiderdam has less draft than the Volendam, a fact we were not aware of. We are sure the excellent waiters were patiently waiting for the party to end since it ran well beyond their normal hours. They sure have a nice team in this venue. Since it was so late to write last night, we are catching up this morning. Bill & Mary Ann

Hi renig, Yes, we do it every time we are there before a cruise. It is a long walk from the ship if you are at Pier 26, but totally safe. If there are crew members doing it, you could walk with them. Bill & Mary Ann

Greetings, Comparing the cuisine on this cruise to the Zuiderdam's world cruise, we feel the quality has been much improved. We have been happy with most all of our choices in the main dining room. Of course, the Pinnacle Grill has been excellent. As far as the sweet and sour barramundi entree, our waiter had indicated that several of his guests were not pleased with it. So we did not order it because it should have been sweet and sour shrimp. The room service quesadillas and the roast beef panini have been consistently good. However, we can verify that the portion size of the sandwich and quesadilla has been reduced. We can always order more than one. Bill & Mary Ann

Report #56 Tuesday October 31, 2023 Happy Halloween Neiafu, Vava'u, Tonga At Anchor For Tendering Muggy And Hot With Clouds Some Sun 80 Degrees 25 Knot Wind Part #1 Of 5....73 Pictures---Casual Dress A strange thing happened last night sometime after 1am. A knocking noise began to occur, like someone was hitting the wall in the next cabin. It wasn’t consistent, but enough to keep us awake wondering what the heck? So one of us got up to investigate, thinking it was coming from our room. The ship was rolling somewhat and maybe something got loose. Well, it turned out to be our safe door which was swinging open and hitting the closet door. After coming back from shore yesterday, one of us had put the wallets away and failed to lock the safe properly. Normally it makes a beeping sound letting you know it is not locked, but it had not done that. So when the ship’s motion got strong enough, it let loose. We really prefer the safes that have the 4 number code instead of the card slide. Now we know not to make that mistake again. But what a way to start Halloween….spooky sounds in the darkness of the night. By the way, Happy Halloween a day early. Many of the guests had decorated their doors for the contest today. Some folks used what was on hand such as tissues or toilet paper to make little ghosts or cover the entire door with TP. The winners of the best costume and door decorations were announced at 8:45pm. To add to the merriment, there was a Halloween bar hop ($25) in the Crow’s Nest and a party in the Ocean Bar both at 8pm. Since that is our dinner time, we would miss the tricks and treats. The second port of call for Tonga was Neiafu on one of the larger islands of Vava’u, located north of Tongatapu where we were yesterday. These islands are an attraction of the “yachties” who sail here for the calm and protected anchorages. There is whale-watching (July to October), fishing, snorkeling and diving, as well as island-hopping for secluded beaches, coves, and relaxation. Naturally, there were tours here today that included a bus tour and swim for 3 hours at $100, or Ano Beach for 2 hours at $60. A 3 hour snorkel tour was $200, and an island drive and swallow cave for 5 hours was $180. Finally an island tour with a shorter snorkel was $170 for 3 hours. And this was a tender port, so all of the tour groups went off right after 8am when the ship was cleared. As always, there were warnings about not taking off food of any kind, or flowers and animal products. Bottled water was OK. It was a heavily overcast morning and muggy, so we figured it might rain. Thinking the temperatures would not be higher than in the 70’s, we left the water at home. Mistake…we do know better but took the umbrellas instead. Never needed them of course. We left the ship by 10am about the time they announced open tenders. The ride to Neiafu took almost 30 minutes, including the time we had to wait to board the boat. It was scenic going in between the many islets and coves on the way to the Port of Refuge as this bay is called. Several years ago on our first time here, we found that the low tide had made the exit and entrance into the tender boat almost impossible. Today it was better since they had wooden steps to get out of the boat. We were greeted by more Tongan dancers as we wandered out of the dock area, which is shared by the Matson Line. The local market, Utakalongalu Market (say that 10 times). It is basically a big warehouse/shed that the locals set up with their produce on the outside patio and basket-weavings, art, and island jewelry on the inside. They also sell the black oyster shells with Dremel-designs carved into the pieces. There was no need to purchase that jewelry set today since we did that a few years ago. We just took photos. The main attraction in town is their church, St. Joseph’s Cathedral located on a rather steep knoll above the harbor. This one is Catholic, but there are more protestant churches everywhere. They invite the tourists inside to experience religion in the Kingdom. We are certain that Sundays are special here. Although most everything would have been closed. Beyond the church is the town with the basic shops. Nothing fancy, but everything they need to survive here. We continued up this road passing many homes, schools, restaurants, some closed some opened later, and sadly, a lot of roadside trash. Some of the hillsides showed recent damage from a strong storm. Buildings had been destroyed and trees had fallen. It almost appeared that garbage had flowed down the hillsides from above. And there it all sat in a heap of trash. Further up this rural road, we came upon what once was a nice hotel with views of the harbor below. We remember seeing it back in 2019 in shambles although it appeared some people were living there. A couple from the ship happened to be walking past us and told a story of when his parent’s friends used to come here in its heyday. Guess it was the “bees knees” to stay here for a vacation. Sad to see old icons like this die a slow death. Also in the course of our conversation, this couple informed us that there was a significant storm coming up from New Caledonia. Sure hope we will be able to outrun it. Our hike took as another mile or so, until the sun peeked out enough to make the walk really hot. And of course, we had left the water back home. Can’t tell you how many taxi guys stopped and offered us a ride, as not many folks walk here. The locals never walk here. We do recall that further up there was a bridge and somewhat of a beach. Still not worth going that far today. It was already after high noon, so we headed back taking our time. Other folks we passed were also looking for a beach, but when we told them it may be miles up the road, we think they turned back as well. There is a great place closer to town where we knew we could get cold beers and hopefully a pizza. We had discovered it back in 2019 and it was still there and opened. The only way to get to it is by going downstairs on the hillside. Several flights of stairs to be exact. It was worth it though, because the place was not crowded and the open-air deck had plenty of tables with a nice breeze. We picked up two bottles of beers, took a table, and ordered a Hawaiian pizza from the nice waitress. There is no rush in Tonga. And we were sure glad to sit and relax cooling off with the cold beers. We enjoyed another round when the pizza arrived. Had to try their dessert of brownies with ice cream. The best brownies with nuts we have had so far this trip. We stayed until close to 2pm, mixing with some yachties from New Zealand. They were also talking about this storm down under. Now we will have to look into that when we get back. The high school band was playing on the dock under a huge tent. What a rousing group of entertainers. Many chairs had been set up under tents to keep the guests out of the sun. With the music playing, they just stayed and listened. We lined up for the next tender and got on with the last few seats left. At least the tide had come up and getting into the boat was fine. Once again the ride was smooth but longer than usual. We got back to the room by 2:30pm and stayed working and reading the rest of the afternoon. Our all aboard time had been extended an extra half hour, so we did not leave until after 6pm. The ship had dropped the anchor, so that always takes time to get it back up. During his talk at 5pm, Captain Paul mentioned something about that storm in New Caledonia and we might have some residual waves from it. Now that we are heading east, we should be able to avoid it….we hope. Dinner time found a few guests decked out with some Halloween costumes and funny hats. Our dear friends even had a surprise bag of candies for us on our way into the dining room. How sweet in more ways than one. Tonight the menu had some very different items such as tuna rolls which looked just like sushi. One of us had the mushroom frisée salad and the other a safe Caesar salad. Mains were “Kentucky” fried chicken, not really but pretty close. It came with mashed potatoes….a nice home-cooked meal. Desserts were slices of a very spicy pumpkin pie. By the time we left, most of the guests had headed for the Halloween parties somewhere on the ship. We were headed for bed and a good night’s sleep (without the noise). Bill & Mary Ann

Report #55 Monday October 30, 2023 Nuku'alofa, Tonga Docked Starboard Side To Pier 8am-6pm Cloudy And Very Windy With A Little Sunshine 75 Degrees Part #1 Of 5........77 Pictures Another day….another country. Today’s port of call is the country of Tonga, specifically the Tongatapu Island and the capital city of Nuku’alofa. And of course, there were excursions such as historic Tonga 2 ½ hours for $60 or a scenic drive for $80 3 ½ hours. A trip to the beach and caves was 4 ½ hours for $100, or a cultural tour for 3 hours at $75, and ancient Tonga for 3 ½ hours for $85. On past stops here, we have done a fun boat trip to Fafa Island, but it is no longer offered. Blowholes, caves and an “umu” cooked lunch (underground oven) was also not available. No flying foxes were to be seen, so they may only be here when the fruit is ripe. And some of the places where these tours went in the past have been destroyed by the tsunami a few years ago. That is a subject the locals do not wish to discuss, so we don’t go there with questions. We noticed that it was very windy when we walked out on the promenade deck after the ship was docked. It was also cooler than we have known it and totally fine with us. Several local Tongan dancers put on a nice welcome show on the dock. Some folks even joined in the dancing on their way out of the wharf. What was missing were the dozen or so tents set up on the pier for souvenirs. It appears they have been moved to the left side of the shoreline by Vuna Road. Perhaps it is better because with the strong winds, the tents might have gone airborne. There was a money-changer on the road near the ship although we do not know why a lot of people do this. It is good for small purchases in stores and cafes we guess. But we know that many locals will be happy to take US dollars. And credit cards are widely accepted here. There was another drill held for the crew at 9:30am, so we left the ship shortly after it began. It happens to be the best time to send the big emails especially the ones with the photos. We still have to prop open our door, but that’s not a problem. We had been warned to hold onto our hats and visors coming down the gangway. And they were correct as the wind was strong. There was no mention of rain, so the breeze kept us cooler. We headed right for the Talamahu Market with the produce and craft sections. It is much smaller than what we found in previous ports. And also much darker in there. In the craft section, there were far fewer tables, so maybe we are at the end of the tourist season. But that made it good for special sales such as the mother-of-pearl earring and necklace set we purchased. The vendor was nice enough to use a Dremel and carve my name on the heart pendant. Once the tool cut the nacre on the surface, she spelled out my name and then used a black permanent marker pen to highlite the letters on the shiny white backround. It also had two palm trees and Tonga written on it. A reasonable price of $10 will make a nice keepsake. We toured through the veggie market getting the best photos we could considering the low light. Then we went back outside with a walk to their Catholic church. A few blocks down and over we came upon the Basilica of St. Anthony of Padua, one of the most modern churches here. Directly across the road was the huge grounds of the Royal Tombs where the Kings and their families have been interred for many years. And from the decorations we saw on a nearby fence, we realized there had been a royal funeral recently. But who, we did not know. Directly across from the tombs was the oldest church the Centennial Church of the Free Church of Tonga. It was built in 1885, and survived many a storm. However, during the years we have been visiting, we have seen a lot of deterioration and it does not look as if there is money to repair it. Tsunamis and hurricanes have not been kind to the old structure. The most frequent visitors to the interior are the pigeons these days. Turning the corner at the end of this street, we came upon the newer Wesleyan Methodist Church. This is where the King and his family attend mass on Sundays. Across the street is the military headquarters with guards to keep watch on the Royal Palace. It is an impressive Victorian-style palace built with timber imported piece by piece from New Zealand. It was constructed for King Tupou I in 1867 and remains the official residence of the current King of Tonga, King Tupou VI and his family. When the family is present, a flag is flown. Today there was no flag, so they must be at their home in the island’s center. Vuna Road continues from here along the lagoon for miles. We noticed that the corner nearest the palace fencing had been cleared and leveled, and the street divided with barriers. That’s when we also noticed that the pillars near the fence were wrapped in Tongan cloth with a banner above saying long live the King. The windows of the palace were draped with dark black and blue sashes, indicting once again that someone had died. We needed to ask a local. Continuing up this paved walkway, we stopped at the Seaview Inn, a place where we always have lunch. However today was Monday, and they were closed. There was a lady near the gate, so we crossed over and asked about a recent death in the royal family. She confirmed a family member had died, but with limited English, she said no more. ( We did learn later that the mother of the Queen had passed away at 75 years old at a New Zealand hospital and recently repatriated for burial here.) The nice lady apologized for not being opened but suggested maybe Little Italy was serving lunch. We knew better since we had “googled it” and they only open for dinner at 5pm. We were out of luck for a local lunch today, although beers may have been nice. It became apparent to us that another storm or hurricane had hit here since the tsunami caused so much damage a few years ago. The landing that had been constructed for this restaurant was destroyed. All of the peeler cores that had been used for the small dock were floating in the water. Even the rock wall that had somewhat of a seating along the way was no longer intact. The areas that took the worst beating as far as the walkway was concerned were repaired. New saplings of the casuarina trees were planted surrounded with half tires to hold the soil and water. Many signs were posted for no fishing in the lagoon. If that was violated, there would be a $250,000 fine and with the currency exchange of 1 US dollar to 2.47 Tonga $, that would be about half that amount for us. We did see one fellow walk out into the lagoon and it was only up to his knees for many yards out from shore. We have been told that it will take the reef many years to recover from the storm damage. Most all of the fish were gone. And the coral as well. Stopping at a few benches along the way, and taking care with all of the visiting dogs, we went to the end near the mangroves. Another new restaurant had opened up there several years ago called Little India and they served pizza. We went there for a couple of years, then it closed up. Too bad, as it was good pizza. On the way back, we stopped at Little Italy and they confirmed the fact that they opened at 5pm. We knew that. So we strolled back to the ship by 2pm, and ordered Caesar salads, a beef panini , and one quesadilla. That would hold us until dinnertime. It actually got cool on the veranda as the clouds came over and the wind picked up. Captain Paul came on the speaker early to say we might have problems leaving the pier due to the high winds. We do not have a long way to go to the next port in Vava’u, so he had time to get it right. The ship was in motion shortly after 6pm and by 6:45pm, there was a sunset. Not a really fabulous one, but OK. We had our minds set on the sweet and sour breaded shrimp for our mains for dinner. But when we saw tonight’s dining room menu, the shrimp was gone and barramundi had been substituted. What, not again? Our waiter Mario said he was not impressed with the barramundi, so we order something totally different. One of us had the very British slices of beef with a Yorkshire pudding and delicious creamy cauliflower. And the other entrée was a mix of mushroom quesadillas with extra sour cream and guacamole and three sauced veal and sage meatballs. That added the protein to the vegetarian dish. Good mix. Desserts were one hot fudge sundae and a mango sorbet….just right. Looking forward to Vava’u tomorrow. Hopefully their marina restaurant will be opened, at least it says it is on their website. Bill & Mary Ann

Well, thanks for that description of risi bisi. It does sound a lot like a dish our parents made when we were young. Perhaps it will be offered again. Very soon we will be crossing the dateline again, and will be back to the normal day and date. Bill & Mary Ann

Report #54 Sunday October 29, 2023 Sea Day Enroute To Nuku'alofa, Tonga Overcast With Some Sun 77 Degrees Sea State-7-8 Foot 25mph Wind Part #1 Of 1........31 Pictures----Casual Dress Another day at sea found the weather quite co-operative with partly cloudy skies, some sun, and a nice breeze. What more can we ask? Still tropical, the oppressive heat and humidity seems to have taken a back seat. Hope it lasts. Going out for a morning walk did not pan out because the forward deck was closed to foot traffic. But it was a good spot to stop and watch the many flying fish we have begun to see now. We were deep in conversation with a good friend, when Captain Paul happened to stop by. He can be seen on many occasions checking the condition of the ship. On past cruises, we always see the Captain walking the dock, sometimes with a camera, documenting any dents or scratches that may have happened along the way. That is really common after transiting the Panama Canal. Anyway, he chatted with the three of us for a while referring to his lecture yesterday with passenger’s questions. We are happy to report that his talk has been put on the TV and we would be able to watch it sometime today. Who knows? Maybe all of the port talks have been televised and never advertised as such. We shall check this out. We did learn that there are 587 crew members onboard this South Pacific cruise, and of that number, 102 are officers. Someone had asked what it cost the ship to dock for instance in San Diego. The bill just came in and it was $4900 for dockage, but $21,000 for security. And that was just a small number of charges for that day. The question box will remain by the front desk, and the Captain will address more of them before the trip ends. It’s really a great idea we think. There has been chatter amongst some guests that a couple had lost their passports while in Savusavu. Under what circumstances, we do not know. However, it poses a huge problem for this couple, because they would not be allowed to stay onboard the ship without those passports. That brought to mind a dear friend who had gone on an African safari with her sister and best friend several years ago. Upon returning to the ship in Cape Town, she could not find her passport. She was told she would have to stay behind and get a new one which was quite upsetting news. With the help of her sister, they finally found the document in a purse she had used while flying. Saved by the bell, it taught us all the importance of that document. Spending a few hours at the back pool was nice as the temperature did not exceed 77 degrees. There were a lot of high clouds, but during his noon talk, the Captain mentioned that the sea temps were in the high 70’s. That is an indication that the air temperature will cool off also. The ship is doing about 7 to 8 knots, like barely creeping along. During the night, the ship stopped and we drifted. Being that we still have a lot of time to get to Nuku’alofa, we will maintain the slow speed and stop once again probably after midnight. By the way, we do not think that the stabilizers can be used at that slow speed, so we are tending to roll somewhat. Some of the activities during the day involve Halloween such as a pumpkin patch game poolside, origami bats, mask making, creating door decorations, and a contest for the best door decorations. The guests have begun to hang many things on their cabin doors now, which is fun, but at one time, all decorations had been banned due to fire regulations. Guess that rule has gone ignored. Sometimes the birthday/anniversary balloons are over-done, but in time, they deflate. The sunset was non-existent with low clouds on the horizon and none in the upper sky. But the moon has remained bright as ever, as it is full, casting a most beautiful light on the nighttime waters. Due to the time change last night, the sunset was close to 7pm. And in a few days, we will get that missing day back that we lost crossing the International Dateline. Checking the daily dining room dinner menu on the TV, we saw an entrée of chicken Kiev with risi-bisi. OK that is what we planned to order. You ask what is risi-bisi? We don’t have a clue, but we have to try it to find out. Something tells us it might be a rice dish. So we showed up for dinner, ordered the entrée and guess what? They had taken risi-bisi off of the menu and substituted a cold potato salad with beets. Darn. We asked our waiter what happened to the risi-bisi, and they said they didn’t know. So we asked what it was and they did not know either. Oh we have the best time at dinner. So starters were a fried swiss cheese pocket with sweet jam, a Caesar salad, and a bacon/cabbage soup, which looked more creamy than expected. The chicken was good too. Now last night we had missed the toffee cake since they had run out. But we figured no one would remember we were promised a slice, and we ordered sliced pineapple and one chocolate mousse plate. Well, along came Bayu with two slices of last night’s dessert. Being polite, we ate most of it, finding the toffee part rather dense, like it had been cooked too long. Tasty, but heavy. Then the second set of desserts arrived along with a bowl of vanilla ice cream. We were really bad tonight and ate the second desserts as well. We will have to have a long walk in Nuku’alofa tomorrow to wear the sugar off. Bill & Mary Ann

Report #53 Saturday October 28, 2023 Day At Sea Enroute To Nuku'alofa, Tonga Cloudy And Some Sun 7 Foot Swell 25 Knot Wind Part #1 Of 1........51 Pictures---Dressy Night A sea day is what we all needed to jump start the batteries so to speak. We overheard several guests on the tender boat yesterday remarking that they were really tired, and were keeping the day simple and short in Savusavu. Maybe that is why the line was so long to reboard the boat back to the ship. We also learned today that the reason our sail away was delayed was due to a medical debark at the last minute. Captain Paul added that the patient was doing OK, which is always good news. We all had one important job to do today and that was a muster station check-in between 2 and 3pm. It is mandatory for those who are traveling on cruises longer than 30 days to repeat the drill in that span of time. Of course, these days it is as easy as finding the location of your assigned station, and have a crew member scan your room key. Then you have to watch the safety video on the stateroom TV, which gives you all of the emergency details. When this video is done, the regular programing will come back to the TV. As a matter of fact, the video was already on the TV at 6am this morning. The weather was surprisingly comfortable with temps in the low 80’s, less humidity, and a nice breeze. Since we are so close to our next stop in Tonga, the Captain maintained a speed of 7 to 8 knots. The seas were a bit choppy, but the movement of the ship was not too bad. You tend to roll somewhat when the ship goes slower. We did see a few birds but could not identify them. They were flying way too far away, and not behaving like boobies that we are used to watching. Will have to do some research on the birds in this area. We’re not entirely sure if we have covered the subject of shipboard accounts. Last week we received a notice saying that updated credit card processing rules and the length of this cruise dictates that any balance on the cards would be processed on October 25th. We do not recall that ever happening on past cruises…even ones that exceeded 128 days. That is one of the first requests we make at the front desk that our account will not be charged until the end of the voyage. When we boarded on September 6th, we were told the card would not be processed until November 22nd. This is how it has always been handled. Well, we guess the rules have changed. The only thing that kept us from being charged now was the fact we have considerable credit on our shipboard account. We do not owe anything. So for that reason, we were exempt from billing or having our credit refunded to the credit card. Things can sure get complicated and you have to be prepared for every scenario. And equally important is knowing what is refundable (cashable) and non- refundable (use-it-or-lose-it). Like we said….complicated. The notice ended by saying we had one day or 24 hours to ask questions or change your credit card they had on file. We spent some time at the Seaview Pool which was practically empty of guests. Funny, because the weather was so darn nice, this was the place to be. Of course, Captain Paul was having a session in the World Stage answering the dozens of questions he received in the box at the front desk. We really wish these talks and lectures would be repeated on the TV in our rooms. They used to be, but like many other things, they stopped doing it. If it is a nice day outside, we will never be inside a crowded dark theater. We used to look forward to listening to Barbara Haenni’s port lectures at night before we went to sleep. Maybe that is a question we can ask someone in charge that can do something about it. Caesar salads with sliced chicken and a shared club sandwich was our lunch today at 2:30pm. Everything came as ordered too. By not going to the Lido, we are not tempted with grazing. And we have successfully stayed away from the sweet desserts at lunchtime with the exception of one chocolate cookie each. Dinner was “dressy” and most of the folks did just that. We are seeing fewer baseball hats and t-shirts in the dining room at dinner. Starters were jumbo shrimp cocktails with American sauce. No escargots for us. The salad was niçoise with ahi tuna slices, and was fine if you ignored the raw part of the fish. Yes, we know that is how you eat it. The savory balsamic dressing “cooked” it just enough to make it good. One of us ordered the roasted lamb chops (very tasty) and the other a tenderloin (tender and good with grilled shrimp). There was a different cake offered for dessert, but when we ordered one, they said they had run out and were making more. That’s really unusual, but when we mentioned it to Bayu, our head waiter, he promised to have it for us tomorrow. Or he would have it sent to our room like he did for another couple of folks. Tomorrow is fine we said. Risman substituted a hot fudge sundae and a frozen banana yogurt. Fine and dandy with us. Showtime was a group of three singers called The Knights. They celebrated works of Elton John, Tom Jones, Rod Stewart, and Andrew Llyod Webber and many more. However, one thing we never like is the fact we had to turn our clocks forward one hour. We are beginning to head east now and the extra hours they gave us will slowly disappear. Bill & Mary Ann

Greetings...... Morimoto items became available every day in the dining room at the start of the Tales of the South Pacific. It was not available on the Alaska trips. Bill & Mary Ann

Report #52 Friday October 27, 2023 Savusavu, Fiji At Anchor Tendering To Shore 8am-6:30pm Sea State -Calm Slight Breeze 82 Degrees Partly Cloudy With Sun Part #1 Of 4........74 Pictures-----Casual Dress Our final port of call in Fiji was the town of Suvasuva, located on the second largest island of Vanua Levu. Also our last chance for “bula” greetings, although today there were fewer of those. Situated in a protected harbor, the Captain dropped anchor and we needed to use the tender boats. We arrived early after 7am, and it looked like another promising day with some sun and warm, humid temps. It also appeared to be low tide, so the ship had to anchor a bit further away from shore. There were a few excursions sold beginning with a siteseeing tour for $100 and 4 hours. A visit to Fiji village for 3 hours was $80, and waterfall and rainforest strenuous hike and swim was $90 for 3½ hours. A visit to a chocolate farm was 5 hours for $90, while snorkeling with Cousteau for 2 hours was $99. Finally a garden walk for 1½ hours was $100. We waited like we always do for the majority of folks to tender over before leaving at 10:30am. It should have been an easy transfer, but when 90% of the folks got off of the tender at the Copra Shed Marina, at least six of us remained, not being able to get off. It seems that a hook broke off of the boat and they had to pull away and turn it around. That took some time before we were tied up again and ready to get off. Much to our surprise, there was already a long line of guests waiting to board the boat back to the ship. Well, we shouldn’t have been surprised, since we have been here before, and recalled there wasn’t much to do or see. Once we walked through the small marina building, we came out to the main street where many tents were set up with tons of souvenirs. There must have been double the number from a few years ago, or before Covid hit. The people from the ship blocked the sidewalks with their over-stuffed backpacks looking over the table treasures. There were many “pearls” to be bought, but all of it was costume jewelry. We assume most of the seasoned guests knew that. Instead of squeezing by, we just walked in the street and around the parked cars. A little bit up this road was the produce market, a smaller version compared to Suva or Lautoka, but large enough to stroll through. Once again many local ladies ran the show here. There were some fruits and veggies we did not recognize, and we still don’t know what they were because we were told the Fijian name. There was no fish or meat market here, so there were no pesty flies. As we walked further past this crowd, we came across a public kiddie park. Further up, the paved walkway that lined this harbor ended. There were some young local guys hanging around, who tried to engage us. We think they were high on something, so we left immediately. Sometimes you just get that sudden feeling that things are not right, and we have learned to trust our instincts. We went directly back to the main street and kept walking up the road until the sidewalk stopped. This was a good place to turn around, since the road across the way went to the airport. No need to go there. This time we stayed on the main drag to the center of town where several businesses were located. There were many Indian and Chinese shops, a supermarket, bus station, health services and small businesses. We saw few if any cafes or bars in town. There were a some projects happening, one large one being funded by the Chinese. And we saw one huge billboard reminding locals to get their typhoid vaccines. Oh boy, never thought of that. Of course, there were the Covid boosters advertised but that is everywhere we have gone so far. We continued on the opposite side of the road past more vendors and one police fellow with a stand and tent. We learned later that he was there just for show as there were few police officers for this area. Passing the Copra Shed Marina, we walked the seaside road passing a nicer part of town. There were a few more cafes along the way, but all appeared to be closed. A nicer supermarket was located here and more small shops. It was low tide, and the exposed mud was not really nice to see. There is no beachfront here at all. To find that, you need to take a taxi elsewhere. The was a park-like small island across from Suvasuva called Nawi Island. You need to take a boat there. We made it as far as the Jetty, where folks can go out to fish in deeper water. There was a very nice breeze there, although we did not see any tropical fish in the waters. Following a tiny map the ship gave us, we could see a lodge up on the side of the hillside. A 4 star hotel, we have no idea how to even access this place and no idea if it was opened to the public. So we headed back the way we came, and happened to talk to a nice fellow from New Zealand. Heaven help us, we originally thought he was Aussie, but he set us straight on that account, laughing the whole time. Huge competition there we suspect. Anyway, he said we might have a hard time finding a place for beer, since most all of the eating places had closed after Covid hit. He went on about the current situation here where people have been out of work and there was crime everywhere. Especially the young crowd that tends to turn to drugs. As recent as last evening, he said an 83 year old local woman was raped and attacked by some guys. He told us that he has been living on his boat for a few weeks, and in that short time he has been robbed repeatedly. Last week he was out at night and got approached by a group of guys that demanded his money. He said it was either give it up, or be beaten or worse. Once he re-supplies his boat, he said he will be going back to New Zealand. So our feeling earlier in the day with the strange guys on the waterfront was correct. Upon saying goodbye, he said to watch our bags and wallets on our way back to the pier. That was enough for us. Since there was no good place for beers or lunch, we lined up with 50 or 60 people waiting for the next tender boat. It was only 1:30pm. No way would we stay until the last tender at 4:30pm. While waiting, we did get some good pictures of some tropical fish under the gangway to the tender. Back on the air-conditioned ship, we opted for Dive In burgers and hotdog. At 2pm, there was a short wait for the food. Around 4:30pm, the Captain came on the speakers for his sail away talk. He mentioned that we were close to the next port of Nuku’alofa, Tonga, but we had two full days to get there. Normally that is accomplished with one day at sea. However, the itinerary made it so we would not land at Tonga on a Sunday when everything is totally closed. By taking two slow days at sea, we will arrive on a Monday. For that reason, instead of leaving at 5pm with some scenic cruising around some islands, we would leave later around 6:30pm in the dark. And he added not to be surprised if we actually slow down and drift for some part of the night. It will save on fuel we guess. Dinner in the dining room had some different choices. We ordered Vietnamese spring rolls, served on a banana leaf with a chopped cucumber relish. Very good. We also had corn fritters, something new. Mains were one swordfish dish and a wasabi-crusted tenderloin of beef. Both were very tasty, moist and tender. Then we were invited to share an anniversary cake with friends Leta and Bill at their table. Can you believe they were celebrating their 67th anniversary? That is incredible. We all enjoyed the chocolate mousse cake with sides of vanilla ice cream. Prio, their waiter was most patient with us since we stayed until the dining room emptied out. We had a great visit as always. Looking forward to two lazy days at sea before we hit Tonga. Bill & Mary Ann

We are quite happy to sharpen your appetite! Bill & Mary Ann

Report #51 Thursday October 26, 2023 Lautoka, Fiji 8am-5pm Docked Starboard Side To Pier Cloudy With Periods Of Sun 82 Degrees Part #1 Of 4.......77 Pictures------Casual Dress Lautoka, Fiji, on the island of Viti Levu, was our port of call for today. It’s the second largest city in Fiji, and is the sugarcane king from the industry that put this place on the map. If memory serves us right, it was the world’s desire for the sugar product that enticed people from India and China to come here for work in the plantations and factories. Years later when the demand decreased, many of the descendants of the Indians and Chinese never left, and became an important part of the society. From what we saw today, the Fujians are the minority, and the Indian and Chinese are half of the population. There were some tours offered here today that included a day cruise on a catamaran to an island beach for $180 for 5½ hours. Tivua Island and a zipline excursion were both $180 for 4½ to 5½ hours. How about a thermal mudpool treatment? That ran $150 for 3½ hours. An essence and factory tour was $130 for 4 ½ hours, while a trip to Nadi was $90 for 3 ½ hours. A shuttle ride to downtown Lautoka was $10 per person. This shuttle used to be provided for free compliments of Jack’s Department Store. No more. The ship arrived early to the port of Lautoka, a very busy commercial port. There are many factories here such as the Sugar Mill and a wood chip facility. Big rig trucks were coming and going all day long. We were cleared after 8am by the local authorities and reminded that no food, fruit, sandwiches, or animal products and flowers were not allowed off of the ship. If anyone attempted to do so, there could be a significant fine. There was no mention of beverages, so we brought a bottle of water. No problem. We left the ship by 10:30am when all of the tours had left. Several souvenir tents were set up at the end of the long pier. There was a wide array of island clothing and accessories – all good prices from what saw. The vendors were more than happy to take US dollars. In case you needed some small items in town, there was also a money changer on the pier. And of course, there were the massage ladies offering their services. The walk to downtown was one we have done many times. Walking out of the busy port area, we followed the dusty sidewalk to the main drive. The big trucks were parked along the way, and when they drove past us, they really kicked up the fine dust on the street. Nice that we have complimentary laundry because our clothes would need to go there at the end of the day. We got to town within 30 minutes. When the morning started, the skies were basically blue. It was much hotter than yesterday. However as the day advanced, the clouds began filling the sky, which helped keep the temperatures down. This whole area looked very dry to us, and we suspected they were due for some rain. It didn’t happen today, so we got lucky. This city is quite different from Suva, which is more British than anything. Here we felt like we had stepped back into the 1950’s. The town was created to take care of the local workers so it is a mix of Fijian, Indian, and Chinese. The Indian holiday of Diwali or the festival of lights was in full swing. It also doubles as a reason for many sales. Last year we saw the sidewalks decorated with flowers made with a type of chalk and lined with small luminary candles. We did not see that today. Probably too dangerous to have lit candles burning. We headed right for the marketplace which has a produce and fish market even bigger than we saw in Suva. Everyone greeted us with “bula” and were happy that we took photos of their products. We learned what jackfruit looks like, even when cut in half. It is full of large white seeds, which the vendor was collecting in a dish. Among the assortment of fruit and veggies, we saw other products like the coconut oil sold in small bottles. They also sold different types of kava roots, which is like an alcoholic drink. The basic roots are from a peppermint bush or tree, and in the past, were chewed by the natives to make a mash for fermentation. Christian missionaries taught them how to use pestles and mortars to grind the sinuous roots….much more sanitary. Having reluctantly participated in a few kava ceremonies, we recall the numbing effect the muddy-looking drink was on the lips. Sharing the beverage served in one large container was not the best idea, but that was the custom. For that reason, if a tour included this welcoming event, we passed on the tour as it is considered rude to say no thanks. On one side of this huge market was a separated fish market. You went into a side door and the display was behind a glassed-in room. The tiled counters had what was left of the day’s catch. A large variety of fish were laid out for sale. Among them were parrot fish, red snappers, barracuda, several others we did not recognize. Of course there were flies, but the fellows kept them off with big handheld fans. Before the day was over, all of the fish would be sold. After getting lots of photos, we continued back to downtown and walked by numerous shops. Many of them sold the Indian saris and all of the trinkets that go with the dress. One store that most folks go to is Jack’s, which is a department store, but also a good place for authentic Fijian articles. We purchased our first set of cannibal forks here. Yes, it really did happen in the far distant past, but it is not a factor these days. Or at least we think so. There is a nice local park here by the name of Waterfront Park. Today there were many tents set up with locals selling even more clothing and purses and such. This is one place we feel the tourists can bargain for good deals. At the bottom of this park is the seawall. Located there is a hotel called Tanoa Waterfront. We looked around the front of the hotel, and did notice a restaurant along the side. But it appeared closed. Perhaps it is only for dinner service. We have never eaten lunch in this city. The only place we recognized was a McDonalds. Everything else was Indian and Chinese food with several bars in between the shops. Staying on the waterfront, we cut back to the main road, avoiding the heavy traffic with the buses and trucks. We were back to the ship before 2pm, just in time to order a room service lunch. Everything came exactly as we ordered it, and the wait was only ½ hour. All aboard was 4:30pm, and we set sail shortly after that. By now it was really overcast and cloudy, so the sunset at 6:10pm was minimal. We watched it from the veranda as we sailed around the island on the way to tomorrow’s port of Suvasuva. It was a good time to open the chilled bottle of sparkling wine we have had since day one. It was still quite warm outside, and the drink was most welcomed. Dinner had a few favorites of breaded chicken tenders with a honey-mustard sauce. So good. The split pea soup was not anything like Dutch pea soup. It was thin and almost yellow in color with shreds of celeriac, carrots, and chives with bits of sausage. Traditional Dutch pea soup is way better we think. But the mains of spaghetti with two meatballs was perfect. A slice of garlic bread comes with it. Dessert was a strawberry cheesecake which we planned to share. Then Risman our waiter said he had brought a very frozen hot fudge sundae and would we like it. Twisting our arms, we said OK. He was right, it was much better tonight, so we ate them both. One more day of “bula” greetings and we will be gone from Fiji. Bill & Mary Ann

Report #50 Wednesday October 25,2023 Dravuni Island, Fiji At Anchor 8am-5pm Cloudy With Lots Of Sun 78 Degrees Sea State Choppy With Strong Wind Part #1 Of 4......80 Pictures---Casual Dress Dravuni Island, Fiji, is a tiny dot of an island belonging to the Kadavu Group. Less than 1 square mile, it has a small village with white sands, tall palms, and azure waters. There are no vehicles or roads as we know them on this island. But there is a long stretch of beach where the guests can sunbathe and snorkel, although we have not seen a lot of tropical fish there. You can do some hiking, visit with the friendly locals, or simply relax within steps of the tender pier. The weather looked promising but the wind was acting up, leaving us to wonder if tendering might be problematic. That was the case last year when we visited this island. The swells were too great for safe tendering and the port had to be cancelled. Guess it was a “go” today, because tender-ticketed folks were summoned down to deck one around 8:15am. They were calling two groups at a time. This was still in effect at 10:30am when we went off of the ship. We are not sure how the walker/wheelchair guests would get down the outside stairs to the waiting boat. The wind was blowing hard as well, although the swells were moderate. The ride took 15 minutes or so. At first glance, we noticed that there were many more buildings in the way of housing since the last time we were here in 2019. Souvenir floral shirts and sarongs blew sideways on the numerous clothes lines strung between the palm trees. Sure gave a lot of color to the scenery. Several make-shift tented massage tables lined the beachfront. Shoulder and neck massages were $10 while a full body massage was $20. Hair-braiding was $20, but no one offered to do mine since it was already braided. Many of the local ladies had tables set with various island jewelry made with seashells and carved wood. Passing the primary school house, we saw a lot of little kids running amuck, obviously out of school. We did notice a few donation boxes here and there such as for school supplies. Then we wondered why the donations that were meant for Fanning Island could not have been brought here? Although this village is far smaller than Fanning, the needs must be the same. We continued going right from the tender pier and found we were on our way towards the tallest peak there. We remember passing by the pens where they confine their pigs when they have company. Today there were at least seven adult hogs and three cute little babies. These little pigs did not wander far from the mother, who was caged. It seemed that every hut had chickens. Someone had put down an opened coconut and a hen chicken was drinking the juice and eating the coconut meat. They are smart little birds. Following the path, we began the climb through the thick foliage and trees. This is where it began to get steep in parts. Only one of us went forward, while the other waited on a bluff where there was a cool breeze. Looking down the side of the ridge, we noticed there was a planting area in the gully with bananas, coconuts, and possibly other crops. Access to this side of the island is not easy, so the other pathway went to the top of the peak. The locals have cut away the slippery pathway and created steps to use. Many people who knew their abilities did not have a problem with the vigorous hike, but others did. It’s not so bad going up, but going down can be hard on the knees and ankles. And the worst time to find out is when you are halfway down. Best to be cautious we always say. Back down to the beach area, we walked around the houses, which were basically empty. Most all of the adults were selling something on the beachfront. We had been told there was no snorkel gear to rent, but we did find a few vendors along the way with tons of them. Judging by the number of cruise ship guests we saw in and around the water today, there will be a lot that will be sunburnt. The temperature was a cool 77 degrees with a nice breeze blowing. That can be deceiving and painful, so we did not plan on a day in the sand and water. The sandy beaches looked good, but there was a lot of coral and volcanic rocks in the water. Without aqua shoes, it might have been dangerous. Making our way to the opposite end of the island, we saw the new and the old cemetery. Their tradition is to have a picnic on the gravesite. The family will leave a blanket or beach towel to spread out on the concrete, and have a meal there. The plates and silverware are left there for the next time. Then the path continued to a very small but empty beach. It was much cooler and obviously turbulent here. These islands can hide an undertow, so swimming here may be dangerous. We headed back to the tender pier and got on the boat in minutes. All aboard was 4:30pm, but we were ready to leave by 1:30pm. We had taken a bottle of water, but by now, we needed a lot more than that. Back by 2:30pm, we ordered a room service lunch. Guess what? Everything came as ordered. We had Cobb salads (entrée-size) and a shared club sandwich. Sitting on the veranda reading actually got cool enough to need a sweatshirt. There was a coolness in the breeze. At least we did not have any rain today, which was perfect. There was no good sunset tonight, but there sure was a nice dinner in the Pinnacle Grill. We think most of the guests had an exhausting day, because the restaurant was half full. The sun, hiking, and swimming had done their job. Anyway, we had our usual wedge salads with delectable bacon. Mains were medium-cooked lamb chops with nothing else on the plate. No bean smear or whatever they call it. We teased manager Anton that we like our lamb chops “naked”. He liked that. We added the sides of fries and mushrooms to the plate, and now the dish was full. We pondered over what we might have for dessert but got side-lined with a conversation with Anton. Feeling the best idea was to pass on dessert, we ordered nothing. Tomorrow’s port will be Lautoka on the other large island of Fiji. It will be another day for a nice walk. Bill & Mary Ann

Report #49 Tuesday October 24, 2023 Suva, Fiji 8am-11pm Docked Starboard Side To The Pier Bunkering Fuel All Day Cloudy With Rain Showers 75 Degrees Part #1 Of 4.......64 Pictures----Casual Dress Today’s port of call was our first one in Fiji…..Suva, the capital. The magic word for the day was “bula”, because just about everyone you see will greet you with their favorite hello. Even the little kids. The locals are very friendly, and smile when we say “bula” in return. By the time we got outside on deck three by 8:30am, the police band had already played for the guests and were gone. Darn, it really is a kick to see the brass band with the fellows dressed in their lavalava skirts. The tour groups were filing off of the gangway, filling several coaches that were waiting right there a few feet away. There were seven excursions today starting with a longboat ride for 4 hours and $70. An eco-trek was $90 for 3 ½ hours while the museum and Thurston Gardens was $60 for 3 hours. We did that for free by walking there from the pier. The jewels of Fiji tour was $180 for 6 hours and a day at the South Pacific Resort was $150 for 7 hours. Finally a zipline was $140 for 2 ½ hours. A village tour that included a kava ceremony was $90 for 3 ½ hours. We have visited Suva several times and find it is an easy place to navigate. Downtown is steps away from the pier and it includes the Suva Municipal Market, which has everything you might be looking for in the way of produce, some souvenirs, and clothing. We always take a walk through there for the colorful photos. Then on the way back, we always stop outside to purchase the tropical bouquets of flowers for our room. Directly up the street from this massive market is the fish market with several varieties of locally-caught fish. From there you can find modern malls and shops. The two most well-known fast food chains are here – Burger King and McDonalds. Obviously they are favorites of many locals. Tourists too who always go there for the wifi. We headed past many banks and stores, stopping at one of them which happened to be a fabric store. There must have been 100 bolts of the prettiest floral tropical fabrics, so we asked if they took US dollars. The answer was yes, although we are not sure she heard us correctly. We said we would be back. Our first stop was at Thurston Gardens for a stroll through their landscaped park. There are certain trees planted there that house the large fruit bats, and they were there in large numbers today. A few were flying around, but most all of them were hanging around – upside down as they like to do. Occasionally, they open their wings to cool down. Continuing up the seaside road, we came across the palace with a guard at the gate. He has a lonely job there standing at attention, until a load of tourists stop to take his photo. Just like the British guards in London, they do not engage anyone in conversation….just stand at attention. We always stroll the seawall here watching the locals and some of the birds that will dive for fish. Today we saw terns, and maybe two blue herons, some shore birds, and a bunch of common mynah birds. We made it as far as the Chinese Embassy then turned back since the road was under construction and closed. There were a few guys casting gill nets in the shallow reef waters without a boat. We could see the fish jumping right off of the shore, so they must be easily caught. Truthfully, there are several outlets for water drainage, and we suspect they are old sewer water pipes. The sea water here appears to be quite murky and no one swims in it. There was a nice breeze blowing, and even though the skies were foreboding with dark rain clouds, it never did rain. Taking our time, we were ready for lunch by 1pm, and went to the Grand Pacific Hotel, a blast from the British past. It is really the nicest hotel in town, and they serve a wonderful lunch. And if you visit there around 3pm, they serve a high tea in the lobby. Quite proper in fact. We went right to the patio and pool area and were lucky to find a table for two. To say you are not rushed here is an understatement. Eventually a waitress arrived and handed us menus. She took our drink order which was two local Fiji Gold Drafts. Ice cold. Then we ordered a 10- inch BBQ chicken pizza to share, which took a while to arrive. No rush, we ordered another round of beer and relaxed while watching a young boy enjoy the swimming pool all by himself until his dad joined him. After splitting delicious the pizza, we ordered a slice of pumpkin cheesecake with a side of pistachio ice cream. Refreshing, it was the perfect end to the meal. Leaving by 3pm, the lobby and bar were getting busy with new guests arriving. On the way back, we did stop at the fabric store, where the saleslady said the owner might not take US dollars. There was a floral print that stood out among the rest, so after asking the owner, he said yes to the money, and then measured 2 ½ meters for a mere $7 USD. Good deal. There are some things that are hard to resist and that has to be unique t-shirts and fabrics from various countries. Then we did stop at the market to pick up two bunches of tropical flowers, which were tied with ribbons by the vendors before they handed them to us. Another $10 USD well-spent, although we do know they will come with a few ants. There are rules that we are not allowed to take off food or plants, but we can bring back just about anything we wish in the way of food stuff and flowers. We boarded the ship around 4pm after passing the many vendors at the gate offering cheap massages and hair-braiding. No thanks, and “bula” was exchanged by all including us. Relaxing on the veranda was good for one of us, while the other worked away with photos of the day. We had the best seats for a sunset, but it ever developed….way too many clouds on the horizon. Still no rain. Dinner was interesting with several Indian seasoned appetizers and mains. One was an empanada, which was actually very good….not too spicy. Caesar salads for both of us, and one main of Club Orange leg of lamb (excellent) and another with the roasted chicken with the pasta on the side. Funny thing….they forgot the penne pasta, and only put the sauce over the chicken. Go figure…. And ordering Lea & Perrins for the lamb did not happen as they have substituted Frenchs instead. Not the same by a mile, we said no thanks. Desserts were one chocolate tart and a small rum cake totally drenched in good rum for a change. Really tasty. As we are still composing this, the ship has not left the port and it is 11:30pm. Guess the bunkering of fuel took longer than expected. Looking forward to Dravuni Island tomorrow although we heard some talk about rough seas due to a passing hurricane somewhere. Hope it isn’t true. Bill & Mary Ann

Report #48 Monday October 23,2023 Sea Day Enroute To Suva, Fiji Cloudy And Cooler With A Constant Breeze 72 Degrees Sea State 5-7 Foot Swell Part #1 Of 1........38 Pictures-----Dressy Night There wasn’t much of a sunrise this morning, and the day would end with the same scenario…….a partially hidden sunset due to rain clouds. Guess we have to have days that are not terrific to appreciate the ones that are. The weather today surprised us. Gone were the steamy hot temps we have been experiencing. Replacing that was a nice breeze and a comfortable mostly sunny morning and afternoon. The Volendam has dropped further south and away from the Equator, so perhaps that is the reason for tolerable temperatures. We hope it lasts. For a change, the dress suggestion was “dressy”, although it was not reflected in the menu choices. It seems that we have begun to run low on some food items such as fresh produce. Only the strawberries are left for breakfast but the bananas are still holding up. No more blueberries, raspberries, or blackberries. We understand that there will be a shipment for the Volendam in Suva, Fiji, tomorrow’s port. And Captain Paul mentioned in his noon talk that we are in need of bunkering fuel. Now we understand why our scheduled departure time from Suva is 11pm. In fact, the Captain added that if the bunkering is a slower than normal process, we may be leaving later than 11pm. Not a problem since we are close to the next stop at Dravuni Island, a tender port that is basically a short beach day. Once again, Kimberly, the cruise and travel director, had to have two sessions for the Unlocking Fiji lecture in the World Stage. She only has today to cover four upcoming ports in Fiji, so they expected a full house for the guests to learn all about this area. Usually the explorations team give a snippet of info on every tour offered in these ports, but we did not see it listed today. We spent the late morning visiting with friends at the Seaview Pool, while enjoying the nice breeze for a change. We noticed that unless you flag down one of the bar staff crew, they do not come around and offer beverages. The few that are working at this pool seem to congregate near the bar and out of the sun. And if you happen to be sitting under the overhang where smoking is allowed, then you get service. Retreating to our room for ice cold sodas, we decided to try for a room service lunch again. But this time after placing the order over the phone, we added that yesterday’s quesadilla turned out to be chicken soup. It was good, but was not ordered. The waiter thanked us for pointing that out, and promised it not to occur again. On most ships that we have ordered room service, after it is delivered, we receive a call from them confirming that everything is OK. They do not do that here. Following the deliverer’s advice yesterday by calling the order again, got us nowhere, since they never answered the call. Dinner was not really special considering the dress code. It appeared to us that the majority of folks dine early, because the lower dining room is almost empty by 8pm. Of course tonight, there was an event in the casino called “Casino Royale” which began at 8pm. Besides games and music, they offered a free slot tournament and lessons in blackjack and roulette. If it wasn’t the casino event, then maybe it was the performance of Annie Gong playing her instruments in the show lounge that drew the guests out of the dining room. Back to dinner, we ordered the tomato bisque, and a Las Vegas-style Cobb salad. OK, we said what exactly does Las Vegas salad mean? Turned out to be slices of marinated rare steak slices over the top of salad fixings. No lettuce was involved. That was a creative way to hide the fact there is little of the lettuce left. Anyway, it was good for a change. We both ordered the BBQ pork ribs which were not as good as the baby back ribs they had over a week ago. These were mostly bone and little meat, although tasty, we were a bit disappointed. Finally the dessert arrived, but late. One of us ordered two scoops of chocolate chip ice cream…not a complicated item. Turned out they could not find any that was still frozen, leading us to think that there is a problem with the freezer on the ship. None of the ice creams or frozen yogurts have been coming to the table frozen. So the best thing we can do is not order it anymore. It has been the same scenario in the Pinnacle Grill for dinner as well. There are other choices and also the choice of no dessert at all. Fewer calories to burn off. We checked the weather in Suva, Fiji tomorrow on the TV. It showed N/A….wonder why? Going online, we found the possibility of rain. Bring out the umbrellas…… Bill & Mary Ann

Report #47 Sunday October 22, 2023 Apia, Samoa 8am-5pm Docked Starboard Side To Pier Rain, Rain And More Rain 77 Degrees Part #1 Of 4......74 Pictures---Casual Dress Some days you wake up and you think you are in “bizarro-land”, like when strange things take place out of the ordinary. Today was one of those. To begin, we crossed the International Dateline and Saturday disappeared. How did we know it was Sunday? Well, of course, the elevator carpet said it was Sunday…duh. Then during breakfast, Kimberly our cruise director came on with a special warning that we all needed to wear masks onshore today. What??? They would be handed out at the gangway as well as at the front desk. Now either the locals are all sick, or they think we are contaminated. No one was happy about that. And even though this was not printed in the newsletter, the local authorities were willing to stamp people’s passports if they chose to do it. There was a line at the front desk. We have been advised never to do that, because some countries consider the passports violated and will not accept them. Even worn edges on the pages can cancel the document. And these days, many countries no longer stamp them as they are electronic. We wanted to say – don’t do it, but it is none of our business. After breakfast, we always go to deck three to walk. This morning we could hear a brass band playing on the dock, but when we started to go out the double doors, we were stopped by security guys. Someone had just fallen on the soaking wet deck and were being rolled to the medical center on a gurney. These teak decks are very slippery when wet, especially the handicap ramps. As he was wheeled away, the band played on…..and they were good. We did notice that none of the locals on the pier were wearing masks. And why not? Later back in our room, Captain Paul came on the speakers to say a mistake had been made, and masks were no longer required, but optional. Now the crazy thing about our visit was that today was a Sunday, and not much was opened. In addition to that, there were no shore excursions. Glad to hear we did not have to wear masks because it was ridiculously hot and muggy out. And raining, even more than yesterday. We hung around the ship until after 10am. We still need to go to the library to get better internet, so that takes time. Now is when the fun started, or not. When we got out of the elevator on deck A, the lobby was jammed full of people waiting to go ashore. We all wondered what was up with that? There was a problem with the stability of the gangway, due to excessive turbulence while alongside. The security people were trying to fix it, so people could re-board the ship. Now if there was a place to possibly get Covid, this would be it. We could not even get close enough to an elevator to leave the lobby. Standing in the line, we could not help but notice a single elderly lady in front of us with a backpack filled with a snorkel mask, fins and beach towel. Where in heaven’s name would she consider snorkeling here? Someone had written a name of a beach, which she claimed was a 5 minute walk from the port gate. She asked the security girl on the ship if she knew where it was. She had no clue and suggested she ask a taxi driver. As far as we know, the only safe place to swim or snorkel is over an hour or more ride to a resort out of town. Another foreign couple were also packing snorkel gear and were racing towards downtown looking for a beach. Hello…..there are no beaches here and the waters are muddy from the river that flows into this bay. And that’s not mentioning the garbage that floats in this harbor. Who knows…maybe they knew something we did not. Passing the Sheraton’s Aggie Grey’s Hotel, confirmed the fact that they are still closed for renovations. Too bad as that was the best place for a good lunch on past visits here. Services were in full swing at two churches nearby. But we know that being dressed correctly is important on a Sunday. Once mass was over, we would feel OK seeing the interiors of the churches. We continued walking on the seawall which with the driving rain and surf, it kept us rather damp. Umbrellas did help. It did let up around noon. With most everything closed, the streets were deserted, except for some persistent taxi drivers offering cheap rides to anywhere. Even the Info center was closed for the day. Passing the central clocktower, government building, and a main bank, we strolled to the very closed fish market. We recall the days when everyone did their food shopping on Saturday, so Sunday was a day to rest and a day for church. It has remained that way in this part of the world. Back to the main street, we found the only place opened for business was McDonalds, and a nice one at that. It was full of mostly cruise ship guests doing internet or using the restrooms. Way up the street, we found a local veggie/produce market opened with a few local customers shopping. Everyone we passed said ”hi” to us. Further down the next street, we found the main arts and crafts market totally vacant….eerily so. We spotted one guard watching over the complex. Guess there will be no lunch out today. We went back to the ship, but not before stopping at the Immaculate Conception Cathedral. The morning mass had ended long ago, and we did get to see the beautiful interior without interrupting anyone. Walking past the series of vendors under a long tent, we decided to check out some trinkets. A portable Western Union trailer had been brought into the port area to sell local currency, as we were led to believe the vendors would not accept US dollars. We have always used US dollars here, so this was a test. Finding a pair of coconut earrings, we paid $4 in US cash with no problem. And there were signs in all of the shops and even McDonalds that they took all credit cards. Not sure where the folks got that information. Maybe it was the same source that said we needed to wear masks? Working on photos, we decided to try room service once again for lunch. This would be the third try since the beginning of September. The last two deliveries were incorrect, but we did not say anything. Today, we ordered one quesadilla and two large Cobb salads. The salads were fine, but the quesadilla was a bowl of Chicken noodle soup. What? We stopped the delivery waiter outside in the hallway, and said we got the wrong order. He showed us the slip which said soup, not quesadilla. We’re not crazy, we never ordered soup and the waiter taking the order repeated quesadilla. Go figure. The waiter’s answer was to call room service again, and order what we needed. So we did, and were put on hold. They never answered our call. So one of us ran up to the Dive-In Grill and got two burgers to go. And it did not take 40 minutes like our room service order, it took less than 10 minutes. Guess we will need to tell someone that cares that the service here has not be the best. Captain Paul said that by using the side thrusters all day to stabilize the ship, they damaged three of the ships lines. We never remember having such problems docking here, but the river did look like it was over its banks. The Volendam left the harbor before 5pm, and we sailed across the top of the north island, and southwest between another island. We watched for another sunset from deck six forward, but were disappointed as it was not that great. We did happen to meet some nice folks that have sailed on some world cruises the same time we did. Also nice to hear that some of our little hints have been read and helped out with setting up their room. Time for dinner, we ordered soup, salad, and one turkey dinner and a chicken meatball entree with rigatoni. Both were quite tasty. With two simple desserts we were on our way home. The entertainment this evening was Shades of Buble, with a trio of singers. We heard through the grapevine that there has been problems with the sound equipment personnel onboard. Hate to admit it, we seldom attend the shows. Good news was that the clocks went back one more hour this evening. Fine with us. Bill & Mary Ann

Report #46 Friday October 20, 2023 Pago, Pago American Samoa Docked Port Side To Pier Cloudy With Rain Showers 80 Degrees Part #1 Of 4.......77 Pictures-----Local Greeters & Performance On The Pier----Casual Dress The Volendam arrived to American Samoa early this morning under heavy clouds and slightly rough seas. It was still warm and muggy, but not as oppressive as it has been the last two or three days. There was a large group of locals waiting on the commercial dock to greet us. They were dressed in native clothing of lavalavas or sarongs for the fellows, and white shirts and red pants for the ladies. They performed Samoan singing and dancing for at least an hour. Sure is nice to see such a welcome, as these greetings do not happen often anymore. Here are a few fast facts about American Samoa. There are five volcanic islands and two atolls that make up American Samoa. The total land area is 76 square miles, but adding the marine waters, it is the size of Oregon or the country of New Zealand. Now that is impressive. Temperatures average in the 80’s and the water temps are about the same. It is tropical, so expect a lot of rain, like today for instance. There is a reason it is a rain forest. The national park here is the only US park in the South Pacific. The people here are regarded as the largest full-blooded Polynesian race left in the Pacific. We stayed onboard until the majority of folks had left the ship. Some of the tours included myths and legends for 3 hours and $110. An ava (kava) ceremony for 3 hours was $120. A taste of Samoa was $140 for 3 hours, while an east side and beach tour was $90 for 3 hours. Probably not the best day for the beach, but that is something you never know before you book these tours. The weather can be unpredictable in this part of the woods. There was a crew drill on the ship at 9:30am, but it was done by 10am. We thought that by then the passing showers might clear away, and it might be nice. However, the showers became heavier and finally turned to driving rain. It came in spurts, but really never let up for long. From here on out, we will bring our umbrellas like we did today. Sure helped having them. The Volendam shared the commercial port with containers being moved and dispersed all day. It was quite noisy sitting on the veranda. The only plus was that the rain never got the balcony wet except on the starboard side. All of the souvenir stands have been removed from inside the port gate to elsewhere along the shoreline. Guess it is a security rule. We left the ship around 10:30am and headed towards downtown. The first big stop was at the produce market and the souvenir shops inside the building. We did a quick stroll through the market where we did not need anything. Continuing down the street, we noticed many new buildings going up. Mostly government buildings it appeared. Tax dollars at work – USA tax dollars to be exact. We are sure this island was affected by Covid with no tourists coming here. Hopefully, the ships are back and the people are getting back on their feet. Passing many shops and businesses, we stopped briefly to sit under a traditional fale or palapa. It was raining steadily now and appeared it was not going to let up. Many buses passed by, but not the traditional kind. These are small colorful shuttles that hold maybe 20 people with no windows. They are island-style air-conditioned. These old vehicles are what they use for the tours. There were a number of taxi drivers who beeped at us, offering rides. No one walks in the rain here…..except some of us. Anyway, we continued around the end of the harbor, and headed towards the tuna factory. In fact there are two well-known ones located here – Starkist and Chicken of the Sea. We think they employ many of the locals and between the fishing vessels and the factories, there must be many jobs. Some trees along this side of the harbor house fruit bats. They can be seen hanging upside down either curled up tight or fanning their big wings. They are nocturnal, and rarely fly during the heat of the day. We did spot a restaurant on the hillside called Paradise. It used to be a pizza place, but since it was still early, we decided to wait until we got back to town. Taking our time, we turned around before the aroma of cooking tuna hit us. Took over an hour to get back. Passing the ship, we continued for a mile or so to Goat Island Café located at Sadie’s by the Sea Hotel. We found a good table outside which was out of the driving rain. We ordered Corona beers, since they did not have local draft beer. Lunch was a shared appetizer of chicken/cheese nachos. It came missing the sides of guacamole, salsa, and sour cream. We asked, and our waitress apologized and brought us the sides. We finished our fun meal with a slice of chocolate cake, mainly because they were out of the Key lime pie. It rained all the way back to the ship where we arrived by 3pm. Despite it all, we still managed to get some good photos. Took the rest of the afternoon to process them and write today’s log. Once again, our veranda stayed dry, and it was fun watching the car traffic and pedestrian traffic the rest of the afternoon. All aboard was 5:30pm, and the ship pulled away from the pier before 6pm. Miss Samoa had returned with some of her friends to say farewell to us. Was a nice way to end our stay here, even though it was a very wet one. Dinner was back in the dining room where we ordered very tasty chicken and veggie spring rolls. So good, we doubled the order. A Caesar salad for one of us and a tomato/mozzarella cheese tower for the other. Mains were one oxtail plate with mashed potatoes, and the other was a vegetarian Asian noodle dish with lots of sauteed veggies. Nice for a change. Desserts were the sticky date pudding, which looked nothing like it sounded. One of us had sliced bananas and strawberries. Risman offered a small scoop of vanilla ice cream, and we said OK. When he said one scoop, he meant a tiny scoop, which made us laugh when he brought the glasses. Noticing other folks that ordered ice cream, they had at least 4 scoops in the glass. The trick is knowing how to order it. We finished early, which was perfect. It had been a long day, and we were ready to call it a night. And there was only a movie in the World Stage. It was Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. Bet we already saw it. Bill & Mary Ann

Report #45 Thursday October 19, 2023 Sea Day Enroute To Pago, Pago Samoa Sunny With Some Clouds 84 Degrees Calm Seas 6 Foot Swell Part #1 Of 2........62 Pictures-----Casual Dress Well, today is finally the last sea day we will have as we approach the island of American Samoa. It has been a seven- day run without the stop in the middle at Fanning Island. We did experience a fine morning while circling the atoll, but now we are all ready to step foot on solid ground again. After breakfast, we took our usual walk out on the promenade deck. We found the seas to be quite unusual with a silky satin look about the swells. This does happen occasionally when there is little wind with no noticeable swell. There wasn’t a wave breaking except where the ship cut through the water. It remained this way until later in the afternoon when we picked up the wind and began to have some rocking and rolling, or should we say pitching. Although the temperatures were in the mid-eighties, the humidity was up to 72%. To say it was “sticky” was an understatement. With the wind speed at 3.2 mph coupled with broken clouds, the day remained plenty hot and muggy. When we had to go to the library to send emails, we noticed that there were few places to sit. We came to the conclusion that when it gets this hot outside, the folks stay in the air-conditioned areas of the ship. Can’t say we blame them. The library area was full of people, mostly ladies, playing board games or cards. The puzzle tables had ladies sitting around them, chatting away 100 miles a minute. A few gals were reading, while some pretended to read, but were really asleep. This sort of gave us a glimpse of what life must be like in a retirement home. On the other hand, there were folks lined up to get beginners bridge instructions in the Hudson Room. And a cooking demo was hosted by the executive chef, Javier, in the World Stage. He was grilling shrimp. There has been a dance sessions to learn different moves every sea day, and a ballroom dance hour in the Ocean Bar at 5pm. Afternoon tea is still served in the upper dining room at 3pm, but that is right after our lunchtime, so we have yet to attend. It is difficult to keep lunch light, but as long as we stay out of the dining room and Lido, we are good. There’s a first time for everything, and today was no exception. At 2pm, there was the usual port highlight talk delivered by travel director Kimberly. Shortly before that, she announced that no more people would be allowed in the World Stage because it was filled to capacity. Those people who were sitting on the stairs had to leave since it was against the safety rules. So in order to accommodate everyone interested, she was going to repeat her lecture at 3pm as well. The talk was all about Pago Pago and Apia…both in Samoa and American Samoa. To be perfectly honest, these islands are interesting, but they are not considered over-the-top ports like Singapore or Hong Kong for instance. We believe the only reason for the overflow was due to the excessive heat outside. The World Stage is a cool place out of the heat. Being that the clocks were turned back one hour, the sunset was shortly after 6pm. Back outside deck six forward, we waited until the bitter end to see what there was of another South Pacific sunset. It was less inspiring than last night, but pretty just the same. And there was a strong breeze which we liked for an hour or so. Dinner was in the Pinnacle Grill, however we forgot to tell our dining room waiters last night that we would not be there tonight. About 7:45pm, the maître ‘d, Johny, strolled into the restaurant and came over saying that’s where you both are. We guess they were waiting, like they have started to do, with a loud greeting from all four head waiters. It’s rather amusing, but also a bit embarrassing as they announce our entrance every night. We are trying to figure out how to sneak in without detection. The only option is to enter with several other folks at the same time. But the problem with that is most everyone eats early these days. Anyway, our meal was wonderful as always with our wedge salads, savory bacon, filets with baked potatoes….the smallest they can find. Dessert was more complicated than we expected. One of us ordered the crème Brule, and the other sorbet. We waited and waited, and finally Anton the manager came over and said all of the sorbet was melted and not suitable to serve. I did say that’s fine, I can live without it, but he insisted they would find some frozen sorbet within a few minutes. Finally it arrived, and it was watermelon sorbet and pretty frozen. They would not accept no as an answer. Like we said, they have spoiled us in here. Looking forward to seeing Pago Pago again. It’s a nice place to take a hike and go out to lunch. Bill & Mary Ann

Report #44 Wednesday October 18, 2023 Sea Day Enroute To Pago, Pago Samoa Sunny And Hot 85 Degrees Sea State Calm Little Wind Part #1 Of 1.......64 Pictures-----Casual Dress Another day at sea brought with it slightly warmer temperatures and what felt like higher humidity. At times, there was little wind and it almost felt like we were “swimming” instead of walking the promenade deck. Even as early as 9am, the heat had risen for the day. If there was breeze at all, it was a following one. We had to laugh, remembering how chilly it was while sailing in Alaska, which really was just weeks ago. We had another lazy day relaxing at the Seaview Pool for an hour or so. After high noon, the Captain always comes on with his daily updates, and has been ending his log with some interesting questions given to him in a box by the front desk. Some of the queries are legitimate while some are actually funny. One simple question was the average age of the guests onboard this cruise. The answer was 70 years old, but that’s due to the fact we have two very young children belonging to the hotel manager. Dropped the average for sure. Another question was why is the tissue box in the bathroom located so close to the toilet? Hmm, never gave that a second thought truthfully. The Captain’s answer was, “I have no idea…it is above my pay grade”, drawing chuckles from the crowd around us. Today the Captain had a Q&A session in the World Stage and took on many questions, so by the time he came to his noon talk, he admitted he was questioned- out. We have been used to Captain Mercer (now retired) giving his idioms on the Grand World Voyage, so hearing current questions is a nice twist. It was so warm today that there were few people even in the Lido Pool area. Ordering some lunch in the Dive-In took less than 5 minutes. We have given up ordering the naked fries there since they always come in a greasy clump. Maybe they are doing us a favor. Going out on deck six forward was a good spot to watch the sun go down. We finally had a breeze up there, as well as a few other folks that discovered this spot. Today there were fewer clouds and the sky was mostly blue. And because of that, the sunset was not spectacular. We all agreed that the best ones have been in Hawaii. But we do have some time going forward to capture many more sunsets. An added bonus was seeing two little birds flying around the bow of the ship. About the size of swallows, they do not appear to be seabirds. But that would mean they jumped onboard around Fanning Island. It would not be the first time we have seen such stowaways. One time a pair of pigeons stayed with us from Europe to Florida. Hope they liked living in the USA. This evening was different as far as dinner was concerned. We had been given an invitation to an exclusive party for President’s Club members with Pinnacle and Neptune suite guests as well. We felt the time of 8:15pm was a bit odd, so we decided to have Caesar chicken salads for dinner (excellent combination), leave the dining room early, and hoped the food served there would be in the dessert department. Well, we were wrong. The gathering was held in the Atrium on deck three outside the offices of the head managers. We were greeted with trays of champagne and wine, which we really do not drink often, and more trays of nice hors d’oeuvres, but no desserts. Oh well, we ordered after dinner drinks of Kalua and crème de cacao, which came half wrong. The Kalua was a Bailey’s Irish crème, which I would have taken but the waiter disappeared. On the other hand, we did get to talk to nice officers such as Russel, the beverage manager, and the new food and beverage manager who boarded in Hawaii. We also questioned the internet manager, who we met last week, about tomorrow’s message in the newsletter concerning the connectivity of the internet. This note explained that the speed may be slower and the connection lost due to our geological location. Strangely enough, he knew nothing about this message and was surprised because we have the new Starlink system running now. Well, time will tell on this story too. Captain Paul joined us and we chatted for some time, mostly about people we all know. We also touched base with Arnold, the Mariner rep onboard. We had a question regarding the President’s Club Mariner benefits that may have changed recently. Again, he knew nothing about any changes, but wants to see our emailed flyer on the computer tomorrow. We shall be happy to show him what we received. We were about to call it a night when we spotted friends Bill and Leta, who we figured did not make it to the party. We visited for 20 minutes, then it got so warm in the atrium area, we said goodnight to all. And an added bonus was one hour back on the clocks tonight. We always like that. One more sea day will have us in Pago Pago, American Samoa. Bill & Mary Ann

The Port Essentials Flyer is a half-page paper that lists a few facts of the port we are currently visiting. It also has the port authority name address, and phone number listed on it in case you need to contact them. This form of information began with the beginning of the Tales of the South Pacific cruise. Hope this answers your question. Bill & Mary Ann

Report #43 Tuesday October 17, 2023 Sea Day Enroute To Pago, Pago, Samoa Cloudy Hot And Humid 85 Degrees Sea State Flat And Calm Part #1 Of 1.......51 Pictures---Casual Dress Last night around the wee hours of 3am, the ship passed the Equator and the International Dateline. This is considered a Golden Crossing with the coordinates of 0 degrees North and 160 degrees West. Which makes us worthy of being Golden Shellbacks, which we already are more than once. In fact we also passed the Emerald Crossing earlier this year when we were at the Equator and the Prime Meridian off the coast of West Africa. There was supposed to be a buoy on the exact spot, but it could not be found. Must have sunk. Anyway, the King Neptune Ceremony took place at the Seaview Pool, although we thought for sure it would be held in the Lido Pool as it usually is. So after the Captain’s talk, we went to the back and took seats at a table along the starboard railing. That’s when we noticed that the area was being transformed into the stage for the big show. Chairs were being brought to every level for the folks to watch the event. And shortly, the area filled with guests…vying for the best spot. We had not intended on staying for it, since we have seen so many of these shows, but since we had good seats, we did not want to give them up. At exactly 2pm, the ship’s horn blasted to commence the ceremony with King Neptune and the Mrs. along with the judges (officers), and the judge (Kimberly). The pollywogs were the crew members and the show seemed to go on and on. We did not actually see the fish that they had to kiss, but our buddy showed us a photo of the ugliest monk fish that her friend took. Instead of being mounted where we could all see it, the fish laid in the bottom of the display. The best part of the show was when the Captain was invited to jump in the pool. And he did just that, followed by every officer that participated. It was rather amusing, since we have only seen one captain do that over the years. At that time, it was on a Princess ship, and they had the captain walk the plank. Kimberly had to admit she was a pollywog, so she really got slimed and dumped in the pool. The crowd loved it as they did today. Later in the afternoon, we all received certificates of the event, dated and signed by Captain Paul. By the time it was finally over, we figured we had sat outside for almost 2 ½ hours. And we did get a bit toasted despite the sunscreen. Still it was worth it to secure our place for the show. On the way back, we picked up some food from the Dive-In and enjoyed it in the coolness of our room. The remainder of the afternoon was spent with photo sorting and reading a good book. Taking a later walk, we watched the sun go down, or at least the sunset without seeing the actual sun go down. There was some nice color, but not the fabulous sky we have come to expect. The weather remained warm and muggy all day and into the evening. Lucky for us, the seas have been calm. Dinner had a few new items such as shrimp and cheese quesadillas. Salads followed with mains of the everyday chicken plate and a fettuccine with pot roast bolognaise sauce. Both tasty although they could have been hotter. We keep forgetting to ask our waiters for hot entrees. The World Stage had a movie at 8pm instead of live entertainment, which was Amelia. This is also on the TV, so we don’t know how full the show lounge would be. We passed on the movie, since the sun really zapped us today. We still have a couple more sea days before we arrive to Pago Pago. Also, we received an invitation to an exclusive party for President’s Club members, Pinnacle, and Neptune suite guests tomorrow at 8:15pm in the Atrium deck three.. We found it odd to be asked at that time of day, because that is our dinner time. Perhaps we can sneak into the dining room earlier and be done by 8:15pm. Our waiter Mario said that would work for him and Risman. Time will tell. Bill & Mary Ann