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Journey with Bill & Mary Ann on the 2016 fall Tales of the South Pacific - 53 days


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Report # 1 Getting ready to go…..again….. September 24, 2016 Saturday Sunny and warm 88 degrees

 

Well, here we are, once again, preparing to leave on another special adventure to the South Pacific. Anticipating cooler autumn temperatures here in northern California, we like to escape to the warmer climates for a few weeks. This year has been exceptionally nice, but it will not last long.

 

Our 53 day itinerary will begin with a flight to Seattle tomorrow, bright and early, with a pick-up at 5am to the San Francisco airport. If all goes according to schedule, we should be arriving to Holland America’s Amsterdam by 1pm or so. Looks like we may be lucky and have a couple of sunny days while in Seattle and Vancouver the following day.

 

From there, we head south to Catalina and San Diego…..both really fun ports for us. Then we’ll have 5 lazy days at sea on our way to Hawaii, specifically Honolulu, Lahaina, Maui, Nawiliwili, Kauai, Hilo and Kona. Can taste those shaved ice cream treats already…….

 

Crossing both the Equator and the International dateline, we will visit the primitive island of Fanning in Kiribat. That’s if the tides are right, since we seem to land there only about 50% of the time.

 

Next will come two stops in Samoa….Pago Pago and Apia, followed by four stops in Fiji. The last stop there being Dravuni Island with the whitest, finest sand you’ll ever see and feel between your toes.

 

Nuku alofa, Tonga is next, and if we are lucky, we may see the king and queen out and about in their fancy chauffeur-driven car. Vava u, Tonga is close by, and we sure hope the tenderboats will be made more accessible than on our last visit. It was quite a sight to watch the folks sit on the pier, then be slid in the side of the boat. Graceful, it was not.

 

Wandering over the dateline again, we will stop in Alofi, Niue, belonging to New Zealand. Rarotonga in the Cook Islands should be interesting. On our last visit, one of the tenderboats was washed over the sharp coralbeds, ripping a good-sized hole in the bottom and sides. Can you imagine the officers and crew coming out to help with the stranded guests? Our buddy, Barb, was on that boat and said it was the best “three hour tour” she ever had. Believe this – if it is ever-so-slightly dangerous to tender to shore, this port will be cancelled.

 

Then we’re off to beautiful French Polynesia…….Bora Bora, Raiatea, Papeete, and Moorea. A little bit of heaven on earth, in our humble opinion. And great pizza too.

 

Our final stops will be in the Marquesas……Rangiroa, Fakarava, and Nuku Hiva. All are as remote as you can imagine. And they have sharks, as we remember when we witnessed a reef shark circling a picnic table in the water at a shoreline resort in Fakarava. The oblivious diners never knew that while they were munching their burgers, the sharks were considering munching on them. Harmless, they say? You never know……….

 

We’ll have six days at sea, then will end our journey in San Diego, with a short flight back home on November 17th. Just in time to get ready for the Thanksgiving turkey and pumpkin pie!

 

So, journey with us, and we promise to keep you all entertained.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

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Report # 1 Getting ready to go…..again….. September 24, 2016 Saturday Sunny and warm 88 degrees

 

 

 

Well, here we are, once again, preparing to leave on another special adventure to the South Pacific. Anticipating cooler autumn temperatures here in northern California, we like to escape to the warmer climates for a few weeks. This year has been exceptionally nice, but it will not last long.

 

 

 

Our 53 day itinerary will begin with a flight to Seattle tomorrow, bright and early, with a pick-up at 5am to the San Francisco airport. If all goes according to schedule, we should be arriving to Holland America’s Amsterdam by 1pm or so. Looks like we may be lucky and have a couple of sunny days while in Seattle and Vancouver the following day.

 

 

 

From there, we head south to Catalina and San Diego…..both really fun ports for us. Then we’ll have 5 lazy days at sea on our way to Hawaii, specifically Honolulu, Lahaina, Maui, Nawiliwili, Kauai, Hilo and Kona. Can taste those shaved ice cream treats already…….

 

 

 

Crossing both the Equator and the International dateline, we will visit the primitive island of Fanning in Kiribat. That’s if the tides are right, since we seem to land there only about 50% of the time.

 

 

 

Next will come two stops in Samoa….Pago Pago and Apia, followed by four stops in Fiji. The last stop there being Dravuni Island with the whitest, finest sand you’ll ever see and feel between your toes.

 

 

 

Nuku alofa, Tonga is next, and if we are lucky, we may see the king and queen out and about in their fancy chauffeur-driven car. Vava u, Tonga is close by, and we sure hope the tenderboats will be made more accessible than on our last visit. It was quite a sight to watch the folks sit on the pier, then be slid in the side of the boat. Graceful, it was not.

 

 

 

Wandering over the dateline again, we will stop in Alofi, Niue, belonging to New Zealand. Rarotonga in the Cook Islands should be interesting. On our last visit, one of the tenderboats was washed over the sharp coralbeds, ripping a good-sized hole in the bottom and sides. Can you imagine the officers and crew coming out to help with the stranded guests? Our buddy, Barb, was on that boat and said it was the best “three hour tour” she ever had. Believe this – if it is ever-so-slightly dangerous to tender to shore, this port will be cancelled.

 

 

 

Then we’re off to beautiful French Polynesia…….Bora Bora, Raiatea, Papeete, and Moorea. A little bit of heaven on earth, in our humble opinion. And great pizza too.

 

 

 

Our final stops will be in the Marquesas……Rangiroa, Fakarava, and Nuku Hiva. All are as remote as you can imagine. And they have sharks, as we remember when we witnessed a reef shark circling a picnic table in the water at a shoreline resort in Fakarava. The oblivious diners never knew that while they were munching their burgers, the sharks were considering munching on them. Harmless, they say? You never know……….

 

 

 

We’ll have six days at sea, then will end our journey in San Diego, with a short flight back home on November 17th. Just in time to get ready for the Thanksgiving turkey and pumpkin pie!

 

 

 

So, journey with us, and we promise to keep you all entertained.

 

 

 

Bill & Mary Ann

 

 

 

I'm interested in your review of this ship. We are considering the Grand Asia for next fall. Is she pretty old or in good shape and a ship you enjoy? The trip sounds fantastic!! Enjoy

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Bill and Mary - so glad you're out on another adventure. Sounds like a great one, wish I was going with you LOL

we went to Nuku Hiva on our last South Pacific Cruise, because of a medical emergency, but I thought the island was something out of a movie it was so beautiful. Can't wait to hear about that particular stop. I will be following along as usual

 

Sent from my SM-G930R4 using Forums mobile app

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How wonderful, another adventure to follow - thank you for inviting us along once more. I'll be able to enjoy some of your activities from home, some from Spain, a few from the Eurodam, then will have to wait till we get to Florida after our T-A. Have a safe and memorable journey!

 

Smooth Sailing ! :) :) :)

Gerry

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Bon Voyage - so happy to read you're doing this cruise so I can follow along on your adventures!

 

Sue/WDW1972

 

Have a wonderful cruise - it's a lovely part of the world. We are heading to Vancouver tomorrow to join the Volendam on Wednesday to do a repositioning cruise through Alaska, across the North Pacific and down the coast of Asia (Sth Korea, Japan and China) to Hong Kong. I hope to be able to follow your adventures, but knowing ship internet it may be a trial at times.

 

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Had to rub my eyes and blink a few times to make sure I was reading this right. And make sure this was not a revival thread of last year's Tales of the South Pacific report ..that we shared with you on this same cruise (almost anonymously -we knew you because you are famous)

 

You are doing it again? Yup, you are doing it again! Good for you. Wishing you the best possible Amsterdam crew ...again.... on this unique cruise that is unlike any other HAL cruise we have done so far.

 

Please have a double serving of that delicious sweet green grapefruit for us when you get to Tahiti. Enjoy.

Edited by OlsSalt
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I'll be reading every word as you travel through the South Pacific this year, as I did last year. The big difference is this year we will be on the Amsterdam also!

 

Hopefully, we will meet you as you are very close neighbors in real life. :D

 

Cheers, Denise

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