Live from the Eclipse, Apr 19 - May 21, Sydney to Honolulu to Vancouver B3B in an Aqua Cabin

[Ken the cruiser]

Day 14 - May 1 - Mo’orea, French Polynesia  

 

 

  

[Ken the cruiser]

We have arrived in Mo’orea, French Polynesia which is a tender port.

  

 

 
Here’s where we’re headed today.

 

 

[mahdnc]

I am expecting some good photos from your shorex and tell me the best tip that you learned.

[Ken the cruiser]

1 hour ago, mahdnc said:

I am expecting some good photos from your shorex and tell me the best tip that you learned.

Will do! At least the best my little iPhone SE can take. 😂 Hopefully the rain stays away as our tour doesn’t start until after lunch. 🤞 

  

 
And on the bright side, at least we’re starting to see more mountain tops than earlier from our balcony. 😁

 

 

Edited May 1, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[Ken the cruiser]

For those interested, here’s the morning interest test anchored here in Mo’orea.

 

[Ken the cruiser]

Here’s a fun fact that for some reason we overlooked. Do you remember this picture I posted yesterday from our excursion? 

 

 
That was Mo’orea! I know it would have been pretty obvious if I would have looked at the map a little closer! But I figured since we left at midnight last night from Papeete and arrived here in Mo’orea around 6 am, it couldn’t have been that close! 😂

  

[DaKahuna]

@Ken the cruiser Every time someone mentions Mo’orea this song come to mind.  I loved watching Israel perform when we lived on Oahu. Another lovely person we lost way too soon.

 

 

[Redking]

4 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Here’s a fun fact that for some reason we overlooked. Do you remember this picture I posted yesterday from our excursion? 

 

 
That was Mo’orea! I know it would have been pretty obvious if I would have looked at the map a little closer! But I figured since we left at midnight last night from Papeete and arrived here in Mo’orea around 6 am, it couldn’t have been that close! 😂

  

There should be a thread on islands that are right next door. I'm thinking Aruba to Curacao. When we sailed our Southern Caribbean Cruise our sons commented that they thought they'd seen the same bridge on an island multiple times  during the night when sailing from Aruba to Curacao. Hey presto we had, must have sailed round Curacao several times.

We actually didn't call at Mo’orea on our last TP cruise. Considered taking the ferry across from Papeete but thought it too risky in case we didn't get back on time. Thankfully it's on our itinerary next year as I believe it's very beautiful. Sadly no Bora Bora but good to see other islands.

 

Wishing you continued happy cruising!

[dlh015]

WOW!....just WOW!!  Thanks so much...don't know how I'll be able to wait a whole year...

[dlh015]

5 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

Another lovely person we lost way too soon.

So true...

[Lastdance]

I haven’t been to Tahiti and Moorea for 20 some years.  Your photos make me anxious to return and see the changes!

[Ken the cruiser]

5 hours ago, Redking said:

There should be a thread on islands that are right next door. I'm thinking Aruba to Curacao. When we sailed our Southern Caribbean Cruise our sons commented that they thought they'd seen the same bridge on an island multiple times  during the night when sailing from Aruba to Curacao. Hey presto we had, must have sailed round Curacao several times.

We actually didn't call at Mo’orea on our last TP cruise. Considered taking the ferry across from Papeete but thought it too risky in case we didn't get back on time. Thankfully it's on our itinerary next year as I believe it's very beautiful. Sadly no Bora Bora but good to see other islands.

 

Wishing you continued happy cruising!

I have to say Mo’orea had way more of an island feel than Tahiti (pictures to follow). But Tahiti is a big island! So hopefully we’ll be able to see more of it on our next visit! 😁

[Ken the cruiser]

We headed out a little past 11 am to catch the tender over, which by that time was pretty easy and took us a total of about 20 minutes. So with the extra time we decided to walk to town to past the time before our excursion. According to the Daily, it was about a 5-10 minute walk. So off we went strolling down this street like of other folks.

 

Believe it or not, this was the first cat we’ve seen this whole cruise. But I guess the gang of chickens with 2 roosters was just too much for him. 😂

 

 

  

 

 

Let me tell you, there are no shortage of free range chickens in the Polynesian Islands!

 

 
After walking for about 30 minutes, something just wasn’t adding up, so we asked some folks walking back towards the pier if there was much to see in the town. They said they never found the town. So we turned around and headed back towards the pier. On the way back, we walked down this side street, where there was a school and park, but no town. 
 

 

But to keep my streak going, I did get my picture on the elusive Mo’orea pigeon! 😂

 

 

We later found out the town was actually about 7 miles rather than 5-10 minutes. But as it worked out we got back to the pier in plenty of time to get on our 8 passenger 4-wheel drive open air truck, and off we went. The first stop was a beach with the ship in the background along with pretty surrounding views.

 

  
Then we headed down he road to a church with Mountain View’s behind it.

  

 

 
Of course, I had to take a picture of the local wildlife. Some yellow wasps eating on something under this dead leaf. 😁

  

 
Then it was time to take some pictures with some thatched roof cabanas with a view of Tahiti in the background!

  

 

 

 
 

 
And of course more chickens!

  

 
Then we were off again to a different bay with some pretty views before heading inland along this windy road for some awesome mountain and valley views!

 

 

  

  
The red truck in the right of the picture was our ride. Sorry I didn’t get a better shot of it. I was actually taking a picture of the mountain behind it. 😁

 

 

 

 
One thing I have to say about the chickens we’ve seen, they’re all different, especially when it comes to their colors!

  

 

  
That is a pineapple field in the foreground.

 

 

 
These were germinating coconuts!

 

 
Then it was time to head back to the pier to take the tender back to the ship.

 

 

 

 
All in all we had a great time and definitely would recommend this excursion! 😁
 

[Ken the cruiser]

Tonight while waiting for the Blu doors to open, the sunset was getting pretty by the second, so I had to run out to the promenade to take a picture! 😁

 

 
After dinner we headed to the theater to watch an awesome show call the Divas3!

 

 

 

Then afterwards we went to both the game show, Say It, followed by the Pub Quiz, and both were a lot of fun!

[Ken the cruiser]

Day 15 - May 2 - Raiatea, French Polynesia  

 

 

 

 

[hcat]

13 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

@Ken the cruiser Every time someone mentions Mo’orea this song come to mind.  I loved watching Israel perform when we lived on Oahu. Another lovely person we lost way too soon.

 

 

big fan of Iz here...tremendous talent!

 

sorry Celeb dumped the Over the Rainbow Song! loved hearing it...

[hcat]

1 hour ago, Ken the cruiser said:

We headed out a little past 11 am to catch the tender over, which by that time was pretty easy and took us a total of about 20 minutes. So with the extra time we decided to walk to town to past the time before our excursion. According to the Daily, it was about a 5-10 minute walk. So off we went strolling down this street like of other folks.

 

Believe it or not, this was the first cat we’ve seen this whole cruise. But I guess the gang of chickens with 2 roosters was just too much for him. 😂

 

 

  

 

 

Let me tell you, there are no shortage of free range chickens in the Polynesian Islands!

 

 
After walking for about 30 minutes, something just wasn’t adding up, so we asked some folks walking back towards the pier if there was much to see in the town. They said they never found the town. So we turned around and headed back towards the pier. On the way back, we walked down this side street, where there was a school and park, but no town. 
 

 

But to keep my streak going, I did get my picture on the elusive Mo’orea pigeon! 😂

 

 

We later found out the town was actually about 7 miles rather than 5-10 minutes. But as it worked out we got back to the pier in plenty of time to get on our 8 passenger 4-wheel drive open air truck, and off we went. The first stop was a beach with the ship in the background along with pretty surrounding views.

 

  
Then we headed down he road to a church with Mountain View’s behind it.

  

 

 
Of course, I had to take a picture of the local wildlife. Some yellow wasps eating on something under this dead leaf. 😁

  

 
Then it was time to take some pictures with some thatched roof cabanas with a view of Tahiti in the background!

  

 

 

 
 

 
And of course more chickens!

  

 
Then we were off again to a different bay with some pretty views before heading inland along this windy road for some awesome mountain and valley views!

 

 

  

  
The red truck in the right of the picture was our ride. Sorry I didn’t get a better shot of it. I was actually taking a picture of the mountain behind it. 😁

 

 

 

 
One thing I have to say about the chickens we’ve seen, they’re all different, especially when it comes to their colors!

  

 

  
That is a pineapple field in the foreground.

 

 

 
These were germinating coconuts!

 

 
Then it was time to head back to the pier to take the tender back to the ship.

 

 

 

 
All in all we had a great time and definitely would recommend this excursion! 😁
 

  ( Sorry for repeating the pics..forgot how to  edit some out to save space.)

     

 Totally awesome..one of the most interesting series of photos..esp b/c we do  not plan to be cruising to these exotic places.. Our big trip was a rt cruise to Hawaii some years ago

 

. We truly appreciate all the effort taken to " bring us along  with you".

Edited May 2, 2023 by hcat

[Redking]

12 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

We headed out a little past 11 am to catch the tender over, which by that time was pretty easy and took us a total of about 20 minutes. So with the extra time we decided to walk to town to past the time before our excursion. According to the Daily, it was about a 5-10 minute walk. So off we went strolling down this street like of other folks.

 

Believe it or not, this was the first cat we’ve seen this whole cruise. But I guess the gang of chickens with 2 roosters was just too much for him. 😂

 

 

  

 

 

Let me tell you, there are no shortage of free range chickens in the Polynesian Islands!

 

 
After walking for about 30 minutes, something just wasn’t adding up, so we asked some folks walking back towards the pier if there was much to see in the town. They said they never found the town. So we turned around and headed back towards the pier. On the way back, we walked down this side street, where there was a school and park, but no town. 
 

 

But to keep my streak going, I did get my picture on the elusive Mo’orea pigeon! 😂

 

 

We later found out the town was actually about 7 miles rather than 5-10 minutes. But as it worked out we got back to the pier in plenty of time to get on our 8 passenger 4-wheel drive open air truck, and off we went. The first stop was a beach with the ship in the background along with pretty surrounding views.

 

  
Then we headed down he road to a church with Mountain View’s behind it.

  

 

 
Of course, I had to take a picture of the local wildlife. Some yellow wasps eating on something under this dead leaf. 😁

  

 
Then it was time to take some pictures with some thatched roof cabanas with a view of Tahiti in the background!

  

 

 

 
 

 
And of course more chickens!

  

 
Then we were off again to a different bay with some pretty views before heading inland along this windy road for some awesome mountain and valley views!

 

 

  

  
The red truck in the right of the picture was our ride. Sorry I didn’t get a better shot of it. I was actually taking a picture of the mountain behind it. 😁

 

 

 

 
One thing I have to say about the chickens we’ve seen, they’re all different, especially when it comes to their colors!

  

 

  
That is a pineapple field in the foreground.

 

 

 
These were germinating coconuts!

 

 
Then it was time to head back to the pier to take the tender back to the ship.

 

 

 

 
All in all we had a great time and definitely would recommend this excursion! 😁
 

Stunning. Still 11 months until our TP but your report begins to make it feel real. Thank you.

[Pantheral]

Mo’orea still ranks #1 on my all-time list, although Santorini is a close second!! IMHO, the greens are greener and the blues bluer on Mo’orea than any other tropic island we've visited.

[Ken the cruiser]

Good morning from Raiatea, French Polynesia

  

 

Here’s the description of the Celebrity excursion we went on today. 
  

 

[Ken the cruiser]

Today we all met in the theater before heading over on the tender. But the process went quite smoothly, and before we knew it, we were on our bus.

 

 

Our first stop was the pearl farm where we received a very interesting 15-minute talk on how the pearl farming process was done.

 

 

 

 
Then we were off on about a 30-minute drive to our next stop.

 

 

 

 
Marae Taputaputea, an ancient ma’oci civilization site

 

 
Of course, the chickens were once again there to greet us! 
 

 
But this time there were a few very lazy dogs as well. 😁

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
This was a pile of lava rocks topped with little pieces of coral.

 

 
Then it was time to head to the last stop, which was another 30-minute drive, but very scenic. However, we noticed I had picked up another friend along the way. This time it was the rarely photographed Raiatea fly! I know, it surprised us too! 😂

 

  

 

 

There were a total of 6 waterfalls on the mountain side in the background.

 

 

 

We had about a 10 minute stop to take pictures, and then it was time to head back to the pier.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Once we got back, I realized I hadn’t gotten a picture yet of the elusive Raiatea pigeon. But, no worries, there were a few on our walk back to the tender area! 😁

 

 
I even saw a small honeybee on this flower, which I thought was a nice ending to this excursion. It wasn’t the best excursion we’ve ever been on, but the scenery we saw driving around the island was definitely worth the price! 😁

 

[hcat]

some of your photos are breath -taking!  

[Ken the cruiser]

Just for tracking purposes of where we are right now, and Bora Bora is just a little northwest of Raiatea.

  

 

https://www.cruisemapper.com/?imo=9404314

Internet download speed has been pretty steady. But I usually have to go in the cabin to upload the pictures, as the upload speed is still pretty weak out on the balcony.

 

 
And this is what the weather looks like off our balcony at around 3:20 pm. 😁

 

 

Edited May 3, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[Ken the cruiser]

2 hours ago, Pantheral said:

Mo’orea still ranks #1 on my all-time list, although Santorini is a close second!! IMHO, the greens are greener and the blues bluer on Mo’orea than any other tropic island we've visited.

We definitely were wowed by the scenery! As far as Santorini goes, if you’re physically able and haven’t done it yet, I highly recommend walking up the donkey trail! It will be a memory that will last a lifetime!! 😁

[Ken the cruiser]

13 minutes ago, hcat said:

some of your photos are breath -taking!  

Thanks! I do have fun taking them with my old iPhone SE. I usually take about 130-150+ when I’m on an excursion, and then do some serious deleting! I have definitely mastered the art of point and click 4-5 times, especially when we in a moving bus! 😂