Two cruises ta 'Hiti!

If anything was going to put the kibosh on returning to French Polynesia this winter, the fact that the cruises were very well sold and therefore prices were high might have done it. When I put together my first spreadsheet pass at what the season would cost us, I was shocked, but G was not deterred. He wanted this. Badly. Luckily, in the interim months, we have seen some minor relief on pricing, and, in the end, the best price on the cruises between Vancouver and Papeete came from combining them into a single booking (and thanks to friend Suzan who watches our cruise prices even more diligently than I do for the heads up late one Friday evening!).

The lowest price was for an Inside Guarantee, meaning we were guaranteed at least an inside cabin but didn't know which one we'd be assigned.  While I might have given a moment's thought to the possibility of ending up in a cabin on the very front the ship (bouncy), it was a calculated risk I was willing to take. On July 27 (quite early, actually, as many Guarantees are not assigned until just prior to sailing) we were notified that we were assigned an oceanview cabin on Deck 4, midship, just one deck above our cabin last year. A stable, centrally located cabin...it was a happy day at our house, and we immediately had our reservation marked No Upgrade. Sure, we might have eventually been upgraded again to a balcony cabin, but it also might have been a balcony cabin in an undesirable location. No, we were staying put. 

While the cabin is identical to the one we had last year, we'll have a nice large window to brighten up our room in lieu of a cute little porthole. I found a YouTube video about this type of cabin, even recorded when the ship was in Papeete. 

As for where we're going...well, obviously, one can't sail from Vancouver to French Polynesia without encountering a lot of sea days. Once again, we'll have five in a row before Hawaii, and then an additional five in a row before reaching our first French Polynesian island of Raiatea. But with six Hawaiian ports and four French Polynesian ports to enjoy, I know I'll survive, and may even relish the opportunity to kick back and relax after several busy weeks at home. And I've been abstemious for months this summer, healing my liver after the party that was our month on the Caribbean Princess last winter. ;-) Maybe I'll splurge on a wine package again.

The first cruise is 9-nights long, and ends in Honolulu; cruise #2 begins that same evening and is 12-nights long.  Because our first 21 nights are actually comprised of two cruises, we'll be repeating two Hawaiian ports (Maui and Hilo) on the second segment.

This map of our itinerary was correct when we booked our cruise, but our itinerary has since been changed.  I suspect the reason is that Royal Caribbean's Radiance of the Seas is leaving Vancouver four days after we do on a transpacific cruise bound for Sydney, Australia, and will be stopping at Bora Bora, Moorea and Tahiti on the way.  The French Polynesian port order had to be rearranged to avoid that surprisingly familiar phenomenon we also encountered last year: port congestion, where two ships would be at the same island on the same day. On St. Thomas, that's called a slow day, but these small islands simply aren't equipped to handle that many passengers at the same time. So we've added Huahine and eliminated the overnight in Papeete; it's actually a wonderful alternative, and provides those passengers not staying on for the first French Polynesian cruise the opportunity to see one additional island.

This calendar, I think, offers the more accurate depiction of our revised itinerary.

 

We are living a bit dangerously by flying to Vancouver this morning.  We wouldn't normally be so insouciant about timing our arrival that closely to the ship's departure, but, once again, we have booked our flight through Princess EZ Air, with its "Next Port Guarantee".  If we miss the ship, Princess will provide us transport to the ship's first port of Hilo, on the Big Island of Hawaii.  Leaving as early as we are this year, we really did not want to spend even a single night in a hotel pre-cruise.  Besides, it is a bit of a novelty to wake up in our own bed knowing we'll be sleeping on a ship that very night (and lucky are those who can do that all the time!).  Fingers crossed that our luggage arrives when we do, but we're not even stressing that. When it comes to potential travel snafus, we have mellowed a great deal over the years. 

And, finally, here are a few websites you might enjoy following as we make our way first west to Hawaii, then south to French Polynesia. 

The daily position of the Pacific Princess

The Pacific Princess webcam (fairly unexciting on sea days)

The current time, weather, sunrise and sunset information for Honolulu

The current time, weather, sunrise and sunset information for Papeete

Our weather at home has been hot, really hot, and I'm actually looking forward to the chill Vancouver temps that are predicted and those that we'll inevitably encounter en route to Hawaii. Cruising to escape the heat?  Who'd've thunk it?

The revolving door of home

We disembarked the Caribbean Princess on March 7; we embark the Pacific Princess cruise tomorrow, September 7. Instead of waiting until after the Labor Day holiday to begin preparing for our next cruising season as we usually do, we actually started as soon as we returned home in March, but kicked it into high gear right after our Fourth of July road trip. The second half of summer found us busy completing our "must-do's", deciding which non-essential projects could wait until next year and filling up the calendar with medical and other appointments.  It's not an exaggeration to say that, for some inexplicable reason, six months at home flew by much faster than last summer's six months and three weeks did. 

My perpetual packing process began when I was unpacking last March. Many of the items I take on cruises (lanyard, macrame bag, dressy sandals for formal nights, etc.) simply aren't used at home and so these were immediately set aside in a spare bedroom.  Over the summer, the stack of items on the bed in there grew, but I've learned not to put anything in a suitcase until the last day at home. It's too easy to forget what is packed!  I've also been compiling a shopping list for the WalMart in Hilo, of primarily heavy or liquid items, and it is not short. Once again, we'll return to the Pacific Princess in Hilo with shopping bags hanging from every finger.

Source:  http://www.amazon.com/Tilley-Medium-Brim-Raffia-Hat/dp/B003Z9EPXG

Despite my aversion to possession accumulation, I did breakdown and purchase a few new items this summer.  It has been strongly (!!) impressed (!!!) upon me the need to be totally (!!!!) protected from the sun, so, in addition to my workhorse Tilley hat (four years old, washed every week all summer long in the washing machine and still like new), I added a Tilley raffia hat this year, a bit more stylish for sea days and dry days in port. It was one of the few raffia hats with SPF 50 coverage and a chin strap, which is a must on windy docks.

While I was smart enough last winter to never wear my swimsuit without a long sleeved SPF50 rash guard over it in the near-equatorial sun, this year I bought a swim hood that tucks into the neck of the rash guard, providing extra protection while snorkeling.  Stylish, this is not. (As bad as it looks on the model, it looks worse on me).  It is also not a look one sees featured in cruise brochures, where fit young ladies snorkel wearing bikinis while their long hair magically flows out behind them without ever getting in their faces.  Shockingly, I really don't care, which is another unmistakable indicator that I'm growing old while the rest of the world gets younger. 

Source:  http://www.swimoutlet.com/p/splashgear-swim-hood-8820/

And, one final new purchase for this year... When I first started blogging, cameras were not equipped with the ability to transfer photos to iDevices via their own WiFi signal; that's why I purchased the Lifeproof underwater case for my iPhone.  Well, all that has changed and, as the battery on my old iPhone 4S is starting to fade, I decided to take the plunge (haha) and purchase an underwater camera.  But I was reluctant to put a lot of money into one; it simply doesn't get used that often. Both G and I did our research, and finally decided the Fuji XP80 was adequate for our needs.  The fact that it was on sale for under $150 at Sams Club in June, and came with its own flotation wrist strap and cushioned case helped in our decision, but what really sealed the deal was its bright yellow color (matches my mask and snorkel, which is very important!) and $25 three year total replacement coverage. Given where this camera is going - boats, jet skis, snorkeling trips- that's a very good thing.

 Source:  http://www.fujifilmusa.com/products/digital_cameras/xp/finepix_xp80/

We've been forced to eat healthily- ridiculously so- for several weeks now, attempting to empty the freezer before we leave. It's been Tyson's Grilled and Ready chicken breast strips (many bags were purchased at a great sale price in May), accompanied by tomatoes from the garden, all day, every day. Dinner prep has been no more challenging than cutting open a Dole Sunflower Crunch chopped salad kit or a Dole spinach kale Caesar salad kit, emptying the contents into a large bowl and topping them with the aforementioned chicken strips and tomatoes. Every. Single. Night.  While it's certainly more nutritious than the Hebrew National 97% fat free hot dogs with barbecue sauce, or the homemade spaghetti sauce every pre-cruise night of prior years, it may be a long time before we order a chicken-topped salad for dinner on our cruise. Instead, for weeks I've been falling asleep with visions of Princess' flourless chocolate cake dancing in my head,

Our plan was to have big outdoor projects done by last Sunday (we almost made it; working until 10pm Monday night allowed us to finish on Tuesday), and, wouldn't you know, that last week of work again involved pry bars, a saw, two drills, caulk, primer, paint, ladders...and flashlights after sunset.  We've been slowly making our way around the outside of the house, ripping off wood trim, sealing up corners and installing PVC trim; by next summer, we should be back where we started. Some day, I promise myself, I will spend summer afternoons lazily reading on the deck while I sip freshly made lemonade and gracefully fan myself. I've had visions of that dancing in my head, too, which explains why, from Mom's enviable inventory of kitchen paraphernalia, I snagged that citrus reamer. 

This past week was busy with packing finalization, three more medical appointments, license plate renewal, prescription pick up, a flu shot, one last massage, a pedicure, haircut and color, lunch with friends (the most self-absorbed moments I've enjoyed all summer), and, of course, the traditional Last Supper at Sweet Tomatoes with the twins.  More salad- oh boy- but tradition rules! The Last Supper was held early, last Monday night, to accommodate the boys' many activities and practices. Their busy schedules mean it's the tiniest bit easier for me to come to grips with leaving them for months at a time than it was when they were 6, but, as always, a piece of my heart will remain at home.  :-(

Almost 12 and so darn handsome!

I'll admit that we're leaving home with a few things - Christmas cards and gifts- unfinished. Knowing we'll be home no later than early December, I simply was unable to wrap my head around the holiday while mired in the heat of summer.  I think that, somewhere, deep inside my being, I'm holding those tasks hostage in case G starts talking about extending our trip. "Oh, no, dear. Can't!  Must get the Christmas cards out and presents bought. Tis a pity, though!" ;-)

Have I mentioned we will be home for Christmas this year?  Yes, I know I have but have I mentioned it lately?

Our last minute tasks related to closing up the house become more routine every year (easy for me to say, since G does most of the work). I spent today cleaning and doing laundry one last time.  It still amazes me that the house stays cleaner during several months away than it does during one week at home, and returning to a clean house always eases the pain of disembarkation day. Tonight we shut down the sprinkler system (I did a little rain dance to help the cause), disconnected hoses, winterized outdoor faucets, moved the deck furniture into the family room (rendering it unusable so we had no choice but to go to bed early), closed up the suitcases and weighed them. Then opened them up, redistributed and weighed them twice again until everything was juuuuussssst right. 

We're fully loaded down- not just suitcases but also iDevices with plenty of books and maps and magazines and music and videos- and ready to go. Just one more sleep and a very early wake up and we'll be on our way.

Does the night before a cruise still hold that same giddy anticipation as it did years ago, before we turned cruising into a part-time job?  Giddy? No.⁽¹⁾  Anticipatory?  A little.⁽²⁾  There is still something about walking up the gangway on the first day of a cruise that makes my heart beat a little faster and plants a perma-smile on my face.<sup>(3)


(1)</sup> Not true.
⁽²⁾ So not true.
⁽³⁾ Times 1000

Life is good. :-)

Mom...wrapping us in rhyme (and love) as we embark on another trip

There may have been a moment or two this year when I resigned myself to the possibility that Mom might not be up to playing the poetess again, but that is all behind us now.  Mom has rallied, is doing better than she has in a long while (her advice to anyone facing the change of moving out of their house into an easier living situation is JUST DO IT!), and was able to summon the creativity to send us her best farewell poem ever.  I don't know how she does it- those genes certainly didn't come my way- but I can tell you that, when G brings in the mail just before we leave and announces there is a card from my mom...we both drop what we are doing and read the enclosed poem together.  We love them!  We love her. :-)

That's my mom!  I am so blessed. 

Almost like being there

We could have skipped last year's cruises, used the money we saved to build a home theater in the basement, and just watched this video on a big screen instead. 

Maybe not.   ;-)

Still, this travel show came the closest of any I've seen to depicting what we did on our winter vacation.  It was kind of surreal watching it, because the host did many of the same things, in the same places, guided by the same people that we did during our time in French Polynesia.  I guess that, despite the late start to our planning last year, we did manage to hit some highlights!

Even if you don't watch it in its entirety, I've noted some parts below that could have come right from our own vacation pics (also offered, as proof). 

0:28 - Look fast!  That multistory white building right in the center of the shot is none other than the Hotel Tiare Tahiti.

1:22- Le Marchė in Papeete

2:00 - ferry to Moorea.  The video shows then old ferry terminal; the new one is much larger and nicer. 

3:06 - ATV Moorea. This is the same company we used, and we stood right where the host is when we were shown how to operate the ATVs (Our guide, though, was the darling Guy (hard G-ee). And an unfastened helmet??? Guy would not have approved!)

4:00 - The infamous Magic Mountain. That road up looked so easy, didn't it?  Just wait...

4:43 - The only part of the path down that comes close to showing how scary it is. I'm convinced the videographer chose this vantage point because it was the only one with a place for him to stand. But see the two concrete paths with the rut in the center?  Picture that...dropping off on one side to the valley far below.

5:23 - I swear those same puddles are still there, and we got drenched just like that riding through them.

5:44 - Wow! I was too busy holding on for dear life at the time to realize how beautiful it all was.

6:05 - We stood right there!!

7:07 - This was filmed at the Intercontinental Moorea.  Though we didn't swim with the dolphins, we did get to watch others doing it. 

13:58 - See the two motus in the distance?  Hiro's and Princess' motu excursions are held on the far one (and look at that water color!!).

14:33 - We've snorkeled all over between the two motus

15:04 - The making of poisson cru, demonstrated on most motu BBQ excursions.

17:17 - Moorea sting rays. I didn't notice until we got home that there was a shark fin sticking out of the water just behind G. :-o

24:03 - Tahiti 4x4 tour to the center of the island. We've done this on our prior visits to the island.

29:45 - Les Roulottes in Papeete and my favorite creperie food truck!

37:49 - Patrick's motu picnic on Bora Bora. The motorized outrigger canoes used for tours in French Polynesia are usually decorated like that, with leaves and flowers. At this point in the video, when I saw that boat captain, I let out a squeal. "Maretto!"  Yes, Maretto is Patrick's cousin and was the captain of our boat, too. And that water...can you see why we wanted to return again this year?

40:57 - Patrick explaining how the lunch is prepared. Yum...everything was so good!

 

Picture it (Suzan and Greg :-))...G and I having lunch at that table, eating off of palm leaves and drinking champagne while enjoying that view. The reservation for this year is already on the books.

I hope you enjoy this. I did, at least five or six times this summer. :-)

Is it that time already?

After one of our most productive but personally challenging seasons at home, we are once again packing our bags for another round of cruising.  Frankly, I can't believe that we are launching our sixth winter at sea quite so early (It's still summer! It's still hot!) but we are seizing an opportunity that may never exist again, and that fact gives us the incentive to abandon the still-producing tomato plants and wildly blooming flowers and leave home before even needing to run the furnace. For once we are joining the ranks of most of our fellow passengers who travel for the destination, not simply to escape snow and cold.

The cranesbill geraniums were looking happy until I trimmed them back a bit in preparation for winter.

We hit the ground running when we returned home in March (which, last winter, was the perfect time to do so) and by the end of May had completed a majority of the deck renovation work we had started late last summer. Our progress was temporarily halted when I went to Toledo to visit Mom for a few days over Mothers Day, picturing companionable lunches and leisurely drives along the river to see the spring blooming trees.  Instead, my trip was extended, and I spent two very busy weeks packing up most of her home. On Memorial Day weekend, Mom moved into a retirement community seven miles from her house, and she has settled in beautifully. The sale of her house, the one I grew up in, was finalized last week, and Mom is happy to be going into another (probably) brutal northern Ohio winter without a care, which means we are happy to be launching into another (hopefully) warm winter at sea with one less concern, too!

Anyone who has gone through a senior parent's move in the past knows exactly what I mean when I say the only items I chose to take from Mom's inventory of household goods and her stockpile of family memorabilia was a citrus reamer and a knee brace...and I needed to wear the latter home. Gathering up the remnants of 55 years of lives wonderfully lived spread over three floors to donate and then carefully packing the dozens of tchotchkes, books and videos Mom wanted to take with her compelled me to question, like never before, the role of possessions in our lives. As a result, I've concluded that my expired passports, digital photos and memories of world travels are the things that bring me joy...plus, they'll fit in a shoebox when it's time to move. ;-) 

So, in an effort to keep accumulating experiences in lieu of possessions, we leave on Monday and will fly to Vancouver to join the Pacific Princess for the start of its French Polynesia season as it first cruises to Hawaii and then continues on to Papeete, Tahiti. Like last year, our travel plans beyond that point are written in sand at the water's edge during a rising tide, but one point is immutable:  We will be home for Christmas. I really mean it this time!

We had the best time out of many excellent times of our lives on the Pacific Princess in French Polynesia last winter, and we knew we had to return. This trip may be the last opportunity we'll have to do so. The ship is for sale, and its sister ship the Ocean Princess has already been sold to Oceania Cruises and is leaving the fleet next March.

Still, there was competition for our time. I was also considering the 89-night Ocean Princess cruise departing from England in late September, sailing the Mediterranean, circumnavigating Africa, and returning across the Atlantic to Fort Lauderdale.  G would have none of it. He had no desire to see most of the ports.  "Really?", I asked.  "You don't want to visit the Seychelles and Madagascar and Mauritius and South Africa and the Cape Verde Islands?"  Well, those sounded interesting to him but they totaled eight days out of 89. In addition, cities still pale in comparison to tropical destinations on G's bucket list of things to see, the Mediterranean ports were mostly repeats for us and while he'd enjoyed the two transatlantic cruises we'd already done, those were quite enough, thank you very much. Since I could be happy with either itinerary, the Pacific Princess it is. 

The biggest change for us this year, cruising from the West Coast, certainly simplifies things. We'll arrive in Hawaii on Day 7 of our cruise, where we'll have plenty of familiar stores to purchase the things we had to forage for (that's exactly what it felt like) last winter in French Polynesia. It couldn't get any easier, and that, along with avoiding the long flight to Papeete, made this an adventure we couldn't resist. 

In addition to our usual summer activities, we've been doing lots of research related to our upcoming travel. I've always said that second best to being on a trip is planning one, something we were able to neglect when we were traveling the Caribbean year after year. This time, in addition to cruising Hawaii and French Polynesia, we'll also be exploring some new territory, and I hope you'll be vicariously at our sides!