twangster

I have sailed on Quantum to Alaska and three other sister ships in this class so I was already comfortable with the ship.  I had received an email letting me know as a Pinnacle I had made the list for access to the Suite Lounge and Coastal Kitchen.  The top forty are given access to manage the numbers and save space for suite guests.   I headed to Coastal Kitchen to make dinner reservations.  Night one is still the Filet night so how could I resist?
Given that I made the booking for the two night repo cruise not long before the sail date I had a different cabin compared to my cabin for the transpacific.  With only two nights I didn't unpack my suitcase for the first cruise.
Cabin 7244 - 2D balcony

Cruise Day!
My friends are loyal Royal cruisers who had just gotten off Quantum having completed several consecutive cruises to wrap up the Australia cruise season the day I arrived.  As frequent cruisers their car pretty much drove itself to the port albeit on the wrong side of the road.  
The cruise terminal in Brisbane is nice but a bit of a drive from downtown.  

Boarding had already started so it was very quick through the regular boarding day steps.  I will say that security was very particular, even more so than the security at the Sydney domestic airport terminal, requiring anything electronic, anything at all, to come out of my backpack.   It was more thorough than the airport security in the US, Japan and Australia.  At least I know we will be safe on board!

It's the Pinnacle bump you got.

Many other species here as well.  

There are some weird looking animals in Australia!








We did some other Brisbane sightseeing as well.

Later that evening it was off to a Broncos game.  The Brisbane Broncos in the NRL that is.  




Still not fully on Australia time it was late but a thoroughly enjoyable night.  Broncos won!  Time for bed.

Brisbane
My friends live just outside of the Brisbane city limits.  After taking them out for dinner it was time to head to bed.
The next day they took me to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary.  You can't visit Australia without seeing Koalas and Kangaroos!   
So cute!





They warned me to keep an eye out for drop bears.  Fortunately non presented themselves during my visit.
First time feeding a Kangaroo using the Roo food acquired at the sanctuary.  These things have incredible teeth and claws.  Note to self - don't ever upset a Kangaroo.

Saw a video of a drone going up and down, spraying the interior balcony windows. Thought it was pretty cool...

Indeed, thank for posting your trip.
Being on the cruise before yours it was particularly of interest to me.

Some takeaways...
1. If a future transpacific has an overnight stop in Hawaii don't plan 3rd party excursions for the morning on the arrival day as you may have to wait to go through CBP clearance like we did.  A number of guests had booked something and were mumbling about missing them or trying to manage being late for their 3rd party excursions.  
2. For these very long cruises the cost of Voom can be prohibitive but if you need to be connected it can't be beat.  GigSky or any other services that leverage the onboard cellular for data connectivity may be a less expensive option on these long cruises but, depending on your cabin relative to the onboard microcell, it may not work all the time.  If you truly want set it and forget internet connectivity, Voom is worth the price.  
3. I had no issues using corporate VPN and staying connected day after day.  Once in awhile my VPN would drop but it does that on land sometimes too.  
4. I've done so many Caribbean cruises.  It was great to venture out to experience a different part of the world.  I really enjoyed this transpacific more than the transatlantics I've done.  I've already booked two more transpacifics.  
5. I probably spent too long trying to figure out which side of the of the ship would be best when I booked this.  I chose port side for the sunsets.  The sun is hot near the equator which meant the afternoon sun was very strong on my balcony.  It was too strong at times and I had to retreat inside and close the curtains to keep the cabin cool.  I'm going to try the sunrise side of the ship for my Australia bound transpacific.  I tend to get up early so that will be a sunrise cruise.  Hopefully the morning sun won't be as hot.   
6. Quantum has a fantastic crew.  I don't recall ever having a negative crew interaction.  Well done.
7. A tidbit from Captain's Corner.  The fuel bill for this repo from Australia to Hawaii was around $1.5M USD.  The headwind we encountered added roughly $10k USD per day to that fuel bill, on the days we had to battle the wind.   
8. I often see questions about the Pacific and how rough the seas may be.  The name of the ocean should itself be a hint to the answer.  Any large body of water can involve swell based on weather systems active at the time.  The Pacific is no more or less prone to rough seas compared to any other large body of water.  I can't recall any days that took any guest out of action during this voyage.  Don't fear the Pacific, as its name suggests it can be quite peaceful.  
9. The non-smoking casino was outstanding. 
My first transpacific was a success and I look forward to returning for another. 
I hope this has been informative and I thank you for viewing,

From my balcony:



I started to see some stars being turned on.




Time for bed.

Day Sixteen
The Crossing Ceremony
Technically we haven't crossed the Equator yet and won't until around 4 AM the next morning, but who wants to get up at 4 AM to look out at a dark sea?

This is the busiest I ever saw the pool deck get on this cruise.


In maritime folklore, a Pollywog is a sailor who has never crossed the Equator on a ship while a Shellback is a sailor who has.  This ceremony is to graduate Pollywogs into Shellbacks.  

First some guest Pollywogs are initiated.  They caught anyone cutting the line in the Windjammer and forced them to participate.  Just kidding.  Participation voluntary.

King Neptune required they kissed the fish.  Some cruisers embraced this, a little too much.   You can stop now.

Next crew Pollywogs would get much it worse than, but including kissing the fish.

Eggs on the head.


Followed by pasta.


Then sauce and flour.

For the crew it's as much a team building exercise as it is anything else.


Proof of life:

CrossingCeremony.mp4.87e8c1c644adc4994a94471378e11ec1.mp4
 
 

Day Fifthteen
The start of our next sea day marathon.
Very nice weather capped off by a beautiful sunset.










Some night sky pics.  All taken by a cell phone, held against the handrail on my balcony, handheld, so bear that in mind.

Fortunately the weather improved for our sail away from Raiatea because it is quite remarkable.
What wasn't apparent in the heavy rain this morning was the path we were taking.
CMAP:

We had entered the natural break in the reef then sailed this massive ship in the small gap between the reef and the Northern Island to make it to the anchorage circled in green closer to the the Southern Island and the town dock we would tender into.

We were now on the way out to sea repeating the navigation in reverse hugging the island on the starboard side with the coral reef on the port side.




The gap in the reef we need to sail through:






I think this video does a better job illustrating this maneuver.  

RaiateaDeparture1.mp4.b44f2bc56f536c3c12b1a04c5ab816cb.mp4 RaiateaDepartureMerged.mp4.f3707597a84fee095444c867aea653d1.mp4 Pretty amazing seamanship from the bridge team.

Raiatea is said to be the cultural center of Polynesia.  Another stop on our tour was a stop at Taputapuātea.  

From the UNESCO World Heritage website describing Taputapuātea:
Taputapuātea on Ra’iātea Island is at the centre of the ‘Polynesian Triangle’, a vast portion of the Pacific Ocean, dotted with islands, and the last part of the globe to be settled by humans. The property includes two forested valleys, a portion of lagoon and coral reef and a strip of open ocean. At the heart of the property is the Taputapuātea marae complex, a political, ceremonial and funerary centre. It is characterized by several marae, with different functions. Widespread in Polynesia, the marae were places where the world of the living intersected the world of the ancestors and the gods. Taputapuātea is an exceptional testimony to 1,000 years of mā'ohi civilization.

It was fascinating to listen to our guide describing the different marae and what types of activities each was used for.  Some involved human sacrifice since that was part of the culture going back a very long time.  No sacrifices today.  
A pearl farm.  This area in general is a large source of pearls.


Some local food items were available for tasting including the fabled chestnuts our driver yesterday in Moorea had also mentioned.   Apparently his mother would prepare them and when consumed in quantity they are known to create significant amounts of gas, which didn't work out too well on a visit to the local movie theater in his youth he said.

We were unfortunately a little rushed as we tried to make up time and to make it back for last tender at 4pm.  Back on the bus to a pearl shop.  

Honestly, I'm kinda okay the last stop to a pearl shop was in a blink of an eye.  We didn't have time for the full "factory" experience.

Fifteen minutes before the last tender time and some folks on the bus were freaking out.  
Fortunately I had obtained a cheap eSIM for data coverage in French Polynesia and I could see we were literally 5 minutes from the dock.  Plus I had Francois in my back pocket if needed.  🤣
We made it to the dock with ample time and there were several tenders after the one we used for any other late running excursions.   
At least word is getting out not to be late returning to the ship 🙂

The morning version of this same excursion, Raiatea East Coast Highlights, had run late because tenders were late bringing guest on shore very early on today.  The guides and bus drivers were trying to make it a quick turn but everyone has to eat and there is only so much they could do to get back on schedule for our afternoon version.
Yes, another dreaded bus tour but given the weather and my goal to gain an overview of the island this fit the requirement.
Those are pineapples in the foreground.

Stunning views that I am confident would be outstanding on a better day.  


These photos do not convey the beauty of the island.

I see you !

It turns out these deep water channels through the reef area are a natural phenomenon. 


When the volcanic islands grew out of the sea millions of years ago there was no coral reef around them.  Slowly over thousands of years coral has grown around the islands.  Except coral doesn't tolerate fresh water so close to land due to rain runoff from the island, coral doesn't grow.   



Fresh water runoff from the mountains has to flow out to the sea eventually so over those thousands of years an area where no coral grows is formed and that is where freshwater runoff flows out to the sea.  That leaves a natural deep water channel that ships can use to penetrate an otherwise impenetrable fortress of coral.  



Creating a natural harbor for boats and ships.


We will see this even more dramatically tomorrow at Raiatea.

After breakfast I went back to the sun deck for some arrival photos.




Real overwater cabanas!

I knew we were tendering today but it wasn't clear where we would anchor.  Yet we were slowly getting closer and closer.  Water breaking over reefs on both sides.  
So I looked in a nautical app to see what was up.  Sure enough there was deep water straight ahead through a tiny gap between very shallow reefs on each side.  We would be threading a needle with the largest cruise ships to ever visit French Polynesia.
CMAP:

Day Thirteen 
Moorea, French Polynesia.
OMG, the cruise is more than half over!
Dramatic sunrise in the channel between Tahiti and Moorea.

Some takeaways...
1. If a future transpacific has an overnight stop in Hawaii don't plan 3rd party excursions for the morning on the arrival day as you may have to wait to go through CBP clearance like we did.  A number of guests had booked something and were mumbling about missing them or trying to manage being late for their 3rd party excursions.  
2. For these very long cruises the cost of Voom can be prohibitive but if you need to be connected it can't be beat.  GigSky or any other services that leverage the onboard cellular for data connectivity may be a less expensive option on these long cruises but, depending on your cabin relative to the onboard microcell, it may not work all the time.  If you truly want set it and forget internet connectivity, Voom is worth the price.  
3. I had no issues using corporate VPN and staying connected day after day.  Once in awhile my VPN would drop but it does that on land sometimes too.  
4. I've done so many Caribbean cruises.  It was great to venture out to experience a different part of the world.  I really enjoyed this transpacific more than the transatlantics I've done.  I've already booked two more transpacifics.  
5. I probably spent too long trying to figure out which side of the of the ship would be best when I booked this.  I chose port side for the sunsets.  The sun is hot near the equator which meant the afternoon sun was very strong on my balcony.  It was too strong at times and I had to retreat inside and close the curtains to keep the cabin cool.  I'm going to try the sunrise side of the ship for my Australia bound transpacific.  I tend to get up early so that will be a sunrise cruise.  Hopefully the morning sun won't be as hot.   
6. Quantum has a fantastic crew.  I don't recall ever having a negative crew interaction.  Well done.
7. A tidbit from Captain's Corner.  The fuel bill for this repo from Australia to Hawaii was around $1.5M USD.  The headwind we encountered added roughly $10k USD per day to that fuel bill, on the days we had to battle the wind.   
8. I often see questions about the Pacific and how rough the seas may be.  The name of the ocean should itself be a hint to the answer.  Any large body of water can involve swell based on weather systems active at the time.  The Pacific is no more or less prone to rough seas compared to any other large body of water.  I can't recall any days that took any guest out of action during this voyage.  Don't fear the Pacific, as its name suggests it can be quite peaceful.  
9. The non-smoking casino was outstanding. 
My first transpacific was a success and I look forward to returning for another. 
I hope this has been informative and I thank you for viewing,

On the morning of departure I was originally thinking of scurrying off early to beat the crowds and getting through CBP quickly then I realized we had already done CBP.  This wasn't going to be a normal disembarkation zoo.
I had my final Chops Pinnacle breakfast as I had many mornings on board and then I leisurely made my way off with a handful of other people.  No lines, no waiting to debark.   It was quite pleasant.
Twenty three nights in a carry on sized piece of luggage.  Not bad! I may have finally figured out how not to overpack.


I checked my bag both ways simply so I wouldn't have to deal with it when I had multiple layovers and connections.
On the day of departure they had moved a walkway over to deck 5.  I guess so boarding passengers could get the best welcome aboard treatment?  The day before we used deck 2 and a simple gangway.

The cruise terminal in Honolulu was making ready for the soon to be arriving guests boarding for the ship on the way up to Vancouver.


I forgot HNL was an open air airport.

I had made it to the airport in record time and with nearly five hours to my departure it was already getting a little warm.  I didn't want to be covered in sweat for the long flights and multiple connections to reach Florida so I sought a lounge in the center court for the air conditioning.


My chariot.

Departure time lapse:

HNLTL.mp4.e047b76d980147ce9c1ec55c2fcf161c.mp4 The other side, the left side of the plane, probably got the better view on this day.
 

Some takeaways...
1. If a future transpacific has an overnight stop in Hawaii don't plan 3rd party excursions for the morning on the arrival day as you may have to wait to go through CBP clearance like we did.  A number of guests had booked something and were mumbling about missing them or trying to manage being late for their 3rd party excursions.  
2. For these very long cruises the cost of Voom can be prohibitive but if you need to be connected it can't be beat.  GigSky or any other services that leverage the onboard cellular for data connectivity may be a less expensive option on these long cruises but, depending on your cabin relative to the onboard microcell, it may not work all the time.  If you truly want set it and forget internet connectivity, Voom is worth the price.  
3. I had no issues using corporate VPN and staying connected day after day.  Once in awhile my VPN would drop but it does that on land sometimes too.  
4. I've done so many Caribbean cruises.  It was great to venture out to experience a different part of the world.  I really enjoyed this transpacific more than the transatlantics I've done.  I've already booked two more transpacifics.  
5. I probably spent too long trying to figure out which side of the of the ship would be best when I booked this.  I chose port side for the sunsets.  The sun is hot near the equator which meant the afternoon sun was very strong on my balcony.  It was too strong at times and I had to retreat inside and close the curtains to keep the cabin cool.  I'm going to try the sunrise side of the ship for my Australia bound transpacific.  I tend to get up early so that will be a sunrise cruise.  Hopefully the morning sun won't be as hot.   
6. Quantum has a fantastic crew.  I don't recall ever having a negative crew interaction.  Well done.
7. A tidbit from Captain's Corner.  The fuel bill for this repo from Australia to Hawaii was around $1.5M USD.  The headwind we encountered added roughly $10k USD per day to that fuel bill, on the days we had to battle the wind.   
8. I often see questions about the Pacific and how rough the seas may be.  The name of the ocean should itself be a hint to the answer.  Any large body of water can involve swell based on weather systems active at the time.  The Pacific is no more or less prone to rough seas compared to any other large body of water.  I can't recall any days that took any guest out of action during this voyage.  Don't fear the Pacific, as its name suggests it can be quite peaceful.  
9. The non-smoking casino was outstanding. 
My first transpacific was a success and I look forward to returning for another. 
I hope this has been informative and I thank you for viewing,

The ship had special presenters on board for a series of enrichment talks and events specific to the nature of this transpacific.  I missed these due to working remotely but here are some of the events as captured in the Royal app.







Sailing from Australia also saw the Anzac Dawn Ceremony on Anzac day.

Lastly, here is an activity you just don't see in the Caribbean and I fear we are the lesser for that.

The last night on the ship I had another burger in the pub to use up a $25 Pinnacle food credit.


 

There was some liquid sunshine briefly so I waited a bit before heading out.



I've done the standard Oahu touristy things before so I had no distinct plans today.  I walked over to a park I had seen during our sail in.







It was getting hot.  Really hot.  Being a Sunday morning not a lot was open.  So I headed back to the ship.
Upon my return I found some bird brain was using my balcony!

CBP processing was ongoing with announcements for new groups to make their way to the SeaPlex past noon.  It's a long process for this many people.

This morning everyone needs to be processed by Customs and Border Protection before they can get off the ship.  On this day CBP came on board the ship, we didn't go into the terminal to be processed.  A letter sent to each cabin provided a time slot and these were enforced.  
There was time for a leisurely breakfast and then we waited for the announcements to commence. 
On this occasion CBP was set up in the SeaPlex.  I was in group 4, or that was my designated group.  Slightly early groups 1 & 2 were announced over the PA.  Elevators stopped at deck 14 and everyone needed to walk up one flight of stairs to deck 15.  For anyone who couldn't use stairs there was a crewed elevator to get you to deck 15.
To walk up to deck 15 you had to show the letter with appropriate group number, sea pass card and passport.  We entered the SeaPlex having had our letter inspected for the proper group numbers and we snaked around to the far corner where we entered the floor of the SeaPlex.  We scanned our Seapass cards as if were getting on or off and at this point US citizens and green card holders were directed into one queue, everyone else into another.
Not long after I walked up to an agent, provided my US passport and was processed.  Simple and painless.  
On the way out my SeaPass card was marked so it was clear I had been processed by CBP and now I was free to leave the ship.