twangster

As the sun continued to lift itself up in the sky we continued towards our berth at the cruise ship terminal.

Day Twenty
Honolulu, Hawaii
Up early to catch our arrival before the break of dawn.

I've run out of things to take pictures of so it will have to be sunsets since sunrises occur on the starboard side.








I saw the green flash.

Day Something.
At Sea.  Still.
Thought I'd take North Star for a spin at sea for the extended version at a cost of $32.



The extended version swings out over the sides of the ship.

Sonic Odyssey
I actually enjoyed this show.  If you are they type of person who seeks a plot and a storyline, like a Hallmark movie, where you can predict nearly every scene, and you know the ending before the movie starts, that isn't Royal Caribbean Entertainment.   





I love live string music so I liked a lot about this show.

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
 
 

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.


 

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.

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.

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.

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.  

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 🙂

As the sun continued to lift itself up in the sky we continued towards our berth at the cruise ship terminal.

Day Twenty
Honolulu, Hawaii
Up early to catch our arrival before the break of dawn.

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've run out of things to take pictures of so it will have to be sunsets since sunrises occur on the starboard side.








I saw the green flash.

Day Fourteen
Raiatea, French Polynesia
Our last and final port of call before Hawaii.
It was a pretty dreadful day outside with lots of rain, heavy at times and low visibility.

I could see the familiar shape and waves breaking over a coral reef but it wasn't apparent where we were or how dramatic our navigation was at this moment.  More on that later.


I wasn't motivated to go up top because it was raining pretty good. Eventually the rain nearly stopped.


I could see where we within a coral reef and looking out over it there was the open sea where a ship of this size belongs. 


Another afternoon excursion so my tender ride was after lunch.  Upon arriving I could see a really long queue waiting to get back on a tender to return to the ship.


The line stretched all the way out to the parking lot. Quantum class push the boundaries on tendering.  I can see why tendering Oasis class would be impossible.

Day Something.
At Sea.  Still.
Thought I'd take North Star for a spin at sea for the extended version at a cost of $32.



The extended version swings out over the sides of the ship.

Sonic Odyssey
I actually enjoyed this show.  If you are they type of person who seeks a plot and a storyline, like a Hallmark movie, where you can predict nearly every scene, and you know the ending before the movie starts, that isn't Royal Caribbean Entertainment.   





I love live string music so I liked a lot about this show.

The break in the weather didn't last and while we almost made it around the island dry the last 20 minutes was in heavy rain.  
Nearing all aboard time with the little shopping area at the town dock closed for the day it was a race to the tender before the heavy rain returned.

We continue around the island to a Polynesia Village complete with a band playing drums with our driver's brother and cousins.

We stop at an overlook for a great view of a five star hotel that offers overnight, overwater accommodations.  



Trying to impress us our driver tells us these rooms go for $1,200 USD per night!
I'm thinking to myself if he only knew what Royal Caribbean charges for an overwater cabana at CocoCay for 8 hours!

You could see rays moving in the water even from up here.
I have to come back here to stay for a few days.  It's so beautiful.

From my balcony:



I started to see some stars being turned on.




Time for bed.