twangster

2025 GO FOR THE BOLD OFFER NOT AVAILABLE 6/17/2025
They took it away!

2025 GO FOR THE BOLD OFFER NOT AVAILABLE 6/17/2025
They took it away!

2025 GO FOR THE BOLD OFFER NOT AVAILABLE 6/17/2025
They took it away!

Me too
2025 GO FOR THE BOLD  OFFER NOT AVAILABLE  6/17/2025  

Kind of disappointing there are some gaps in their database for many cruises in between 2016 and 2025.  Some common routes too, it's not all of those were on obscure ships in weird places.  Dozen plus cruises didn't compute for them.  
Cool idea, poor execution.  

It appears on the surface at least, that Royal executive leadership doesn't see the value in modernizing their IT platforms.  This isn't exactly or completely accurate as there are some changes coming, but generally speaking when you have dump trucks of money being dumped in your lap every hour it's hard to understand how an extra dump truck of money per day is worth the costs to modernize.  
Work in IT long enough and when it comes to large corporations there are two main types.  Those that see IT as a tool to empower the organization and increase revenue versus those companies that view IT as a cost center, a money pit that, like a boat, only costs you money with no increased returns.  
When ever I have interviewed for senior IT positions in my life I have asked questions to understand the nature of the IT-political structure to determine how the organization views IT.  I make choices based on the assessment.  I don't enjoy working at an organization where IT isn't valued or funded to excel.  But I do understand the argument.  With gobs of money coming in, will this multi-million dollar expense to improve IT generate gobs more millions?  No?  Then nope.  Stay the course.  

It appears on the surface at least, that Royal executive leadership doesn't see the value in modernizing their IT platforms.  This isn't exactly or completely accurate as there are some changes coming, but generally speaking when you have dump trucks of money being dumped in your lap every hour it's hard to understand how an extra dump truck of money per day is worth the costs to modernize.  
Work in IT long enough and when it comes to large corporations there are two main types.  Those that see IT as a tool to empower the organization and increase revenue versus those companies that view IT as a cost center, a money pit that, like a boat, only costs you money with no increased returns.  
When ever I have interviewed for senior IT positions in my life I have asked questions to understand the nature of the IT-political structure to determine how the organization views IT.  I make choices based on the assessment.  I don't enjoy working at an organization where IT isn't valued or funded to excel.  But I do understand the argument.  With gobs of money coming in, will this multi-million dollar expense to improve IT generate gobs more millions?  No?  Then nope.  Stay the course.  

Not sure why but can confirm UDP is not offered on long voyages.  Doubt they'll make an exception but you can always try.  I used my BOGO and a 10 night package to get 12 of 15 nights covered.  No lunches. 

Port Canaveral is easily accessible.  She will be able to drive up to the terminal and pick you up.  

Carnival bought the pier and port in Skagway and Royal bought Costa Maya.
This seems to a trend in the industry.  

Carnival bought the pier and port in Skagway and Royal bought Costa Maya.
This seems to a trend in the industry.  

That would be awesome and with Voyager coming back into the Pacific later this year maybe the stars are aligning for a year round ship in Australia.
Navigator has a dry dock and non-revenue repositioning sailing in March 2027.  April 23 she pops up somewhere ready to be in service. Lelepa is said to begin service "early 2027". With no guests on board the repositioning voyage from the shipyard in Singapore can be direct with no stops on the way.   
Voyager had a dry dock Nov. 2024.  Now that she is under the every 2.5 year requirement for shipyard visits due to her age, that puts the next Voyager dry dock in the May 2027 time frame.  If Voyager was meant to be part of the Lelepa kick off it seems odd to open Lelepa "early 2027" then send Voyager to Singapore for a dry dock soon after.  It's likely Voyager heads to Singapore after her LA/Mexico stint ending in April 2027 for the dry dock she will need.  That just leaves the question what does she do when the dry dock is over mid to late May.  Will they keep her in Singapore to take over from Navigator?  
They likely won't keep two ships year round in Australia, at least not at first, so a year round ship in the warmer Queensland climate doing runs that include Lelepa and the South Pacific regular ports of call visits makes a lot of sense.
With the more chill nature of Lelepa and no pier in favor of tendering, it may not need as long of a construction cycle so the "early 2027" time frame should be realistic. 
Why open early in 2027 if they didn't mean to keep going there through the middle of 2027 when traditionally ships have finished their Australia season?  We've seen references to Lelepa and year round service so maybe it's all coming together for Navigator from Brisbane year round with a Quantum class still operating from Sydney seasonally.

River of pee likely...
Mr. Schneider hinted at a cooler of beer idea they're working on, "We're kicking around this idea where maybe you take a cooler...because being in the longest lazy river in the world, you're in that body of water, if you choose for up to or more than an hour to get around it."

River of pee likely...
Mr. Schneider hinted at a cooler of beer idea they're working on, "We're kicking around this idea where maybe you take a cooler...because being in the longest lazy river in the world, you're in that body of water, if you choose for up to or more than an hour to get around it."

River of pee likely...
Mr. Schneider hinted at a cooler of beer idea they're working on, "We're kicking around this idea where maybe you take a cooler...because being in the longest lazy river in the world, you're in that body of water, if you choose for up to or more than an hour to get around it."

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,

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.

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

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 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.

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.

Since everyone is related on Moorea our driver's wife is from nearby Bora Bora.  "There is nothing worse than bringing a girl home only to have your parents tell you that she is your cousin." He tells us. So most people look for a spouse from another island.    
So lush and tropical.

Our tour continues descending down the narrow mountain road.


From Cooks Bay I referred to earlier.

Today's excursion is the Moorea Island Tour.

I generally despise bus tours but for a first visit they do have value in covering a lot of ground so you can better plan a return visit at a later date.



The driver is a colorful character who makes this tour so much better.  The scenery is incredible.  Pictures do not do it justice.
He tells us there is a street race planned for today so everyone is gathering for it.  Racing is strictly illegal yet everyone knows when they happen and the local police somehow don't.  show up.

Our driver tells us it's so small that everyone knows everyone.  There is no crime because everyone knows everyone, and everyone would know who did it.  "If I fart" he says, "my cousins on the side will smell it in 30 minutes and call me".
We make our way up a small mountain road way too small for our bus to the Belvedere lookout.  We will visit that harbor in the distance later, named for a famous explorer who never used that harbor we are told.


Another bus has made it to the top.