Day 34 Aitutaki, Cook Islands

We had success today!  We awoke at 6:30 am to calmer seas and that looked promising to get tenders ashore in Aitutaki, Cook Islands.  So J and I hustled to eat breakfast and pack bags to go ashore for a day on a small boat where we would go snorkelling!

 

We were in the Billboard Onboard lounge at 7:45 am, and were given tickets to the first tender going ashore at 8 am.  We booked an independent excursion with Teking Lagoon Cruises.  Once the tender pulled ashore in Aitutaki, we walked straight over to a van parked 100 metres away which had Teking Tours written on the side.  This excursion was 150 New Zealand dollars or about $118 Canadian.  We had paid for our tour in advance but many others paid cash in New Zealand dollars.  They accepted American money at par (banks post the exchange rate at $0.58 for US dollars - but that is not available on the island!)  So best if you have New Zealand dollars here in hand.  Teking (the owner) said that they have to fly to New Zealand to exchange money so that is why they charge it at par.

 

We had 20 guests in our boat.  There were two other boats with 6 guests in one and 8 in another.  Princess was our guide (and Teking’s wife) and the boat was driven by an experienced local pilot.  Our first snorkel spot allowed us to see giant trevally!  The giant trevalli were mesmerizing.  You could look them in the eye and they were huge (maybe 3 - 4 feet long and 16 inches tall).  

 

We clambered aboard and jetted to our next site a few minutes away to spot really big clams - maybe 2 feet across the mouth.

 

After this we went to Honeymoon Beach where we walked into the water and along a long spit of white sand beach spotting coral and shells all along the way.  We ran into a few other ship people here who were touring with another company called Captain Fantastic.  This was their fifth island to visit - but had not yet snorkelled.  The forecast was for rain and maybe a thundershower in the afternoon so their Captain was trying to help them get idyllic island shots while the weather was good.

  

And we have less than stellar pictures from this day as we were focussed on snorkelling!!

After this beach we visited another beach where lunch was prepared exclusively for Teking Tour guests.  It included: barbecued chicken, banana, egglant and pumpkin, along with salads (green, papaya with coconut, potato, cole slaw) and watermelon.  Cold water was offered onsite to drink.  A person could buy Heiniken beer for $7 NZ or sprite or coke for $4 NZ.  One couple bought a beer and soft drink, but most just had water.  

 

After our very tasty lunch, we went to One Foot Island - which many people like to visit to get a stamp in their passport.  We don’t have passports - so the appeal was really to see this beautiful beach and snorkel one more time!  We walked down the beach and drift snorkelled back to the boat.  We saw giant clams and the drift part was fun!  J was hearty enough to swim against the current where he had to swim nonstop to hold his place!  Kind of like swimming in a rapids!

 

The wind had picked up and we thought there was a possibility that the Captain may have pulled the tenders out of the water but the direction of the wind, meant the water was calmer when we returned to Aitutaki to catch a tender back to the ship.

 

As today is Halloween, there were a number of pumpkins decorated and on display in the Lido.  There was a bucket of mini chocolate bars when we entered the dining room.  J and I each took one - I hoped to take one as we left the dining room but the bucket was gone!  After dinner J stayed in our room as his knee was giving him grief after jumping out of the boat into shallow water today (he had been told it would be 1 - 2 metres!).  I went to the Billboard Onboard lounge for the double pianos (two people singing and playing together) and to the Rolling Stone lounge where there were lots of people were in costume.  This was a happening ship tonight!  It was nice to see it so lively!

Halloween Party at Rolling Stone lounge!

We felt particularly fortunate to set foot on land in Aitutaki today as the seas have been stormy and many of these tender ports seem at risk. Hallelujah!!

Day 33 - Avatiu, Rarotonga, Cook Islands - Maybe?

J and I awoke in the night around 4 am to find no air movement in our room.  And there is always air movement - either hot or cold - one seems not able to choose no fan whatsoever.  So I called the Front Desk to report that and they sent the night housekeeping to our room to verify indeed, no air movement was happening.  As a result of the disruption in the night (and the heat in our room) and the one hour time change loss, we slept late for us.  I awoke at 7:45 and looked out to see Rarotonga shrouded in cloud.  We were due to begin tendering into this port at 8 am so that fact that we were still moving did not look promising.

 

I decided to leave J sleeping and headed up to the Crowsnest on Deck 10 where there are panoramic windows forward.  Here is also where the EXC (Excursion) booking desk is located.  I asked the obvious question - “Are we missing this port today?”  Yes indeed we are not stopping in Avatiu, Rarotonga, Cook Islands today.  Then the Captain came on the loudspeaker and announced that due to unsafe conditions we would not be tendering in to this island.  The Captain announced that at 7:30 am we had winds of 45 knots (at 1.15 conversion that amounts to winds of more than 50 miles per hour).  He could not hold the ship steady and as a result he cancelled the port.  We are taking a longer route to travel to our next destination Aitutaki, Cook Islands.  The longer route allowed us to travel at higher speeds so the day would offer smoother sailing - so we circumnavigated Rarotonga as part of the morning’s routing.

 I bought a coffee for J at the Explorations Cafe - located inside the Crowsnest.  As a bonus, they offered complimentary croissants and biscotti, so I picked up two small pieces of chocolate biscotti to accompany J’s Americano.  While J appreciated the delivery of a coffee (I think) he didn’t enjoy the roast of the bean and prefers to have his coffee in the dining room.  So we went to the dining room for breakfast.  We squeaked in the dining room at exactly 9 am when they stop allowing guests to enter for breakfast. They graciously accepted us perhaps due to the fact that we had just heard the disappointing news that we were going to miss today's port.  This is just another example of the staff going the extra mile to compensate and please guests while the cruise itinerary changes are necessary.

My first view of Rarotonga, Cook Islands this morning!

 

Mid morning, J went for a workout in the fitness centre and I had mine in a 45 minute “Permission to Dance” class!  And the air conditioning was fixed in our room (and others) before lunch so that was a quick response time!

 

For lunch at the Lido, we found glasses of prosecco set out on all the tables, complimentary from "Captain Frank van der Hoeven, Hotel General Manager Henk Mensink, Staff, Officers and Precious Cres of the Zuiderdam” with apologies for needing to forgo our call to Avatiu, Rarotonga, Cook Islands.  Holland America really is trying to do all it can to make the cruise enjoyable when port adjusments are necessary for the safety of everybody.  

 

J played bridge, I watched HGTV’s Renovation Island (the show is called Island of Bryan in Canada).  I find if I watch HGTV around 3 pm in the afternoon on the ship - we get what are considered prime time shows at home. Other TV channels include:  BBC World News, Fox News, MSNBC, Sport 24 (which plays lots of Rugby!), Foot Network, HGTV, Travel Channel, Prime One and Prime Favorites.  HGTV is my go to channel or BBC World News.

 

We then had phone calls with each of our sons back in Canada.  We use the What’s App audio call feature and had reasonably good reception.  Each call only dropped once!

 

At dinner, J and I ordered a Surf and Turf to share for an upcharge (doing all we can to give HAL a little more business!).  J ate the filet mignon ‘bleu’ and I had the lobster tail. The meal came with asparagus, fried mushrooms and a baked potato.  It was a big serving (and we had ordered a lasagne to share as well) so I would have been happy with just the shared meal.  For dessert, Juma was very pleased to report there was rocky road ice cream!  That flavour is tough to find and always a quick sell out on the lido deck.  I believe Juma made a special order of rocky road ice cream for R & C’s table as well as ours!

 

We then headed to the MainStage to watch “BBC Earth Presents:  Planet Earth II in Concert”  This amazing cinematography of natural animals in the wild is accompanied by seven musicians live onstage.  

BBC Earth:  Planet Earth II in concert. 

We visited with two more friends from Cruise Critic after the show and took bets on whether or not we will be able to tender in tomorrow to Aitutaki.  Fingers crossed, we will find out in the morning!

Day 32 At Sea

Days at sea do tend to blend together - so I wouldn’t distinguish these days too much without writing down the blog!

 

After breakfast this morning J and I both went to listen to Ian’s coffee chat with Chris, the Assistant Hotel General Manager.  These informal conversations followed by questions and answers are often very enlightening.  The most significant take away I learned today was hearing Chris’s answer to the question, “What is the most challenging thing about this cruise?”  His answer was, “Revenue.  It is always a challenge on these longer cruises.”  Say what?  

 

And then I thought about Holland America generating less revenue on these longer cruises and realized the shops on the ship selling Holland America merchandise or jewellery or perfume are NOT busy.  Not busy like you would see them humming with activity on a 7 or 10 day cruise.  People pack for many possible weather systems on these extended cruises and are quite prepared.  My observation is that people on shorter cruises, treat shopping as part of the experience, buying souvenirs like HAL merchandise or whatever….then turning around and having a new audience to buy on the next cruise.  And on a 10 day cruise, people might say - lets try the Pinnacle Grill or Canneletto specialty dining one night each (each has an uncharge).  We might try the specialty dining restaurants once each on a 50 day cruise….again, less revenue for HAL over a longer duration.  So just an interesting piece of information that we learned by attending the coffee chat!

 

I attended Kainoa and Ian’s talk about our first three French Polynesian ports - Bora Bora, Raiatea and Mo’orea.  Once again they provided relevant information about what to see and do at the these ports if you don’t already have your excursions planned.

We all hope to get some blue sky weather like the slide from Kainoa’s presentation!

 

After lunch in the Lido (and a fun visit with C & R, our usual dinner partners) J went to bridge.  I went to the Permission to Dance class - and followed the choreography marginally better and got some exercise.  Today was “Cupcake Afternoon Tea” so I decided to check it out.  I was seated at a table with three other individuals and we had a wonderful conversation about excursions and other cruise possibilities. 

 

We also heard from the Captain that we passed the Noordam today - as it was heading the opposite direction from us - south.  And we heard that the Noordam was unable to use their tender boats to get into the Cook Islands.  We are scheduled to visit Avatiu, Rarotonga, Cook Islands tomorrow and have planned an independent snorkelling excursion.  I sure hope we can safely get ashore - but the forecast is not looking promising.

 

Today we received keepsake certificates, customized with our names and dates for Crossing the International Date Line.  We will see if we can get them home without bending them!

 

J and I went to church at 5 pm tonight.  J was asked to read the second lesson and he did a fine job!  We then visited the Italian restaurant, Canaletto and very much enjoyed it.  Rose was our server and she was excellent.  Like any very good Italian restaurant, the food was outstanding.  The meal began with tapas, then appetizers, then pasta, our main courses and dessert.  We had the pasta with lobster and it was particularly lovely.  A tremendous amount of tomatoes, pepper, onions & garlic over the pasta with 6 pieces of lobster.  More of a thick covering of vegetables over the pasta rather than a sauce - and lots of olive oil!  Only the gnocchi lacked a wow factor as we make it better at home!

 

Then I finished reading my book “Adrift” on my iPad.  As it is the story of one man’s survival on a rubber liferaft at sea for 76 days, it gave me a better appreciation of trying to spot somebody in a similar situation on the horizon from our ship!

 

Fingers crossed, I will have a report of a shore excursion tomorrow - and not another day at sea!

Day 31 At Sea

Little to report today!  We had to hand over our passports to the ship’s officers to be kept from now until November 10th.  This is how they are handling immigration in French Polynesia.  J reported they gave him a receipt when he handed over our passports!  We trust they will keep them safe!

 

I tried the “Permission to Dance” Class this morning.  If J and I were ever on the Amazing Race, I always thought I had to be the one to take on any dance challenges.  After this morning’s class, I am less confident in my ability to pick up on choreography and successfully execute such a challenge!!  It was fun exercise just the same.

 

Lunch in the Lido was crowded.  J went to bridge this afternoon.  I went to hear the pianist play at Lincoln Centre Stage, then did a few other things.

 

The most interesting thing to report is that today we are crossing the International Date Line…so tomorrow will also be Saturday, October 29th!  How crazy is that?  The double day was messing up reservations at the Italian dining room, Canaletto.  So I went in person to ask for a reservation for Saturday, October 29th and they asked me “Today or tomorrow"? When I said tomorrow, they manually wrote down my name to ensure we have a table reserved!

 

Tonight on the MainStage we will go to see the documentary “Waikiki in the Wake of Dreams” - another historical gem Kainoa has found for us about Hawaii!  Though we are enjoying travelling in the South Pacific - it is not blue sky and sunny!  We have had gray skies and a fair bit of drizzle since we left Hawaii.  So we will see if the forecast changes!

Day 30 Nuku'Alofa, Tonga (Second Day)

After breakfast at the Lido, we headed out to catch a bus for an independent excursion called Toni’s Tours.  I only knew that we were going to a rainforest and to a cave - so we dressed for a bus tour day, knowing there would be no air conditioning.  Toni ran another tour to different sites yesterday and a number of Cruise Critic people were on that tour.  For whatever reason, a number (15 to be precise) did not show up for today’s tour - and I felt bad for Toni because payment was made today, on arrival.

 

But we had two buses that set out today.  Our bus had 9 guests on it, the other one had 7 people on it, so we had lots of room to spread out.

 

Our first stop was at Kolisi Ko Tupou is a school for 1,000 boys in Tonga.  The religious school operates as a farm growing much of the food they need to feed the 1,000 boys.  Boys go to school from Monday to Friday and stay in dormitories during the week, then go home on Friday.  Carolyn was a teacher from the school who was our guide for this portion.  She told us the boys were middle school and high school and that they worked two hours per day on the farm.  The farm grew a variety of fruit and vegetables and had lots of land for cattle and sheep to graze.

 

She took us to a back part of their property that featured the Toloa Rainforest - the only rainforest in Tonga.  Evidently Prince Harry and his wife Megan Markle visited this rainforest as part of their first Royal visit after they got married.  Of course Tonga is part of the Commonwealth.  Here is a link to the then royals visiting this rainforest (and my ship’s wifi is too slow to play it so hopefully it is the right one!):

 

Prince Harry & Megan visit Rainforest

 

Interestingly the farm also raises pigs too and when we went to see the pigs, the workers there wearing “China Aid” shirts told us we couldn’t go in to see the pigs (because of concerns about what we could track in on our shoes - fair enough) or take pictures.  So we moved on to see the sheep in the field!  It is interesting to note that both China and Japan have played influential roles in Tonga.  Japan paid for the only good road in Tonga - paved about 21 years ago.  It was China, Japan, Australia and New Zealand who have assisted Tonga in rebuilding after the earthquake, volcano and tsunami in January of 2022.

 

Our guide Carolyn lives on the school property with her husband, a banker in town.  When the volcano erupted, Carolyn removed the drainspout from their roof into their cistern and covered the hole with a pail.  As a result, their family had fresh water in the following days while the ash was still settling.  Others weren’t so lucky.

 

At this school, we also visited a small museum, and a large church, called Moulton Chapel on the school property.  J could have spent twice as long in the museum!  The school was at least 150 years old!

The Moulton Chapel is pictured above. 

 

I had purchased a fruit plate as I boarded the bus - knowing this excursion would take us into the early afternoon (and we are clearly advised we are not to remove any food from the ship).  So while we were driving to the Anahulu Cave, I ate my papaya, banana, watermelon & pineapple!  A delicious snack!

 

The Anahulu Cave is a series of limestone caves with fresh water to swim in.  Once we arrived at the the Anahulu Cave, we walked down a series of concrete steps to enter into the cave. There was a tight entrance (say 4 feet) and impressive stalagtites and stalagmites adorning the cave! As we proceeded further, we saw pools of water and we were invited to swim in them if we wanted.   (This is where I really didn’t read the fine print about what this excursion involved today as we weren’t wearing swim suits!)  J was willing to strip down to his underwear and go for a swim;  I was not so willing! J did think it was a very cool experience to float on his back and look up at the ceiling covered in stalagtites.  

 The cave really was the hilight of the bus tour today.  The pool was only 100 feet by 20 feet wide but still an amazing body of water (and the only fresh body of water in Tonga, according to Toni).

J in the cave pool!

 

The cave is situated near the ocean with a small beach that included urchin, mussel, snail and cowry shells.  It started to rain as we were leaving so it was really nice to have roof like structure at the top of the stairs with some benches and chairs available where you could sit and stay dry while waiting for the group to congregate.

 

We returned to the ship and ordered hamburgers at the Dive In - and didn’t eat until about 3 pm.

 

The Tongans were kind enough to have a police band play under a tent in the rain as the ship was getting ready to leave.  They had some Tourism Tongo dancers perform and some school children as well.  They probably had an hour of entertainment on the pier that we could watch and hear for our last hour in Tonga!  I am so happy we were able to come and visit to inject some badly needed money into the economy.

 

After dinner, I sat down to write this blog and now can feel the ship moving in rougher seas!  We have a sea day tomorrow!

 

Day 29 Nuku'Alofa, Tonga

Malo E Lelei!  Hello from the Kingdom of Tonga!  We are in the city of Nuku’Alofa on the island of Tongatapu, in the Kingdom of Tonga for two days and one night.

 

We had time for a nice visit with two cruise critic friends on the Lido deck over breakfast.  We then made our way down the gangway to the pier and were pleased to find visitor information handing out maps of the island and of a walking tour in the city.  We decided on a path to explore, knowing we wanted to return to the pier for the presentation between government representatives and the Captain of the Zuiderdam at 10:30 am.

 

J had investigated and learned the Prime Minister was sitting in Parliament this morning and if he wasn’t able to break away - a Minister would be sent on his behalf. We positioned ourselves in front of a little tent that had some officials gathered, and a sound system.  A prayer was said by an Anglican minister at the beginning of the event.  The Captain came off the ship and stood removed from the tent closer to the ship on the pier.  This is where the exchange of gifts took place - not directly in front of us under the little tent!  I guess the Prime Minister couldn’t break away as it was the Minister of Tourism who presented Captain Frank van der Hoeven with a plaque from the country of Tonga welcoming the Zuiderdam on its inaugural visit to Tonga.  The Captain presented the Minister of Tourism with what appeared to be a Delft Pottery plate from Holland.  I tried to get pictures of the exchange but there was a crowd of people encircled all around them!

 J and I then left and carried on with our walking tour. We went past the Royal Palace (Red Roof, White building, fence all around).  We came across a church with the most glorious voices wafting out to the street.  We walked closer, listened from outside, heard applause, then inquired and learned it was a a women’s program - so I would have been allowed in, but J was not!  We thanked them, gave a donation and left.

Minister of Tourism in profile and the Captain centred. 

 

J carried on exploring on the path laid out on the map provided and I chose to return to the ship.  I stopped at a few shops and supported the local Tongans!  And I really did want to support this local economy.  I had reached out to a charter company several weeks ago inquiring about a snorkel excursion and this is the reply I received:  “Unfortunately everyone in our company had to leave Tonga to seek work outside the country post Covid/Earthquake/Tsunami since there haven’t been any tourists for close to three years. I hope you enjoy your time in the Kingdom.”  The tsunami/earthwake they are referring to happened in January of 2022.  While Canadians may have lost their jobs during COVID, they did not have to leave the country to find work.  These people have suffered profoundly and I know the return of cruise ships in port will make a positive difference to their economy.

 

The remains of the pier torn up from the tsunami in January 2022. 

I stopped at the Visitor Information booth on the pier and talked to Anna and Alice asking about taking a taxi to a beach as a single female.  They advised against that so I returned to the ship for the afternoon - where J caught up with me!  We ate lunch by the back Lido pool.

 

I spent the afternoon trying to pay for an excursion scheduled in Rarotonga in 4 days time and logging in and out of bank accounts.  The duo authorization is proving to be a challenge as I cannot receive those authentication alerts on my phone while in airplane mode!  So I bit the bullet and pulled it off airplane mode and promptly got a text from my cell phone carrier, advising me that I would be charged $15 for the day's roaming fee.  One of things I was trying to pay was all these extra charges appearing on my phone bill!!

 

I called my Mom and my sister right before supper and had a quick visit, then headed off to the dining room.  After dinner, the Tongans put on a fire dance display on the pier.  The wind had to have made it challenging (it certainly made me cold!) but we were entertained none the less!

 

Fire Dance performance. 

We have a tour from the pier at 9 am tomorrow so I must get organized for that!  Stay safe everyone!

Day 28 At Sea

Today was another ‘misty’ day at sea.  The temperature was mostly 22 C.  The Captain, the Entertainment Director, Excursion Manager and many guests are looking for blue sky sunshine!  I feel privileged to have another day at sea, even if it is rainy, when I know snow has fallen at home!

 

While J did his exercises on the Promenade, I went to two presentations at the MainStage.  The first one was the Excursion Manager talking about opportunities in French Polynesia.  The second one was Ian and Kainoa talking about the Kingdom of Tonga - where we arrive tomorrow.  

 Something exciting at the pier in Nuku’Alofa, Tongatapu, the Kingdom of Tonga is scheduled to happen is scheduled for 10:30 am tomorrow.  This will be the Zuiderdam’s Maiden Call to this port and the Prime Minister of Tonga is expected to participate in a Plaque Exchange ceremony tomorrow, in welcoming our ship to this Kingdom.  As we don’t have a formal excursion planned - we plan to watch this!

 

After lunch in the dining room, I went to watch a documentary on the MainStage called “Under a Jarvis Moon”.  It told the story of 12 Hawaiian young men taking residence on three islands around the equator so that the United States could claim they had residents on these islands and thus assume land title.  It was informative, and a story not told in the History books.  As J was still at bridge, I then went to hear the Quartet perform Brahms.

 

As I don’t have much to report, I will convey something helpful with this Holland America ship.  All staterooms (verandah and oceanview that we have had) have a bathroom on one side and a bank of three closets on the other side, with a corridor in between, before the room opens up to the bed. There is a curtain to be drawn across the corridor, after the closets and before the bedroom area.  When one gets up in the middle of the night, there is a night light motion detector that is set off underneathe the middle closet.  It is perfect for lighting the way into the bathroom.  Then, in the bathroom there is a nice night light that is activated too.  All these night lights are helpful to navigate the way for the person seeking the bathroom, the curtain shields the light from awaking the person who is still sleeping!  Just a thoughtful design detail incorporated into the Zuiderdam!

 

A couple of things that I packed that are particularly helpful for an extended cruise:  an over the door shoe organizer and a clothesline with magnetic hooks.  The shoe organizer is used to organize sunscreen, jewellery, sunglasses, makeup etc.  When we come back from a day in the water - we hang bathings suits and rashers over the tub to drip dry.  In the morning, when they are still wet, but no longer dripping, I move the items to the clothes line hanging from metal magnetic hooks attached to the ceiling.  They dry far more effectively in the room with more air circulation (but the line is discreetly placed so you don’t feel like it is intrusive!)

 Tonight the Comedian onstage didn’t appeal to me so we will find a movie on demand to watch!  Though COVID is on the ship we are still feeling lucky to be cruising!  We continue to wear masks outside of our own room - and most other guests do too!