Thursday (5/7)
Our adventure started out spending the night in Charlottesville for a 6:45am flight Friday morning to LA, which meant we needed to leave the hotel at 5am. Both of us woke up around 3am and never really went back to sleep. And so it began.
Friday/Saturday/Sunday (5/8-5/10)
Thankfully the trip to LA was uneventful and we landed around noon local time. Bob set up a day stay room at the Courtyard Marriott from 2-8pm so we could shower, nap and regroup. Guess we never considered how noisy a hotel could be during the day because neither one of us got a nap in. But at least we didn’t have to spend all that time in the airport.
Our flight to Tahiti (Air Tahiti Nui) left at 11pm, so we decided to leave the hotel at 7 just to give us plenty of time to get checked in. We’d never flown from LAX before and figured it was going to be pretty busy, especially at the international terminal. Surprisingly, it really wasn’t busy at all, considering what we experienced going through O’Hare earlier in the day. So we had plenty of time to get through security, to our gate and get settled.
We splurged on Priority seating to give us more room for this overnight flight. While it was still hard and uncomfortable (8+ hrs on any plane is not fun), it could’ve been a lot worse. We cat napped some, but neither one of us really slept. The food was decent and service was good. But by the time we landed at 4:30am local time we had been up over 30 hours. As we walked through the entrance heading to customs there was actually a three person live “band” playing to welcome us. At 4:30 in the morning! Wooooow.
The Papeete (pronounced Pappa-ay-Tay) airport is pretty small, as you can imagine, so it didn’t take long to get through customs and find our shuttle to the Hilton Tahiti for a couple of nights before we board the Star Breeze for the cruise. Of course our room was not ready for us to check in at 6am – we didn’t expect it to be. They have a lounge where you can hang out, shower and rest while you wait. I did get about an hour of zzzzs before we ventured out for coffee and breakfast.
The hotel is beautiful and the views are as well. We were greeted with an incredible rainbow on the patio while having breakfast. The weather is overcast and rainy so no pool time today (which was fine with us). After breakfast we walked around the hotel a bit, checking out the restaurants and different hang out areas. It was really humid so we ended up back in the lounge where I snagged another hour or so of zzzzs. Our room was ready around 11am.
Unfortunately the weather over the weekend did not lend itself to lounging around the pool. And the pool is amazing. We really wanted to be able to hang out. But the liquid sunshine was determined to prevent that. So we made the best of it and just rested and chilled. After an early night Saturday night we both felt much better on Sunday. And before we knew it, Monday morning dawned and it was time to pack up and board the ship.
Monday (5/11) – Boarding Star Breeze
The check in process was fairly painless and we were aboard the Sea Breeze by 2pm. It was awesome being reunited with our cruising buddies Robin and Pam. We grabbed lunch in the Veranda and got acquainted with the ship. (While we’ve sailed with Windstar before, we’ve never been on one of their yachts.) The rest of the day was spent unpacking and regrouping. Dinner in Amphora was great – food was wonderful, service top notch, and the laughs were many. Leon and Soni took care of us tonight and we look forward to many meals with them.
Tonight is baptism by fire. We have some rough seas and the ship is rocking and rolling. I haven’t gotten my sea legs yet so walking around could be quite entertaining to an observer. I do look forward to being rocked to sleep tonight. Tomorrow is a sea day and we’re grateful we don’t have an agenda tomorrow. The word is tomorrow will also be rocky.
Tuesday (5/12)
The forecast was correct … we rocked all night and well into the day. There were a number of mishaps we heard about as a result, including things going flying in the Veranda restaurant this morning at breakfast and quite a few things being tossed around in the store on board. The sun did come out for a few minutes today and gave us hope, but then it went into hiding again. It became quite comical trying to walk around because everyone looked like they’d had a few too many adult beverages.
After breakfast we attended a talk on the famous Tahitian Black Pearl – how it’s formed and farmed – how to recognize the difference in quality. It takes years and a lot of patience and care, but man are these things gorgeous! They look like black mother of pearls and come in a variety of colors! It was fascinating and certainly explains how they can demand the prices they do. Of course the larger more perfectly round and smooth pearls are the most expensive, but even the imperfect ones are costly. Here’s a link explaining how they’re farmed and produced. (Black Pearls)
After lunch there was a talk on the legends and myths of Polynesia that we attended.
Then FINALLY it was 3:30 which is now fondly called “scone o’clock” or “scone thirty.” LOVE these things!! It’s such a treat to grab a scone with clotted cream and jam for an afternoon pick me up. (An iced latte doesn’t hurt either.)
We got to have dinner in Basil and Bamboo (one of the specialty restaurants – included) tonight and I have to say it was ah-maze-ing! I ended up being the odd wo”man” out and ordered the beef medallions while everyone else ordered the black cod. Both were incredible and melted like buttah in your mouth.
Praying for blue skies and calm snorkeling water tomorrow. We will be in Fakarava … fingers crossed!
Wednesday (5/13) – Fakarava (population less than 1,000)
Welp, the day dawned with promise along with some pretty dark clouds and wind. It was nice to see the sun try to peek through the grey but it was a challenge. We had a private tour arranged with Ato today that included snorkeling the Blue Lagoon and lunch at his home. Unfortunately, he suggested we cancel the Blue Lagoon due to weather (he expected worse weather to blow in this afternoon) and offered (at a reduced price) for us to come back to his place where we could snorkel off the beach, hang out and lunch as planned. We took him up on his offer and thoroughly enjoyed the day we spent talking with this man, learning about his family history, island history and his general philosophy of life. The snorkeling is always a crap shoot and with the weather the area has had the last few days the water was pretty murky. Bob was our scout and went out quite a ways to see if there was anything worth putting our masks on for – there wasn’t. So we just enjoyed hanging out in the water and being in the moment. Ato was an amazing host and it was very clear how much he enjoys spending time with people. He has created a haven for guests to come share in this paradise. So if you’re in the area and need/want a place to hang out and just be Ato is your man.
We got back to the ship just in time for scone o’clock! Mmmmmm, so yummy!! After showering and regrouping we checked out the port talk at 6:15 (tomorrow we’ll be in Rangiroa) and then headed to the MDR for dinner. Another great meal shared along with lots of laughs and bantering with each other and Leon.
Thursday (5/14) – Rangiroa
This morning was an excursion through Windstar to part of the Green Lagoon for beaching and snorkeling. It was a process … take the tender to land, take a shuttle to another boat and then boating to the beach area. All together it probably took about 30 minutes to get to the beach from the ship, so really not bad.
The water is such an incredible shade of blue, turning turquoise closer to shore. And it’s is completely clear – all the way to the bottom. Unfortunately, the beach we went to was not optimal for snorkeling simply because it was too shallow. There was coral and we did see some fish (and ray) but most of it was too shallow to float above so we didn’t even put our snorkel gear on. We just hung out in the water enjoying the blue sky (thank goodness) and tropical vibes. Our hosts also made everyone a hat/visor to take home from palm leaves. Very cool!
We were back on the ship just in time to grab lunch before the Veranda closed. The rest of the afternoon was filled with hanging out and regrouping. Dinner in the MDR (Amphora) was good as always – even though we got there too late to sit in Leon’s section. Ita took excellent care of us instead.
There was a Beatles tribute at 9pm that we definitely wanted to catch, and from the look of the emptying dining room we weren’t the only ones. We got there a little after 9 and the place was packed. The house band did a great job and sure brought out the teenager in many passengers who found themselves dancing up a jig on the dance floor. It was quite entertaining. We got to stay up late tonight because tomorrow is a sea day. LOL
Friday (5/15) – Sea Day
It was nice to sleep in this morning and not really have an agenda today. The sea is much calmer than it was during our journey out to Fakarava and Rangoria. Robin and I signed up for a bracelet class this afternoon that we thought was a shell bracelet – it was a Pandanus (woven palm leaf) bracelet. Not what we were expecting but we had fun with it. Of course mine looks like something a wrestler should wear it’s so big but I learned a new technique. (Not that I’ll remember it. LOL)
We had reservations in Candles tonight (one of the specialty restaurants on the ship) and it was ah-maze-ing! Between the filet mignons, grilled wild caught shrimp, scallops, watermelon salad, grilled asparagus and onion rings we all needed cranes to leave. I wasn’t even tempted for dessert – that’s how stuffed I was.
It was after 9pm by the time we waddled out so we made our way to the bridge to take a looksee at the dark sky and see if there were any stars out. Oh my were there. Once we got past the lights on the ship they were everywhere! We could even see the Milky Way – and the southern cross (which I didn’t even know what that was). What a treat! The southern cross is a group of stars that actually are kite shaped. This constellation was used for navigation in the southern hemisphere long before technology entered the picture. Today was our last sea day so probably our best opportunity for star gazing without light pollution while docked in a port. It’s a very humbling experience.
Tomorrow is beach day and the Windstar beach barbecue day.
Saturday (5/16) Beach BBQ – Private Motu
After a leisurely start to our day we caught a tender to the motu around 10:00. From the ship, the motu (island) where the Beach BBQ takes place looked really small. Surprisingly, it felt bigger than it looked and there were plenty of chairs and space to enjoy the area. We never felt crowded at all.
After planting our paraphernalia in chairs we wandered off to see what the water felt like. And it was cool – cooler than the water around Rangoria – it didn’t take long to acclimate though. Water shoes were a necessity because of the coral and rocks everywhere. Richard, the activities director, said snorkeling wasn’t that good and that there wasn’t many fish around so don’t worry about bringing your snorkel gear. Well … that’s the last time we listen to him. There was a decent size piece of coral in the shallow area where we were floating and bobbing in that seemed to draw all kinds of fish. And there was a ray that just hung around swimming back and forth the whole time we were there – it was so cool!
Since Richard had said not to worry with snorkel gear, we didn’t have masks or underwater cameras. BUT I did bring a waterproof sleeve for my phone just in case. Thank goodness for that. Without a mask, all I could do was try to point the phone in the right direction and pray I was capturing something. At some point one of the guests threw pieces of coconut cake into the water and the fish swarmed! It was awesome! I’m happy to report we did manage to capture some decent footage, but it’s nowhere near as clear as it would’ve been with my little Olympus Tough Guy. But it’s something. (The good news is that we will be back to the place on the second leg of the trip, so we’re hoping the weather cooperates and the fish show up again. Edit: and they did!)
https://youtu.be/IontDDKGlFA?is=39uAiV0_CwYjJvB9
The food for the BBQ was great, the service was great and the weather held out. It was a near perfect day. Some rain blew in towards the end of the afternoon and cut everything a bit short but not enough to ruin the day.
We had planned to have a casual dinner at the Star Grill up on Deck 8 (top of the ship) but the rains changed all that. Since everything was completely wet, we went with Plan B, dressed for the MDR. At least we got to see Leon again.
After dinner there was a “Newlywed (not so Newlywed)” game being held in the lounge. We’ve seen these before on Celebrity cruises and they’re a LOT of fun! This one did not disappoint either. Takes a special type of person to lay all their personal stuff out in front of an audience of strangers! But it sure was fun for us! LOL
We’re in Bora Bora tomorrow!
Week 2
It's a Wonderful Life! 