We awoke early in the morning and began our day with our daily workout in the Fitness Center. The Fitness Center was less crowded than it is on sea days. Keith spent the entire workout on the elliptical machine and Anne Marie worked out on the treadmill. Once again, Keith was on his favorite elliptical machine alongside Mary and enjoyed another nice conversation with her. A few of the other regulars who we have come to know were also working out.
Around the time we sat down to enjoy our meal in the Lido Café for breakfast, there was a downpour of rain. Better in the morning before we reached the port of call. We felt bad for the Lido Deck Stewards who had to dash outside to remove various condiments from all of the outside tables. We enjoyed a nice breakfast and spoke with some fellow passengers who we know quite well who sat at an adjacent table. Midway through our breakfast we were joined by two other passengers who have sat with us most mornings during breakfast.
During the captains report from the bridge at 9:00 AM he noted that rain showers were in the forecast for today and that the temperatures would be in the 80’s. His thought for today is; “Even the weakest star is shining.”
The good news is that it did not rain while we were in port. At times it was quite warm while other times there was a nice breeze.
This morning we arrived at our first port of call known as Raiatea since we left Maui a few days ago We docked at the new cruise ship terminal at Finger Pier, which is located right near the center of town.
This is the first time that we have visited the Island of Raiatea. We did not select a shore excursion for this Island. Our first shore excursion will be a few days from now in Papeete, Tahiti. Our plan was to just take a nice walk after we arrive. Some of todays shore excursions involved snorkeling while at least one excursion provided an overview of this island.
Raiatea is situated very close to another Island called Tahaa. A lagoon separates them. Raiatea is the larger of the two and measures approximately 100 square miles. Raiatea is known for its fishing and for its diving. There is a strong Chinese influence on this island, which can be seen in some of the items that are carried in the food stores and in shops that sell other items.
Ralatea is the second largest Island in the French Polynesian Archipelago, which is known as the Society Islands. It is situated between Bora Bora and Tahiti.
We arrived at Raiatea at approximately 11:00 AM. There was a mandatory immigration inspection for all guests who will be ending their cruise in either Raiatea, Moorea, Papeete, Huahine, or Bora Bora.
As the ship was close to port we went on the top deck to get a good view of the Island. We ran into a few fellow passengers. We also ran into another Anne Mare but this one is spelled with a hyphen. She recognized both of us right away as she was a waiter in the dining room during last years World Cruise. On occasion, she was our waiter for lunch and it was always fun to greet Anne Marie given her first name. She is now an assistant to the Captain and was in her officer’s uniform. We congratulated her on her new assignment and were thrilled to see her. Crystal has a great reputation in the cruise industry for employee retention. From our observations they do have an extremely high retention rate because of how well they treat their employees and because of the advancement opportunities that are available to them based on their overall job performance. All of this adds to the staff having a very positive attitude in the way that they interact with their fellow crewmates and with the passengers.
Before we departed the ship we ate lunch in the main dining room. We each enjoyed a wonderful seafood salad entrée.
After lunch we walked around the town for a couple of hours. There really is not too much to see but it was pleasant to walk by the ocean and view all of the scenery that was around us. During our walk we saw many fellow passengers and crew. We spoke with one passenger who we know quite well from last years World Cruise. We spoke with her over the December holidays when we learned that she would be on this sailing and she learned that we would be on this sailing again. We will plan to make plans to see her for lunch or dinner so we can spend more time talking with her.
We walked by several churches of different denominations. We also walked by several homes and saw some older age children walking home from school. We then walked into some shops. We were surprised that for a small town there were actually two grocery stores selling a variety of items including baked goods, fresh fruit and vegetables, meat, and of course frozen, canned and paper products. Some of the packaged products and their manufacturers were recognizable to us although the words were mostly in French. There were some tourist oriented shops and along with other shops including a couple of jewelry stores featuring black Tahitian cultured pearls. When we retuned back to the ship we continued our walk on the Promenade Deck.
Last evening we received a passenger questionnaire, which we will receive towards the end of each segment of the world cruise and which, all passengers receive on each any every cruise. It is used as a means for the passengers to provide feedback on all aspects of the cruise from the shore excursions, to the entertainment, to the food and dining venues, to the employees, to the lecturers and other activities on the ship and so forth. It also provides an opportunity for the passengers to make suggestions for improvements and to highlight those employees who have had a significant positive impact on each passengers cruising experience. This afternoon we filled out most of the questionnaire.
Before dinner we went over to the Avenue Saloon to listen to Pianist John Mentis where they were playing Name That Tune. The Avenue Saloon is a very nice lounge and during the evening hours features John Mentis playing the piano. years world cruise at both team trivia and of course in the Avenue Saloon. Our team finished in second place. Maybe next time we’ll do even better. ☺ We also stopped by to see the display of passenger artwork and have included a picture of some of this work.
We had a wonderful time at dinner. From our table, we had a beautiful view as we cruised past several islands.
Keith & Anne Marie
