Rarotonga.....NOT

Rarotonga looks like a plush, beautiful island, however, we have never been able to visit. It is not protected by any reefs, so the ship's tenders are affected greatly by the swells. The Captain tried his best to tender us ashore, but he decided for the safety of everyone, it was not the safest of conditions. Mike and I watched the crew hoist the tender up and it looked very scary with the hooks swinging until they were able to attach them.
We enjoyed another wonderful sea day.

Tahiti, Moorea and Bora Bora

Our fabulous weather and calm seas continued as we arrived in French Polynesia. Papeete, Tahiti, was our first stop. A bustling city with lots of traffic and shops awaited us as we decided to take our traditional walk around. Rudy and Shirley joined us as Mike led us on our 2 mile walk. We stopped in shops, bought postcards and headed to the market place.....a large 2 story open air market with lots of produce, fish, baked goods and wares. As the heat and humidity rose, we decided to go back to the ship for a swim and lunch.
The ship overnighted in Papeete, and the wonderful staff and crew prepared a deck Bar B Q for all the passengers. We had Tahitian dancers and music and lots of delicious food.

The next morning we arrived in Moorea. We took a tour with the Virtuoso Travel Group and went all around the island. We had lunch at the Hilton Hotel and our day ended around 4. Made it up to the pool, had an early dinner and turned in around 10pm.

We arrived in Bora Bora early on Saturday, Jan 24. It is our favorite island. We went with our friends, Rudy and Shirley, over to the Sofitel Hotel. We used the pool, beach area, and had lunch. It was a perfect day. In the evening we enjoyed dinner and a show. A new concept aboard the ship is a dinner in Signatures and a show in a smaller venue....the Horizen Lounge. It was wonderful!

We are heading to Rarotonga. A lush island, that we have never been to before.

PICTURES....FINALLY

First Port of Call, Nuku Hiva

Most people have never heard of Nuku Hiva, let alone, been there. This was our 4th visit to this unspoiled island. The ship arranged a lunch and folkloric show. We tendered over around 9 am. A short calm ride in the ship's tender. We walked around and saw various craft tables with wood carvings and jewelery. Everyone was friendly and anxious to display their wares.
Food was put out around 10:30. A ritual of smoking a pig in the ground and uncovering it was followed by various side dishes. We tendered back to the ship, had a swim and a nap. We are now on our way to Papeete, Tahiti.

Formal Night

Marc, Harry and Sherry all dressed up on Formal Night.

Computer Troubles continue

Still trying to figure out the picture issue. Please keep checking, as I may post a link to another travel blog. Thanks for your patience.
In the meantime, weather is cloudy, seas calm and temp is rising.

Photo Problems

Hi everyone. We are cruising in some of the calmest waters ever. Weather is starting to warm up and we are getting into the groove and routine of cruising. There is a network issue for people using this blog site. Pictures will not upload. The computer tech is trying to resolve it and has asked passengers to keep trying different things. For me that isn't even a possibility as I don't know what to try. Sooooooo, sorry for no pics, but it is being worked on.
A blog without pictures doesn't seem right, but I will continue to post and hopefully it will resolve itself. If anyone can recommend another blog site, I am willing to change over.

We just found out there are 498 passengers aboard for this segment, 250 full world cruisers and 447 crew and officers. At capacity, the ship holds 700 passengers.

The new restaurant, Prime 7 is a steak house. Much like Mortons. It is very good and we have been there twice already. Food is definitely great.

Cruising the Pacific

Monday, Jan 12, we embarked our ship the Regent Voyager. Staff and friends were happy to see us as we walked around the newly refurbished ship. A new coffee corner was added and plush new couches and chairs. All our luggage was waiting in our cabin after lunch so I got busy unpacking.
We enjoyed a World Cruise dinner in Compass Rose and were entertained in the Constellation Theater after dinner, by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. It was like being at a concert. We certainly danced to "Sherry Baby".
The ship left San Pedro the following day at 4 pm. We enjoyed 80 degree weather on deck and watched the city disappear. We have 6 days to cross the Pacific. Weather is warmish and the seas are calm. We have settled into our routine with good friends and will just relax as we cross the Pacific. First port of call will be Nuka Hiva on Jan 20.
(Pictures unable to upload at this time....sorry!)

One week and counting

Our 2009 World Cruise begins on Jan 12. We are almost packed and are looking forward to the beginning of our new adventure. The Regent Voyager wil dock in San Pedro on Monday Jan 12. We will board in the early afternoon. The ship will overnight in port and we will be entertained by Franki Valli and the Four Seasons.