Up in time today to see the ship pull into the bay as the day dawned, we were charmed to see a pod of dolphins swimming along keeping pace with the ship. There were at least six of them, but I imagine there were more. At one point we saw four jumping at the same time followed by two more a few yards behind them. They entertained us and some folks on the Promenade Deck below us for quite a while. As we slowed more and the dolphins neared a rocky area in their path...

We were up very early for our private tour to Waitomo Caves and Hobbiton. We were on the first shuttle from the ship going through the industrial section of the port to where private guides were allowed to meet their passengers. The ship is too large to dock on the usual cruise ship wharf and has to dock in the cargo ship area. Last night, I set the alarm on my phone to wake us at 5:45 so we would have time to get ready and have breakfast in the Kings Court buffe...

We lose March 2nd by crossing the international dateline at 4:02 p.m. on March 1st. The captain announced the upcoming time during his daily announcement, but there was no fanfare at the time we crossed. We did find a certificate to commemorate the crossing in the suite after the evening turndown service. During the noon navigational report today, the captain said we have 10,094 meters under the keel. That is the deepest water we have been through. During the d...

Since we have been here before and did not find any ship shore excursions that were new to us, we did not make any plans for the day. The temperature was expected to be 40 degrees C with a predicted heat index of 47. Expecting the rain to keep up off and on all day, we choose to stay on the ship. Access to the island is by tender boat only. I can't imagine how uncomfortable they get in the sweltering heat. I don’t think that the temperature actually rose th...

As the ship pulled into the dock at Papeete, the sky was overcast making the mountains outside look a bit eerie. The clouds moved up and down and in front of and behind the mountains. The cityscape was dreary and gray looking, too. When we opened the balcony door, we were hit with the warm, humid air we were expecting here, and the wooden railing of the balcony and the hardwood deck furniture were damp and glistening. Our glasses and the camera lens all fogged up...