And the rough weather continued. Being at the bow of the ship and deck 10, Roisin and Chris have probably felt the motion of the shop more than most. The bad weather must have lasted for about 30 hours. On the day before we were due to arrive in Auckland the weather, as predicted, subsided and the status of the sea condition was reduced to moderate. Chris had been advised by one of the deck officers that in rough weather, the stabilisers of a ship are pulled in a...

On the eve before the Sapphire Princess arrived in Fiji, a Canadian passenger, through the cruise critic website, had arranged in conjunction with Princess cruises to celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving with a traditional turkey dinner in the Santa Fe restaurant. Chris and Roisin had signed up for this event weeks before and were the only 'outsiders' in attendance. Chris was quick to advise others that his great grandmother was Canadian so that makes him 1/8t...

80 miles west of Chris and Roisin's last port of call (Pago Pago), lies Western Samoa. This group of islands consists of 2 main islands and several smaller ones. The capital is Apia, situated on the larger of the 2 islands Upolu. These islands are huge compared to American Samoa covering an expanse of 1,137 square miles.On arriving in Apia at 8am, the picturesque waterfront is dominated by their catholic cathedral and the line of public buildings, shops and t...

Heading southwest, the Samoan Islands lie about 2300 miles from Honolulu. It seems ages since Chris crawled up Diamond Head yet here they are entering this South Pacific archipelago.These islands are divided in to East and West Samoa. East Samoa, otherwise known as American Samoa is the first port of call. This tiny island of 54 square miles is about 18 miles long and approx. 6 miles wide at the widest point. It is the only American territory in the Southern Hemi...

So, as the ship sailed away from Bora Bora, the next stop is Pago Pago in American Samoa, 1114-odd miles away and 2 days sailing - time for Roisin and Chris to get back in to their 'routine'. The routine was by now having a familiar look about it.Breakfast about 9am then it was down to Club Fusion for the morning trivia.Day 14 of the cruise, once again, brought success to Chris and Roisin who where now known as ‘the team without portfolio’. Th...