Well, this is the BIG one! Probably the most varied and lengthy holiday we’ve ever taken!
As you can guess from the title, this 28-day jaunt near and around the Pacific Ocean involves land, air and yes (a lot of) sea! We originally planned to do this one a few years back, but Covid got in the way! But on a positive note, at least we’ve had plenty of time to pack!
Our Pacific Paradise began by heading to Heathrow by taxi, then taking the Virgin flight to San Francisco – we spent three days exploring the city. Next, it was back on a plane to take us to Tahiti for two more days. We then picked up the Oceania Regatta for an 18-night cruise exploring French Polynesia (taking in the islands of Bora Bora, Rangiroa and Nuku Hiva). It’s then north towards the Hawaiian Islands. After twenty-six days, we disembark in Los Angeles, where we round it all off with two days in Venice Beach, before flying home to Heathrow, again courtesy of Virgin. Phew! 😁
For a quick summary of our holiday plans, click on ‘Paradise Found’ above 👍
Hilo (replaced with Lahaina, Maui) and Kailua-Kona (replaced with another day at sea!)
Yes, it’s a tough life!Ready to board!
“Ahoy there me hearties!” 🦜🏴☠️
It’s Sunday, 11.45am, local time (12.45am, Kettering Mean Time) and we’ve just said goodbye to the Apartment where we’ve been staying for the past few days. We took the short taxi ride to the Cruise Terminal in town to begin the next chunk of our travels – all at sea! We are now aboard the Oceania Regatta. By today’s ‘bigger-is-better (??) cruise standards, this is a relatively small beast. Built in 1999, and weighing in at 30,277 tons, it underwent a massive refurb in 2019 and now accommodates ‘just’ 656 guests along its 594 foot length. For lovers of ‘ship stats’, I’ll pen a longer review of the Ship itself later in the journey during the sea days. Stay tuned!
Welcome to Stateroom 6053
So, it’s the ‘Cruise Life’ for the next 18 nights, so that means:- No 4.28am alarm calls from an ex-rooster ✔️, Too much food ✔️, Crappy and intermittent internet ✔️, More wigs on display than Mrs Wiggy from Wigsville ✔️, Unpack once, see lots of locations ✔️
Checking-in was a breeze, and by 2.30pm our Stateroom was ready. First impressions of the Ship? Very classic-looking inside, plenty of staff around, plus the obligatory hard-sell to upgrade to the ‘drinks package’. In other words, for cruising – so far, so normal! 😉. Getting food was a bit of rugby-scrum with everyone heading for Lunch at the same time. Quality-wise, it was nothing special (but it’s early days). The Internet, as expected, proved troublesome from the off, with too many people chasing too few bytes and the login process failed on all our devices, even after multiple tries. Thankfully, a member of staff from Reception got us all sorted, but we only get a total of ONE connection on ONE device at ONCE, so that’ll make the Blogging a bit of a challenge! On a more positive note, Mrs P is impressed with the amount of storage in the room and so the kitchen sink AND its taps are also well catered for! 😉👍
One of the things that turns a lot of people off from cruising is the ‘dressing up’ nights. Well, this one hasn’t got any at all! There’s a lot of talk about dress standards on Cruises and judging by the lengthy missive in our room, it seems that ‘baseball caps’ have taken over the fashion world! We’re all doomed! 😟
Tomorrow…
Less than an hour by plane!
Next next stop stop is Bora Bora – 45 minutes by plane but around 11 hours by sea! We dock there tomorrow around 8am. See you then (then)! 😉
I got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!
I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!
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