Today is the first of our six sea days as we head south toward French Polynesia. This post will cover the entire six-day transit with a few highlights from each day.
NOTE: I am back home and will now get back to posting for the rest of the cruise. I like to provide lots of detail for future travelers and the research is much easier with speedy internet.
Today is the first of our six sea days as we head south toward French Polynesia. This post will cover the entire six-day transit with a few highlights from each day.
Some people love sea days – while others fear they will be bored. We enjoy sea days and on longer cruises, you will find there are many more daily activities than on shorter cruises. Thirty-day cruises or longer seem to be the length where you get more activities.
For example, on cruises over 30 days you will have a Bridge Director and guest lecturers, plus more staff to coordinate and organize other activities. This isn’t a hard rule, but the longer the cruise, the more activities you will find on the daily When and Where.
PLAN YOUR DAY
One secret to enjoying your sea days is to carefully read the When and Where each evening. Sometimes there will be a special pop-up lecture, wine bottle juggling, or a towel animal demonstration. It’s also useful to scan the events on the Navigator App in addition to the printed When and Where. Occasionally some events will only be listed in one place so check ‘em both. If you have any interest in the event, hit the plus sign next to the listing and you will get a reminder of when the event is going to start.
NOTE: You will find copies of the daily When and Where for this cruise HERE. As you will see, the When and Where’s have shrunk considerably. They are now simply a long list of the daily activities and a list of the hours for various venues. Gone are the ads for onboard shops and other upcoming activities. Nothing but the facts. Of course, this is all available on your smartphone using the Navigator app – so the printed copy is getting used less and less by more and more people. Every so often you will receive a one-page flyer called “What’s Happening” which will have a few advertisements for certain activities – see a copy HERE.
DAILY ACTIVITY HIGHLIGHTS
Here are a few of the highlights of the recurring daily activities that were on the schedule during sea days on this cruise. The times are usually the same but sometimes vary to accommodate other events.
Daily Religious activities
Catholic Mass – 8 AM Bible Study – 8:30 AM Shabbat – 5:00 PM
Games and Activities (Varies each day)
Shuffleboard, Yahtzee, Cornhole, Scrabble, Basketball, Uno
Trivia
Lightning Trivia – 10:30 AM – 30 questions (one every 30 seconds) – Other themed trivia (Beer, Travel, Food etc) 4:30 – Traditional Team Trivia 9 PM – Music Trivia
Afternoon Tea 3 PM
Bingo
Mah Jongg
Lecture with Guest Speaker
Time varies – usually 10 AM
Fitness Center Classes
$20 Spin Class $20 Yoga Class
Tai Chi (no charge)
9 AM Ocean Bar
Coffee Chat in the BB King Lounge
The Cruise and Travel Director will interview a ship officer or guest entertainer. 9:30 AM
Kainoa with Ian at Coffee Chat
Martin Beaumont
Beginner, Intermediate & Duplicate Bridge
(9:30/10:30/1:30)
$60 Texas Hold’em tournament
10:30 and 1 PM
Evening Shows
7:30 and 9:30 PM
CROSSING THE INTERNATIONAL DATELINE – TWICE!
Our route from Kona to Raiatea was almost due south. The International Date Line jogs to the east so the Islands that makeup Kiribati are all on the same side of the Date Line. Kiribati decided to move the Date Line in 1995 so they would be on the same day as Australia.
Red Line is the International Date Line
The Zuiderdam could have decided to ignore the Date Line since we would not make any port calls in Kiribati. However, due to Tahiti’s COVID PCR test requirement, the ship needed more than 24 hours to process all the passengers and crew. Moving our clocks resulted in skipping March 12 but having two March 16’s.
Because each PCR test takes 30 minutes to process, it was going to be difficult to process the entire ship within 24 hours. Having two March 16’s would allow the Zuiderdam to date all the tests on the 16th to meet Tahiti’s requirement to have all the tests completed on the 16th. Having two days on the same date required a lot of manual manipulation of onboard accounting, time and attendance, and other systems. As it turned out, Tahiti relaxed the requirement before our arrival so had they known beforehand, the Zuiderdam could have avoided changing the clock back 24 hours only to change it back later.
HERE is a good website with more information about the International Date Line
THE RETREAT
The Retreat is located on Deck 11, immediately aft of the Crow’s nest. There are 14 Cabanas for two people and 2 larger Cabanas for families. The cost for the 35-day cruise was $1,434. We were given $150 in OBC to compensate for the lack of a working elevator. The elevator to The Retreat on a Vista ship is a nonstandard size and parts are hard to find per the ship’s Chief Engineer.
Judy in The Retreat with Markos and Chris
We enjoyed The Retreat on our the Caribbean and California Coastal Cruises. On these itineraries, the ship tends to go slower on sea days and there are usually only light winds. But I was also on a Pinnacle Ship on those itineraries, so it may be more of a function of ship design. Be aware of the impact of wind on your enjoyment of The Retreat on a Vista Class Ship. We wouldn’t book a Retreat Cabana again for an entire cruise outside of the Caribbean, California Coastal, or Mexican Rivera – maybe for a few days here or there based on the projected ship’s speed.
The following amenities are included with your cabana rental:
■■ Luxurious loungers and table ■■ Separate seating area (Cabana Club and Retreat only) ■■ Towel setup and bathrobes ■■ Hot and cold towels ■■ Handheld fans ■■ Evian Brumisateur® mister ■■ Chilled bottled water setup ■■ Fruit basket ■■ Healthy breakfast and lunch choices available at the Cabana Club and Retreat ■■ Ice cream and condiments in the early afternoon ■■ Glass of sparkling wine ■■ Chocolate-dipped strawberries and frozen grapes late afternoon ■■ 20% savings on Signature Services at the Greenhouse Spa & Salon on port days
The Retreat
CANALETTO’s
We had dinner once at Canaletto’s during this cruise. HERE is a copy of the menu.
Judy ordered the Grilled New York Strip Loin and I enjoyed the Chicken Curry Special and the Lasagna. Everything was very good.
THE PINNACLE GRILL
Clothesline Candied Bacon is one of the featured appetizers and we gave it a try. It was very good, a little sweet, but we will have it again.
Clothesline Candied Bacon
I paid $15 extra for the 16 oz USDA Prime Dry Aged Delmonico. It wasn’t as good as the other steaks, despite the extra cost. I have had this 3 times on other ships, and it wasn’t much better on those ships. I don’t plan to try it again – at least for a while.
On earlier cruises prior to 2018, Sunday Brunch was an elaborate buffet spread out in the Main Dining Room and everyone could serve themselves. Due to changes in food handling regulations, these open buffets were replaced by a Sunday Brunch Sampler menu on Grand Voyages post-2018. For this cruise, the Sunday Brunch has a special menu with a variety of full serving size items. A copy of the menu is HERE.
Sunday Brunch pancakes
Sunday Brunch Fish and CHips
TUXEDO JUNCTION
We gathered a few more people to join us at the Tuxedo Junction on Gala nights. The Ocean Bar was better suited as a meeting spot, and we now have two “sittings” at 4:30 PM and 7 PM. Those interested then assemble on Deck 2 of the MDR for dinner. Getting tables for even large groups is not hard in the MDR after 7 PM.
CREATIVE WRITING CLASS
Prior to our arrival in Hawaii, I noticed there was a creative writing class every sea day in the Screening Room. On our way south to Raiatea, I stopped by a few times to check it out. Jackie Chase was the instructor, and she led the class thru a series of exercises teaching you about different ways to express yourself in writing. For example, she explained the difference between metaphors and similes and how to think about using each one. After she introduced the topic, we would spend about 10 minutes writing an example from our own experience and then sharing them with everyone. There were about 10-15 people in each class. The class was not a lecture, but very interactive and I found it useful.
KNITTING UPDATE
Judy has been working on the Quake Shawl by Stephen West. You can find more about the pattern HERE.
Judy showing the progress of her Quake Shawl
EVENING ENTERTAINMENT
Here is a rundown of the evening entertainment over the 6 days in transit.
“With a career spanning nearly 30 years, Michelle Montuori delivers exceptional talent teamed with expert professionalism. Michelle started her career as a singer/dancer in Malta at the age of 16. The following year at the young age of nearly 17 she started rehearsing for her 1st cruise ship and was bitten by the bug. Michelle has cruised from 1986 until now in various different shows – Dancer in production shows, singer, choreographer, a short stint as cruise director, band singer, bandleader & since 2003 a guest entertainer”
“With the ability to switch from character comedy to straight old-style stand-up, top stand-up Martin Beaumont’s diversity ensures every show is different. King of the one-liner, the jokes come relentlessly, like a one-man mirth machine gun. Described as one of the nicest men in comedy, Martin Beaumont steamrollers the audience into laughter, with a punchline never more than a few seconds away.“
March 15th JukeBox Rogues: A male quartet of musical theater performers gathered from around the world. They feature a variety of genres for each show ranging from The Four Seasons, Broadway Hits, and Pop Tunes from the past 50 years. Here is their description from their Facebook page:
“As eclectic as your favourite party playlist, the four handsome guys from ‘JUKEBOX ROGUES’ pride themselves on bringing only the biggest and best tunes to the stage, from Bruno Mars, MJ, and Justin Timberlake, to mega-hits from Luther Vandross, The Temptations & The Four Tops! Get ready to strut your funky stuff and hit the dance floor as this charismatic group of four fab voices put on a show you won’t forget!”
