South Pacific Cruise - Day 10 - 14
At Sea. Sailing from New Zealand to Tahiti
Day 10 of our 26-day South Pacific Adventure was spent at sea as we sail northeast towards Tahiti. We left Picton, New Zealand last night and woke up to a windy and cool day looking out at the deep blue sea with no land in site from horizon to horizon. Days at sea are my favorite part of these long cruises. As an entrepreneur, my “normal” days are packed with meetings, emails, tasks and calls. These leisurely days force me to just stop and enjoy the moment. So today, we enjoyed a day of reading, watched Everest in the main theater and may have had a few cocktails.
When evening rolled around we had reservations at the fine steakhouse, Chops. Chops is one of the few restaurants on the ship where you need to make reservations ahead of time and costs extra. On long cruises it’s nice to break up the main dining regimen with something different. The restaurant is intimate and the staff is wonderful. The food is great and what you would expect from a fine steakhouse.
We finished the night, as we usually do, with a cocktail in the concierge club talking with new friends on the ship. The Concierge Club is the hidden gem of Royal Caribbean. The cocktails are included and the conversations and connections you make with fellow cruisers are worth every penny.
Day 11 had us at sea for another day. Today was groundhog day as we repeated April 8th for the second time since we crossed the International Date Line last night. Now we are finally on the same day as back home (California). We’ve sailed over 2,200nm since leaving Sydney and the ocean is nearly 18,000 feet deep right now. Julie and I read most of the day and Marcus ran around the ship making friends. He’s already getting greeted everywhere we go on the ship. We then headed up on deck to check out the amazing sunset before getting ready for dinner. Just after dinner we had fun playing pool on the self-leveling pool tables. If you want perspective on how much the ship is moving, watch the video. If you get seasick, don’t watch the video. These tables are the coolest and weirdest thing you’ll ever see. The table moves all over the place, yet is perfectly level. It’ll definitely trip out your senses.
The sunsets and sunrises will begin to get more spectacular as we approach tropical waters in the next few days.
Day 12 brought us a little closer to our next stop, Papeete Tahiti. We’re about a day away. Time jumped 1 hour ahead at noon today as we sail northeast. There is nothing as deep blue as the Pacific Ocean when it’s over 17,000 feet deep. It just draws you in. Tonight was formal night and Julie simply stopped traffic is her stunning yellow dress. The staff has started calling Marcus Bond Junior in his handsome tux. We’re struggling to keep his ego in check. The seas are starting to calm as the typhoon to our North has finally passed. Tomorrow should start to warm up as we near Tahiti.
Day 13 of our Epic Adventure continues with another day in the deep blue sea with no land in sight. 4 full days at sea and no land is starting to get interesting. Marcus learned that dad’s scotch was definitely not apple juice (yes, father of the year). That should cure him of that for a while. We continue our journey with one more day at sea tomorrow then finally hit land in Tahiti on Tuesday.
Day 14 of our Epic Adventure was yet another day at sea as we passed the halfway mark of our journey. Tahiti will be outside our balcony as we wake in the morning. We’ll finally see land for the first time in 5 days. Learned some very interesting “Fun Facts” about Tahiti from our Room Guide today. You must read to appreciate it. Not sure the story behind it, but we’ll let you know tomorrow. We’ve been trading wines with the Aussies at the table behind us at dinner. Tonight I get to enjoy enjoy this killer bottle I scored while in Sydney and share some with them. Marcus will continue his Indonesian language lessons from our server Putu tonight and we’ll throw in some French to prepare for the next 3 days as we visit Tahiti, Moorea and Bora Bora.
