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Hinted at in my December 2024 quarterly newsletter, this amazing adventure to the South Pacific with could-not-be-easier step on/step off at my home port – Los Angeles.  The trip was 33 days (laptop always with me to remote work!) and took in Hawaii, Samoa, Fiji, & Tahiti.

The following is a “diary” of text posts to my family which they actually requested! Hope you enjoy the highlights with accompanying pictures…

November 3rd, Day 4 of 33 …. at sea en route from Los Angeles—>Hawaii! 🚢

Morning massage at Greenhouse spa on board Grand Princess, now relaxing in the sanctuary pool area, very peaceful. If that does not persuade you to try cruising… I tried!  We had medium seas nothing at all dramatic for these last 2 days, now smooth.

Last night watched Top Gun Maverick Movies under the Stars – the jumbotron on the pool deck pioneered by Princess. Love that they put thick padded cushions on loungers pass around blankets and serve popcorn. Then formal night, the duck in main dining was really yummy. Last night’s stroganoff was delicious, a Princess specialty. Princes buffet is decent, I’m happy regardless there’s always plenty to eat! Main dinning is very good.  The international cafe with light-bites and dreamy pastries is excellent.
They do a nice Basque cheesecake …

Been to some talks, a favorite thing when I cruise. We have an Aussie police constable from Birdsville central Australia on board giving talks about dramatic rescues he and his guys have done together with the Royal Flying Doctor Service.  Really interesting and frontier-ish Aussie Outback is brutal!   He has a nice flinty dry sense of humor. There’s a great series on PBS called the Royal Flying Doctor Service which I’ve enjoyed watching so it’s cool to see the real life version.

Otherwise lots of promenade deck laps, listening to audio books, music or podcasts. And eating! Reading the story of Captain Cooks last voyage (excellent-The Wide Wide Sea by Hampton Sides) – appropriate on this journey.

Grand Princess is a classic mid sized ship with some amenities I love and a few missing or that I don’t love but this is always the case on different ships.  I’m just so lucky to be here and grateful and enjoying the experience!  It’s all icing!

…at sea 15 hours out from Kauai

Captain just spoke to us. We have somebody on board who’s having a medical emergency which is terrible of course. But they’re going to do a medical evacuation.  A coast guard helicopter is coming get them tonight at 8:30 and they have a protocol and have informed us certain things.

We’ve been speeding up overnight at 20 knots to get to designated pick up point at sea for coast guard helicopter. All upper decks will be closed.  The 3 highest residential decks forward balcony cabins will be invited to evacuate their cabins at pick up hour. No flash photography (helicopter pilot interference). Patient will be winched up from deck 15 port side …

A fairly rare occurrence captain said but they are trained for it and it does happen. Those of us on deck saw the C-130 support aircraft and orange Coast Guard helicopter arrive at dusk and begin to circle us. The helicopter circled us 3 times (as we were moving) until he was happy, then came over us and held positions for 30-40 minutes, the C-130 circling all the while.  Basket and crew member came down, patient went up in basket, once again maybe with family member and then they were gone. Amazing. Captain informed us next day that the patient was going to be all right.

Loving my early morning promenade deck walk which never gets old. Reading 1 book on audio when walking 1 on kindle when at pool or a cozy corner with tea and the best oatmeal cookie at international cafe. Learning to play cribbage…

Meanwhile life at sea carries on wonderfully, the Australian outback cop has given a series of talks today his 4th – food/cooking demonstration in the ship’s piazza today… entertainment is good – food also – time around the pool lovely as weather turns soft and warm, very South Pacific we are officially in the tropics, 80 degrees scattered clouds, gorgeous.

Sleeping like a baby solid 8 hours each night   We’ll arrive Kauai tomorrow morning at 7am… !  This itinerary will cover 12,196 miles…🤩

I snorkeled first time in Kauai!  It was more testing the mask, water was murky. Lovely driftwood beach and lunch with a friend of Sharon’s. Much more snorkeling to come. In Honolulu I strolled down Waikiki Beach and memory lane from past visits when kids were little, visited the Banyon tree planted in 1904 at the Moana Surfrider.

Fun fact:  We are on day 3 of 5 day journey from Honolulu to Pago Pago Samoa – only land we will pass is Kiritimati (also known as Christmas Island) is a Pacific Ocean atoll in the northern Line Islands. it’s 232 km north of the equator, 1340 south of Honolulu and is the worlds furthest forward time zone (GMT+14) first inhabited place on earth to experience new year’s day!  Nuclear tests were conducted on and around there in the 1950’s by the UK and in 1962 by the US. Today the entire island is a wildlife sanctuary.  It’s tiny has 238 km land area lots of lagoons.

Yesterday was a pool day and Movie under the Stars again, today I’m doing some laptop work, promenade deck laps and another talk from our on board lecturer the Australian Outback cop… we have a new set of entertainers on board (swapped out in Honolulu) a really good couple singing famous duets they were excellent… and a guy singing Buddy Holly also good…Sharon my British Airway friend that I am sharing a cabin with has some people she knows on board so we meet up with them here and there.  She plays cribbage with Joanne…  yesterday was a formal night the lobster was delicious and the beef Wellington too.  Tonight is Italian night – more promenade deck laps!

Rest of itinerary…
Pago Pago Samoa 11/13
International date line… lose a day
Apia Western Samoa 11/15
Suva Fiji 11/17
Dravuni Island Fiji 11/18
back over international date line… get a day back  2 x November 19th …the 1st and the 2nd in print and announcements…
Papeete Tahiti 11/22 – 11/23
Moorea 11/24
Raiatea 11/24
then 8 days at sea back to Los Angeles!

83 degrees yesterday and a hilarious celebration at the main pool: The Crossing the Line ceremony is a rite of passage for sailors and passengers who cross the equator for the first time (we did at midnight last night).  The ceremony’s origins are unclear, but it may have come from ancient pagan rites to appease the Greek sea God Poseidon. The ceremony is now more about morale and entertainment. It involves a series of physical trials, such as wearing clothes inside out, drinking a royal tonic for imaginary offenses etc, the entire event was conducted like a play by the crew with some passenger volunteers. The ceremony ends with the inductees (passengers) being tipped into the sea (pool) and becoming “shellbacks”.  So by the pool volunteers were slimed with pasta/whip cream/jello then others were tossed into the pool including a member of the bridge team and the cruise director!

Captain just announced remembrance/veterans day at 11am here … 11th day 11th hour 11th month …. played horns and observed a minute of silence ship wide .. was very moving.  Captain and most of our senior officers are British many passengers and crew wearing the red poppy which is British custom on this day. With thanks to those that served and serve.

Good morning from Apia Samoa!  The Samoans danced and sang for us as the ship docks so friendly and welcoming.

It’s Friday here crossed international date line last night.  First real snorkel yesterday on American Samoa, it’s magical!  I will (hope) get better at underwater photography.  We’re going to a blue hole for best snorkeling here today just 1.5 km walk from cruise port dock per what’s in port …  Instead, we got caught in the rain (a downpour frankly) and sheltered under a tree with one of the ship’s photographers also out to see sights and ended up in a taxi to a fantastic resort, swam in their pool, snorkeled at their beach, ate in their pool side restaurant with warm rain a lot of the time but it didn’t matter…all the while no one approached us to pay a resort fee which we were quite ready to do…😳

Hello from Dravuni island Fiji a tiny atoll in the South Pacific. THIS is what I came for.  The aquamarine colored bathtub warm water…Wow.  All as advertised. Snorkeled – hiked up the hill, tiny boat ride around the island for $5.  Walked around the small village 150 people live here.

High teach and low tech navigation aids as we depart this atoll.  Our Captain told us 2 little boats like the one that took 3 of us around the island (the island is 1.6km long and 1/2km wide…) will help mark the 400 meter “exit” from the barrier reef around the island as there are no navigation buoys!

1850 nautical miles to Papeete next stop, 3 days at sea to get there.  We get back the day we lost e route so will have November 19th twice as we cross back over international date line.  Captain said we are now going against the Tradewinds sailing to Tahiti so some winds and swells 2- 2.5 meters which is hardly felt by a ship this size… we had 5 meters crossing the Drake passage in the Southern ocean (different trip) and soup stayed in the table (dang – just  want to experience 10 minutes of drama… things flung about…😅)

French Polynesia was gorgeous.  Especially Moorea and Raiatea.  Bora Bora was not on our itinerary as it only accepts very small ships,  I hear it’s stunning too.  Papeete and the island of Tahiti are nice too but I would recommend just to fly into Papeete, then go to an outer island

Papeete patisserie/lunch I grabbed a croissant jambon et fromage yum.  French and Tahitian spoken here.  And decent amount of English

The Island of Tahiti population of Papeete is 29,000

We traveled on a small boat through aquamarine water over reef/over dark blue water to get to the Motu (island snorkel site) both on Moorea adn Raiatea. Yes that’s a black tipped reef shark and a manta ray that swam by me I took those pictures snorkeling!

I am hooked on snorkeling it’s really magical I had no idea…🤿

Raiatea and Taha, its sister island,  are both stunning.  We went to a vanilla plantation and pearl cultivating farm then snorkeled. The reefs just go on and on, there’s a barrier reef around the islands then reefs and coral gardens (where we snorkel) inside the barrier …. Just beautiful.  The pictures barely capture it, trust me it’s like nothing you’ve ever seen before and the crystalline aqua water…💦 🤩

I’m no underwater photographer it’s hard to capture the lighting… there was an iridescent fish … did not show that way on film… magical 🐠

Sail away Raiatea Society Islands (French Polynesia) wending our way out through the reef hard lefts and hard rights Captain proud of this route and says he’ll have us sailing past Bora Bora at sunset it’s ahead of us now and will be on our port side soon. Pilot boat following…. It’s magnificent!!  We also needed ATC clearance to more from the dock – yes you understood that correctly!  The small runway that’s also the taxiway airport is adjacent and our big ship glides past the runway’s end and would be in the way of approach or take off…

I just took that rainbow picture off the aft side of the ship! Not photoshopped!   It all unfolded in real time sailing away from Raiatea. Rainbow remnant, we are now outside of the barrier ref as you can see looking back on it Taha behind it.  Took us an hour wending our way out.  A fitting end to our last port of call.  It was a final hard left through a narrow opening in the barrier reef …then Pilot boat peeling away with port pilot on board…  And now we’re on our own 3,596 miles in 8 days back to LA 🚢

Just breathtaking!  And still more unfolding.  Sunset as we pass Bora Bora 45 minutes after departing from Raiatea… I’ve been wet and dry again these past 2 hours with the rain and hot tub and dashing about the pool deck taking in all the scenery.  Quick shower now as I was snorkeling today, dinner menu looks good… 😋

Day 4 of 8 on the 3,596 mile trek back to LA.  It’s cooling now and less humid and leaving the soft warm South Pacific temps behind, as we make our way north east to the North American west coast and our very comfortable California winter…. Christmas is ahead!🎄

Weather excellent 2-3 meter swells (negligible for a ship this size which can handle 15 if she has to).

Lots of great talks from our naturalist Becci (continuing 9:30 today) on this last leg.  Becci has been with us the entire journey whenever we’ve had sea days.  She’s from the UK and very well liked, she gets a standing ovation from us in the theater.  After this she’s doing an Antartica with Hurtigruten, the German expedition and ferry line, then back on Princess next spring doing Alaska.   A Life at Sea Talk this morning,  and this afternoon another of a series of historical talks from Duncan O’Brien about the Matson shipping line from the 1930’s to the 1960’s that really developed tourism to Hawaii and the South Pacific before jet travel.  Fun fact – Matson built the Royal Hawaiian hotel!

In between various talks I do promenade deck laps listen to audio books or podcasts keep up with emails and eat!  Sometimes go to shows after dinner music/comedians and then drop into my comfy Princess bed and sleep like a rock…😴

And finally…Dec 3rd 5:30am Land Ho!  Los Angeles shore lights in the distance the dawn arrival and sunrise was a fitting end to a magnificent travel experience!