Dawn Princess World Cruise 2010 - Sunday August 22

Day 93 Papeete Tahiti
We arrived in Tahiti this morning and were greeted by Tahitian singing and dancing on the pier. Bill and I had booked an excursion into the centre of the island of Tahiti in a four wheel drive. Our driver had a Tahitian father and a Hawaiian mother. He loved the birds and the flowers on the island. He told us about the wild Hibiscus that grows on the island. It is yellow in the morning and changes colour to red in the afternoon. They boil 100 of these flowers and apply it to babies to rid them of rash. The views of the mountains and of the sea were stunning. We ended up inside the crater valley, which had over one hundred waterfalls. In the afternoon Bill and I spent time walking around Papeete. There was a festival on in the town, and families were out for the Sunday afternoon. They were walking, riding bicycles, roller skating and enjoying the sunshine. I have never seen so many children. The average age of the population is 26. Evidently, most Tahitians die in their sixties because of too much drink, but we did not see evidence of this. The families looked very happy. One custom that is strange to us is that if a family has three boys, then the third boy is brought up as a girl. We saw locals making hats from the coconut tree and jewellery using shells and pearls. Bill and I did a long walk along the foreshore of Papeete. It looked quite new and was beautifully kept, with lots of green grass and paving, with small grass huts for picnicking scattered along the path overlooking the bay. At six o’clock, vans arrived and within a few minutes the pier had been converted into a market selling locally made jewellery, brightly coloured sarongs, vanilla, oils made from the coconut and foods such as crepes, pizza and egg dishes. On the pier, we were treated to the local dance and singing by a group of about 35 locals. They got some spectators up to dance with them and imitate them doing the hula. Some of the men, particularly, were very funny as they tried to move their hips at faster and faster speeds. Tahiti is very pretty and the locals are delightful, but it is very expensive. Bill had a local beer and I had a watermelon juice and it cost us about $20. When we returned to the ship we went to a late folkloric show starring the Hei Tahiti Group where we enjoyed the sights and sounds of Tahiti through traditional song and dance. They did the hula with many changes of lavishly decorated costumes and also did peace dances. What was so great about these performers was that they encouraged people to come up and have their photos taken with them at the end of the performance. As many people were taking advantage of this, we did not bother to go up on the stage for photos, but enjoyed watching other passengers do so. (Barbara)

Dawn Princess World Cruise 2010 - Saturday August 21

Day 92 French Polynesia
Today was another day at sea. We are now in French Polynesia, close to the Society Islands of which Tahiti is a part. We heard today that Australia has a hung Parliament with Labor losing a large number of seats. We learnt the Rumba 1, which is quite different from the Rumba. It is a New Vogue Dance in which all of the steps are repeated in sequence. I read a John Grisham book, “The Broker”, and tonight we had drinks with Lyn and then late dinner with Lyn, Wayne, Gaylene and George. Brian was not well tonight but Wayne has recovered. Many people on the ship are going down with a virus that lays them low for 48 hours. (Barbara) I had a great conversation with George at dinner tonight. He is an 88 year old MCC member and was a close friend of the late renowned Percy Beames from the Melbourne Cricket and Football Clubs. He is still active in many walks of life and knows more about AFL footy than anyone I have met on board. Good to see another Geelong win this weekend. Pity about the Adelaide / Collingwood result. Lyn has now given up gym and taken up Table Tennis. She is now known as Ping Pong Ling. (Bill)

Dawn Princess World Cruise 2010 - Friday August 20

Day 91 Dawn Princess. At sea in the southern hemisphere.
Today was another day at sea. I went to a margarita demonstration. I did not realize that there is a large number of different ways to make variations on this drink. At dancing class we learnt the cha cha with extra advanced steps. Tonight, we went to hear Duncan Tuck play the twelve string guitar. His show was entitled “Country to Classical via Comedy.” I did not get many of his jokes, which were delivered very quickly as several one-line jokes strung together. Also, his renditions of California Dreaming and American Pie did not appeal. (Barbara) He was a very talented classical guitarist but unfortunately did lots of other things that were not really his areas of expertise. (Bill)

Dawn Princess World Cruise 2010 - Thursday August 19

Day 90 Dawn Princess. Crossing the equator.
There is a sound like a gentle breeze that fills our cabin at night. It is caused by the bow wave (just below our cabin E305 on Deck 6) of the Dawn Princess as she pushes steadily through the Pacific. This sound is accompanied by a slight rocking motion as the ship pitches down and up in the ocean swell. The overall effect is conducive to a very good night’s sleep. There is the occasional shudder as the ship gets out of phase with the sea much like the effect of a door slamming in a house on a windy night, though more muffled. Last night, the full moon was shining over the bow wave and the illuminated Pacific seemed to pass by at an amazing speed even though it was only 20 knots. The crossing of the equator today from north to south was marked by the same ceremony as the crossing from south to north earlier on the cruise. The photos give the best description. (Bill). We had a casual lunch out on deck today in the glorious sunshine – just 25 degrees Celsius. We sat with one of the Princess dancers who also helps to teach us ballroom dancing. He was a pollywog (first time to cross the equator). He had been treated to the rub with the fish in the ceremony and even though he had showered he still smelt of dead fish. What a horrible smell! He is a young man from Georgia who has just finished college where he studied drama and dance. He thinks it is great to be able to see the world and be paid for it. At each port we are asked to kindly not bring duty free alcohol on board except for wine and champagne. Many people still bring spirits on board and this has not been a problem until Hawaii. Here they confiscated all spirits. Many who have had such alcohol confiscated are lawyers, ex lawyers and judges and ex judges. You can imagine the letters being written and the discussions that are going on. (Barbara)

Dawn Princess World Cruise 2010 - Wednesday August 18

Day 89 Dawn Princess, near the equator.
We had another day at sea today where I spent the time reading, chatting and being pampered with a manicure and pedicure. For much of the day we were in the “doldrums” which is the area near the equator where the winds from the northern hemisphere and the winds from the southern hemisphere mix. In the days of the sailing ships this could result in their not moving much at all, but for us it was just slightly rough and bouncy. At lunch they had a spectacular fruit flambé. Here every fruit imaginable was mixed with alcohol and set alight. The cherries in kirsch were delicious. We were invited to Gaylene and Brian’s cabin for drinks. Lynn was there but Wayne has the 48 hour bug which seems to be lying low most of the passengers. It was a formal night again, so more lobster for those who choose it. After dinner we went to the show “Piano Man.” Here the performers sang and or danced to the songs of Billy Joel, Barry Manilow, Neil Sudaka, Elton John and Liberace. The dancing was superb, the pianist was fantastic, and the costumes were superb. A great night! (Barbara)

Dawn Princess World Cruise 2010 - Tuesday August 17, 2010

Day 88 Dawn Princess
Currently Latitude 13o North, Heading 166o, 460 nautical miles south of Hawaii

At the moment we are nowhere near any place, with just Pacific Ocean all around. I had an extremely lazy day today, just relaxing with a book. Last night we had an opportunity to swap books in the library, so I now have a whole new supply. We learnt a new advanced step for the Waltz and were able to practise it this evening. Because of my lazy day I had to do my walk after dinner tonight. It was rather pleasant as I was the only one walking at that time. The half moon was shining and Venus was prominent in the sky. The wind was much warmer than it had been during the day. People on board are beginning to talk about the fact that we are nearly at the end of the trip, and many can be seen reading brochures and planning their next trip. Some have done two world cruises and have already booked another world cruise for next year. I prefer to think that I am just setting out to see the sights of Tahiti, Pago Pago and Auckland and have a fifteen day cruise to enjoy. (Barbara)

Dawn Princess World Cruise 2010 - Monday August 16, 2010

Day 87 Honolulu on Oahu Hawaii
It was wonderful to return to Honolulu today. It is a place we have been to many times and always loved, but we have not been back here for about fifteen years. This is far too long a time. In this time, some things have changed and other things have remained the same. The large shopping centre, Ala Moana, is three times the size I remember in the past. I believe it is the third biggest shopping centre in the U.S.A. It has been completely modernized, with large malls lining the three-block complex. I did some shopping here in the morning and Bill used Starbucks to get some free computer time for his business. We then spent some time swimming and enjoying the pleasant temperature and sunshine on Waikiki beach. For nostalgic reasons, we returned to the Halekulani hotel in the evening to enjoy cocktails and the Hawaiian music and dance. The same lady, Kahoe, is still dancing there and looks no different to when we first saw her 30 years ago. She told us she started dancing at the Halekulani 33 years ago. When we mentioned that the band had changed, she said “Just me and the tree remain.” The tree is a magical backdrop to her dancing which is done in the courtyard with the sea in the background. As we sipped cocktails and enjoyed the peaceful sounds of the local music, we watched the sunset cruises, the sailing ships and the outrigger canoes out on the waters off Waikiki beach where they go each night to watch the sunset. The grey volcanic Diamond Head could be seen close by. This is just the most magical setting of anywhere I have ever been. We took four other people from the ship with us. They were at a loss of what to do for the evening, and thought it was just the most magical evening. We ended up eating there, but we did manage to arrive on board before the 9.30 p.m. “all on board time.” We then continued our evening on the top deck with the sail away party. As you would expect, it was an Hawaiian sail away party where people came in the bright floral Hawaiian shirts, and the $1 leis purchased at the A.B.C. shops all over Hawaii. One of the ninety year old ladies, Terri, from Auckland came in a pink mumu with a pink and white lei crowning her white hair. She looked fabulous and danced the night away. She is a real inspiration. At the other end of the scale, the eleven and twelve year old sisters came in grass skirts with leis around their ankles and with their hair braided. They looked wonderful. I do not want to leave it another 15 years before returning to Hawaii. We are now on our way to Tahiti. (Barbara)