On to French Polynesia

In four days we will arrive at Bora Bora, the first island stop in French Polynesia. Meanwhile, what are our shipboard activities?

We took a "behind the scenes" tour of the ship which covered services except the engineering and ship guidance. The restaurant area was amazing. Besides the actual food preparation and cooking they must store all the food. The logistics are overwhelming. For example 70,000 bottles of wine a voyage. Sometimes promised supplies don't show up when they pull into port. The hotel manager described their first trip to Costco--a sort of emergency run. He sent a representative over with $30,000 cash. All went smoothly until check out. No Costco card. So the mate bought the cheapest card--a personal one. Think of the credit at the end of the year--unfortunately he didn't get to keep it!

The laundry area featured a machine that automatically washed, ironed and folded towels, sheets and pillow cases. I wonder how many hotels have one.

We had presentations on "Mutiny on the Bounty" and albatrosses (I am still waiting to see one).Read more