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Spring 2025 Trip
  • Mark E
  • Janine Westlund
  • Mark E
  • Janine Westlund

Spring 2025 Trip

LA, Hawaii, Tahiti, Fiji, New Zealand Read more
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  • Spring 2025 Trip
    This is the Uber queue; not as bad as it looks.

    Travel day

    March 29, 2025 in Australia ⋅ 🌧 66 °F

    Up at 3:30am, for a 6:15am flight, arriving in Australia around 8:30am (gaining 2hrs to our day). Customs was surprisingly easy, fast and efficient. Walking out of the airport, Uber had a queue in which you give the driver a pin after reserving your vehicle through the app. The line moved quickly and in no time we were back to the Sydney Hilton. Luckily we were able to check in early. Then our small colds caught up to us, so we just stayed in and took a day off.Read more

  • Spring 2025 Trip

    Transfer to ship

    March 30, 2025 in Australia ⋅ 🌧 70 °F

    How fun to hook up with friends Donna & Norm from a prior cruise!

  • Spring 2025 Trip
    Yep that our captain.
    Captain's staff1The Step One dance company: MOVE.They were great.Dueling PianosLe Funk

    Day at Sea

    April 1, 2025, Coral Sea ⋅ ☁️ 79 °F

    Getting settled in the cruise, we both went to the gym, Mark had an abs class (big 'ouch'), then played pickleball, followed by some ping pong, then more pickleball and a nap. Afterward, we went to Welcome the Captain, followed by a show, then we checked out some dueling pianos and a rock band.

    Always plenty to do on a ship!    Read more

  • Spring 2025 Trip
    Sunrise approaching New Caledonia.
    Initial view of the islands of New Caledonia.The Harbor Master approaching our ship.Our water taxi at Signal Island.That's a turtle coming up for air.2A neat snorkeling 'find', but I left it as I found it.Back in Nouméa. So what else would one do with this bench if not allowed to sit on it? 🤔Sunset over Nouméa.

    New Caledonia: Nouméa, Grande Terre

    April 2, 2025 ⋅ ☁️ 79 °F

    'Grande Terre' means 'main island' in French; there are over 140 in the archipelago. New Caledonia is a French territory and Nouméa is its capital.
    We took a water taxi (~20 min ride) to Signal Island. It's a cute, sandy little island that allows for snorkeling from shore; the main objective: spot turtles.
    We weren't disappointed. We returned to the ship ~2:30p and decided to call it a day.
    We heard the Hop-On/Hop-Off bus (our original post-snorkeling plan) wasn't all that great. So it seems we luckily made the right decision.    Read more

  • Spring 2025 Trip
    The blue dot marks our boat's location.
    Local hutInside local hutChurchInside churchView from churchAnother church along our walk2Gloriosa Lily -- never seen this beforeThis was a 'map' of our day.

    New Caledonia: Lifou Island

    April 3, 2025 in France ⋅ ☀️ 82 °F

    Our cruise ship stopped at Easo on Lifou Island in New Caledonia. While tendering to the island, we ran into Victor & Dawn (from Canada), so we decided to explore the area together. Scooters weren't available, so we went for a little walkabout to explore the areas offerings. First, we stopped at a local hut; a nice representation of the living quarters from long ago. The hut was on the way to the church that looked over the peninsula. While at the church, Victor was talking w/ a fellow passenger & found out about a local cave worth exploring. It was only a mile away so we checked it out. Afterwards we headed toward 'town', but stopped short after talking to a few others on their return walk; it seems there wasn't much there to see. So we walked to a local (now destroyed) pier. When we returned to the tender area, we took a swim to cool off.Read more

  • Spring 2025 Trip
    View of our ship from our snorkel spot.
    You can always find a good picture on a so so reefNot a lot of fish on this reef1Best of 3 snake videos

    Easo Village on Lifou: snorkeling

    April 3, 2025 in France ⋅ ⛅ 82 °F

    At the end of our walk, we hit the water for a bit to try to beat the heat. Mark grabbed some cool pics while snorkeling. And check out Mark's video of a local sea snake. It's technically called a New Caledonian sea krait & is indeed quite venomous. 😲
    Good thing (🤔?) Mark didn't know that when he was following it. 🫤    Read more

  • Spring 2025 Trip
    Blue dot = ship's location
    This is the full view of Mystery Island.Scan of Mystery Island & its surrounding atoll.Initial space on disembarking from the tender.There were tons of beautiful walkways/paths on this little island.There's a sign inside that doorway that says 'This land is not for sale.' 🤣This is the airstrip.Proximity of the airstrip to the tender port.This is the actual speed of the current carrying us; not a sped-up video.This was our walk around the island (excluding that little upward tail: our tender back to the ship)

    Vanuatu: Mystery Island

    April 4, 2025 in Vanuatu ⋅ ☁️ 81 °F

    The local people believe that Mystery Island is inhabited after dark by ghosts, so no one wants to stay there after the sun goes down. The indigenous name of the island is Inyeug, but the cruise lines renamed it Mystery Island because tourists apparently prefer 'mystery' over 'haunted'. 
    Inyeug Island is a small uninhabited island in Tafea Province of Vanuatu in the Pacific Ocean. "Inyeug" means "Small Island" in a local language.

    I think we will call it Mini Island. After hearing 'there's really nothing to do here', we were pleasantly surprised. We walked around the full island and walked on the runway built during WW II. We noticed the tide was running strong and watched where tour boats were dropping their snorkelers off to drift down the shoreline. So we did the same from land and enjoyed 2 fun 'rides' down the coast in the water.
    There were also a number of just fun &/or pretty things to see & therefore capture in pics.    Read more

  • Spring 2025 Trip
    If my search is correct, this is a Tradescantia Spathacea. 🤷‍♀️ I love these!
    Google tells me this is a Euphorbia sometingorother. Whatever. I think it's neat.I couldn't figure this one out, but I liked it. Anyone know what this is?Snails are always cute -- lots of different shapes, sizes & colors.Watching them scoot along the sand is just a giggle.These guys were camera-shy.This shell was just sitting on the sand like this. I SO wanted to bring it home!!But it (on right) as well as another I found (on left) was just too big & too heavy.😊The locals have quite the sense of humor.Don't laugh, it's real.🤔?A friendly welcome from Jimmy before the marketed offerings & rates.Check out the target audience for the Lagoon & Cave Boat ride. 🤣🤣

    The fun finds

    April 4, 2025 in Vanuatu ⋅ ☀️ 82 °F

    Just a few things that made us smile along our walk around the island.
    When I see the beautiful flowers & various greenery on these trips just make me think I'm a closet plant-person. Hence, the plant pics.
    And remember: this island is uninhabited. So every morning (when a ship comes in) the locals come from the nearby island and set up their offerings. The individuality of their marketing efforts was just fun to capture. Hence the pics of the advert boards.    Read more

  • Spring 2025 Trip
    Our longboats.Went thru a few small-but-fun rapids to the village.Our core group of 6 (1st three rows)Walk to the waterfall....Some mini-falls along the way.1The waterfall at the end of the path.1Our guides jumped off the waterfallThen we donned our tubes & hit the water.1These rapids were fun! Lost my hat in it, but J9 was behind me & scooped it up w/ her foot!Those are 1000's of tiny little crabs along the water's edge.

    Fiji: Viti Levu Island, Suva

    April 8, 2025 in Fiji ⋅ ☀️ 82 °F

    Mark found a river rafting day that we ell enjoyed. We were picked up at the Port, enjoyed an ~45min drive with interesting commentary about the area by our driver, boarded a longboat for an ~1hr ride up the Navya River to a small village. A true native view for us, not the tourist-experience that's dolled up. Theirs is not an easy existance, but it seems to be their preference & it works for them. We then reboarded out boat and about 10 mins later we walked up a little path that opened up to a beautiful waterfall. It was fun getting into the water, not to mention a nice break from the heat. We got back on the boat again & headed up to a lunch spot where we had a great meal that included a few local specialties.
    Then: WE TUBED! We got our butts into our tubes & floated down the river for ~an hour. At one point, our guides broke out into some local songs. Combined with the scenery, it was an extraordinarily peaceful experience.

    What a great day!!    Read more

  • Spring 2025 Trip
    View from the top...11Back to another path...Every now & then, she tires of me including her in pics. 🤭Beach on the opposite side of the island.Huge tree! Mark found nothing in particular behind the boards.Little farming area -- looks like Cassava (big carb-staple for islanders).(caught her when she wasn't looking 🤭)Path to the other side of the island.A few pics of the village.Tender-time, back to the ship.

    Fiji: Dravuni Island

    April 9, 2025 in Fiji ⋅ 🌧 82 °F

    Dravuni Island is a small island (~2 sq km) with about 150 residents. It's a favorite destination for cruise ships: the island receives cruise visits a few times a month on avg. We were here in '23 and enjoyed returning. It has a nice walking trail and snorkeling, so that is exactly what we did. We walked the majority of the trails and actually found where the locals hide/raise their pigs. After the hike, we had a beer, then went snorkeling for about an hour.Read more

  • Spring 2025 Trip
    Oriental Sweetlips
    Blue Devil DamselfishIt's always nice to see healthy coral!Dead clam :(

    Dravuni snorkeling

    April 9, 2025 in Fiji ⋅ ☁️ 82 °F

    Swimming out ~100 yards over sea grass, we found this beautiful soft coral area. Regretfully, the locals are most likely spearfishing as we saw very few fish. But the coral was very much alive and healthy! Lots better than our last visit!Read more

  • Spring 2025 Trip
    Arriving into port with the Harbor Master as an escort.Island map of Things to Do.Loaded up on our high-performance F450 busOur chance of rain turned into a downpour as we approached the 2009 tsunami memorial.Tsunami commemorative plaque in Leone Park.Fish holding areaHappy to find some tennis courts on land...And then some pickleball courts on deck. 🙂

    Meandering around American Samoa

    April 11, 2025 in the United States ⋅ 🌬 82 °F

    Arriving in America Somoa, we first attempted to rent a car, but there were no cars available. So Plan B: a local tour bus; $20 per person for a 3 hour tour. Regretfully the tour only covered the west side of the island , so we missed the east side that would have included the national park.
    Next time. 😉    Read more

  • Spring 2025 Trip
    The Fish.
    2Mark plants a smooch on it.King NeptuneKing Neptune and his wifeThe 'judge' is on the left; but the Captain's staff (under shelter) are the actual judge & jury.The 'medical staff' who will 'administer' the punishment.King Neptune tries to find the right opening speech for the event.Step 1: the judge announces the Polliwogs' crimes.Step 2: receive the punishment.Step 3: Kiss the Fish.Step 4: The 'sentence' is either "bake' in the sun (those on the bench) or 'dump' in the water.There were lots of polliwogs amongst the staff this time. Everyone kisses the fishRemember the judge?He received the worst treatment.He too has to kiss the fish!King Neptune closes out the court judgement session.We were just below the equator during the ceremony, but it was a lot of fun just the same.

    King Neptune

    April 13, 2025, South Pacific Ocean ⋅ 🌧 81 °F

    The King Neptune ceremony is a tradition performed aboard ships when crossing the equator, marking a sailor's first crossing of the line. It involves sailors, often referred to as "Polliwogs" or "Tadpoles" before the crossing, being initiated into the "Realm of Neptune" by a court presided over by King Neptune. The ceremony includes various trials such as being covered in colorful slime, followed by the ritual kissing of the fish, then being 'sentenced' to sit & bake in the slime under the hot sun or being allowed to be 'dunked' in water. Only once the initiates complete this sequence will King Neptune declare them "Shellbacks".Read more

  • Spring 2025 Trip
    The cruise director interviewing the Lounge band. Incredible musicians, all of them.
    Nice view as we walked to the World Stage for the evening entertainment.2One of the dancers performs a VERY creative performance; watch this! 🎶 Best w/ the music on. 🎶These performers were just extraordinary. Watch/listen to this too!!

    Boat entertainment

    April 16, 2025, North Pacific Ocean ⋅ 🌬 75 °F

    Some cruise ships have interviews with the entertainers. We really enjoyed those on Volendam; Westerdam wasn't as consistent. But tonight they interviewed the house band that we have found to be the best cruise ship band we have heard to date. Each one was enormously talented, and together they were just incredible.
    After the interview, we enjoyed the dance group and two sets played by the band.    Read more

  • Spring 2025 Trip
    Statue of Duke Kahanamoku: gold medal winner (swimming, 1912), surfer, actor, Freemason, Shriner.
    Duke Westlundoku, dreamer of surf.1Started on a nice beach boardwalkView from the Waikiki Wall (big stone wall jutting out into the water)Diamond Head crater aheadThe beach seemed busier than usual; we're guessing it's due to it being Easter holiday weekend.Kids are having a blastThe Little Dude with the yellow shirt had it mastered1One long, beautifully painted wall in a Waikiki neighborhood.Despite being an historic residence, it seems some Hawaiians have a good sense of humor.1And some beautiful gates blocking some extraordinary homes.A seaside seat above a seaside ride.1We just can't get enough of this band . . .Incredible voices here ...

    Beach walk

    April 18, 2025 ⋅ ☀️ 75 °F

    Walked 4 miles Waikiki beach from the Hilton Hawaiian Village (it's been here since 1955!) to Diamondhead Vista. Lunch at Tiki's then headed back to the boat.

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