Another full day at sea heading back north-east towards Raiatea, French Polynesia. Weather forecast today: partly cloudy but no showers to speak of. When I woke up this morning the sky had all colours but blue. It was the first day where rain was really pooring down from the sky. However in the afternoon it cleared up and there was the sun again. I had spent most of the day outside (under the cover) at the pool to do some people-watching while the world goes by at sea. There are daily activities organised by the cruise staff to keep you entertained but I'm not really the type of a guy who enjoys "Walk-a-mile", "Pathway to Yoga", "Name that Tune" or "Napkin folding". I really regret that Spice did'nt played longer as he's a real cool reggae and other Caribbean songs performer.
This night the All Star Passenger lip sync show was great fun at the Tahitian Lounge and was a good variety to the other nights at the disco where there was usually just myself and few other night owls.

Considered the most beautiful of all the Society Islands by Polynesian past and present, even outsiders admit that there is an undeniable mystique that hangs over Raiatea. The allied kingdoms of Polynesia journeyed by canoe, sometimes covering great distances, to hold tribal meetings and ceremonies at Marae Taputapuatea in Opoa on the south-east side of the island.
At one time, even human sacrifices were performed here. In 1969, thousands of human skulls were excavated from the site. Legend also has it that Oro, the God of war and fertility was born, atop Mount Temahani, on the northern end of Raiatea.
Raiatea is the second largest island in French Polynesia. Most of the island's population is centered around the busy port town of Uturoa, the second largest port in French Polynesia after Papeete. The rest of the island is quiet by comparison and only lightly populated.

If Raiatea is quiet, Tahaa is quieter still. Small pearl farms dot the warm, clear waters of Tahaa.
I had a pre-booking with Bruno's l'Ecxursion blueu (www.tahaa.net) together with Bob and Kathy from Canada, Kevin and Jill from New York, a French couple and some other Cruise Critic people. His outrigger was waiting for us prompt on time.
Bruno himself and Lanie, his great Polynesian assistant did everything to please us. After a short stop at a pearl- and vanilla farm, we headed further first to the Lagoonarium, later to a picturesque motu to enjoy a delicious fish barbeque and some beaching. It was here that I tried for the first time the famous Polynesian breadfruit served in a banana leave. My compliments goes to the cook of this very yummy barbeque.

The absolute highlight of the day had yet to come this afternoon at the Coral Gardens of Tahaa. Here we went drift-snorkeling in a bay, about two to three meters deep. Drift snorkeling is in fact easy. You just lay flat with your mask underwater and let yourself float forward with the current of the lagoon. Here at Coral Gardens, I was amazed to see such a lot of beautiful corals of different shapes, sizes and colors in really crystal clear waters populated with fishes of all kinds. Bunches of sea creatures, all kind of shapes and colors playing between a wonder world of magnificent corals in absolutely unbeatable visibility. It really is like swimming in a natural aquarium. Unforgetable and truly worth every cent. I had not enough disposal underwater camera's with me but included in your trip fare, Bruno is taking digital underwater pictures of which he will password-protect post on-line, so when you're back home, it is possible to download them from his website after he has sent you your personal access password.
His pictures are stunning. Away from the hordes of fellow cruise passengers, the 110 USD trip is great value, considering it is an entire day of fun in the sun with a great lunch and free digital images of your unforgetable day.

Tonight, we remain in dock at Raiatea until 6.00am tommorow morning when we will be heading towards Bora Bora.
What supposed to be a great tropical night at poolside literally fell in the water as mother nature was'nt with us. The Children of Raiatea show of 5.15pm at the Cabaret Lounge was just lovely to see this little cuties shaking their hips to the rythms at the age of 4. The next Polynesian Dance Show, programmed on pooldeck was cancelled because of the rain which just started when the first perfomer made is way on stage. Instead the whole organisation moved to the Tahitian Lounge, normally spacious enough during disco-nights but for this event it was a wrong choice. Way too small to acommodate all passengers. Right after the great performance of the local dancers, Le Maitre D'hotel Cianluigi Cisotto was creating a cascading Champagne waterfall where people could have their picture taken. We had big fun at the Tahitian Lounge untill the place closed it doors.

For many there are few places, if any, in the world whose natural beauty surpasses Bora Bora. Here nature painted a perfect masterpiece of deep green volcanic peaks egded by a ribbon of reef and magnificent white-sand beaches.
For years I had been dreaming to visit at least once in my life this tropical gem. Finally today, I could see for myself why so many had praised this island.

Approaching the lagoon of Bora Bora by cruise ship is truly spectacular. Go up on observation deck to witness the changing blue colors of the waters as you pass through Rade De Vaitape where the ship will go at anchor in Baie De Povai. The island is almost entirely encircled by a string of small motus where most of the luxurous resorts are nestled on palm-fringed beaches.
Since I had been planning this day in detail, I was hoping to do a flightseeing tour by helicopter overviewing this phenomenal island. Unfortunately I could not find three more participants to share the flight with.

Princess Cruises sold sunset cruises on a big catamaran for 99 USD a head. Still at home, I e-mailed "Taravana" to join them for a similar cruise for just 82 USD. I remember that I got a reply by them that I should call them once I had arrived on the island to confirm the trip. There would be no problem to join the catamaran sunset tour with them. Ok, I phoned Taravana Cruises and was answered that there were just the two of us so far, while the agreement was that we could join their boat together with hotel guests where the Taravana was in charge for. They would leave me a message to our stateroom before 5.00pm to confirm wether they had more people. We did'nt trusted Taravana Cruises while we were absolutely looking forward to do this sunset cruise in paradise on a sail catamaran.

Do not book this tour with Princess Cruises. You're always better off to wait till the arrival at port. In Vaitape, the small port where the ships tenders arrive, there are a handfull of local tour operators + a small visitors center. We found another catamaran who offered a sunset cruise for just 60 USD ! Of course we booked this right away. That was probably the best decision we had done today. We saw 2 huge catamarans departing packed with passengers from the Tahitian Princess who had paid 99 USD while we boarded our smaller sail catamaran. The boat was very romantic while we had to share the space on board with just another couple ( also cruise ship passengers ). This couple had exactly the same story as we had. They also had mailed Taravana, called them on arrival and got the same answer.
Now we had the exquisite luxury to be on board a very nice catamaran where nobody obstructed the magnificent views to take excellent pictures. What a deal for 60 USD. The owners of the boat, a couple who had also their son on board did everything to make us feel comfortable and during the actual sunset, we were offered a complimentary glass of champagne. A very romantic evening in paradise and a perfect way to end the first day in beautiful Bora Bora.

What makes Bora Bora so beautiful is the combination of sand-fringed motus sitting along the outer reef, the multi-hued lagoon, and the balsaltic tombstone known as Mount Otemanu towering over it all. Our second day here in Bora Bora, together with other Cruise Critic members who we had met on line at this cruise forum, we had chartered Shark's Boy outrigger for some fun in the famous BB lagoon. Spending 4 hours for just 55 USD with Shark's Boy is again a muc better deal to a similar trip offered on board the Tahitian Princess. Add a more personal touch with just 10 people on board and the reason of our choice is easily understood.
The first Shark's Boy action was refering to the company's name. A rope was tightened between two corals so that snorkelers could hold on to avoid being drifted towards the sharks because of the current.
Yes, we were into some shark feeding, not from the safety of the boat, but right in the safety of the lagoon ! Sounds a bit scary and hell yes it was. While floating on the water, fighting against the strong current we were holding the rope, Shark's Boy threw some meat overboard in front of us to attract the Black Tip Sharks. It really is some kind of an experience I have to admit.
It was after the feeding, back on board that Mr. Sharky showed his upper leg, marked by a huge shark's bite, a curve-shaped mark with deeper body marks where our lovely fish left his tees. His assistant was attacked in his foot as well. It is said that Black Tip sharks are safe for human.
After this new experience, we snorkeled a bit further to the amazing coral gardens of Bora Bora. Although not as impressive as those in Tahaa, we spotted a huge brown Moray eel partly hiding under a coral as they usually do. The eel with a thickness of about 12 centimeters sometimes showed us his sharp tees. Hundreds of other seacreatures can be seen at the coral gardens too. We were given meat to feed the fishes ourselves who pleasantly come to take it out of your hand.
I had always wondered why we did'nt attracked the sharks anymore with this meet, since they were out of sight, but just all the other more friendly looking inhabitants of the lagoon. There were stingrays and bunches of yellow, green, blue and other colorful fishes of all shapes again.
Everyone on our boat had yet another memorable day. We sailed across the island nearby luxury resorts as the Pearl Beach, Sofitel, Sheraton or the -still under construction- Ritz Carlton where once finished you can spend the night for just 3000 USD a day. No, I did'nt accidentaly add another zero.

No visit to Bora Bora would be completed without a visit to Bloody Mary's, a famous restaurant-bar. Outside next to the entrance is the wall of fame with the names of all the celebrities who were here before you came. Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean), Harrison Ford, Marlon Brando ( who owns an entire island to himself in Polynesia ) are just to name a few who tried the Bloody Mary's served here. They are the strongest I ever had, but delicious.

Our last day in paradise. We had stayed 4 nights on beautiful Moorea (see chapter 2 of this report) and had therefor enjoyed all major trips and activities this island had to offer.
Today, I was up into something different and was looking to rent a moped to explore the island at the convenience of just being by myself.
This morning, I had breakfast on the ouside deck of the cruise ship while it was anchored in Opunohu Bay. The view is truly unforgetbale and spectacular wherever you look. Having breakfast here are moments I wont forget easily.

Ok, I paid 50 dollars for a well running comfortable automatic motobike for the entire day. If you wanna hire one, be sure to go ashore with the first tender as there are just a few available right there at the pier. I had rented mine with Albert Tours, a well known company on Moorea who owns a number of different travel related companies.
You can circle the island of Moorea in about one hour and a half (without stops) but if you're limited on time, the most beautiful sights are on the north side of the island where the ship is at anchor.
Opunohu- and Cooks Bay are worth to be viewed from an upwinding paved road. Look for Belvedere look-out. I drove my way to the Sofitel first, that is on the north-east side of the island (take a free map). Just walk inside the resort and nobody seems to care that you come here as a visitor. The Sofitel is a great place to take a morning swim on the sand-bottomed beach. The resort offers also great photo possibilities of its overwater bungalows as you can see here.
Refreshed from the swim, my second stop was at the Sheraton, perhaps the best area for snorkeling right off the beach.
Again, nobody seems to bother my appearance at the property. Other notable stops I had made includes Les Tipaniers hotel, where I took my lunch overlooking the lagoon, the Hibiscus hotel, the Belvedere viewpoint plus a few photo stops during my ride around both bays. The best view is right above the Sofitel where you can see the amazing colors of Moorea lagoon.
A fun day again, different from all the watersport activities I had done the past three weeks. When you go ashore in Moorea there's a small open air market, selling T-shirts, Pareo's, handmade jewelry and other nick-nacks.

To finalize this great cruise, together with Cruise Critic members and other new friends, we enjoyed a great farewell party on deck this evening.