Cruising.
It’s a very different way of travel from our usual independent travels. But we had enjoyed the few cruises we took - to Alaska, through the Panama Canal, etc. No driving, you settle into one ‘hotel’ room and magically arrive at your destination. We may not be your average cruiser - we don’t party, or dance nor are we very social.
For many years I had one huge item on my wish list of travel destinations: the South Pacific. But for just as many years we had found it daunting and very expensive to realize a trip there. For starters, you’d have to fly to Australia or New Zealand and then take a cruise from there. A huge financial hurdle.
But all those names sound magival to me… Fiji, Tahiti, Samoa, Raratonga… A magical spell I’d love to experience.
One day, earlier in 2024, I received an email among the many emails I get from Travelzoo, Orbitz, Delta, etc. This one was from Holland America Line and advertised their 45th Anniversary sale: 45% off their Legendary Voyage: a 56 day cruise to the South Pacific. I wasn’t seriously thinking about it until I read the itinerary: 5 Hawai’ian ports, Pago Pago in Samoa, several islands in Fiji, Tonga, Kiribati, the Cook Islands, Bora Bora… My heart started to beat faster, just reading them.
Then the itinerary became even better: this cruise left right from Canada Place in Vancouver. We need not fly halfway around the world first!
We didn't even know where exactly most of the islands are located. We're learning fast!
But could we handle 56 days at sea? On a cruise ship? The Maasdam turned out to be the smallest ship of the Holland America Line, a fact that we really liked. Yes, there would be stretches of 5 or 6 days at sea but also many days on each of these islands, sometimes two.
Stuck on a ship with two teenagers! It's awesome.
Having just returned from a trip to Zambia, we would not have chosen to travel again, nor in the fall. We’d rather leave for warmer places in winter. But this itinerary was too good to pass up. Once we decided to take the plunge and book passage on this exciting voyage to the South Pacific, we phoned Holland America to book it. And at the very end of the phone call, we were told that this special promotion included the fact that we could bring two guests for free. In the same stateroom. Right… who in the world would we want to share a small room with, for two months… We instantly knew that our 14 year old grandson Nico would love this opportunity to travel. Nico loves seeing new places. He thrived when I took him to Jordan and Egypt. But two months during the school year? First we talked to his parents who thought it was an amazing opportunity. Then we cleared it with his brother who was not interested in joining us. Finally, I met with his high school vice-principal to make sure they had no objections. And when all those lights turned green, we offered the trip to Nico, who was besides himself with excitement. “But it might be a ship full of old people,” we told him, “There might not be any other kids.” It didn’t matter. Nico was keen to come. And so we agreed that he would look at documentaries about islands, read about the South Pacific, do homework, etc.
Our first boat ride is on the ferry to Vancouver, at 6 AM...
We made a packing list. And I scrutinized the itinerary in details. Cruise ships always offer a myriad of shore excursions, but always at a high cost. Half a day of seeing a specific site might cost well over 100.- US for one person. So I studied the alternatives. I pinpointed the cruise dock on each island and then researched what there was to do there. I booked a rental car on Kua’i, bicycles on Bora Bora, a kayak in Kirabati, and more. Exciting stuff!
We did not need any visas nor any vaccines for the South Pacific - a treat after a recent trip to Africa. And then… a mere week before our departure, we were lamenting how sad it was that Nico couldn’t bring his best friend Jai. Both boys got along so well. They both shared Grade 9 classes and had similar interests. Jai is very well travelled and we all knew he’d love this journey as much as Nico would. Kees and I looked at each other and said, “Well, why couldn’t he come?” The special offer was for two free guests!
A frantic week followed of speaking with his parents, his teachers, gathering assignments and packing stuff. And in the end, the FOUR of us left home for Canada Place to board the MV Zaandam for a true once-in-a-lifetime journey: a two month cruise to the South Pacific!
RESOURCES:
https://www.hollandamerica.com/en/us/find-a-cruise
• The Happy Isles of Oceania, Paddling the Pacific by Paul Therouux
• Frommers South Pacific, Bill Goodwin
• Tales of the South Pacific, James A. Michener
• Jungle Islands, My South Sea Adventure by Maria Coffey
• Life in Feejee, by A Lady (Mary Wallis) is a personal journal of ‘five years among the cannibals’, written in 1851.