Cruise Day #20 - Uturoa, Raiatea, French Polynesia

Last night was a lot of fun! We had a great crowd in the Observation Bar—Charlie played some fantastic tunes, and there were plenty of laughs and great conversations all around. We also met a new couple, J & G, who boarded yesterday. J is originally from Puerto Rico, and she and I ended up having a long conversation in our native Spanish. It’s been quite a while since I’ve had such a lengthy chat in Spanish, and it felt great!

Our friend C from Sydney was planning to dine solo at Solis and asked if we’d like to join him. Sure—why not! Dinner was excellent, and the highlight was definitely the lobster ravioli 🦞—absolutely delicious, with huge chunks of lobster.

And speaking of speaking Spanish (nice segue, right?), I also had Spanish conversations with both of our servers—one from Peru and the other from Colombia. It felt like we were dining somewhere in Latin America!

After dinner, we headed to the Tahitian show in the Grand Salon, performed by local dancers. They were outstanding—easily one of the best Polynesian shows we’ve ever seen.

We are very impressed by the high quality of Seabourn entertainment, it is definitely a step above what we have seen on Princess voyages. 

Today, the seas are much calmer, though it still looks like we might get some rain. We were originally scheduled to dock at the pier, but the predicted high winds for this afternoon forced us to anchor offshore instead. No problem—we’ll be using water shuttles to get ashore. 🚤🌧️

There was a major downpour around 10 a.m., just as we were getting ready to head into town. It was raining so hard we actually lost sight of the island!

About 30 minutes later, things cleared just enough for us to take a chance on going ashore. The water shuttle ride was short—only about 10 minutes. There isn’t much in town, and since it was Sunday, most of the shops were closed, including the large Artisan venue. 

Debbie did manage to pick up a pair of earrings, though—mission accomplished. 

Had Mother Nature cooperated, this would have been a perfect place to spend the day at one of the beautiful beaches.

Some photos around town:

How would you like to stay here? 

The arrow points to our stateroom window...

As soon as we returned to the ship, we headed to the Colonnade for lunch. Veggie cheeseburgers with fries really hit the spot (especially with a Corona 🍺). 

Tonight, dinner will be at The Restaurant, and we’re looking forward to Paulette Ivory’s show in the Grand Salon later this evening.