And yet they live (still): Trude Herr and King Neptune ...

Trude Herr has indeed lived for many years in French Polynesia on Fiji. Somehow, this came to our minds again when there was an announcement over the loudspeaker yesterday, on the first day at sea, regarding what to keep in mind during an evacuation. During the explanation, Thorsten opened our cabin door, and in the doorway of the opposite cabin was a woman of similar stature to our Trude, also in a hint of tulle that wrapped around her ample curves, and then with a life vest already over her small head with a short neck ... shortly thereafter, one of the crew came and told her that she didn't need to put on the life vest for practice ... We later amused ourselves when 'our Trude' was seen on the ship regarding the image she presented ...

In the morning, some organizational matters were on the agenda first. The immigration authority of French Polynesia in Papeete wanted to check the guests' passports and compare them with the guest list. For this, NCL allocated time slots over two days for the different decks and stateroom numbers. We were supposed to be up on the first day from 11:20 to 12 o'clock. We arrived at the designated meeting point around 11:20, but were initially shocked by how many guests were in line to reach the officials from Tahiti. There were at least 200 guests ahead of us. The queue was endlessly long, and what choice did we have but to line up at the back. During the wait, we learned that the two officials from Tahiti had already been on board since Hilo, so for two days. Couldn’t they have started the checks sooner??? Poor planning was the unanimous opinion of the guests.

After about two hours, we were through. The officials took a glance at our passports and ticked us off on a guest list. This simplified process was intended for us Europeans. Americans and other nationalities still had to fill out an immigration form, which did not require much effort at the desk either. The forms had already been filled out by the travelers beforehand.

What pleased us in the end was the fact that we now have a Tahiti stamp in our passports. Not everyone has that ... J

On the way back, we passed the “Driving Range” for golfers. Thorsten spontaneously decided to take a few swings ... He not only looked good but managed to at least hit the area with the white circles.

After this great experience/result, we decided on another workout session at the gym ... After all, the cake is so delicious, the scones with cream simply fantastic ... and that has to be worked off ...

The view from the ship into the environment has not changed. Always and everywhere blue sea, sun and clouds, sometimes white, sometimes darker with a few rain showers ... but that is normal here.

Oh yes, there will be more to report about Neptune tomorrow. Today he was merely visible ...