{"id":6040,"date":"2025-01-22T20:41:10","date_gmt":"2025-01-23T01:41:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chasing-sunsets.blog\/?p=6040"},"modified":"2025-01-23T13:12:31","modified_gmt":"2025-01-23T18:12:31","slug":"world-cruise-days-31-33-french-polynesia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chasing-sunsets.blog\/?p=6040","title":{"rendered":"World Cruise – Days 31-33 French Polynesia"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Thank you for joining us on our Viking Sky World Cruise!<\/p>

Can you believe its already been a month on this ship? – Gina and I are doing great and our 38 year marriage is still in tack as we survive in a cabin that is at most 11 feet by 19 feet with a nice two chair balcony. \u00a0<\/figure>
After 5 days sailing from Hawaii we reached Papeete, Tahiti in the French Polynesia. \u00a0The cruiser that needed to get medical attention was reported to reach the hospital and we hope for their recovery. \u00a0<\/figure>
The first day in Papeete was really on our own, but Viking put together a free excursion with a motor coach ride to the Tahiti cultural museum. The Museum was quaint displaying the history of the islands, how they were formed, and artifacts they have found from ancient Polynesian culture. The museum also had a garden with various local plants and trees. Our return to the main city of Papeete allowed us to walk around the downtown, but the stores were mostly closed since it was after 1pm on Saturday and really did have much to shop for. We ate at a McDonald’s just to visit the unofficial American embassy – refreshing to have French fries as only Mickey “D’s” makes. \u00a0Then we walked the harbor area and walked though the marina and a lovely park on the harbor. \u00a0But for first impressions of Papeete – it really was not impressive.\u00a0<\/figure>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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After reboarding on the ship at Papeete, we traveled over night to Bora Bora. \u00a0<\/p>

Arriving into the tender position the next morning, the island of Bora Bora towered into the clouds and the green mountain was majestic – absolutely beautiful and must be seen to be enjoyed.\u00a0<\/p>

Our excursion for Bora Bora was a 4 hour catermoran ride which included 1 hour of swimming and snorkeling – it was just fabulous to sail around the island and snorkeling – it was lots of fun seeing the coral and fishes.<\/p>

Back in Bora Bora we took a walk around the small village but being a Sunday most stores (except the black pearl jewelry stores) were closed for the Sunday. \u00a0So we opted not to see the island in a truck ride and went back to the ship for some food and drinks. \u00a0(note to the wise, Bora Bora in January makes the pool deck hot!). \u00a0Sunset was another beauty and it was the end of a fantastic day.<\/p>

We sailed back to Papeete for Monday which was the original world cruise schedule in which the ship would be refueled and loaded with supplies. While we did not have an excursion lined up so we decided to get a local tour driver at the dock for a tour. \u00a0We found a tour operator to take 4 of us in his car around the island to show us the sites of Tahiti that we did not see 2 days earlier. \u00a0<\/p>

Glad we did this tour the pictures show the wonderful waterfalls, beaches (white sand and black sand), caves, gardens and coast line we saw.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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\"Our
Our welcome band as we set foot on French Polynesian island of Tahiti <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Tahiti
Tahiti culture is on display at the Tahiti museum <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Lovely
Lovely art in the park<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Tahiti
Tahiti statue<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"img_9089\"<\/figure><\/div>
\"The
The thought of traveling between islands of French Polynesia in these canoes boggles my mind <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Tahiti
Tahiti has beautiful flowers and plants. <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"I
I have a camera and trying to take pictures!<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"enjoying
enjoying the retirement ride so far!<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Sailing
Sailing in Bora Bora. Relaxing and soaking up the sun <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Awesome
Awesome catamaran ride with my best friend <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"The
The gang is all snorkeling in Bora Bora<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Just
Just hanging out<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Serenade
Serenade by Ukulele in Bora Bora <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Of
Of course a couple of Mai tais - cheers!<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Sailing
Sailing out of Bora Bora<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Bora
Bora Bora rainbow just before sail away <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Tahiti
Tahiti sunset<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Wooden
Wooden bridge on the way to three sisters waterfall<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"img_9312\"<\/figure><\/div>
\"Visiting
Visiting caves on Tahiti<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Waterfall
Waterfall cave - fresh water after a week of rain<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Black
Black sand beaches in Mahina, Tahiti - magnificent!<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"One
One of several waterfalls we saw in Tahiti<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"A
A peaceful garden just beside the highway in Tahiti<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Another
Another beautiful waterfall in Tahiti<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Surfs
Surfs up! <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Northside
Northside waves hitting the black beaches of Tahiti<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"img_2327-1\"<\/figure><\/div>
\"Tahiti\u2019s
Tahiti\u2019s Pointe Venus lighthouse north of Papeete<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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Thank you for joining us on our Viking Sky World Cruise! Can you believe its already been a month on this ship? – Gina and I are doing great and our 38 year marriage is still in tack as we survive in a cabin that is at most 11 feet by 19 feet with a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":230351823,"featured_media":6029,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[200,50518550],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6040","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel","category-world-cruise-24-25"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chasing-sunsets.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/img_2340.jpg?fit=2000%2C1500&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":false,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/peuwlC-1zq","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5948,"url":"https:\/\/chasing-sunsets.blog\/?p=5948","url_meta":{"origin":6040,"position":0},"title":"World Cruise – being patient, and another 5 days at sea","author":"Jim and Gina Sumislaski","date":"January 17, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Thank you for joining us on our Viking Sky World Cruise!Leaving Hawaii, we have five sea days ahead of us on our journey to Tahiti\/Bora Bora in French Polynesia, covering approximately 2,400 miles between ports. This update shares our trip schedule and insights from a series of long sea days.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Travel"","block_context":{"text":"Travel","link":"https:\/\/chasing-sunsets.blog\/?cat=200"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chasing-sunsets.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/img_8752-2-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chasing-sunsets.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/img_8752-2-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chasing-sunsets.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/img_8752-2-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chasing-sunsets.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/img_8752-2-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chasing-sunsets.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/img_8752-2-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4131,"url":"https:\/\/chasing-sunsets.blog\/?p=4131","url_meta":{"origin":6040,"position":1},"title":"Viking World Cruise: 29 Countries in 138 Days","author":"Jim and Gina Sumislaski","date":"July 5, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"This is the first post about the upcoming World Cruise. Viking Ocean style of cruising, the itinerary includes 29 countries in 138 days, with a favorable sea-to-port ratio and departure from nearby Fort Lauderdale, among other attractions.","rel":"","context":"In "Travel"","block_context":{"text":"Travel","link":"https:\/\/chasing-sunsets.blog\/?cat=200"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chasing-sunsets.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/cruisewithanimals-2.png?fit=1080%2C1080&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chasing-sunsets.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/cruisewithanimals-2.png?fit=1080%2C1080&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chasing-sunsets.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/cruisewithanimals-2.png?fit=1080%2C1080&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chasing-sunsets.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/cruisewithanimals-2.png?fit=1080%2C1080&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chasing-sunsets.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/cruisewithanimals-2.png?fit=1080%2C1080&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7722,"url":"https:\/\/chasing-sunsets.blog\/?p=7722","url_meta":{"origin":6040,"position":2},"title":"World Cruise – okay, we saw Luanda, Angola\u2026","author":"Jim and Gina Sumislaski","date":"April 14, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"\ufffcWhen the itinerary for the Viking Sky World Cruise was released and we saw Angola listed as one of the port stops, it definitely gave us pause. Our expectations for docking there were fairly low\u2014mainly due to Angola\u2019s history of slave trade, internal civil unrest, the presence of malaria, and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Travel"","block_context":{"text":"Travel","link":"https:\/\/chasing-sunsets.blog\/?cat=200"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chasing-sunsets.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/img_6029.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chasing-sunsets.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/img_6029.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chasing-sunsets.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/img_6029.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chasing-sunsets.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/img_6029.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chasing-sunsets.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/img_6029.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6633,"url":"https:\/\/chasing-sunsets.blog\/?p=6633","url_meta":{"origin":6040,"position":3},"title":"World Cruise – Bali, Indonesia – Sensory Overload!","author":"Jim and Gina Sumislaski","date":"February 23, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"After Leaving Darwin. we had 2 sea days to cross the Timor sea and arrived at Komodo National Park in Rinca Indonesia which is a tender port where they invite you to go onto the national park island to see the wold famous Komodo Dragons who live on the island.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Travel"","block_context":{"text":"Travel","link":"https:\/\/chasing-sunsets.blog\/?cat=200"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chasing-sunsets.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/img_3622.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chasing-sunsets.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/img_3622.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chasing-sunsets.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/img_3622.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chasing-sunsets.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/img_3622.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6544,"url":"https:\/\/chasing-sunsets.blog\/?p=6544","url_meta":{"origin":6040,"position":4},"title":"World Cruise – Thursday Island and Darwin Australia","author":"Jim and Gina Sumislaski","date":"February 17, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Days 56 thru 60 of our 138 day World cruise from Fort Lauderdale to London. \u00a0After leaving Cairns we had a sea day and stopped at the northern tip of Australia in the North Queensland state at a very small Island named Thursday Island. 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