Cruise Panoramas
Cruise on the Web Blogs » Cruise Panoramas » LA to Tahiti Panoramas and Photos Posted
LA to Tahiti Panoramas and Photos Posted
Saturday, December 26, 2015
By Brenton White, Cruising Enthusiast
So, here it is the day after Christmas. What am I blessed with? A lot of things. In fact, too many things to mention. I know that I've been negligent posting on the blog this year, but I have my excuses: not enough time, too much to do, amnesia...
OK, so what's with today's blog? Well, I finally posted my panoramas (such as Bora Bora and Moorea) and LA to Tahiti Photos of the cruise to Tahiti on the beautiful Crystal Symphony last year sailing on November 25, 2012. It was a 13-day cruise with a stop in Honolulu, Moorea, and then ending up in Papette. I boarded on a Sunday morning, along with about 700 of my closest friends. It's amazing how many of my fellow cruisers take the same cruise. The beauty of this cruise is that it was a cruise...phenomenal days at sea.
I distinguish cruising from "porting." Porting is something one does on a, let's say, Mediterranean cruise. One goes from port to port with no time to rest or take in the fun activities of the ship. Now, I am not saying that porting is bad, it's just exhausting, unless you do it right.
To me, doing it right is taking a couple of cruises back-to-back so that you can make every other day a sea day. Since you get to the same ports twice, you only have to visit them once, unless it's something a spectacular as Florence. In any case, it turns a porting trip into a cruise where one can get the experiences and rest they deserve!
Now, back to this cruise...I had many restful days at sea, morning coffee as the sun rises, setting the clock back a few times, trivia, afternoon tea, and so much more. In Honolulu I visited the Doris Duke estate and spent the rest of the day looking around, and then had another 7 days to cruise to Tahiti. It was really like taking two cruises for the price of one.
The first few photos are of the Crystal Symphony in San Diego the day before I boarded in Los Angeles. I was able to visit in San Diego, and it was a great way to prepare for sailing away the next day. I then captured the Disney Wonder as she left just before we did. Next, we see way too many photos approaching Honolulu. Many of them were intended to create panoramas, but the haze was terrible. I include them because that is exactly what I experienced.
Many photos of downtown Honolulu are included, and then you'll see the very interesting Doris Duke estate. I included a few photo of the "Crossing the International Dateline" celebration, but my camera didn't like the humid, hot air after spending a while in a well air conditioned cabin! Following this, we see a number of photos in Moorea, which was a lot better than I hoped. I visited a number of resorts to see how the other half lives (and then back to the Crysal Symphony!).
I then got some shots a I flew to Bora Bora and lucked out with a great ariel view of the Crystal Symphony docked in Papette. There are some "gray" shots of the islands and then photos of Bora Bora. Luckily, the Crystal Symphony visited Bora Bora the next day, and I was able to shoot some great images of her. The rest of the photos or of or near where I stayed in Bora Bora and then the trip back to Papette to fly home. All in all, it was a fantastic, magical trip.
Tahiti, Moorea and Bora Bora are some of the many locations I had yet to see, and I was delightfully surprised at their beauty and magesty, not to mention the gentle tradewinds!
I wish you and your family a happy, healthy, and fun holiday season and a Happy New Year. If you live in a not-so-warm environment, think of me having been on this great cruise to warm weather and make those plans to do something similiar in the very near future. Life is too short to wait to do all the things you want to do: Make them happen!
Cheers to you and we'll check back in soon.
Brenton White