Easter Island - The land of the Moai

12th November 2014

The Silver Shadow today arrived at Easter Island or Isla de Pascua, a small island in the Pacific administered by Chile despite lying some 2300 miles from her shores. Sometimes called the navel of the world, we have travelled some 1200 miles from Pitcairn Island to get here.

On arrival we were greeted by on the the Silversea expedition vessel, Silver Explorer already lying at anchor and we manoeuvred ourselves into the anchorage position near to her, the town of Hanga Roa having no port (although an airport runs right through it hosting daily flights from the Chilean mainland and a weekly cargo plane).

Easter Island is an open-air archaeological museum most famous for the monolithic statues or Moai, dotted around the island.  Settled since the 4th Century, the Polynesian settlers lived in a hierarchical society governed by a King and remained isolated for a long period but the society was marred by violent conflicts.

The Moai themselves formed the basis of a cult of the ancestors and accompanying religious rites. At Ahu Akiva, the seven moai on a platform are thought to represent explorers sent on a reconnaissance mission and therefore face the sea.  Other moai face inland and are thought to protect those they oversee.  Nearly 900 have been created, averaging at 23 feet tall (7 metres) although the largest stands at 69 feet (21 metres) and weighs about 150 tons!  How they were moved from the quarry at the Ranu Raraku volcano remains a mystery.

Some mistake the red round structure atop each head as a hat.  It is in fact a top knot of hair.  Recent DNA tests have shown the ancient people had red hair.

It’s no wonder this wonderful place was installed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1995.

Pitcairn Island - a little bit of the UK in the Pacific

Today (9th November 2014), the Silver Shadow called on  Pitcairn Island a small island in the middle of the Pacific - approximately half way between Peru and New Zealand and home to the descendants of HMS Bounty, Fletcher Christian and eight of the Bounty mutineers and accompanying Tahitian women, who settled on the small volcanic island in 1790 after its discovery by the British in 1767.  Now an Overseas Territory of the UK it became an British Colony in 1838.  The Governor is the British High Commissioner in New Zealand from where it is administered.

A rugged island (with what looked like a recent landslip) it reaches almost 1000 feet above sea level and investigations indicate that the island has been inhabited by Polynesians some 400 years before the Brits stuck their flag in it and declared it part of the British Empire, as often happened in the 18th and 19th Centuries!  The island was briefly abandoned in 1856 before some islanders returned and it has been inhabited ever since.  The population currently stands around 50, although the peak was in the 1930s when 233 people called it home.

Current residents make their living from fishing, farming, selling local handicrafts to passing ships and postage stamps.  Most of the islanders are members of the Seven Day Adventist Church so there is no making or consumption of liquor.

As we found today when we couldn’t land because of unfavourable sea and wind conditions, Pitcairn has no port or natural harbour, so imported supplies are taken by longboat from larger ships anchored in Bounty Bay.

The history of the Bounty made famous in books and films, centres on the mutiny aboard the Royal Naval Ship HMS Bounty on 28th April 1789, led by Fletcher Christian against Lieutenant William Bligh motivated by Bligh’s alleged harsh treatment and their desire to stay in the South Pacific.  Having set Bligh adrift in a small boat with a loyal crew, the mutineers settled on Pitcairn and burned Bounty to avoid detection.

In an amazing feat of seamanship Bligh managed to sail his boat for 47 days to Timor without navigational charts or compass using only a quadrant and pocket watch (thankfully our own ship is fitted with the latest GPS equipment but interestingly charts are still used on the bridge).  Finally returning to Britain in 15th March 1790, Bligh was able to report the mutiny to the Admiralty, which I often pass when working in London.

The British sent HMS Pandora to capture the mutineers, arriving in Tahiti on 23rd March 1791. Unfortunately Pandora ran aground on the Great Barrier Reef in August of that year with the loss of 31 crew and 4 prisoners.  The surviving 10 prisoners were eventually tried in a Naval Court in England with 3 being sentenced to hang, 3 pardoned and 4 acquitted.

It was rather sad we couldn’t land on Pitcairn today but was lovely to visit this remote area of the world.  Perhaps it’s excuse to take another cruise in this area because it would be disappointing to miss the history and beauty of this part of the world, despite its remoteness and I can think of no better way than exploring this area than sailing on the Silversea Silver Shadow in 6* luxury.

Come Dine with Me? Lunch on Silver Shadow

The quality of food is always a great reason to take a cruise and Silversea excels itself each and every meal time.  Their association with Relais and Chateaux shows through in the dishes that always meet and exceed expectations.  With a full a la carte offering at every mealtime there'll always be something to tantalise your tastebuds.

I thought as a quick post I'd share my lunch with you.  It's making me hungry just reviewing the pictures.  

Firstly a nice cold soft drink: 

I think this day had an English theme so firstly I had Omelette Arnold Bennett:

Then penne pasta:

Then good old fish and chips:

And finally dessert, Lemon Meringue:

As you can see even what could be thought to be fairly mainstream dishes are given the full gastronomic treatment and taste as good as they look.

Crossing the Equator - King Neptune Arrives

It's always great fun onboard when crossing the equator as ships present a King Neptune ceremony on the premise that it has upset the great king that permission has not been sought for the ship to pass and it is necessary for the uninitiated - i.e. those whose this sailing is their first passage across the equator at sea - suffer some unusual punishment for annoying the great King.

It is quite a jolly affair with the crew getting an opportunity to dress up, the band to play some music by the pool deck and for some unfortunate passengers (but mostly new crew - on the Silver Shadow, two cadets were targeted, although one of them escaped and the other hunted down when they missed their cue!) to get thoroughly gunged by the respective players.

Overseen by the Judge, his trusty companions of mermaids, pirates, hairdresser and doctor, each do King Neptune's bidding over each victim as they are accused of various crimes.

Various food stuffs are poured over the person and at least one person on the guise of having been blindfolded then allowed to feel a good looking chap then gets to kiss a wet fish.  I've heard stories that on some vessels the food is rotten and people are covered in paint and all sorts of dreadful rubbish.  Thankfully not on a cruise line!

When all is said and done, King Neptune permits the vessel to pass and each passenger and member of crew is installed as a trusty shellbacks and recognised by Neptune himself as true mariners.  I'm gathering quite a collection of certificates...

Christmas Island - More Pacific Goodness!

Today Silver Shadow arrived at  and anchored off Christmas Island or Kiritimati, just 2 degrees north of the equator and part of the Republic of Kiribati.  Like Fanning Island yesterday, it is a coral atoll in the Pacific and at 150 square miles has the largest land area of any coral atoll in the world.

Sadly, I guess due to the remoteness of these islands, they were subject to nuclear tests back in the 1950s and 60s by the United Kingdom and United States and locals, as well as servicemen are said to have suffered from exposure to the radiation in the blasts.

Thankfully, nowadays the island is a wildlife sanctuary.  A much better use of such a beautiful location!

Fanning Island, Kiribati - A remote paradise

After nearly three days sailing from Honolulu, the Silver Shadow has arrived at Fanning Island in Kiribati and I must say it is absolutely beautiful.  An absolute remote paradise.

Situated about 185 miles north of the equator and around 7 miles in diameter, Fanning Island is a coral atoll with a lagoon that is almost entirely surrounded by the atoll.  The colour changing of blues where the ocean meets the atoll and lagoon is amazing.

It is an island of spectacular natural beauty and inhabited but around 2000 residents who have no electricity nor indoor plumbing, so it doesn't get much closer to being the often dreamt of tropical desert island.

As we cannot navigate into the lagoon at English Harbour and there appears to be no port area, we are being tendered ashore as the ship stays off-shore.  Tomorrow we arrive at Christmas Island.

Personal Review of Silver Shadow - My Favourite Aspect

One aspect of cruising that I think is overlooked is the general ambience of the ship and on Silver Shadow there's one area that I absolutely adore - the onboard art collection.

All ships of course have their own art - normally in the gallery with an art auction listed in the daily programme.  Silver Shadow chooses to put its art front and centre, with all the public areas containing and impressive selection of different art from paintings, etchings and ceramics.  

I'm no great art expert and would not profess to know any more than the old adage "I know what I like" but with the Shadow's collection of modern art and sculpture including Dali and Miro, the selection is very much to my taste and adds much to the onboard experience.  Even the art above my bed "Self portrait with Guillaume" by Paul Cezanne, shows the attention to providing something above and beyond.

One of course must remember to stop once in a while and admire what is displayed.  It is easy to rush past a multi-thousand dollar sculpture on the way to lunch or dinner, so making the time to slow down and take some time is important not to forget.

 I just wish I had a budget to invest for my own home.

Days at Sea - Boring? Yeah Right!

One of the most often asked questions when people talk to me (or I’m boring them) about my cruising holiday habits is: “Aren’t sea days boring?”  To which my incredulous response is “Are you kidding??!”.  OK, let me caveat that now.  If your idea of fun is being occupied non-stop from waking to sleeping by bungie jumping, sword swallowing and jumping out of and undertaking death defying free—falls from a perfectly serviceable airplane then I guess cruising isn’t going to be for you.  However sea days offer the opportunity to explore and appreciate the vessel itself (and let’s not forget we are in a floating luxury 5/6* hotel) that can sometimes be forgotten in the hubbub that a port intensive itinerary can bring.

Every night the programme for tomorrow is delivered to your suite, enabling interesting activities to be ticked and built into your own personal day’s schedule.  Today, for example, I could have been up at 7am (yeah, right!) for a sunrise walk with the personal trainer Vlad followed by Fab Abs.  After breakfast I have a choice of bridge lessons or enrichment lectures on a wide variety of topics - today’s are the History of Hawaii and The Art of the Magazine Picture story.  If I didn’t fancy any of that then I could have joined a cookery lesson with the Silversea Culinary Trainer, David Bilsland, who is showing us some pub favourites leading up to a traditional English pub lunch around the pool.

At noon, we get the daily navigational update from Captain Cataldo Destefano.  In the afternoon, I’ve the choice of a blackjack tournament, more lectures including one from Vlad, previously mentioned, on increasing my metabolism, playing a few games of bingo or the daily team trivia quiz built round afternoon tea.  And if I’ve still got time, there’s a little more exercising, crossword puzzles, sudoko, shuffleboard or golf putting to show some sporty skills.

In the evening, I’ve a choice of entertainment from simple melodies, played by the pianist in the main bar to the spotlight cabaret in the main theatre from the onboard ensemble or visiting artistes.

Don’t forget you’ve got to build in time for breakfast, lunch afternoon tea, perhaps a pre-dinner cocktail and dinner too.  Time to be bored? I don’t think so.

Of course you can always take my route to spending my time on sea days.  Eat, relax and catch up on some reading and favourite music in one of the lounges.  Maybe an afternoon nap.  After all it’s my holiday and I deserve it.

(I should also add as a postscript that many of the mainstream cruise lines have much more going on than a line like Silversea - the Silver Shadow doesn’t have zip lines, climbing walls, surf machines, water flumes et al.  Which just goes to show why cruising is such a flexible holiday - it’s there for you to find if you want but if you like things a little more refined and slower-paced then that’s there too)

Pacific Adventures - London to Embarkation

LHR to SFO

Using Virgin Atlantic’s Upper Class service is definitely the way to travel long distances.  Dropping off at the Upper Class Wing, removes the need to battle the crowds through a busy Terminal 3 at Heathrow.  Pulling into a private entrance and by the time you’ve passed through the security barriers and driven up the ramp, you are met kerbside by a Virgin representative, with your boarding pass in hand.  Your luggage is wheeled away by two other people and you don’t need to worry about that again until you reach your destination.  A few simple security questions later and you’re directed to the private security lane and moments later you’re airside and walking to the Virgin Clubhouse.

In my opinion, the Virgin lounge is one of the very best - spacious, well designed with a spa and shoeshine if you need to tidy yourself up before boarding.  As you’d expect, there are a few quirky extras such as a pool table and a big TV wall showing sports for those who need a quick fix of football before flying.

Most important of all for me is that wherever you sit there is a friendly waiter ready to bring you food and drink.  Indulge in a full cooked breakfast or eggs benedict in the morning before 11.30, after which burgers et al become the order of the day.  A quick tip - it’s a bit difficult balancing your breakfast on your knees if you sit on the sofas, so try to think ahead before you stake your claim to a particular seating area.

Within no time at all your flight is called and you’re walking to the gate.

Unfortunately for me there was a missing relief pilot for our flight so we had a bit of a delay at the gate before boarding and ended up picking up about an hours delay overall but on the whole it was well handled by the gate staff and crew.

Inflight, Upper Class is as you would expect a quality service. I seated myself on the upper deck of our 747-400 where 10 Upper Class passengers have their own private cabin, making the experience much more akin to a private jet.  Flat beds and good food complete the mix with the customary mid-flight ice-cream  Unfortunately on the Upper Deck, on disembarkation you cannot rush off the aircraft as behind you by the stairs, there is an economy section, so passengers end up being one of the last premium passengers to leave (The main deck is held back to enable the upper deck to disembark after Upper Class downstairs.

Hotel in San Francisco.

After getting through the queues at US immigration (never complain about Heathrow again!), luggage is waiting on the belt and on passing through customs, I was met by a Silversea representation who directed me and 3 other passengers to our transfer limo.  By this time it was rush-hour so we had to contend with rather a lot of traffic but eventually we arrived at the Intercontinental Mark Hopkins Hotel.  A pleasant property, my room with a king size (american sizing) bed wasn’t the biggest or best designed (strangely built into a corner so that the hall wrapped round the bathroom) but the bed was comfortable with a nice topper like my own at home so after a long journey and a hot shower, it was good to fall asleep to the American version of Family Fortunes - a much more upbeat affair with lots of whooping and clapping than our own.

Embarkation

On arriving at the hotel, every passenger is given a letter from the ground agent giving useful information, so on checking out at noon, I knew I had the meet the rep in reception for our transfer to the ship at 12.30.  Leaving on time, after 10 or 15 minutes we were at the cruise terminal, our luggage whisked away once again to be loaded onto the ship and delivered to our suites.  Embarkation was painless.  A few flashes of our passports, our security cruise card is issued and we board.  On arrival, a cold towel is offered and we are directed to reception  where two rapidly moving queues move us to the counters where our picture for security is taken and just like any hotel, our credit card registered for our onboard account.  Trust me to end up at the terminal that decides to crash when I arrive!  Expertly handled by the guest relations manager, I move across to her colleague who finalises my arrival.

It’s then on to lunch (you can choose depending on your time of arrival to dine a-la-carte in the main dining room, have the buffet offering in La Terrazza or dine al-fresco on the pool deck).  I chose the main restaurant as I like the service and had the beef carving of the day with a nice Yorkshire pudding, just home from home!  

At about 1.40pm the Cruise Director Jimmy Kovel announced the suites were ready.  I’m in a terrace suite to take advantage of the single supplement promotion.  The accommodation is similar to the veranda suites except that I share my veranda with 10 or so other suites.  Not a problem, its not a major traffic route and as long as you remember to close the curtains when dressing, privacy is not an issue! Accommodation is spacious with a marble appointed bathroom with double vanity and separate bath tub and shower.

Every suite on Silversea’s fleet has a butler.  Mine introduced himself that afternoon, gave me a tour of the suite’s facilities and established my preferences of toiletries and in my mini-bar (all complementary), orders me a bottle of prosecco and even offered to unpack my luggage.

After the compulsory muster drill, it’s time to settle back and enjoy the voyage.  I started mine as we sailed away from the port, under the Golden Gate Bridge, with a cocktail, snacks and canapés all expertly served and prepared by the bar team.

It is then time for dinner and then back to my suite to have a good night’s rest in the rather bumpy 4m swells that rock me gently, mostly, to sleep.

They were right! A new owner for Regent Seven Seas Cruises

It looks as if the reports yesterday were right.  Regent released the attached statement on their blog today:

"We have some exciting news to share.  The parent company of Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Prestige Cruises International, has agreed to be acquired by Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, Ltd., parent company of Norwegian Cruise Line.

This is a significant milestone and an achievement only made possible with the hard work and dedication of the entire Prestige Cruises International family, from the officers and crew onboard our ships to the staff and management team here in Miami.

For our loyal guests, you can rest assured that the Regent Seven Seas Cruises experience you’ve come to love will remain unchanged.  At Regent, we pride ourselves on providing our guests with the most inclusive luxury experience at sea with included round-trip air, fine wine and spirits, unlimited shore excursions, specialty dining, ground transfers and gratuities. We continue to enhance our offerings for guests with our expanded free internet program that begins next year, and in summer 2016 we will introduce the most luxurious ship ever built with Seven Seas Explorer^®.

With Norwegian Cruise Line, we’ve found a partner that shares a similar passion for going above-and-beyond to deliver exceptional guest experiences and we’re excited about starting this new chapter for our company.

When the transaction is complete later this year, it will bring together three great brands as part of one family.  The combination will create a diversified cruise operator with a full spectrum of offerings that range from family cruising on Norwegian’s innovative Freestyle Cruising ships, to the country-club casual experience on Oceania’s fleet, to the all-inclusive, more intimate experience afforded by Regent Seven Seas Cruises’ luxury offering.

For the Regent Seven Seas Cruises brand, our mission will be to preserve the distinct offerings, guest experiences and unique onboard culture our guests cherish, while always exploring ways to further enhance our luxury experience."

It'll be interesting to see if this change in ownership has any effect on the Regent cruise experience, positively or negatively.  As someone that's sailed 175 or so days with them, I hope it'll be a positive development.  I for one will be watching as my next booking is likely to be next year after the acquisition.

New Owner for Regent Seven Seas Cruises?

Reuters are reporting today that Norwegian Cruise Lines are in talks to buy Prestige Cruise Holdings (PCH), the owner of Regent and Oceania in a deal worth $3billion.  Apollo Global Management (a private equity firm), the owners of PCH also own 20% of Norwegian.

Seven Seas Voyager anchored off Komodo Island - February 2014

As Regent is one of my favourite cruise lines, I wonder if this deal goes through will I be greeted with the large graphics on the hull so beloved by Norwegian the next time I sail?

New Style Tickets from Silversea

It's always really nice to return home after a long day's work to have an envelope with your cruise tickets waiting for you on the doormat.  I had that very pleasure this evening.  My tickets for my next Silversea cruise in September had arrived and they were the first I've received in their new format.  I'm really impressed!

Previously with Silversea, tickets were sent in a large silver box inside a wallet and comprised separate sections/pages for the cruise, air, excursions and luggage tags.  The wallet was a nice way of keeping everything together in your hand luggage when travelling.

Now, we still get the silver box (albeit slimmer) but all the tickets and information are professionally printed in a personalised booklet/journal (in Italy) detailing all your travel information, a day-by-day description of the cruise and information on the suite, ship and amenities aboard.  Printed luggage tags are included.  In my view it strikes a fine balance between detail and not being too bulky (it's about A5 size and mine was around 70 pages) that would put you off carrying it about.

Not only that but I can see myself keeping it on my bookshelf afterwards as a reminder of my travels (in addition to my blog entries of course!

Pacific Adventures (part 2)!

As well as sailing out of San Francisco to Papeete in September, in a fit of ebullience last year, I also booked with Silversea to fly back to Papeete in November to re-board Silver Shadow for its return voyage from French Polynesia back to the South American mainland and the port of Valparaiso and an overnight stay in Santiago.

The full itinerary is:

03 Nov 2014	Mon	Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia		19:00
04 Nov 2014	Tue	Bora Bora, Society Islands, French Polynesia	08:00	22:00
05 Nov 2014	Wed	Moorea, Society Islands, French Polynesia	08:00	17:00
06 Nov 2014	Thu	Fakarava, Tuamotu Islands	09:00	14:00
07 Nov 2014	Fri	Day at Sea
08 Nov 2014	Sat	Day at Sea
09 Nov 2014	Sun	Adamstown, Pitcairn Islands, United Kingdom	08:00	16:00
10 Nov 2014	Mon	Day at Sea
11 Nov 2014	Tue	Day at Sea
12 Nov 2014	Wed	Easter Island, Chile	14:00
13 Nov 2014	Thu	Easter Island, Chile		17:00
14 Nov 2014	Fri	Day at Sea
15 Nov 2014	Sat	Day at Sea
16 Nov 2014	Sun	Day at Sea
17 Nov 2014	Mon	Day at Sea
18 Nov 2014	Tue	Robinson Crusoe Island, Chile	08:00	18:00
19 Nov 2014	Wed	Day at Sea
20 Nov 2014	Thu	Valparaiso, Chile	08:00

I just couldn't miss the opportunity to visit some of the remotest islands in the world and to experience some British history with a visit to Pitcairn Island.  The highlight of this trip has to be the overnight stay to Easter Island lying 2,294 miles west of the Chilean mainland offering the opportunity to see the legendary Moai.  Averaging 7 metres in height and over 160 tons in weight and almost 900 in number these monolithic statues must rank as one of the must-sees on this planet.  So-much-so, it was declared a UNESCO World heritage site in 1995.







Keep checking back for regular reports from my trips on Silver Shadow in the Pacific in September and November.

A Pacific Adventure - Preview

The next cruise for me will be a Pacific adventure on Silversea.  I'll be travelling on Silver Shadow from San Francisco to Papeete.  Here she is docked in Vancouver a few years ago, when I met her for a Pacific crossing via Alaska.

Itinerary

24 Sep 2014	Wed	San Francisco, California, USA		17:00
30 Sep 2014	Tue	Hilo, Hawaii, USA	08:00	18:00
01 Oct 2014	Wed	Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii, USA	08:00	23:00
02 Oct 2014	Thu	Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii, USA	08:00
03 Oct 2014	Fri	Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii, USA		14:00
10 Oct 2014	Fri	Bora Bora, Society Islands, French Polynesia	09:00	22:00
11 Oct 2014	Sat	Moorea, Society Islands, French Polynesia	08:00	17:00
11 Oct 2014	Sat	Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia	20:00
12 Oct 2014	Sun	Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia

I'll be back in a Terrace Suite - the same one I had when I sailed from Vancouver to Tokyo a few years ago.

Silversea is a luxury cruise line offering all-inclusive six star service, with personal butler service in every suite on board - a real luxury that you soon learn to appreciate.  With fine dining picking up on the line's Italian heritage and in partnership with Relais & Chateaux, every mealtime is a fantastic experience.

And of course there's nothing quite like a chocolate (or chocolates!) on your pillow when you come back to your suite to retire for the evening.

I'll  be stepping aboard in 8 weeks, so standby for some regular updates during the cruise.