Guest Lynda Gavigan Halttunen and her husband Don sent us several great posts from their 30-day South Pacific cruise on Westerdam. Enjoy “cruising” with them!

We arrived in Papeete, Tahiti, at 9:00 p.m. We sat on the top deck and watched the “sail-in.” We over-nighted on the dock, but didn’t go into town until the following morning. I bought a few souvenirs/gifts at the open-air market. The vanilla beans were $42! I loved that everyone spoke French and that the town/island had a very French sea-side feel. We returned to the ship for an early sailaway.

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Guest Lynda Gavigan Halttunen and her husband Don sent us several great posts from their 30-day South Pacific cruise on Westerdam. Enjoy “cruising” with them!

On Moorea we rented an Avis car. We had a map and since Peter is a taxi driver in Australia, he drove us all around the island, including up to Belvedere which made the bays look like Norwegian Fjords. We saw the Sofitel hotel where Don had stayed for a week the last time he was here. We had a nice lunch on the golf course which played Latin dance music.

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Guest Lynda Gavigan Halttunen and her husband Don sent us several great posts from their 30-day South Pacific cruise on Westerdam. Enjoy “cruising” with them!

Today we stopped in Bora Bora for two days! The morning sun rising over the mountain was spectacular. The first day we took the local $5 shuttle bus to the beach and had lunch at Bloody Mary’s restaurant. A man on the ship from Seattle — Joe — chatted with us and told us that he had participated in building the restaurant with sand floors. His wife is from Moorea.

The moon over the sea in the early mooning was beautiful. This is where they filmed an episode of “Amazing Race.” The hut shaped hotels over the water cost over $1000/night. The second day we somewhat successfully were able to check e-mail at the Aloha Café.

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Guest Lynda Gavigan Halttunen and her husband Don sent us several great posts from their 30-day South Pacific cruise on Westerdam. Enjoy “cruising” with them!

After another day at sea, we docked at Raiatea, Society Island — a French speaking port of French Polynesia that uses francs for currency. We skipped exercise in order to go on deck and take beautiful photos of the “sail in.” It was very hot and muggy, but in the post office we were able to buy internet minutes and clear our e-mail.

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Guest Lynda Gavigan Halttunen and her husband Don sent us several great posts from their 30-day South Pacific cruise on Westerdam. Enjoy “cruising” with them!

After a “catch-up day at sea” luckily we tendered into Rarotonga (one of the Cook Islands), a New Zealand protectorate. We were told that on the last cruise, the water was too rough to get off the ship. We took a $4 “clockwise” local bus tour of the island. The locals bury their dead in the front yard. There were churches of all denomination and no internet connection. Don loved this island and would love to return for an extended visit.

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Thanks to Kelsey Differding, HAL’s corporate giving coordinator, for sending in this post.

On June 1, Holland America Line welcomed 200 guests aboard Westerdam for the annual Home From the Sea luncheon, a benefit for Seattle’s Catholic Seafarers’ Center (CSC). As part of the event, President and CEO Stein Kruse presented gifts to the Most Rev. J. Peter Sartain, archbishop of Seattle, and The Rev. Anthony “Tony” Haycock, Catholic port chaplain. The CSC presented Westerdam Captain John Scott with a donation of phone cards for Westerdam crew members.

The CSC also presented awards to Anna Roberts and Hunter Bloch, representatives from the First Avenue Starbucks, for their contributions and dedication to the center. Guests then enjoyed a wonderful four-course lunch and had an opportunity to tour the ship.

The Catholic Seafarers’ Center, which is located in Belltown, offers a place that seafarers of all nations and faiths can call home. The center provides an inviting environment for visiting crew members in Seattle to enjoy a variety of activities, make a phone call, use a computer or catch a shuttle ride to one of the city’s many shops or attractions. The center’s chaplain boards visiting ships and offers pastoral care, phone cards and hospitality to seafarers.

Stein Kruse (left) with the Most Rev. J. Peter Sartain.

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Guest Lynda Gavigan Halttunen and her husband Don sent us several great posts from their 30-day South Pacific cruise on Westerdam. Enjoy “cruising” with them!

Somehow we skipped a day and added a day between crossing the Equator and the International Date Line again. This gave us two 4/19/2013 — Don’s 70th birthday. The first 4/19 was his “pretend birthday” and the second 4/19 was his real birthday. Peter and Anne-Maree gave him a nice watch and so did I!! The crew gave Don a birthday cake and sang to him, twice!!

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Guest Lynda Gavigan Halttunen and her husband Don sent us several great posts from their 30-day South Pacific cruise on Westerdam. Enjoy “cruising” with them!

After crossing the International Date Line we stopped at Tabuaeran, Fanning Island. This Island is the land that time forgot. No running water, no electricity, no cars, no gas stations, no stores and no restaurants, but there was one bar! We delivered the school supplies and some fruit from the ship to the teachers. School only goes to 6th grade. No one wears shoes and pigs roam everywhere. The sea water was pristine and the locals all appeared genuinely happy. I was impressed that Holland America made donations of toiletries and linens to the locals.

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