2026 "Hawaii,Tahiti & Marquesas" Cruise Log

Prologue


June 17, 2024

We began talking about future cruises some time ago, but with our less than stellar experience on our last Regent Cruise, we started looking at other cruise lines. This has led us to our choice of Holland America. Though it is a larger ship, our friends Phil and Janet, who we have sailed with before, love the line so we thought we would give it a try.

A call today to Brenda at Travel Leaders and within 20 minutes she had us booked in our cabin...7053, a Neptune Suite. It was chosen as it is near the Neptune Lounge, where Matt will be able to grab snacks throughout the day. As I will be in the sun daily, I also booked a private 2 person cabana (13' X 8') looking out over the ocean (one of 14 in a private upper deck area) for the entire cruise. With 20 sea days on this 35 day cruise, it will be used every day. There is also an area with loungers in the sun. With the cabana, you get:

Luxurious loungers and table, separate seating area, bathrobes & slippers, warm and cold towels, handheld fans, Evian Brumisateur spray, chilled bottled water setup, fruit basket, healthy breakfast and lunch choices, ice cream in the mid-afternoon and chocolate-dipped strawberries, frozen grapes and a glass of sparkling wine in the late afternoon.

 

June 23, 2024

Holland America lets you book excursions as soon as you have booked the cruise. We have studied all available, removed those that we have done in the past and booked.

Excursions booked:

 

February 20 Maui, Hawaii Molokini Crater & Turtle Snorkel
February 21 Hilo, Hawaii Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden
February 23 Kauai, Hawaii Wailua River Cruise & Fern Grotto
February 24 Kona, Hawaii Pelagic Wildlife Excursion
March 4 Raiatea, Fr. Polynesia Raiatea Reef Discovery
March 5 Papeete, Fr. Polynesia Tahiti's Natural Treasures
March 6 Papeete, Fr. Polynesia Ohana Catamaran Escapade
March 8 Moorea, Fr. Polynesia Motu Beach Picnic & Ray Feeding

 

July 19, 2025

The airline booking window has opened, so we have decided to fly Alaska Airlines from Sacramento to San Diego arriving 2 days before the cruise. This will allow us to spend one day visiting the San Diego Zoo, something I know Matt will enjoy. As we now know our flight dates, we also booked our hotel, the Hilton Garden Inn Bayside.
 

September 4, 2025

Specialty Dining Reservations opened today and we were able to book 3 complimentary dining venues: Tamarind (Pan-Asian), Pinacle Grill (Steakhouse), Canaletto (Italian) and one other restaurant, Morimoto By Sea (Japanese). We booked each of these early into the cruse and will book more of each onboard if they cater to our taste.
 

 

 

 

 

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2026 South Pacific Log