American Samoa and at Sea in the South Pacific

When we last visited American Samoa in October of 2009, it was just three short weeks after a tsunami that devastated their small island.  Despite the destruction we saw all over their island, their indomitable spirit was evident:  the friendly citizens waved and greeted us with broad smiles as we toured their storm-ravaged towns.  We were anxious to see the progress that had been made since that time.

Because we were delayed in leaving Punta Arenas, our scheduled stop in Pago Pago was not only pushed from Saturday to Sunday, but it was also shortened by three hours. 

American Samoa is one of the US territories so we were thrilled to see the Stars and Stripes flying as we enjoyed our lovely sail in.  It is the only port on the entire cruise where the American dollar is the currency, and we welcomed the thought of not having to try and figure out the cost of items and “translate” it into dollars! 

Pago Pago (which is pronounced pongo pongo in the native Samoan language) has a population of about 4000 so when our ship of about 1800 people (guests and crew) arrives, it is quite an event for these people!  The ship towers over everything in the town.  Being a Sunday, where Sundays are still treated like Sundays, there was little activity beyond the harbor.  In fact, Pam’s shore excursion was cancelled because it involved a ceremony that couldn’t be performed on a Sunday.  About 90% of the people are active in churches, and the presence of churches all over the island is amazing!  Even the National Park, while open, does not have park rangers on duty.

Chuck and I opted not to do a tour since we’d been visited the island before. Pam selected a different tour after hers was canceled.  Al chose to head to McDonalds, where he could use the wi-fi. 

After a very brief go-around in a wi-fi spot near the ship, we returned the computer to our room and headed out to explore the town.  It was a very hot and steamy day.  In fact, when we sailed in, the moment we stepped out onto the verandah, our glasses and camera lenses immediately steamed up. 

Our first priority was to be able to find a mailbox where we could send our absentee ballots, which we were able to do within a few minutes of leaving the port.  Then we headed along the water in the direction of the national park.  I knew that I wouldn’t be walking all the way there – it was way too hot – but Chuck had considered doing it.  During our walk, we encountered many people, most of whom were from the ship.  There was one small grocery store (think a very, very small 7-11), and another small shop that were open, but that was about it.  I got as far as the famed Sadie Thompson House (where W. Somerset Maugham stayed and was inspired to write the short story Rain).  Then I headed back to get out of the heat and humidity.  As I returned, I heard some absolutely glorious singing coming from a church whose doors and windows were wide open.  I crossed the street and walked the short block to listen to the music, and a lady indicated that I was welcome to enter (despite my tourist garb).  I slipped into a pew at the back and noticed that there were several others from the ship enjoying the music, a few moments of peace, and an opportunity to get in from the heat.  After the hymn ended, the minister stood up and began his sermon in the Samoan language.  I understood exactly one word (“Amen”), but I sat quietly and enjoyed observing the people as they listened and fanned themselves in the heat of the day.  When the sermon ended, there was another opportunity to hear the exquisite music.  I finally left after a prayer (again understanding only the one word), having spent 45 minutes taking in the lovely setting and the peaceful atmosphere.  It was time well-spent, and I was very glad I stopped in. I would have loved to get a CD of the music, but regrettably they were sold out. 

As I browsed the handcraft booths that were set up near the ship, I heard an announcement coming from the ship saying that there was a “surprise” presentation scheduled for 11:00 AM (just ten minutes away) about life in American Samoa and about the National Park, given by one of the park rangers.  I rushed inside and managed to get there fairly quickly.  I met Al, who told me I’d only missed the first few minutes.  It was an enjoyable presentation and since I hadn’t done a shore excursion, I was glad to be reintroduced to the customs of Samoa in this way.  After the presentation, both Al and I went to get National Park stamps.  I have a National Park passport, but I forgot to bring it, so I’ll have to insert the stamp into the passport when I get home.  I got stamps for Pam and Chuck who were both still ashore.

Chuck walked much further than I had.  During his walk he came across a high school and was quite interested in exploring it.  He said that there was a large auditorium probably for all-school events and definitely for basketball since there were basketball nets and backboards (he wondered what teams they played on such a small island).  Along the side was a large longboat which said “Samoana Sharks” since the school was Samoana High School and the team mascot was “The Sharks”.  Above the walls that opened to the outside were paintings for various school aspects such as the National Honor Society, Music Club, English Department, etc. Since it was Sunday and no one was around, he took the liberty to walk through the open gate and notice that classrooms were laid out in a campus with buildings for each department: “Social Studies Building”, “Math Building”, “English Building”, and of course the dreaded “Administration Building.”  On one outdoor wall was painted, in neat calligraphy, the school goals and objectives (see picture included in Picasa album).  During his walk he also saw a pleasant beach near the port, the Governor’s Mansion on a small hill above the harbor, and too many buildings that still showed evidence of the tsunami damage.  He had taken pictures of the damage when it was current in 2009 and wished that there had been no sign of destruction when looking at the same areas on this cruise. While much had been rebuilt, some abandoned buildings still remained.

Our stay in Pago Pago was way too short.  We would have appreciated more time there, but we were glad that this port wasn’t eliminated.  As we sailed away, we had added a few passengers.  Each year Stein Kruse, the President and CEO of Holland America Line (and now also Seaborne Line,) joins the ship for a few days during the world cruise.  While onboard, there is emphasis on Mariner Appreciation.  (Mariner is the term used for those who have sailed with HAL before.)  That night we were invited to a cocktail party and dinner in the Pinnacle hosted by Stein Kruse, Captain Jonathan, and Hotel Manager Henk Mensink, as well as Sally Andrews (HAL) Vice President of Public Relations, Mariner Society Director Gerald Bernhoft .  Once again we were seated at a table with an officer, Bart Groeneveld, a young man from Holland who is the Culinary Operations Manager.  This time there were only four of us (Chuck, Pam, Al, and myself) in addition to the officer so it was much more intimate and easier to hear the conversation at the table. We all really enjoyed visiting with him, and he was a wealth of information about life on the ship in general and not just the culinary department. 

One interesting tidbit that Bart told us was that when the ship is at sea, they can make the decision as to when to set clocks ahead or back and which date will be either skipped or doubled as we cross the International Dateline.  Since we were scheduled to cross this landmark (maybe not the correct term for a line through the ocean) we were very interested in finding out which date would be chosen and why.  He explained that sometimes an entire date is skipped but sometimes they start the day on one date and finish the day on another date.  (This is to accommodate people who celebrate birthdays on either of the two days.  When we were on the Grand Voyage, we started the day on October 18 and ended it on October 19.)  This time they opted to skip Monday the 20^th because Tuesday was Mardi Gras.  We knew that they were doing big festivities for Mardi Gras, and I was pretty sure they wouldn’t want to change it to Lundi Gras!    

So, we went to bed on Sunday night the 19^th and woke up the next morning on Tuesday, the 21^st.  That day was designated Mariner Appreciation Day.  There were two big events in particular that honored mariners.  One was a presentation by Stein Kruse about the company itself.  We were especially interested in some of the new itineraries they’re considering as well as some of the policies.  For one, the question of smoking came up.  (This is always a hot topic – no pun intended – among cruisers.)  A new fleetwide policy went into effect for all cruises starting after January 15^th (we started January 6^th so we aren’t affected yet) that restricted smoking in staterooms.  He told us that in the future smoking will probably be completely eliminated because 93% of the customers do not smoke.  There was a rousing cheer at that comment.  While we appreciate the fact that some of our friends are smokers, and find it difficult to go without smoking for long periods of time, we also are far more aware of smoke on this ship as opposed to others.  We would be delighted if they made that change sooner rather than later.  Sorry, smokers!   Also during the presentation, the subject of the Costa disaster came up.  Once again the issue of safety on HAL ships was addressed.  They will never do anything that would jeopardize the safety of the passengers – they are always training in some way.  (The following day we were going down the midship stairs and came across several crew members who were decked out in firefighting equipment, complete with tanks and masks.  They were involved in a mock crew fire drill.  Holland America is to be commended for their high standard of safety for passengers!)  We found the presentation to be interesting and enlightening.

On the same evening Stein Kruse hosted a gala event on the Lido midships area.  We knew that the crew had been working for days to decorate this area of the Lido and on the morning of the 21^st, it was blocked off to all passengers while the final decorations were assembled and finishing touches put together.  At 4:30, Chuck, Al, Pam, and I all went upstairs to secure a place in line so we could get a seat.  The Lido area just isn’t big enough for all 1100 passengers to get seats, especially with a huge buffet spread around three sides and a French quarter building assembled right over the midship pool!  When the doors opened at 5:00, we each raced in to get a table, and we ended up getting three separate tables – far better than no table at all.  Chuck had secured a table for six, so Bill and Candy were able to join us.  We were not far from the stage where the Mardi Gras king and queen would preside over the Mardi Gras parade. 

It certainly was a festive event, and food and beverages abounded!  However, it was so crammed with people that we decided we’d sit and enjoy what we could until the regular dining room opened and we’d eat there.  Pam, Chuck, Bill, Candy, and I opted for dinner there while Al got a few things from the buffet and returned to his room. The volume of everything was so high that it was impossible to hear or think!  I found myself getting hoarse just trying to talk to Pam, who was seated next to me! 

After dinner, Chuck and I decided to return to the Lido and see what it was like at that point.  It was much less crowded and not nearly as noisy.  We were able to walk around and actually see what was going on, take pictures, and enjoy the festivities.  Another year, we decided, we will let the party begin without us and go up after it’s been going on for awhile so we can actually appreciate all the work that’s gone into the decorations and entertainment!  We both enjoyed a crepe, and Chuck found some other things of interest.  We got a kick out of watching the palm reader and the caricature artist.  The jazz band was still playing, and it was a very entertaining evening!

The party ended at 9:00, and for the next two hours, we could hear the crew pounding away as they disassembled all those decorations they had worked so hard to put together just a few short hours earlier!  Once again, they put forth amazing effort to keep us entertained!

During the next couple of days we were kept busy with all sorts of activities.  On the formal night before Sydney, we had invited Travel Guide Barbara Haenni to have dinner with us.  We had gotten to know her during our Voyage of the Vikings cruise last summer where she dined with us on four of the six formal nights.  This time she has been busy attending captains’ dinners, but she was free on the 23^rd, and we were delighted that she was able to join us.  We thoroughly enjoyed our time with her – she is such a wealth of knowledge and an absolute delight to talk to.  When we got back to our room, we were pleased to discover our third gift of the cruise – a Tiffany crystal votive bearing the Holland America logo. It was a lovely gift, one that we will be happy to display.

One of the passengers had asked Captain Jonathan if it would be possible to do scenic cruising near the Ball’s Pyramid, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the waters just east of Australia.  Originally he announced that it would not be possible, but on the last sea day before arriving in Sydney, he informed us that having studied the charts, we would be able to divert slightly in order to visit this amazing site.  Ball’s Pyramid is the remains of a shield volcano that formed about 7 million years ago.  It rises 1844 feet high and breaks the surface of the Pacific Ocean to form a pyramidal shaped island.  This natural phenomenon is part of a chain of islands called the Lord Howe Rise and is part of the submerged microcontinent of Zealandia..  As we went out on the bow to take in the view, we were surprised to find a bird sitting atop the ship’s mast.  Upon further study, we realized that this bird had red feet and a blue beak.  We have yet to determine the kind of bird, but someone seemed to think it was a red-footed booby.  It was a wonderful way to end our days at sea approaching Australia. Once again Captain Jonathan had bent over backwards to come through for us!   What an amazing captain! 

Having now crossed the International Dateline and gained another hour (the night of Mardi Gras), we anticipate gaining one more hour (which will put us 17 hours ahead of Chicago)  before our arrival at Sydney, where, sadly, not only Pam, but Bill and Candy will disembark and head home.  We will miss Pam sharing our room with us and keeping us straight.  Pam has been a wonderful companion, and we’re so glad to have had the opportunity to travel with her and get to know her even better!   We will also miss our delightful conversations with Bill and Candy, and we wish all three of them safe travels home! 

We would also like to take the opportunity to wish a happy birthday to our cousin Jeff, who will be celebrating a milestone birthday on the 27^th!  Happy Birthday, Jeff!  Hope you have a fantastic day and many more to come! 

BT