Category Archives: Pacific Ocean & Islands

Vava’u Tonga Cruise Port

Posted on November 14, 2025 by LBcruiseshipblogger

Neiafu, Vava’u Tonga Neiafu is the second largest city in Tonga with a population around 4000 people. It is located in the island archipelago of Vava’u, which encompasses about 50 islands in the north of the Kingdom of Tonga and … Continue reading →

Posted in Holland America, Noordam, Pacific Ocean & Islands, Ports of Call | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Rarotonga Cook Islands Cruise Port

Posted on October 3, 2025 by LBcruiseshipblogger

Rarotonga is an island of volcanic origin in the South Pacific. Though the name has tonga in it, it is not part of the Kingdom of Tonga, but rather one of the Cook Islands. At just over 26 square miles … Continue reading →

Posted in Holland America, Noordam, Pacific Ocean & Islands, Ports of Call | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Raiatea Cruise Port

Posted on July 18, 2025 by LBcruiseshipblogger

Holland America Noordam docked at the cruise ship port in Uturoa, Raiatea, an island in French Polynesia 146 miles northwest of Tahiti and just under 29 miles southeast of Bora Bora. The dock is right in town with no barriers … Continue reading →

Posted in Holland America, Noordam, Pacific Ocean & Islands, Ports of Call | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Snorkeling in Moorea

Posted on June 13, 2025 by LBcruiseshipblogger

Moorea Snorkel Safari As we disembarked the tender in Moorea, a guy with a sign for our excursion number (13) stood in an empty boat with rows of seats under a canvas top just across the dock. The top of … Continue reading →

Posted in Holland America, Noordam, Pacific Ocean & Islands, Ports of Call, Shore Excursions | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Moorea Cruise Port

Posted on May 9, 2025 by LBcruiseshipblogger

Bahia d’ Opunoha or Opunohu Bay is where cruise ships often anchor when visiting Moorea in the Society Islands of French Polynesia. Passengers tender to a pier near the small remote town of Papetoai. There isn’t much near the pier … Continue reading →

Posted in Holland America, Noordam, Pacific Ocean & Islands, Ports of Call | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Tahiti Beginner’s Dive

Posted on April 4, 2025 by LBcruiseshipblogger

Our cruise from San Diego to Sydney, Australia on Holland America Noordam had an overnight port stop in Papeete, Tahiti. We booked the cruise through Vacations to Go. When you book through Vacations to Go they offer shore excursions at … Continue reading →

Posted in Holland America, Noordam, Pacific Ocean & Islands, Ports of Call | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Tahiti Van Tour

Posted on February 28, 2025 by LBcruiseshipblogger

Following our missed port in Kiritimati, we arrived in Papeete, Tahiti at noon, a couple hours ahead of Holland America Noordam’s scheduled 2pm arrival. We had nothing planned for that day, but found people with signs for bus or taxi … Continue reading →

Posted in Holland America, Noordam, Pacific Ocean & Islands, Ports of Call | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Papeete, Tahiti Cruise Port

Posted on January 24, 2025 by LBcruiseshipblogger

It seemed like a tight squeeze to get a cruise ship through the narrow entrance to the harbor in Papeete, Tahiti, but the Noordam docked next to the much larger Ovation of the Seas so apparently even a large ship … Continue reading →

Posted in Holland America, Noordam, Pacific Ocean & Islands, Port Cities, Ports of Call | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Snorkeling With Whales

Posted on December 20, 2024 by LBcruiseshipblogger

Our trans-Pacific cruise on Holland America Noordam made an overnight stop in Tahiti. We had no set plans on the day we arrived, so we took a last-minute island tour that was available through locals at the port. For the … Continue reading →

Posted in Guest Blogs, Holland America, Noordam, Pacific Ocean & Islands, Ports of Call, Shore Excursions | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Other Christmas Island

Posted on November 15, 2024 by LBcruiseshipblogger

Christmas island is most known for the annual breeding migration of its red crabs, which occurs each summer as the crabs take 4-5 weeks to migrate to their spawning grounds. This happens during what residents of the northern hemisphere would … Continue reading →

Posted in Holland America, Noordam, Pacific Ocean & Islands | Tagged , | Leave a comment