Category Archives: Ports of Call

Raiatea Cruise Port

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

Petrohué River Rafting Adventure

One of the excursions offered on Holland America Oosterdam in Puerto Montt, Chile was called Petrohué River Rafting Adventure. It promised a class 3-4 rafting trip with spectacular scenery of old-growth forests and breathtaking views of the surrounding mountains and … Continue reading

Posted in Holland America, Oosterdam, Ports of Call, Shore Excursions | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Snorkeling in Moorea

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

Rockland Estate in Saint Martin

Having already tried the zipline at Pelican Peak on our last visit to Saint Martin, we booked the four-event tour at a different place on our visit on Enchanted Princess. The shore excursion listed on Princess’ website called it Rockland … Continue reading

Posted in Caribbean, Enchanted Princess, Ports of Call, Princess, Shore Excursions | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Puerto Montt, Chile Cruise Port

Puerto Montt is a city in southern Chile. It’s the capitol of the Los Lagos region and serves as a gateway to the Lake District, the Andes Mountains, and the Chilean part of Patagonia. It has a population of over … Continue reading

Posted in Holland America, Oosterdam, Ports of Call, South and Central America | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Moorea Cruise Port

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

Saint Martin Cruise Port

Saint Martin is a 34-square mile island that is half French and half Dutch. The story is that a Frenchman and a Dutchman started out from the same spot walking the perimeter of the island in opposite directions with the … Continue reading

Posted in Caribbean, Enchanted Princess, Ports of Call, Princess | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Skagway Cruise Port

Temperatures in Skagway, Alaska range from wintertime lows in the 20’s Fahrenheit to summertime highs in the 60’s Fahrenheit. It averages about a week’s worth of rain per month with the least rainy months from February to June and the … Continue reading

Posted in Alaska, Holland America, Port Cities, Ports of Call, USA, Zaandam | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Tahiti Beginner’s Dive

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

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