On MS Maasdam at last!

Sailing schedule while we are on board, until end of May

We slept very well last night but Paul was awake early.  He hadn't heard the rooster crowing but yet his brain was switched to 'rooster is going to crow' mode.  Oh well.

We had a nice breakfast and then had to wait for our lift to the port.  The drive took longer than expected because of the high volume of traffic going through Pape'ete and the fact that there were roadworks as well.

Once we were cleared through port security were were allowed onto the ship where we were given temporary key cards and we would be able to fetch our ship ID and key card later when the crew office was open.

Paul had to get down to business with a handover from the outgoing staff captain.  There was no time for him to unpack or get changed into his uniform.  While he was involved with the handover I unpacked my suitcase and then started on Paul's.  After unpacking and getting our cabin looking a bit like 'home' again I had a wander around the ship to see if there were any familiar faces on board - whether it be dining room staff, stewards, security staff, etc.  Yes - a few were still on board which made me feel very happy, more so seeing them again.  Some staff were on leave and there were some new faces as well. 

The handover finished around lunch time and Paul dug out a uniform, found an iron in one of the self-service laundry rooms and pressed out the wrinkles - good enough to look suitable again.  Later on we went down to the bosun's room and retrieved Paul's trunk which has got more uniforms in and other bits and bobs he needs.

The Maasdam's route to Fakarava

The rest of the day went by quickly and soon preparations were made to set sail. 

Tomorrow the Maasdam will anchor just off Fakarava, Tuamotu, French Polynesia.