Cruise 02: Days at Sea, American Samoa, and Samoa

Monday, July 28, 2025 – Tuesday, July 29, 2025
At Sea

With our stop at the Cook Islands called off, we now had two full days at sea ahead of us as we sailed to American Samoa. My hopes of calmer seas were dashed shortly after I awoke this morning. The ocean was very rough, causing the ship to sway and bob in the water as we sailed. It was affecting me considerably and I was unable to eat much at breakfast out of fear that I would be sick. The pools remained closed during this time as they were unsafe for swimming due to the waves. I spent much of the day resting in my cabin. I’d hoped to go for a walk around the walking track, but the seas were far too turbulent. I eventually went down to the atrium to get a coffee and do some reading before dinner. I ate little at dinner and soon returned to my cabin so I could get some sleep.

The next morning was no better than the previous day and I spent the day doing much the same as yesterday. In the afternoon, the captain made an announcement that there had been a magnitude 8.8 earthquake off the coast of Kamchatka, Russia. This earthquake triggered tsunami warnings and alerts across the Pacific. The captain reassured us that we were in no imminent danger because it was far safer to be sailing in deep waters – the true danger only occurs the closer one gets to land. Additionally, the danger should be past by the time we reached American Samoa in the morning.

The choppy seas continued to make me feel unwell throughout the day. My previous cruise had sailed in the wake of a typhoon back in February, which had caused some rougher days, but the current sea conditions seemed much worse to me. I eventually went down to the duty free store onboard the ship to search for some motion sickness medicine. As luck would have it, they had some in store and the price wasn’t bad either. Once I took a pill, my seasickness mostly went away. Needless to say, I was looking forward to finally reaching American Samoa and setting foot on land once again.

 
Wednesday, July 30, 2025 – Thursday, July 31, 025
Port: Pago Pago, American Samoa

The ship arrived at Pago Pago in American Samoa early this morning. Happily we were properly docked and did not have to take tenders to reach the shore. When I went up to the top deck to head to the buffet for breakfast, I was disappointed to see that the area around the dock had very little to offer visitors. The general mood on board, from what I could tell by overhearing conversations, was that everyone was unhappy having two days in this port.

I took my time getting ready this morning as I was in no rush whatsoever to go ashore since we had an abundance of time in Pago Pago. When I finally left the ship, my first impressions of the area were quickly confirmed. What few buildings there were in the small town were mostly office and administrative buildings. I could find nowhere for a coffee or an open restaurant for lunch or even dinner this evening. I went for a walk through the town, which took less time than I’d anticipated (or hoped). There was not much else to do around Pago Pago, so I returned to the ship.

My mood and opinion of this cruise was worsening by the day. Each new stop, every meal, brough more disappointment. The cruise did have organized show excursions, but they were outrageously expensive at $150 to $200 per person for a three to four-hour tour! The ‘tours’ were little more than glorified shuttles to beaches, with perhaps a stop for souvenir shopping or to see some farm. I had done several such excursions on my last cruise and had not enjoyed them. The idea of the excursions sounds far better than the reality because they don’t go to the fabulous beaches where the resorts are located.

I remained aboard the ship for the duration of the second day in Pago Pago. With absolutely nothing to do on shore, the vast majority of passengers appeared to have done the same. Everywhere I went on the boat was packed with passengers! I ended up napping and watching movies in my cabin for much of the afternoon. It was a dull, waste of a day.

When we set sail this evening, we had a short journey to reach the nearby country of Samoa. However, we would be crossing the international dateline in the process and thus losing an entire 24 hours! When I went to bed, it was July 31, but it would be August 2 when I awoke only a few hours later.
 

Saturday, August 02, 2025
Port: Apia, Samoa

Country 139: Samoa

As I walked to breakfast this morning, I looked out over the port of Apia in Samoa and I was pleasantly surprised by the view. The town was large and there appeared to be quite a few places to go for a walk. I even spied a large park along the waterfront that looked pretty. It was a shame that we’d been forced to waste an entire day in the wasteland of Pago Pago, when the time would have been better spent in a port like Apia!

It was quite warm out by the time I left the ship. The port was located a fair distance away from the town center, but the walk was nice enough and followed along the water. As I approached town, I veered right so I could walk around the large park that I had seen from the ship. The views across the water were very pretty. I was surprised to not see anyone else walking around this area – it was so peaceful and relaxing!

After leaving the park, I went in search of something to eat in town. There was an abundance of places to eat and I was a bit overwhelmed by the choices after the meager (or zero) offerings in recent ports. Settling on a cute café, I went inside and was warmly welcomed by the staff. For lunch, I ordered from the breakfast menu and had a egg, bacon, and cheese toasty. I coupled that with a banana-peanut butter smoothie that was divine. The food was delicious and I was happy to finally get a decent meal after the poor options onboard the cruise. I spent some time reading before ordering a banana maple syrup cupcake for dessert.

I enjoyed my walk back to the ship this afternoon. Surprisingly, I came across a McDonald’s in town – I had not expected to find one in this remote part of the world! The place was obviously popular, with the drive-thru line stretching down the street. I decided to get a frozen Hawaiian Punch to cool me down from the afternoon heat.

I returned to the ship and made my way to the atrium café, where I hung out for the remainder of the afternoon. We set sail around 16:00, leaving for our final full day at sea. When I was at dinner later in the evening, the captain made another announcement: we were skipping our stop in Dravuni, Fiji and would now have a extra full day at the final port, Lautoka, Fiji. They claimed the Dravuni port sustained damage from the recent tsunami, though I could find nothing online to corroborate this claim. The tsunami, such as it was, was so small, especially by the time it reached this part of the Pacific, that I found the story from the captain a bit hard to believe. I was not alone either – many passengers were angrily talking about this latest cut to the itinerary over dinner.

 
Sunday, August 03, 2025
At Sea

With the return to sea, the ships was once again rocking and rolling in the choppy waves. It wasn’t as bad as it had been earlier in the cruise, but I did need to take more motion sickness medicine. This was the last full day at sea of the cruise, and I was eagerly looking forward to the entire experience coming to an end.

I spent the day lazily around the ship. After breakfast, I took a short nap back in my cabin, before watching some TV. Per my usual routine, I returned to the atrium in the afternoon to do some reading while enjoying a coffee. Dinner was a letdown, as usual. Recently, I’d settled into having salad and sometimes pasta for my dinners. I found that if I arrived at the buffet at the start of dinner service, the salad bar didn’t look as sad. The pasta was hardly what one would consider fresh cooked, but if I added enough parmesan cheese and some tomatoes, it became okay. I considered going to see the evening show at the theater, but I ended up hanging out in my cabin instead.