The second port of call for the Carnival Luminosa was Papeete, Tahiti. I can’t say that Tahiti was on my bucket list because it was so remote that I never thought I would get there. But I have now gotten there. I only saw the city – Papeete – and I think the best parts of Tahiti are the beaches and the mountains, so it probably wasn’t the best view of the island. But I can now say that I have been there.
Being both frugal and unprepared for this portion of the trip, we did not plan on an excursion. Instead we toured the city on foot, hitting several of the places on Trip Advisor’s list of the best free places to visit. The ship docked very close to the center of the city so we walked just a few blocks to the Municipal Market which is basically a large indoor flea market. We didn’t stay long as all of the stalls there seemed to have implemented “cruise ship pricing” – everything was VERY expensive. We passed by a cute yellow church and fed some feral chickens on our way to the Paofai Gardens, a large waterfront park. We played a bit on the playground there before heading back into the city.
On the way back into town we went into the (free) Robert Wan Pearl Museum and learned quite a bit about pearls and pearl farming. We had an opportunity to purchase a string of pearls for $86,000 but passed. Before heading back to the ship we stopped at a cafe and sampled the crepes. Not bad but I have had better. And the service was terrible.
We didn’t walk as far in Papeete as we did in Honolulu but still logged nearly 16,000 steps.
We spent time in the casino and, for the first time on the cruise I won money! It was only $10 but I won! Still down $690.
Late night cards were also good for me – I won 2 games out of 3.