We relaxed by the pool, enjoyed the fantastic meals and spent time with new friends, most who have traveled to over 100 countries.
This post will deal with the ship. It is the fourth in the line, named Aranui. It’s 5 because 4 is an unlucky number in Chinese culture. The ship is owned by the Wong family from China. Helen Wong, the ship’s owner was on our cruise.
The company has an amazing corporate culture. They only employ Polynesian crew. They are committed to keeping the Polynesian culture alive and to share it with their customers, The crew is amazing. Everyone works as a team. I have never seen and felt such a family friendly atmosphere in any organization. Three of the crew have over 38 years service with the company and proudly tell you they know the Wong family on a more personal level.
On our last night on board, Helen Wong visited every table and thanked everyone for choosing Aranui for their vacation.
We have never experienced a cruise like this. We were never asked to purchase anything. There were no specials in the jewelery boutique. There were no specials promoted in the spa and no art sale. Tipping was not mentioned once. No deals in the tattoo studio, even though many passengers got tattoos on the trip.Tattoo studio, jewelry boutique, gift shop, spa were all available if we chose. Nothing was pushed on us.
It is a measure of the respect the owners have for both employees by paying them a living wage and for passengers by not pushing extras to gain more revenue. This is a rare occurrence in the cruise world that is world class and first among cruise companies. They could learn a lot from Aranui.
Let’s talk about the ship. It is small. We learned small is better. The ship was specially built as a multi purpose ship. The front end is a freighter that delivers goods to remote islands. The back is a cruise ship the can take a maximum of 220 passengers. On our cruise, there were only 130 passengers. We didn’t deliver freight because they don’t have a shipping contract with Pitcairn. Because the ship is only 126 meters long, it does tend to roll in heavy seas. We came prepared and didn’t need the sea sickness pills.
We were on the pool deck, deck 7. Here is the floor plan.
As you can see, there were only 18 cabins on our deck and not all were occupied. There are 8 decks for passengers. You can get everything from a deluxe suite to sleeping dorm style with 7 other passengers.
So, what does a cabin on a freighter/cruise ship look?
On the last night, the entire crew greeted us as we entered the dining room.
the Aranui is the only ship I have ever been on that allows and encourages visits to the bridge.
As you know by now, we were taken to shore by barge. Some days the waves were huge. The crew always got us on and off safely.
it was amazing to see the cranes lift the barges on board. I timed it. It took 1 minute, 4 seconds.
We can’t say enough about how much we love this ship, We will be back on board for a future sailing. Maybe The Cook Islands? Maybe the Marquesas?