Cruise The World With Us 2026

Thursday – February 19, 2026 – Apia

Today’s featured photo is of a dog. What, you may ask, does a dog have in common with the title of this post? Well…there are some villages in Samoa that allow the villagers to eat dogs, and we were told the meat tastes like chicken. We were also informed that if you do not attend church on Sunday there is a fine of $100 per person. In addition, killing someone is punishable by burning your home and imprisonment for life. And…as a native Samoan woman you must have your legs covered while in public or be subject to a fine.

This Samoa is quite different from American Samoa. Population is just under 1,000,000 compared with under 60,000 for American Samoa. They drive on the left side of the road. Their tour buses are air conditioned and comfortable. There is one outstanding feature that is the same – the people are gracious to visitors and happy to see us.

Our excursion today was to include a stop at a waterfall, a beach and an abbreviated tour of the island. It did not disappoint. As we drove from the dock to the waterfall we caught a glimpse of the Immaculate Conception Cathedral not far from us. There are several photos of this church in today’s gallery. The church was damaged during an earthquake in 2009 and reopened to the public in 2014. We did not have the opportunity to go inside but understand the woodwork is beautiful.

Another point of interest we drove by was the Robert Lewis Stevenson Museum. The original home was completed in 1891 – 3 years before Stevenson’s death. It has been used as the residence for officials since that time and was converted to a museum at the end of the 20th century. You may remember a couple of Stevenson’s novels – Treasure Island and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Our guide for this excursion was Rosa. She advised that ours was her first tour. She gave us many facts about life in Samoa (like those in the first paragraph of this post). She said we would be stopping at Papapapaitai Falls – the tallest in Samoa at 328 feet. When we pulled into the parking lot to view the falls we didn’t realize there were 5 additional buses on the same tour – but with different languages in each bus. It somewhat ruins the magic of viewing a natural wonder with 120 people milling around vying for a photograph. You’ll see several shots of the falls and even a short video in today’s gallery.

Next on our excursion was time at Tafatafa Beach. This beach is located on the shore of Samoa opposite Apia so it took some time to reach it. When we arrived, we were given samples of Samoan fruits and a coconut with a hole in the top and a straw so we could sample coconut milk. The coconuts had been chilled, so it was like drinking milk from a refrigerator – but different. There are fruits not grown on Samoa – apples, grapes, pears, oranges to name a few. What we sampled included mango, pineapple, papaya, coconut and 3 or 4 others I can’t remember.

This beach is set to service many beachgoers. There were at least 15 huts where you could change in the open and a more private building nearby. We weren’t planning to get in the water to swim so we spent our time walking the sand or sitting in one of the huts. The sun was behind clouds so the temperature was not overbearing. We stayed at the beach for around an hour and a half then boarded our buses to return to the ship.

Rosa let us know we would be stopping at a grocery store on the way back (like the grocery store on American Samoa – Super Wal-Mart). We settled in for our ride to Apia. When we arrived at the town the driver wove in and out until he stopped at what appeared to be a market – not a grocery store. Rosa said we had 10 minutes to shop so we would return to the ship on time. There was a lady at the back of our bus who had been complaining most of the trip – and she complained about the shopping time. Jan, Kelsey and I wandered through the market which had individual stalls many of which were selling sarongs or jewelry. We found a t-shirt vendor who had t-shirts with Christian themes and bought several.

All but the complaining lady were on the bus within the 10 minutes allotted for shopping. Rosa left the bus to locate the lady and eventually brought her back – and the lady had to point out that she didn’t want to return and was forced to do so by Rosa. The complainer turned the remainder of our time in the bus into an uncomfortable ride. Rosa asked that we all calm down and say a prayer to end the day on a positive note.

On the way back to the ship we had a closer look at the Immaculate Conception Cathedral but no stop to admire it up close. When we returned to the ship, we had something to eat at the buffet which marked the end of our excursion.

You may view today’s photo gallery here.