Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Over 500 multinational tourists from around the world got first hand experience of riding a Samoan traditional Aiga bus, when the Coral Princess in Pago Pago Harbor at about 7am yesterday, taking up the entire wharf space and bringing in about 2,000 passengers, plus about a 1000 crew members.

Ms Genevieve Gregg, who was the only local tour guide contracted to the Coral Princess Cruise Liner company, said this is the last cruise ship of this season.

She is owner of Pago Pago Tradewinds Tours and was on hand to direct the more than 500 cruise ship tourists on to the more than 20 buses that were seen lined up along the outside fence of Port Administration, Fagagotogo side.

The buses were there to take them on three different tours going to three different locations on the east and west sides of Tutuila. Most of the buses were decorated with coconut leaves. The tours were scheduled for three hours each.

According to Ms Gregg, the welcoming ava ceremony performance was one of day’s events, at Aloau, with two matai co-hosting the traditional show.

Tourists were also to get a taste of local food from the umu, along with demonstrations of daily life, including hand washing, weaving and families in a village set up — a manmade village inside a huge compound belonging to the Loto family held the event.

Other buses went sight- seeing only — tourists got a chance to see the Eastside villages and visit the Marine Sanctuary, and then travelled west to the LMS church in Leone, the Tsunami Monument, Sliding Rock, etc.

Ms Gregg told Samoa News that there would be another new site located at Fagasa village, for more of cultural traditional displays, performance and demonstrations. It will be ready for the new season, which begins the next month. Fagasa is well-known for their dolphin legends.

Cruise ship Coral Princess left American Samoa for Tonga at 6pm, on its way to Hawaii.