Papeete Tours

Hi Everyone,

We are going on a 28 day cruise to all of the South Pacific islands. Unfortunately the ship's excursions are full. Has anyone done a private tour on Papeete? We will be there overnight and then until 5pm.

Any information would be appreciated.

Thanks...Margaret

Check out the boards for "ports of call" and JOIN YOUR ROLL CALL.

The Tahiti cruise roll call is almost always busy, full of other members and usually LOTS of independent tours with others from the roll call.

Here is your roll call: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2031190

Here is the ports of call thread: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=104

Hi Everyone,

 

We are going on a 28 day cruise to all of the South Pacific islands. Unfortunately the ship's excursions are full.

That is the problem with Princess using a 3200 passenger ship in Tahiti area.

Princess used to have a 680 passenger ship there. And that is the size of tourist infrastructure available for excursions.

The ship has four times the number of people the tourist infrastructure can handle.

I'd recommend renting a car from Avis and exploring the island on your own. The downtown Avis office is a short walk from the cruise pier.

Sent from my Nexus 7

That is the problem with Princess using a 3200 passenger ship in Tahiti area.

Absolutely right, Caribill. A ship that size is wholly inappropriate for Tahiti, let alone the smaller islands. Sounds like my idea of hell.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I already figured out there were too many people for such a small island and not enough ships dock there like in the Caribbean. I am on the CC board for this cruise and it's very active. Thanks for the Avis tip as we have rented cars in many islands.

Margaret

Last year the Paul Gauguin was parked next to a Carnival mega ship. What a difference!

I would explore Le Marche and the surrounding area. The rental car option is ok but try contacting Patrick Adventures. He has a great tour. There are others but I wouldn't be surprised if all the locals were contracted by your ship since it's so large. The interior of Tahiti is the most overlooked area in all of French Polynesia. If you rent a car make sure it's a 4X4 so you can go into the interior.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I already figured out there were too many people for such a small island and not enough ships dock there like in the Caribbean. I am on the CC board for this cruise and it's very active. Thanks for the Avis tip as we have rented cars in many islands.

 

Margaret

Margaret,

If you rent a car, here is some good info on what to see:

http://www.frommers.com/destinations/tahiti/684116

Enjoy you cruise. Sorry about the anti-large ship gauntlet. I don't understand the point of making derogatory remarks about other people's vacation choices.

You could almost think about taking the ferry to Moorea for the day and picking up a tour there. The ferry dock is a 5 minute walk from the cruise port. There are many, many tour operators on Moorea that could take you snorkeling, or whale watching, or jetskiing, ATVing, etc. Does your ship visit Moorea?

You could almost think about taking the ferry to Moorea for the day and picking up a tour there. The ferry dock is a 5 minute walk from the cruise port. There are many, many tour operators on Moorea that could take you snorkeling, or whale watching, or jetskiing, ATVing, etc. Does your ship visit Moorea?

Yes it does. Thanks for the information...Margaret

I am booked on a tour with:

http://www.uniquetahiti.com/

Jill

That is the problem with Princess using a 3200 passenger ship in Tahiti area.

 

Princess used to have a 680 passenger ship there. And that is the size of tourist infrastructure available for excursions.

 

The ship has four times the number of people the tourist infrastructure can handle.

Thankfully she still does for a little while longer. We are on the last small chip cruise there in November. That's a bonehead move to my way of thinking because you are right. The large ships overwhelm the islands and their facilities.

My suggestion would be to grab a taxi, agree on a price before hand and have them take you to the sites - there's a botanical garden, The Gauguin museum, a blowhole all just outside the city limits. Marama Tours is also great, but they are probably all booked as well.