Opinions on 2 cruises and what islands are best

We have never been to the SP and now have 2 opportunities for different cruises and would like opinions on what would islands are good and what might be avoided by taking the other cruise.

Cruise 1 leaves Auckland and goes to Noumea, Ile des Pines, Suva/Fiji, Lautoka, Apia, PagoPago, Bora Bora, Moorea and ends in Papeete.

Cruise 2 leaves Sydney and goes to the NZ north island and then to Suva/Fiji, Lautoka and on to Bora Bora, Moorea, Papeete and ends in Honolulu.

Cruise 1 is on Oceania and 2 on Celebrity. Are all the extra islands on 1 worth going to? Cruise 2 is more convenient in terms of flights and not spending a lot of time going to islands that may not be worthwhile as compared to Tahiti. That's why I am asking - are the extra cruise 1 islands worth going to? We are in our 60s and might go snorkeling at the beach but probably would just be walking through the port town.

Thanks, Rick

Rick - A lot of us think the Oceania and Celebrity ships are far too big for the Pacific islands. The passengers aboard just one of these ships is about four times the total hotel accommodations on, say, Bora Bora or the Ile des Pins where everyone just gets dumped on one small public beach.

Take a look at Paul Gauguin and Windstar cruises around French Polynesia. They are about the right size unless you spend serious money on a luxury expedition cruise such as Silveursea's Silver Discoverer.

We have never been to the SP and now have 2 opportunities for different cruises and would like opinions on what would islands are good and what might be avoided by taking the other cruise.

Cruise 1 leaves Auckland and goes to Noumea, Ile des Pines, Suva/Fiji, Lautoka, Apia, PagoPago, Bora Bora, Moorea and ends in Papeete.

Cruise 2 leaves Sydney and goes to the NZ north island and then to Suva/Fiji, Lautoka and on to Bora Bora, Moorea, Papeete and ends in Honolulu.

 

Cruise 1 is on Oceania and 2 on Celebrity. Are all the extra islands on 1 worth going to? Cruise 2 is more convenient in terms of flights and not spending a lot of time going to islands that may not be worthwhile as compared to Tahiti. That's why I am asking - are the extra cruise 1 islands worth going to? We are in our 60s and might go snorkeling at the beach but probably would just be walking through the port town.

 

Thanks, Rick

That's a hard choice. We have been to all these islands, except Lautoka. Ile des Pines (Isle of Pines) has its own unique beauty but is mostly a beach day. Cruise no. 2 would give you a better choice of return airfare from Honolulu rather than Papeete. Good luck in choosing.

The distance covered on cruise 2 is much longer than in cruise 1. Isn't that cruise longer with more sea days?

Personally, I would love to include two Samoan islands on a (probably) once in a life time cruise and would therefore choose cruise 1. It's on the Marina, isn't it? I was on the Riviera, elegant ships with very good food and a relaxed ambiance. Are they smaller with 1 200 passengers than the Celebrity ship? Smaller is better for these islands.

I would probably choose Option 1.....simply for seeing more islands (I have not been to Apia nor Pago Pago and would love to go there!) - and the islands and cultures, while there are similarities, are quite different. However, getting back from Papeete could be much more expensive - especially if you have to do an overnight before flying out.

Oceania flies passengers back from Tahiti to California, I think the flight is included in the price.

Sydney to Honolulu is a lot of sea days. Have you ever been on a cruise with 5 sea days in a row? If you have and enjoy it, then this would be a good cruise for you. Auckland to Papeete is a lot shorter distance with fewer consecutive sea days. It also gives you the opportunity to stay an extra few days or week and see some of the FP islands staying at resorts. That would be my choice. I'm spending two weeks in FP next month (not on a cruise) staying at resorts in Moorea and Bora Bora.

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One more thing. For the airfare, look at booking a RT LAX-PPT on Air Tahiti Nui. Then add on a one way airfare from PPT to AKL, either on Air Tahiti Nui or Air New Zealand. The PPT-AKL one-ways are generally a lot cheaper than LAX-PPT one-ways. In fact, the business class one way fare on Air New Zealand is quite affordable by comparison.

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