New Papeete cruise terminal

Spotted this item in a blog from my travel agency:

Tahiti Tourism is embarking on an $8 million international cruise terminal project due for completion in 2020. The terminal will be located in the center of Papeete and will accommodate up to three ships simultaneously and 2,000 turnaround passengers. The North Pier will measure 300 meters in length; the South Pier 350 meters.

There are no cabotage rules governing Tahiti so cruise ships can sail a more varied itinerary among Tahiti’s 118 islands. Planned amenities include an aerial walk, luggage room, check-in counters, waiting room, duty free, snack bar/café and reservations facilities. Concurrently, Papeete is planning a $12 million upgrade of its airport which is 3 km from the cruise port. Upon completion of the upgrade the airport will be able to accommodate three departures (up to 950 passengers) at the same time.

Spotted this item in a blog from my travel agency:

Tahiti Tourism is embarking on an $8 million international cruise terminal project due for completion in 2020. The terminal will be located in the center of Papeete and will accommodate up to three ships simultaneously and 2,000 turnaround passengers. The North Pier will measure 300 meters in length; the South Pier 350 meters.

There are no cabotage rules governing Tahiti so cruise ships can sail a more varied itinerary among Tahiti’s 118 islands. Planned amenities include an aerial walk, luggage room, check-in counters, waiting room, duty free, snack bar/café and reservations facilities. Concurrently, Papeete is planning a $12 million upgrade of its airport which is 3 km from the cruise port. Upon completion of the upgrade the airport will be able to accommodate three departures (up to 950 passengers) at the same time.

WOW .... someone jumped the gun. I knew about this a few weeks ago but this wasn't to be released until the official statement was sent out by the Port Director. I was asked to wait for the official release before mentioning on CruiseCritic.

Should have a copy of it soon and I'll share.

Tahiti, will ATN be able to handle those extra passengers or do you think this will open up air options a bit?

Tahiti, will ATN be able to handle those extra passengers or do you think this will open up air options a bit?

Good question ....

As ATN phases out their 340-300 planes to the new Boeing 787's they will be moving from 5 planes to 4 planes but the terminal will have increased capacity .... so either AF or some other new carrier might be coming to town, guess we'll find out soon enough.

I've attached the official release.

Had to downsize to meet CruiseCritic limitations so it doesn't look good but you'll get the idea ....

Going to be built where the current Tahiti Tourism office/property is located.

TahitiCruiseTerminal2.pdf

I'm allowed to share this:

The theme of the new projects is called "Vision 2020"

For the cruise industry this means that cruise passengers will fly in on new aircraft, arrive at a state of the art South Pacific airport, and board their cruise ship of choice via a brand new cruise terminal on the Papeete waterfront, so the entire experience all the way to stepping on-board will be world class.

Aeroport de Tahiti is actively engaged to have additional inbound lift, whether from existing carriers or new partners.

That's all for now

I love the port terminal ideas! It will make for a more comfortable arrival for independent travelers.

Does anyone know when all of this construction is scheduled to begin? And how it will affect current operations at the airport and cruise pier? Our trip is in September so I hope not to be detoured around lots of construction at the airport and the cruise pier!

Cruise Critic included a writeup on the new terminal in a roundup we posted on Friday, March 17:

New Cruise Ports, an Expanding Cruise Season and More Destination Cruise News from Seatrade

Vision 2020- quite a clever name. Someone really creative must have come up with it ;)

Happy Cruising,

~Brittany Chrusciel, Associate Editor, Cruise Critic

Does anyone know when all of this construction is scheduled to begin? And how it will affect current operations at the airport and cruise pier? Our trip is in September so I hope not to be detoured around lots of construction at the airport and the cruise pier!

To answer your question the existing structures on the property (Tahiti Tourism) are to be removed sometime this year. Once removed the new facilities will be built. There could be some demolition going on but that area is 500 - 700 feet away from where the Paul Gauguin usually moors so it should be disruptive this year.

Cruise Critic included a writeup on the new terminal in a roundup we posted on Friday, March 17:

 

New Cruise Ports, an Expanding Cruise Season and More Destination Cruise News from Seatrade

Vision 2020- quite a clever name. Someone really creative must have come up with it ;)

 

Happy Cruising,

~Brittany Chrusciel, Associate Editor, Cruise Critic

The official name was arrived at during joint tourism development meetings between the government & the tourism industry.

Brittany, nice picture you used of the IC Moorea :)

I have a copy of the high resolution release and the layout plans have dimensions on them. Appears that the area where the roulottes park in the evening in not part of the construction plans .... yeah!

No pain, no gain! The remodel will be worth it!

No pain, no gain! The remodel will be worth it!

Agreed ........

I'm excited because as I understand the plan it will allow us who fly in on a red eye to go directly to the port, drop off our bags and then enjoy the day in PPT before boarding ......