okiebaugh

Currently on board with two unvaccinated kids. The kids have been tested three times this week. They are given the wrist band when they test negative and therefore do not have to wear masks and there are no restrictions. Over 16 yrs currently are supposed to wear a mask if they are unvaccinated. I have not seen anyone on board say anything to anyone about wearing masks or not. If you are not comfortable cruising now, don’t. But I am thankful to have the option to bring my kids. 

On board now. They tested all unvaccinated guest 48 hrs before St Maarten. Vaccinated guests did not have to test. 

Interesting- I booked a CS for July 3 sailing and wanted to bring 14 yr old son as a 3rd passenger and was told they were not allowing any triples or quads for June and July sailings. I’d say you got lucky that you got that booked before they stopped allowing it! Have a great trip!

We were on the Jan 6 sailing this year and used Pure Snorkeling on our first day in Bora Bora. Tenders start at 8:30 and we were on that tender and Pure Snorkeling was waiting for us at the tender dock. They use ski boats and there was only a small amount of shade (two of the eight people were in the shade). They took us to a spot for the manta rays and it was pretty murky but we saw one. Our guide tried to find the sharks but did not, but folks we talked to on other snorkel excursions that same day did see them. The coral gardens and "aquarium" spots they took us to were amazing! I had done the snorkel excursion through PG that used the more traditional Polynesian boats, and the Pure Snorkeling boat was more comfortable, but less shade. Overall we had a great day and wouldn't hesitate to use them again.

Enjoying all your beautiful pictures! Curious on your opinion on how rough the sailing is going/coming from the Cooks? I know the ship is built for the shallow waters, and just wondering what to expect.

Thanks for the great info! I am reading along even though I don't comment too often. We are doing the Cooks itinerary in January and love seeing the pictures you are posting!

The almond croissants at Cafe on deck 5 were amazing! You pay for coffee there, but the snacks in the case are free!

Beautiful pictures of the sunset at the Hilton! I'm enjoying your review and it is getting me excited for our trip in January on the PG to the Cook Islands/Society Islands. Looking forward to the cruise portion of your review!

Loving your review!

We took our daughter when she was 17 and our son was 8. Our daughter very much enjoyed the youth program, and they allowed our son to participate in some of the activities. There are not activities all of the time though, so they do have to be able to self entertain. The kids can use the pool. No ice cream bar. There was a shuffle board court that we used. We did the 7 night, so being in port every day kept the kids busy so they didn't need a ship with all the bells and whistles. Hope that helps!

For those that sailed on the Cool Cat can you tell me how you got to where they are anchored and how much that cost?

We did the Breeze in July with FTF we were in our car by 8 am. Go to the designated FTF lounge earlier than they say because they put us in line based on when we arrived. Suites went and then FTF.

We did a jetski tour to sting ray city with Shore Excursion Group and it was great! Small group and less expensive than the cruise ship. If there is something you really want to do it is better to have it planned ahead of time.

We sailed and snorkeled with Voila in Moorea and it was fantastic. In fact we enjoyed it so much we asked if they could take us out again the next day and they did (to different spots). The boat is cute, and the hosts delightful. Our favorite two days of the trip! Have fun!

Why not call Princess and ask them IF your mother is not able to make the trip last minute what will happen? Instead of getting wrong info here, or worrying about it I think I would call and ask the question as a hypothetical. In my opinion you would not be charged anything because the cabin is paid in full. You only pay a single supplement if you book a cabin for 1 person, and then you pay the price that 2 would have paid less the taxes. I knew two single ladies that were traveling together and one had to cancel. She got taxes back from the cruise line and the other lady did not have to pay any extra.

So sorry for the loss of your dear mother, and I hope your family is able to enjoy the cruise and celebrate her life.

Glad you had at great time! We leave Dec 20 and can't wait! Thanks for the review!

In Moorea I highly recommend Voil'a Moorea for a sailing/snorkel tour. It is an independent operator that we found through trip advisor and it was our favorite excursion of the trip. In fact, we had so much fun we booked them for our second day in Moorea to do some more snorkeling. Ended up sailing with a large number of dolphins that were jumping along side the boat.

We went to the market on the last morning of the cruise. You don't leave the ship until noon time, so we walked off in the morning and browsed the market then went back to the ship for lunch before disembarking. Neither of the hotels you are staying at are close to downtown.

We took our 8 yr old son and 17 yr old daughter this past summer and they had a wonderful time. My 8 yr old has cruised a lot (20+ times) and says the PG was his favorite. Even though the program is for 9-17 yr olds they let him tag along on some of the Ambassador programs with his sister, and he loved it. He enjoys the water and science so it was right up his alley. I was worried he might be bored without all the things he was used to on the big cruise ships he has sailed in the past, but that was not the case. The counselors were fantastic and we found them very knowledgeable- go to their lectures if you can!

Please tell us about your ship experience! Did you enjoy the shows? What was your favorite dining venue? Did you try the exercise room? Did the kids participate in the environmental program?

 

We have stay after and before and have found that our PG experience is the best part of the trip. We recommend that people go for the longest trip on the ship that they can do and forget about pre and post stays.

We did enjoy the shows and lectures very much. We honestly did not make it to much after dinner time (5 hour time change for us). We enjoyed the piano bar player and having a drink pre or post dinner. The kids dancing group from Huahine was great. We did several of the activities with The Gauguines like bracelet making and pareo tying and enjoyed them.

We intended to use the exercise room but ended up getting plenty of exercise on our excursions and didn't make it there other than to see it tge first day. And despite eating really anything I wanted this trip I didn't gain weight!:)

Agree the PG is the best part! Since we come from the central time zone it helps to have a pre stay, plus I don't think I would like coming in on the late flight and getting on board several hours after everyone else.

Thank you for sharing! What a wonderful trip for your kids! How old are they? Were there many kids onboard?

 

We're the meanie parents that will leave our kids home when we go on the PG...and I've wondered how many kids are onboard (we'll be going in June 2017).

 

I have heard lots of complaints about the IC pre-cruise stays. Did you fly out directly after the cruise?

This trip was a graduation/18th birthday trip for our daughter..Our son turned 8 on board. My daughter did participate in the Youth program(her 18th bday was a few days after the trip) and son got to tag along for some of the activities. They both really loved it and learned a lot about marine biology. The 2 AOEY youth counsellors were great and knowledgeable. There were 10 kids signed up for the program, and maybe another 15-20 kids on board. I think the youngest was about 6, and all were very well behaved. Our kids have travelled a lot- over 20 cruises for each, so we know how they travel and knew this was a trip they could enjoy. If the kids need to be entertained constantly this may not be a trip for them. Ours love water, snorkeling, and hanging out with us so they loved this cruise.

We did fly directly home on the over night flight. We had a day room at the Tahiti Pearl. The food at IC is much better than the Pearl. If, no...when I go again I would stay at least 1 night after, or get off early and take a morning flight home. The late night flight was smack full and I can't sleep much sitting up, so a daytime flight would be better.

Even though we had issues with the IC, I did prefer that hotel overall to the Pearl. Our room at the Pearl was nice, but the grounds aren't as pretty as IC and the food at IC was MUCH better. I would most likely book my hotel stays separately next time so I have more control. Since this was our first trip to Tahiti and we had kids and mother in law we thought having the transfers and everything handled through PG would be easier. I would also do at least one night pre-stay just to adjust to time change and relax before sailing. We did 2 nights and did not regret it.

We ate 3 nights in The Verandah, 1 night at the grill, 2 nights in L'etoille and skipped 1 night. We had breakfast 2 times on deck 8, and then switched to deck 6. We just loved some of the servers in the Verandah so that is why we kept eating there. We ate at the Grill the evening we were in Bora Bora and it was a beautiful evening to eat out next to the pool.

I am happy to answer any other questions! Like I mentioned we have cruised a lot and we all said this was our all time favorite vacation. So anyone out there considering it, I say do it!

My mother in law travelled with us so we had a cat B for 2 and a cat e for 3. We thought we had booked a panoramic room at the IC but apparently that wasn't the case according to them, although technically that and the bungalows are the only ones that accommodate 3. And yes our frustration was/is the finger pointing and lack of trying you make it right especially since they are owned by the same company.

In Bora Bora we did the snorkel tour through the ship that visited the stingrays, sharks and coral gardens. It was fantastic! I think it had mahoi Nui in the title. In Huahanie we would recommend the Sacred sights tour if u like hearing a lot of history. The guide was very interesting.

We did 2 nights pre cruise. While there we did a jet ski tour through the hotel. The water was a bit rough that day, but we still had a blast. We also did an island tour that we had the concierge set up. It ended up being just a taxi driver taking us all the way around the island. We made a few stops but the driver wasn't very informative. If I had it to do again I would have gone on one of the organized tours with hopes that the guide would be more talkative.

One other tip- We did not really care for the food on the plane so u might be prepared with your own snacks.

Just getting back into regular life after a great week on the PG! We travelled with our two kids and would be happy to answer any questions. One highlight was a private Cateraman tour in Moorea with Voila Moorea that was fantastic. Only issue was with our pre cruise stay booked through PG. We stayed at the Intercontinental Tahiti and believed we booked a room with 2 queen beds. Was given a tiny room with a king and a roll away. Couldn't even move around the room or open our suitcases. The hotel blamed PG and PG said nothing they could do as hotel was full. This put a very bad first impression of PG in our minds. We are still waiting to hear back from PG. I could have booked hotel directly for less money and expect when I pay a premium that I should get premium service and our concerns should have been addressed immediately. Luckily the staff on board were wonderful and once we left the IC and got to the ship we had a great time.

The exchange rate was better on the ship than it was at the hotel (IC Tahiti) when we were there last week.

Loving the review so far! We leave in about 2 and a half weeks so I am very interested in current information.