pcovertnj

Thanks everyone for the replies.  I wasn't sure how early they start taking bags at PE.  I think we'll skip breakfast and just take our time at FLL and head right over.  Appreciate all the thoughts!

Our group of 6 has a very early arrival for our Celebrity Infinity December 8, 2018 cruise.  Our flight arrives around 8:50 AM.  We are looking at going to breakfast somewhere before going to the port.  Any suggestions?  I've done a little research on TA and Joe's Café, enroute to PE on SE 17th street, got some great reviews.  Any thoughts on transportation?  Private company that will hold our luggage while we stop for breakfast?   Or should we just hang around the airport and then just go to the port?

We are cruising out of Ft. Lauderdale. Did some research and found two places: Grampas Bakery & Restaurant in Dania Beach and Joes Café in the Harbor Shops complex off SE 17th Street.

Great information on this post. Here's another question....

Flying into FLL on December 8 for a 5 night Celebrity Cruise. Our flight arrives in FLL at 8:50 AM, too early to go to the port. Any ideas for a restaurant for breakfast before heading to the port? There will be 6 of us, so we'll probably get 2 Ubers.

I would reserve it early on in case there is inclement weather later in the week. We had an evening sunset tour in Bora Bora (great tour by Vauvau 4x4) from 5 to 7 and then came back to the ship for our 8 PM dinner reservation.

For our tour in Papeete, we used Tracy at Unique Tahiti (4-hour tour). She got very good reviews on TA, and we enjoyed the tour, even though it was crappy weather (rainy and overcast). She is a very funny lady and knows her stuff. She stopped at a pharmacy for us, as one person in our group needed cough medicine. FYI - they sell cough medicine with Codeine in it -- very inexpensive ($4-$5/bottle) and extremely effective.

The second night in Bora Bora is the island BBQ with entertainment. They give you "tender" times. I think ours was for 5 PM? The weather the second day for us in Bora Bora was rainy. We toured in the morning and were supposed to have a jet ski tour in the early afternoon (which we wound up canceling because it was raining), and when we returned to ship, we were informed the private event was cancelled. The rain began to clear, and the event was put back on. You will get a note in your cabin with your "tender" time. If you want to go on a later tender, they will accommodate you. You do not have access to this island during the day.

The private Motu day is after Bora Bora. The tender runs all day so you can go over and return whenever you want.

We had dinner at Candles the first night in Bora Bora and then had dinner there a second night (were on a waiting list and got in late) -- I think it was the night we were in Raiatea. It was great because we ate there when the ship was not moving. The filet is delicious. They serve the side dishes "family" style. The second time, only 4 of us went.

If you are lounging around the pool late in the day, beware that the staff starts "cleaning up" so that they can set up for Candles. They use the space where the loungers are placed during the day to set up the guest tables.

As for sea sickness, I don't think I've ever been (except for one occasion where I had too much to drink along with rough seas). A couple of the nights you could feel the ship rocking, but by then we were in our cabin and ready for bed. This is only our second "small" ship. The other was Oceania (550 passengers) in the Mediterranean. If you are prone to motion sickness, bring the pills along, just in case.

The day on the private island was peaceful and relaxing. Plenty of beach chairs and umbrellas set up. Bring your water shoes and snorkel gear (the ship loans out the snorkel gear on the first day. we did not pick any up, as we had our own with us.). They have the kayaks and paddle boards over from the ship. There is a volleyball net set up, corn hole game. The BBQ lunch is amazing. It was just a calm, relaxing day. Some people did ships tours in the morning and then came over in the afternoon. There wasn't a way to meet a private tour, as the tenders took you from the ship directly to the island.

While on Moorea, we took Francky Frank's tour. He was fabulous. On Raiatea, there are some tour vendors in the building when you get off the ship. We wandered around and did some shopping and then went back on ship and hung by the pool. People said the kayak tour was nice.

Pre and post cruise hotel was Le Meridian. Pre includes breakfast. Property is beautiful.

We were in cabin 139. All tge way forward on starboard side. When ship is entering or leaving port they close the water tight doors on deck 1. You need to use an alternative set of "crew" stairs during this time. You are close to the water; however, we had great weather (few showers on a few days). The seas were never so rough as to cover up or come close to covering our port hole. Some pictures attached. Sorry they are side ways. The first is the view from our port hole. The second is my husband outside our port hole in Raiatea. Sails are up and down. They play music while putting them up. Great time to be on deck for this. The put the sails up in the afternoon on the day you are on the private island -- makes for great pictures.

I don't recall anything about going ashore with the chef to local markets.

We just returned from the cruising Tahiti on the Wind Spirit. Great ship. I would call the dress code more casual than dressy. I wore white denim capris one night with a dressy top and my bedazzled flip flops. I did notice that I never had to wear any sweater I brought. The breakfast/lunch restaurant was always warm; the dining room at dinner was comfortable. A casual sun dress is good, capris are also good. For the guys - pants for dinner with a golf shirt or "Hawaiian" shirt were fine. If you eat at Candles (on the pool deck for dinner), guys can wear nice shorts.

The cruise was amazing. The ship was great. A couple things to note: We booked a "package" that included flight from LA (it arrives in Papeete late on Thursday night. We checked into Le Meridian. The package included breakfast. Check-in was smooth. The property is beautiful. Breakfast was included in the morning. We hung out on the beach and in the pool until it was time to leave. The transfer to the ship was included and left around 1:15. Checking in was super casual. Upon arrival at the port, you point out your luggage and board the ship. There is no x-ray to go through -- ever. The captain and some of the ship's officers greet you as you board the ship. You proceed to the lounge to check in. There is a crew member taking reservations for Candles -- the "specialty" restaurant. Be sure to eat there at least once - there is no charge. Food is delicious. They "convert" the pool deck into the restaurant.

Back to check in -- our cabin (139) was ready. We left our carry-ons and had a quick lunch. The safety drill is at 5:30. We informed our cabin steward that we had a private tour and would be off the ship at that time. We spoke to the captain who ok'd our group missing the drill.

We packed 2 bottles of wine in our checked luggage. No one ever questioned us. We had alcohol packed in various containers also in our checked luggage. We mixed drinks in our cabin and opened our wine in our cabin as well to avoid any corkage charges. We either asked our cabin steward to drop off wine glasses or got them from one of the bars. We bought a bottle of coconut liquor back on ship to take home with us -- no problem.

There is a fridge in your cabin as well as a mini bar. The fridge is stocked with sodas and beers. Sodas are free. Note: they do not use nor sell water (in plastic bottles) on the ship. Each cabin is stocked with two glass bottles. Water is replenished daily in these bottles (it was good). You should bring a refillable water bottle if you want to take water off the ship with you.

Breakfast and lunch is served in the restaurant on the 4th deck. We never had to wait for a table. There is a buffet set up for both meals, and you can also order from a limited a la carte menu (eggs benedict, chocolate chip pancakes, stuffed French toast were all amazing). Dinner is in the main dining room on the 3rd floor. We were a group of 8 and never waited for a table any time we went.

Things not to miss:

The dinner on the private motu -- this on the second night in Bora Bora. Delicious island BBQ with all sorts of entrees and great entertainment. The private island day on Taaha. You take the tender over to what we dubbed "Gilligan's Island" for a relaxing day. There are plenty of chairs on the beach. They have paddle boards and kayaks for your use. The BBQ lunch is delicious! Make sure to bring water shoes! The beaches are wonderful, but on every beach we went, you needed them to walk into the water.

Entertainment is limited -- there was a couple who sang -- they were very good. Do NOT miss the crew talent show. They were great. The water sports platform is great. They have it open most days (not open the private island day or the day you are docked in Raiatea).

The ladies at the reception desk (one was Natasha) were amazing. After the first, Natasha knew everyone by their name. Cannot figure out how she does it!

Our cabin was on Deck 1 all the way forward on the starboard side (139). My sister and her husband were right across the hall in 140. Two other couples with us had 122 and 128. No complaints on any of the cabins. We liked being all the way forward, as there was never any "hallway" noise.

We had a ship board credit on our account through our travel agent. We could not use these credits towards our staff gratuity. You can use the credits for any shop purchases and beverages. The bottles of wine were very reasonable. The "drink of the day" was usually around $8.50.

Hope this info helps. I'll post our tour info next.

Pat

Just returned yesterday from the Wind Spirit. Wonderful cruise. Will post review at a later date. If you have any questions, ask away. I will try to get the answer you want.

Hope you had a great time. We are sailing on February 3. We have book tours on most stops, except for Raiatea. Heard there were tours at the dock. True?

Thanks seabourne for the additional advice. We are flying out of Los Angeles and someone on another board suggested we purchase wine in the duty free there.

We have one tour planned on Moorea with FrankeyFrank. It's a 3.5 hour tour for 8 of us. Read good reviews on TA.

Hope to do a combined jet ski/snorkel/rays/shark tour on one day in Bora Bora (maybe the first afternoon) and then a land tour on the second afternoon. We all want to go to Bloody Mary's . The BBQ is the second night in Bora Bora, correct?

Thanks so much for all the great info and for your e-mail address. We'll be on the February 3 cruise and I'm in charge of planning the tours for my group of eight. They better appreciate it! Glad to know the motu event in Bora Bora is on the 2nd night. How strict are they with bringing alcohol on board? We will be bringing our 2 bottles of wine. Someone suggested I purchase our wine in LA at the duty free before our flight. Are there places in close proximity to the port for purchasing wine? Thanks for listing your e-mail address. I may have more questions for you.

Hey beachlovers84 - Can't wait for February. Where are you from? I wish someone would respond to the wine question. Let me know if you find the information elsewhere on these boards.

Great information all. Thank you. We are on the Wind Spirit 2/3/2017. We are planning on bringing wine on board. Is it 2 bottles per person or 2 bottles per cabin? Do they keep track? If you purchase wine in a port, do they take it or let you keep it?