Hutchinj

Great advice, Larro. We may very well opt for a dinner one night on our balcony. Comment noted about the wine, too. 🙂

Is it true that on a 7-day cruise you may only reserve the specialty restaurants for one night each? No big deal if so. I just want to be prepared. Thanks!

We're booked on a 7-day Society Islands cruise next July. I've heard a lot about how important it is to get your dinner reservations for the various restaurants made as soon as you board the Paul Gauguin. But what kind of dining schedule do you experienced PG cruisers recommend?

I think Le Grill would be a given for the night anchored in Bora Bora's lagoon and perhaps La Veranda for the night at Moorea but any other suggestions that come to mind would be appreciated. Sadly, the Marina Dinner option has already been spoken for.

And yeh, I'm probably overthinking this as I'm sure any dining option will be great. 😉

Thanks, Sita. As we plan to spend a lot of time in the water, I wonder if we should seriously consider shorty wetsuits or at least, a wetsuit vest, to add to our luggage (somehow!)? We're from Central Florida so we tend to abhor the cold. 

I know the best answer is "it depends" but what about water temperature in early-mid July? We plan on bringing long sleeve rash guard shirts but for those that have cruised the Societies during this time of year, should we be concerned about overly cold water while snorkeling (not diving).

As Ryndam said above, we hope to catch some of the Heiva festival as well. Just won't know what their schedule is until the last minute, I guess. Island time, ya know? 🙂

19 hours ago, SWFLAOK said:

There's also the WiFi charge if you need to stay in touch while cruising. If  you want access anywhere on the ship for 1 device without counting your minutes, it can easily be 2 or 3 hundred dollars . The OBC can be used for that as well.

Yeh, I looked into that as well. PG's unlimited plan is $29/day. Kinda pricey so we may just opt for their 400 minute plan for $80. If their Internet speed is like other cruises we've been on, it's pretty slow.

Have you every used Tahiti WiFi? They have a pocket-sized router you can rent at the PPT airport which offers unlimited WiFi on most FP islands from about $5 to $24/day. They start you off with 4G/3G speeds and then throttle down your speed after reaching a daily data limit. But then it's unlimited although slower at 2G. Seems like an interesting option since you are not restricted to WiFi only onboard. It won't work while cruising between the islands, though, so if you only use WiFi at those times the PG option might be better. Hmmm....

18 hours ago, AMKujo said:

Noticed many of you received OBC and even for the July 4th sailing. I know it is one of the discounted weeks and we weren't offered anything additional. Any ideas how to get OBC or "extras" though our TC? Not to mention we paid in CAD and the USD exchange was significant so anything additional would be great 🙂

Ask your TA to try to get the "Sweetie" promotion deal for you from PG. It is *supposed* to be only for new bookings made around Valentine's Day but our TA got it for us well after we had already booked. It's a $200 OBC so worth trying for! And while PG says it is a Spa Credit, my TA says they will accept it for anything you can purchase on board... excursions, gifts, premium liquors, etc.

18 hours ago, SWFLAOK said:

Based on our experience, you can book the PG excursions 60 days in advance, and you won't need to pay for them until the end of your cruise. Since you don't need to pay for your excursions until the end of your cruise, your shipboard credits can be used to pay for them.

Yep, absolutely correct. I just confirmed this with PG before I read your reply.

Since we will be booking excursions both thru PG and independently we wanted to make sure we didn't leave any "money" on the table. 😉

We also have a couple of no-charge excursions thrown in by our TA during our pre and post-cruise time but want to be sure we leave ourselves some down time to just relax and enjoy being in paradise! 🙂

18 hours ago, Tahitianbigkahuna said:

 

It is my belief that SBC/OBC is extended from PG on some some cruises, they are not a 'gift' from your TA 😉  .... Nice that you have a big OBC from PG. You should be able to book ship excursions 60 days out with no problems 😉

Thanks TBK but in this case, we have $200 in OBC from PG's Sweetie offer + $500 OBC direct from our TA which is shown as such on our PG itinerary page. Whatever the source, we intend to make good use of it! 🙂

Thanks to our TA, we have $700 in ship board credit (SBC) to spend. I'd like to spend this on excursions (and the laundry package) but I'm concerned the excursions we want might sell out since we can't apply the SBC until we are actually onboard.

I'm considering the Bora Bora Lagoon Excursion (BRB-1602 or 1603) & Waverunner Tour (BRB-1604)

Thoughts?

On 9/23/2019 at 7:04 PM, TheDee said:

Trend,

 

Another really special offering for an Anniversary is the Marina Dinner.  It is done while the PG is moored in Bora Bora, ( and maybe Moorea, depending on the itinerary).  If you are interested, you need to book it well in advance.  You can see some pictures and a short video of ours on the last page of the PG Roll Call, August 14th sailing.  It was a magical evening!

 

Linda 🙂

Oh, I only wish we were able to book the Marina Dinner, too. It was already spoken for when we checked. At least we did get the Motu Mahana Vow Renewal so really looking forward to that. Even more so after enjoying your photos! 🙂

nattygurk -- Looking forward to meeting you on our July 4th 2020 PG cruise! 🙂

18 hours ago, lovestx said:

We are still in the middle of our trip but can add that we flew BOS to LAX and then immediately connected to Air Tahiti Nui on the 4:40 pm departure. It was a long day but we don’t like decoupling connected flights (two check ins,etc). We stayed at the IC Tahiti for two nights so that we could attempt to be over jet lag by the start of the cruise. 

We are doing the same thing flying from Orlando to LAX (1st class non-stop) and then on to PPT on ATN's 4:40pm flight in Premium Economy. Was originally taking their redeye but they added the evening flight so that seemed better to us. Considered a LAX stayover but decided to push on thru. We're only spending 1 night at the IC Tahiti, however, as we'll take the ferry to Moorea the next day for a 2-night pre-cruise stay at the Hilton Moorea then 4-nights post-cruise in Bora Bora.

Everyone's comments and suggestions here have been so helpful! 

On 9/26/2019 at 5:34 PM, AMKujo said:

Hi! We are honeymooning July 4, 2020 and would like to know of any suggestions for the best islands to rent bikes and do hikes on? I know some places have more traffic then others and roads may be less enjoyable to travel on. Any hikes that are recommended? We are active so up for a challenge!  

We are also on the July 4th PG Cruise, our first in FP.

Please visit our Roll Call page at https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2571207-4-july-2020-tahiti-amp-the-society-islands-7–night-cruise/

Wonderful photos and you look absolutely beautiful! Thanks for sharing.

I'm so glad that we were able to book this during our cruise next year. So excited!

SWFLAOK -- Keeping our vow renewal casual sounds like the best suggestion yet. A swimsuit coverup of some kind is probably easier for the ladies than us guys, but I'll figure something out. Like maybe a nicer pair of shorts and my dress flip flops. 😄

Thanks!
 

Linda (TheDee) -- Anxious to hear about your latest voyage on the PG and especially your vow renewal experience on Motu Mahana. Be sure to fill us in upon your return!

Also, does anyone know if there is somewhere on the Motu to change from our vow renewal regalia to swimsuit attire?

21 hours ago, 2mnycats said:

Getting ready to pull the trigger on a July 2020 cruise with Paul Gauguin. 

Which July 2020 sailing are you considering? We're on the July 4th 7-day cruise.

Thanks, TBK. That was sooo good. Can't wait! 👍

Can you use SBC (ship board credit) for the laundry package?

12 minutes ago, Tahitianbigkahuna said:

Day rooms can only be obtained from PG or your TA can purchase through PG and only for a post cruise day. The rate differs depending if you purchased the air/sea or cruise only.

That makes a lot of sense. Thanks again, as usual, TBK. Always appreciate your insight and experience!

I was under the impression the IC Tahiti's "Transit Packages" (see below) were available to all guests, regardless of where you stayed the night before.

You may be right, of course, or this may no longer be offered. But no matter... if we have to spend a few more hours on the beach in Bora Bora, we'll suffer through. 🙂

Just to confirm, we booked our own airfare through our TA and did receive a $3400 airfare credit from PG which allowed us to upgrade our seats to Premium Economy as we got a better deal than thru PG. Your credit may vary but that's what we got.

I agree that booking thru PG can make things easy with the addition of transfers and day room options if that suits your itinerary. But for us, we arrive PPT at zero-dark-thirty (via ATN redeye) and immediately jump on the ferry to Moorea for early check-in at the Hilton Moorea, a resort not offered via PG's IC hotel properties.

If we can't get a late checkout from our post-cruise resort at the St Regis in Bora Bora, we may well take advantage of the IC Tahiti's Transit Program if they still offer it then.

Hmmm... I thought the PG Moto Picnic excursion on Moorea may be done by Poe Island Tours not Albert Moana Tours. But it appears the Poe tour is land (4x4) only with no boat ride or snorkeling as described by the PG or Moana Tours.

Just wish I knew for sure. I'm sure any would be fun, though.

Does anyone know if the Moorea PG excursion, "BBQ on Motu & Snorkeling", is actually the Moana Tours Lagoon Excursion?

The descriptions on the PG site and Albert's site sound very much the same.

Booking privately is cheaper, of course, but we have $700 in OBC to burn so would book this thru PG if in fact it is Albert's tour.

Wonderful photos and review. Thanks so much for sharing!