Tahitianbigkahuna

29 minutes ago, MrBill923 said:

Thanks this is good info. On our way back to home, we have a 6 hour wait at LAX to depart to ORD. What are our options for our luggage as we won't be able to check those for several hours. 

Thanks. 

Watch my video 😉

Maneuvering around LAX

Where your sitting on the plane dictates how long it takes to get through immigration/customs at PPT. If your in business class or premium economy it goes quickly, usually out within 30 minutes. If your in the back of the plane it could take an 45 - 60 minutes.

On the return if you have Global Entry we get through quickly, usually get to baggage before the our bags do. If you don't have Global figure 30 - 45 minutes before you get your bags. There is a bag drop off after you've cleared customs ... there is now passage through to the other terminals without going through security again. Maybe I should do a video on this  ...

5 hours ago, oakridger said:

 

Hmmmm.....Thank you.  I'm not planning on using ATN airlines, however.  Probably United from SFO and possibly French Bee Premium Economy coming back if the cost works out.  Both are daytime flights which is why I'm looking into using different airlines instead of one round trip.        We'll see how it plays out!!  🤷‍♀️

 

~Nancy

https://www.loungebuddy.com/PPT/air-tahiti-nui-lounge-international-terminal-NOrsx7UxK7

2 hours ago, oakridger said:

@jean87510 Thank you so much for all your information!  One question, what airline lounge did you go to at PPT?  I will be searching for flights in a couple of months and the lounge access you mentioned may be a factor on which airline I use.

 

~Nancy

There is only one lounge ... Air Tahiti Nui. However, under certain types of booking categories and/or airlines you can access the lounge ... 

Already pick out a 2026 date on-board the PG ...

1 minute ago, jean87510 said:

Thank you.  Yes, we knew we were just touching the edge of the snorkeling.  We definitely are coming back, just on a much smaller ship or a land vacation.  What we saw was so much more incredible than the Caribbean.

Ah .... I mis-understood. I thought you meant that the Caribbean was superior ... my bad.

Many people do a pre/post cruise stay for 3 - 7 days. Some some of the best is the south pass on Fakarava it would be best to do a pre/post stay as the boat trip to the south pass is long ... 90 minutes each way so it it hard to do it when a ship is only there for a day usually 8-5.

1 hour ago, jean87510 said:

Home now and thought I'd jot some more notes.

 

We really enjoyed the intercontinental.  The shower is an outdoor shower though which was interesting.  The food was really good but drinks not included in the day pass.

 

Took cab to airport which was hell on earth.  I read many reports on this and knew what to get prior which was the priority pass for the line and the lounge pass at the airport.  Boy am I glad I did!  We were stopped at immigration and patted down which was fine, it happens.  We were in lounge by 845pm which was about 3 hrs before our flight.  The lounge does have showers and towels with shampoo and soap but I packed a sample bottles pre cruise as I knew about this.  Food was ok.  There is coffee, wine, soda, water.  Typical airport lounge food.  Places to recharge phones snd batteries.  Plus it is air conditioned.  

 

I did upgrade my seat to the level above economy.  Got 2 meals plus drinks from the cart.  Chair was not very comfortable but at least was roomy.  

 

We loved the French Polynesian islands but think when we return we are going to do a windstar or paul Gaughan.  NCL was a bit out of their league there.  We want to return to Australia and try New Zealand as well but with Royal or Celebrity.  We are hesitant about Hawaii because our son lived there and shared some stories with us about Hawaiians feelings about cruisers.  We would rather stay there then cruise.

 

I am afraid the underwater world has forever ruined me for the Caribbean and Bahamas!  Absolutely no comparison.

I'll simply say I've been to the Caribbean by ship 4 times. One time was abort a 90 passenger ship owned by PG, the Terra Moana. IMO the Caribbean does not compare to French Polynesia. The Polynesian people are nicer ... when you go into a Caribbean is can be filled with 2-4 mega ships all competing for the same space. I've read everything you said in previous post. One one thing that sticks out to me is your comparison of snorkeling ... but you did not go to the best places for such in FP. I've been to FP 32 times ... there are places that will blow your mind. The #1 location in the world for the best underwater world experience is French Polynesia. The Tuamotus of Fakarava and Rangiroa sit at the very top according to Travel and Leisure. I know other publications have difference opinions but my point is you did not go to the best places French Polynesia has to offer. Visit again ... on a smaller ship as you mentioned ... take an itinerary that includes the Tuamotus 😉

If you got the IC Tahiti for $50 you got a steal  ....

This is their current price list  ... as of a few days ago 😉

Pappy ... you will have a wonderful time ...

As my video stated the PG is still a great choice ... so much so we've booked our 17th cruise on her. September, 2025 🙂

I'll say it again ... stay flexible. I would say 1/2 of my cruises in FP over the last 4 years have had some changes. Some due to the pandemic, some weather and some where the captain made a changeup in the itinerary because a larger ship would be visiting at the same time  ... thus rotating the order of islands. This is to make sure safety is the foremost responsibility of the crew. But be flexible  ...  Go with an adventurous spirt. 

Only one have I had a vendor be a no show and even then there was a reasonable explanation why. All the vendors I use have been very good to me over the years ... they go the extra mile. Almost all know when there is a change of plans by the ships and plan accordingly. If your date changes the vendors know ... though I would still check with them to verify. 

1 minute ago, jean87510 said:

The island was not offering anything at all - kayaks, taxis, tours, bikes, scooters, SUPs...etc... to walk offs.  It was bedlam.  We ran into the cruise director who had a similar issue in even getting a cab and went to Matira with us to and from.  Almost everyone was back onboard by 3pm.  Scheduled onboard was 730.  Even the captain commented on the situation.  They were not prepared for that size of ship.  

As you've heard me say before the only way to really see FP is by smaller ship. The big ships will soon be a thing of the past ... now you know why. Most of the islands do not have the infrastructure to accommodate large ships. 

When I go I always have private vendors booked and ready for me to arrive. 

I've had times where upgrades were not possible until 30 days prior. I guess my point is the 'load' can often dictate how things unfold. If there is lots of room your likely to get an upgrade offer before lets say a pretty full ship (load) ... French Polynesia is very fluid ... things can and do change quickly. What may be true today may be different shortly down the road. 

This is why FP is such an adventure  ... you never know what may unfold ... the key is be flexible ... 

Maohi Nui (Patrick) often has contracts with the cruise ships and with some ships he is not allowed to take private reservations. No excuse for not communicating with you but there is likely a reason why he wasn't 'hungry'.

There are other ways to get over to the Coral Gardens ... rent a kayak or pontoon boat from places close to the Moana IC. 

There are other places in FP that have better snorkeling though the Coral Garden is still very accessible and pretty good. We've played with octopus at the gardens as well as getting close to large eels. 

'Fred' ... our favorite eel at the Coral Gardens

Us on the pontoon boat at the Coral Gardens

'George' the octopus visiting with someone in my group. He loves the interaction and of course his treat afterword's. 

'Papa' feeding 'Fred' while we all watch ... Coral Gardens

On 3/27/2024 at 3:05 PM, Cruisedreamer1 said:

Big Kahuna: how do I access your video? Could you send it to me: car bet at rocketmail dot com?

 

Thanks!

Try this link  ... this video is CC friendly 🙂

Which ship is best for visiting French Polynesia?

4 minutes ago, Tom Sandra said:

@elmaexec @EPTCB @mermaid 285 and anyone else who has toured with Ato,

How did you go about securing the minimum of 8 passengers for the tour? 

 

Our cruise is 3 months away and we have very few people in our roll call. There are two couples (ourselves + one other couple) who want to do Ato's tour. Like elmaexec, communication has been difficult and sparse, so my questions are:

• How did you find the additional passengers?
• If we can't make the 8-person minimum, can those of us in attendance pay the difference? Was he open to this arrangement?
• I'm just hearing about this South Pass & Pink Sands in this thread. It will be the first time to Fakarava for all of us (so far) and we had inquired about the Blue Lagoon and snorkeling. Should we reconsider the South Pass instead? We are all snorkelers (no divers). [And thank you @Tahitianbigkahuna, I did see your comments about the long and rough ride to the South Pass, so we'll consider that also!]

Accumulating the numbers is usually left up to you. You could ask Ato if he had any other request from others .... if so ask if he could combine everyone 😉

A few from Saturday ....

Personally I would never disembark without having a taxi lined up  ... If your paying IC Tahiti prices you can afford the extra few bucks to not worry about how your going to get there ... just my opinion.

57 minutes ago, debfed65 said:

Thank you for posting your videos, they are very informative.  Our first trip is in 2 weeks 😁on Celebrity Edge visiting Raiatea, Papeete and Moorea on a TP.  I have already exchanged CDN cash in USD & Euro. Will the local vendors accept Euro or must I have CFP?

 

I like to shop with small vendors so I respect that they like to deal with cash only. 

 

I have pre-booked scuba diving in Papeete where they charged my credit card in XPF (CFP) & a reservation and water taxi to Cocobeach, Moorea also charged to my card in XPF.  

 

Debbie 

Euro is fine  ...

1 minute ago, Heartfelttraveler said:

Thanks for your swift response.  We sailed Nautica in October.  Our Owner's Suite was nice but our friends said the bathroom in the Veranda was miserable.  We are leaning towards the Star Breeze.

Star Breeze has large cabins .... smallest being 277 sf 😉

1 hour ago, Heartfelttraveler said:

My choice is between Oceania Nautica and Windstar Star Breeze.

I was on Oceania Marina in February 2019 and loved it.  Perfect cruise and weather.  Also perfect days pre and post cruise.

I have only been on Windstar Windsurf sailing ship but loved the experience.

Was on Nautica with friends in October 2023 and they were not thrilled with the balcony cabin bathroom.

From your knowledge, which ship would you choose?

Never sailed on Nautica but it is an R3/R4 ship class of about 650 passengers. Star Breeze has a maximum occupancy of 310, less than half of the Nautica. I've sailed several times on R3/R4 class ships  ... the difference in occupancy load is huge. The smaller ship (Star Breeze) will be more intimate.

Both cruise lines are known for good food. I will say that the Star Breeze has an excellent crew and are a lot of fun.

Watch the video:  Which Ship is Best for Visiting French Polynesia?

Yesterday's beautiful sunset from our garden ...

A7III

Zeiss 25mm

Baptized 16 yesterday ... a wonderful Resurrection Sunday 😉

I was 130 feet away with only a 135mm lens on a A7.

1/250

F/2.8

ISO 8000

Use an agent that is Tahiti certified. We are not allowed to give individual agent recommendations. Agents are allowed to give OBC but not kickbacks. I know ... some will say their agent gives money back but it isn't officially allowed.

Ponant use a type of dynamic pricing which typically means the sooner you book the prices are best. As the ship fills to price typically goes up. 

A few times a year Ponant does a few promos ... usually on cruises that need a little help to fill.

Typically best pricing can be found on cruises between the Middle of November through the end of March. This is known as the more humid/rainy season. 

29 minutes ago, Tahitianbigkahuna said:

Just talked to Ato ... said to try his email again as he received nothing 😉

I told him to check his spam folder ...

Nothing in his spam folder  ...

I sent him a test email ... he received. Send him another email 😉