MNmomof4

How far is the market from the port?

Thank you for all the info.  We are headed there in December and doing 3 nights pre cruise at the Hilton.   Did you mostly eat on site?  Did you rent a car?

12 hours ago, happydolphin said:

I recommend pure snorkeling in bora to everyone. The boats and guides are exceptional and you’re able to snorkel at less populated locations with shallow corals. We’ve gone twice and each time we visited different locations including a long snorkel in shallow coral, a spot with colorful fish and eels, manta rays at the cleaning station, and spotted eagle rays in deeper water. the post-snorkel ride around the lagoon in the speedboat is so fun.

Thank you!  We are currently booked with Pure snorkeling.  

This is our first time to Tahiti and I decided to fly all the way there in one day.  We are limited for time with the kids at home.  We leave Minneapolis at 7:15 am and go to SFO and a long layover then off to Tahiti and we get there at 8:40 pm.  We are getting a room at Fare Suisse overnight then off to Moorea for 3 days of relaxing before our cruise and getting use to the time difference.   Doing it all in one day home also.  I picked united since I liked the flight times better.  I also wanted all my flights ticketed together with one airline to avoid issues if we have flight delays for weather or any other reason.  We upgraded our flights to premium economy on the Tahiti portion only to have more leg room.  Our flights with the upgrade were each $300 cheaper than the PG allowance just for the LAX to Tahiti fare.

Thanks for your input!

Excursions through PG are opening up in a few weeks for out cruise.  I keep researching and I think I get more confused.

If we want to do wave runners, should we do it in Bora Bora or Moorea?

Would you recommend pure snorkeling or Raanui in Bora Bora?   On our second day we will be doing Patrick's through PG.

In Moorea we are thinking of ding Aito Off Road Safari or atv both through PG since we have OBC to use up.   Is there much difference between the tours other than the mode of transportation?

Thanks for all your insight!  I thought I had it all figured out then I saw something online and wondering if I should do something else instead.

Thank you for such a detailed report.  It will help me plan our December trip.

2 hours ago, huladoula1 said:

Just booked our air out of LAX using a search engine last night.  Around $1100 pp on Air Tahiti Nui.  I was getting a little nervous not having things nailed down. We also decided to stay at the Intercontinental Moorea using PG's pre-cruise package for 3 nights, plus a day room at the Tahitian Pearl post cruise.  Interesting that the IC Moorea is undergoing renovations so they're including dinner every night as a comp for guests for any inconvenience.   I just feel better knowing it's all booked from airport arrival to airport departure.  Now the waiting...……..

 

Thanks for letting me know you booked.  I nearly booked a few days ago but decided to wait.  I'm thinking of flying on the 3rd from Minneapolis to SFO to PPT on united and upgrade my seats for more leg room.  We would also get to Tahiti at 8:40 pm so we would stay somewhere not too expensive then take the ferry to Moorea on the 4th.  Air was about $1350-1400 last week.  I can't wait for our trip!

Thanks everyone!  I'm just excited to have my air booked soon.  

9 hours ago, Gumtree said:

Keep an eye out on Air Tahiti Nui / sign up for their newsletter so you get notice of their sale fare. Last week I purchased a $750 pp round trip for March/April of this year. Air Tahiti doesn't charge for seat assignments either, like Air France does ($22 pp each way). 

Thank you!   Seems like 10-12 weeks out is what some people do.  I saw that I could book one way on delta(Air France) with frequent flyers and I would have to book one way home paid on air Tahiti nui since we need to come back right away

Unfortunately my dates are not flexible.  Air France doesn't work for us.

How far out should I book to get the best prices on air to Tahiti for December?  I'm opting out of PG air and air is about $1300 now.

Thanks!

I am thinking of leaving LAX on December 3.  I already booked 3 nights at Hilton moorea( used some points).  That is as far as I got. Let me know if you see decent air out there and I will do likewise

23 hours ago, huladoula1 said:

We are also going on the 12/7/19 cruise to celebrate our 20th anniversary on 12/8! 

We will be on your cruise!   What a great way to celebrate your anniversary!  I can't wait to have air and everything else confirmed.

Following!  We are booked December 7, 2019   Can’t wait.   I already booked our pre cruise stay at the Hilton Moorea

Enjoy!  Can't wait to hear about it!

9 minutes ago, BeachTunes said:

 

Hi! We booked our flights on our own, around 9 or 10 weeks in advance if I remember correctly. We are thrilled that the wait is nearly over. One week from today we will be on route to Tahiti! 🙂

Thanks for the info!   I see sales every now and then but I’m a planner and like to book early.  It’s so exciting for you guys and to know that it will be me next year!  

Beach Tunes,  Did you get your air through PG?  If not, how far ahead did you book?  Thanks!

3 minutes ago, BeachTunes said:

Oh happy day! Today we received our cruise docs for our December 8 sailing. I must say, they are beautiful! Paul Gauguin is already exceeding our expectations and we aren’t even on board yet! 

 

I shared a couple of pictures of the documents package on our roll call and it was suggested I share them here too, as they might be new to some. 

 

I always appreciate any packages cruise lines send since they are rare these days but many aren’t versatile. This by far is my fave docs package I’ve ever received! 

 

Enough chatter on to the photos! These were taken on my iPhone so hopefully they’ll show up clearly enough here. (I can’t  figure out how to post multiple pictures with text so I’m sharing each picture individually.)

Wow they are nice!   Makes me excited for our cruise.  I would love to hear how you enjoyed the cruise when you come back.  We are going the same time but in 2019 and I’m a little worried about the rainy season.  Bon Voyage!!

Your review is amazing and with so much information for us first timers. How do you handle car insurance when you rent a car in Moorea. We are thinking of doing that for our precruise stay. Thank you!

I sailed two weeks in Jan last year. The first week had one nice day and one ok day. Bora Bora was so bad that the ship cancelled all tenders. Papeete was so badly floored that people were using canoes on the streets and flights were diverted. The next week was quite ok.

 

Jan is hit and miss. If it is your one and only trip go another time.

Thanks! That really helps me

May 2020 the PG is in dry dock.

 

I would suggest going shoulder season after the dry dock. September, October and early November are fantastic ;)

Thanks!

We have cruised in October, November and December without any serious rain issues. One in Bora Bora it rained as we biked but it didn't hinder us with our day. We also sailed in June without issues. Have you considered doing a 10 day cruise and skip the 3 day pre cruise? I think you would get a better value with your visit. Most of the islands can be seen within the time allotted while cruising.

Thanks for the input! OWB is on my bucket list and we have Hilton points to use. I also would like to acclimate to the time before we board.

I'm planning a trip in 2020 and I have some concerns about rainy season. At first I was looking at the January 11 sailing and after some research I realized it was rainy season. I want to do 3 nights pre cruise and can only do a 7 night cruise unfortunately. May would be perfect but for some reason there are no sailings in may. As you all know, these are expensive trips and I would hate for it to rain most of the time. My other option is mid February or I could try Sept or Oct. Any comments on the weather? This forum has such good ideas and suggestions that I can't wait to book and start the real planning!

TIA for all your suggestions to this newbie.

Your pictures are amazing! Your review is so helpful for someone just starting to plan a trip for 2020. Thank you for sharing!