Emdee

Southseasue has a point about the dances.

We were able to buy tickets for both the Heiva in Bora Bora and the Heiva in Tahiti. The former was a very local experience with local foods being sold to complement the dancing and story telling. The PG had tenders late into the night to accomodate us.

The latter was a huge extravanganza of unimaginable scale with over 1000 male and female dancers on the floor at any one time. You can you tube it to get the feel. I think we were likely one of the very few foreigners present as the stadium for filled with local tahaitians. There were also food stalls and others selling local handicrafts.

I was really sorry that I hadnt taken enough of money as they had a gorgeous wedding blanket for sale for just $175.00 Just the same type of blanket in which you can be wrapped on the PG if you are celebrating an anniversary.

I hope to visit another time during Heiva - maybe in 2014.

Tiki has said it all!

I would suggest Rangiroa or Fakarava as well where you can live in a simple pension and meet the people.

The big advantage of the PG is the Gauginnes local women from FP who are ambassadors of Tahitian culture. Mark Eddowes is another big asset an archeaologist who will lecture the history including social and cultural history of French Polynesia.

Other lines like Oceania and Princess will reveal FP to you but you will be on the outside. With the PG you are brought into that world in so much as a luxury cruise ship can give this to you.

I think a week on the PG and another in the tuamotus would give you a good combination.

The 4x4 can be a nightmare after the rains. The vehicles get bogged down in 2 feet of soft mud so it is not just inconvenient but dangerous.

Host Andy is absolutely correct:

India recently published new regulations regarding entering the country within 2 months of departure which would require individuals with a tourist visa, even multi-entry visas, to obtain a re-entry visa. There is an exception for ships visiting several ports but this does not apply to those who disembarked in India then decided to exit for a week or two on a side trip and return to Mumbai to take their flight back. This is particularly pertinent for those who use India as a stop off point in both directions before returning home - something I used to do.

Fortunately I have a life long visa so am exempt!

Piney glad you loved Ato.

The Poisson cru from Marc and Ato are a bit different but equally delish. I guess each island adds their own and I found Ato's had more lemon and marc's more coconut.

I can attest that Motu islander and Mrs MI looked quite spiffy on the first afternoon....not at all like death warmed over!!

I havent done the pinnacle but can vouch for Ato.

For those who dont eat fish he has some kind of salad and coconut bread and watermelon. Make sure he knows in advance so he can bring some vegetables to grill on the open fire. I would even take some myself for him to grill.

the beauty of Ato's tour is the isolation - just you and the soft white sands and 10 or so select participants. I think the snorkelling as snorkelling goes was average. There were close encounters with reef sharks. Its the location that sings...

Really enjoyed every word... made my day

If you go on the PG they usually have a variety of shows.

In raitea they have the children come on board and dance.

The Gauguins are very adept at Tahitian dancing.

Usually between Moorea and Tahiti they bring one if the best local troups on board I think its I Tahiti.

So no cost there for you and also no time wasted.

Annagon,

while the Thalosso doesnt offer day passes to casual customers it is offered as an excursion on the ship so you can book it through the PG.

Suggest you communicate with the hotels directly - thats how we found out about the Hilton Day Pass in Moorea and the Intercontinental Day Pass in Tahiti.

The PG has started offering day passes at the Intercontinental hotels in Moorea and Bora Bora since Pacific Beachcomber took over the running of the ship.

If you are just looking for a beautiful beach suggest you go to the Motu Tevairoa on the PG Shuttle. You can return to the ship for lunch. We usually spend at least one if not two days on the Motu when the PG is in Bora Bora.

Mighty ,

IMO the "essence" of FP is something you get from the gauguinnes while on the PG. Others dont have that opportunity so have to get it from other sources.

That being said I have never taken Patrick's tour. I know everyone loves it though.

Trav did you do Marc's tour on Huahine? If you did how did it compare with Patrick.

Thanks

Miriam

I found the quality of the Regent excursions significantly better. For example when they included a meal it was an excellent meal in an enjoyable setting. Many of the excursions even included a snack in a scenic spot so there was a bit of relaxation between the bussing and walking.

On my one cruise with Oceania their excursions were pathetic and food inedible. In Japan I felt sorry for some of the seniors on our bus when they had nothing to eat and had to content themselves with buying an icecream as that was the only food available. Others who had breakfast type bars consumed them I carried a host of nuts and dried fruits so we were able to manage. We had fortunately customized almost all of the excursions but the few we did use were really poor.

I have had several better excursions on Celebrity. I noticed too that the buses on Oceania were packed tight. This April most of the excursions had buses only half to 2/3rds full.

My contention is just because the description is the same it does not mean that the quality will be the same. .

Some of us go back to the time before it was all inclusive and we did have to sign chits for the bar at least. So its not only the all inclusiveness that separates Regent from Oceania.

The demographic on the longer cruises is a big difference and other items that I have brought up before.

Regarding the Regent name, Hondorner, you will find the Regent Hotels are a lot more Luxe than the regular Radisson name. They were diffrentiating the various levels within their family which is not uncommon with hotel chains. The Radisson cruises were on a higher luxury level than Radisson hotels but more in line with the Regent level of hotels hence the name change.