RenaeInCA

I clicked on the link and it says the AFN sale has been extended to 4/27/14.

I love getting everyone's perspective!! And, Wendy the Wanderer, I love your review on your cruise! So, believe it or not, the excursions aren't a big deal - or the cost of them. We are not the adventurer type, we usually don't do excursions at every port. We are really looking for a relaxing experience, with good food and drink, great service, and a lovely cabin and balcony. We like watching the sunset from our balcony, spending time in the water (pool or ocean/lagoon), stunning ocean and island views, and having some privacy. I am really looking for an exotic place with stunning views for this trip. What we love about cruises is that we can usually eat when we want, we don't have to worry about where we are eating or how we're getting there, we get to see neat places but come back to the same room, we can do as much or as little as we like, and it's low-anxiety for my DH.

So, after doing more reading and talking to my DH, I think we are looking at May. I don't do well in high heat and humidity together, and I understand it can be that way in March and April. I'm hoping the sun's rays won't be quite so strong in May, as I am really fair and burn easily and tan slowly.

Please bring on any more comments!! I am leaning towards PG, but they don't offer the 11-day itinerary until the very end of May and I was hoping to avoid being there in mid-June. I will check on Regent to see if they offer one in May. I am dying to try out Regent :) as I was really sold on their experience.

Tiki,

I really would like to do the 11 Day Cook Islands & Society Islands cruise, so the dates would be either May 30 or April 11. The April 11 cruise has Jean-Michel Cousteau, so I'm imagining it will be popular. I have asked our TA to find out cabin avail for April. I would hate to go so late in May and be there through mid-June (we were going to stay a few days after). My only other option would to be go earlier, like November or early December of this year.

So, I have read quite a bit about the weather in Tahiti. Originally we were going to go in early January for our anniversary, but we just found out we are expecting our first grandbaby in late December :D. That time of year wasn't supposed to be ideal, weather-wise, anyway. So, we are looking at Spring, since we still want it to be close to our anniversary.

What are the pros and cons of Tahiti in March, April, May?

Have been traveling to French Polynesia and the Cook Islands every year for 20 years, feel free to ask questions.

I do have some questions for you, Tiki, but I can't figure out how to PM on CC.

Shelley, did you post a review or thread about your cruise? Since it was your first PG cruise, I am really curious about your experience.

Thank you for the replies! Originally, I had only considered Paul Gauguin for this cruise but then I saw it being promoted at a "family cruise line" in Travel & Leisure magazine and that surprised and concerned me. Don't get me wrong, I love children and can't wait to have grandchildren. But, we had noisy children with inattentive parents mar our last cruise.

My husbands two cruise irks are getting up early to leave the ship in port and dressing for dinner. I don't think I can get around the dressing for dinner for him. I think it would be so nice to see Tahiti and the Society Islands in their entirety, rather than just see a few islands.

I really need a little help before I decide to book the Tahiti 10 day cruise for Feb 2015. First off, this would be our first RSSC cruise (3 HAL, 1 X prior) and first time to Tahiti. We will be celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary, so I really want this trip to be special. Mostly I am trying to decide if we will do a resort only or the RSSC cruise with a few resort nights. Typically, we do a Caribbean cruise in the Spring, and a Hawaiian resort in the Fall/Winter. We don't usually do a lot of activities or excursions. Often times, we are fine with getting off the ship and exploring on our own and then enjoying the quiet atmosphere on board while everyone is off the ship.

I have a few questions/concerns that I hope someone can help me with:

1. On the RSSC excursions, are most of them scheduled first thing in the AM or are they paced out (i.e. 8am or Noon for a 8am to 6pm port call)?

2. Are any of you RSSC regulars the type who really just enjoy relaxing on the ship and taking a few excursions off the ship?

3. What is the evening dress on board? I can't recall off hand what the evening attire requirements are.

4. Are there a lot of kids on board? On HAL there wasn't and on X there were. In fact, on the X cruise there were three alones in the room next door that really put a damper on our enjoyment of the cruise.

I guess my fear is that between the long flight (we do live on the West Coast though) and port-intensive cruise, my DH won't find the cruise as relaxing as going to one or two Tahitian resorts.

If you can help, thanks so much!