Buggie44

Truly awesome thread; the photography, the advice, the in-depth knowledge....Clearly you LOVE the PG, FP and what you do. There's so much information here to use as a reference; so much work and thought went into this ongoing post. I will be happily busy working on planning for October 2019. And BTW, I had written off Tahiti completely until I saw your beautiful photos of the IC and the parts not traveled by the average tourist. Very cool; just gives me one more decision to agonize over :) Thank you, or I should say, Maururu!

Wow, that's a great thought. Crazy long flight but would love to hear how it works out for you. I haven't do e my flight arrangements yet because it's too far ahead. Definitely an option

Thank you so much!!

Hi again everyone,

Thought I would give you the update. Decided on the Oct. 19, 2019 Society Island sailing. It falls closer to our anniversary date, we would celebrate DH's birthday on board, and I will have an easier time getting coverage for our work and that was a big concern. Also the combination of being first time cruisers on a small ship, newbies to FP and the 7 night island intensive option is a good fit. That said with the shorter cruise I can plan pre-cruise to adjust, the cruise to be pretty active, and then some down-time post cruise to chill until we have to go home. I am making notes of all the points regarding the land portion from this post, and will troll around to see what looks great for excursions etc.. You are the best; I really appreciate your help as this turned out to be a very tough choice.

Sincerely, Buggie

Larro9, curious to know where you stayed precruise on Tahiti? Thanks :)

thanks for the info!

Thank you for the additional thoughts. Bottom line this will be memorable for us no matter what.

Thank you so much for the thoughtful replies!

When I started this process I was thinking along the same lines as David and Wendy. I was researching a combination of a cruise and land for Hawaii before I "discovered" FP. The 7 day cruise gives a great overview of the Society Islands without sea day breaks and we'd have more time to bookend. Plus October will be an easier time to travel for us, and we got a bigger discount in this sailing.

"However" as Kahuna would say, and nicely discussed by both Kahuna and Larro9, most people do seem to go with the longest duration they can afford and enjoy their time on the ship. I think DH would appreciate the cooler temps in the Cooks too.

Maybe if I can manage it we could consider not just the pre-cruise but also bookending the 10 day.

So this may be another thread but.....

for either option Moorea seems the obvious choice for pre-cruise. Then I would pick a second island for post-cruise maybe one that has more reasonable price options ( I know, this FP so it's going to be more than anywhere else but that's fine). It would be ideal to choose an island in the area that isn't a focus on the cruise and/or is more overlooked. of course at some point it woukd be great to do the bucketist OWB. Should I go with the PG packages or look on my own?

I am raiding our never touched savings anyway, so may as well go for it. I am pretty sure when on my deathbed (unless I drop dead, of course which is preferable) fond memories of a bathroom renovation won't be first in my mind.....

Thanks so much for all the advice. Looking forward to hearing more.

Buggie

ok everyone, for a surprise 30th anniversary trip with DH I am trying to choose between the 11 night Cook and Society Islands Aug 3 2019 vs the 7 night Society Islands Tahiti-Iti cruise on Oct 19th 2019. For both would we would precruise, but could only post cruise with the 7 day. This is only our second cruise ever and first trip to FP. Just not sure if it might be more relaxing to bookend the cruise with two or three days on a couple different islands, or get to see the Cook ports and give up the post cruise extension. I guess cost is somewhat of a concern but I figure the shorter cruise plus land on both ends will be a wash with the longer cruise with a precruise.

What do you think and why? Looking forwrd to hearing lots of opinions. Thank you! Buggie PS maybe it helps to mention I am more into the water stuff than DH, and he is the history/cultural buff. Neither one of us is more than a casual snorkler so diving considerations aren't important. Thanks

Hi Wendy, Thanks for the reply. I was just wondering if anyone has tried the United flight from San Francisco; and also if people who opt to look for their own flights and fares book with the carrier or book using a third party site. Like you I've always used the carrier directly but I saw some low fares on Air Tahiti on Cheapflights.com and thought that might be an option to save a little. In reality, we'll most likely just go from LA rather than San Francisco, and will use the included airfare from PG. It's our first time so sometimes that's just the easiest way. Thanks! Buggie

Also also the same lines, if not working through PG or a travel agent do you like to book directly with the airline or on a third party site? I've done both but when traveling internationally usually go directly with the carrier because it's easier to straighten out problems without dealing with the discount sites. That said, the only option is Ait Tahiti anyway and I just saw prices in the $900.00 range which seems low.

thanks Buggie:cool:

thanks for this thread; wonderful review and photos of Motu Mahana. The photography discussions have inspired me to look into taking an evening class before the trip. Thank you!!

Saw United is offering a new service this year from San Francisco to Papeete but it looks seasonal. Anyone have experience with this? We are teaveling from Boston and I would like an overnight on the West Coast to break up the flights. San Francisco would be a great alternative to LA. Thank you!

Buggie:cool:

Also following closely. Our 30th anniversary is in Nov 2019 and I was planing for us to return to Hawaii where we honeymooned. This time we would mix a cruise with land and stay longer (9 days from New England was too short) THEN I saw boards and started researching French Polynesia and now Hawaii is in the rear view :)