My Review / Suggestions

I've thought about it .... many times over the last decade. The problem is things do change in fP. Excursions, vendors, prices, places ... it changes. I thought about a on-line book that I update continually as I find new information. We shall see .... I'm not the best writer, I good at in-person communication.

 

Again thanks for the kind words, places a smile on my face :)

I had more of a coffee table picture book in my mind. I don’t think much text would be necessary. Your photography speaks a million words! :D

I had more of a coffee table picture book in my mind. I don’t think much text would be necessary. Your photography speaks a million words! :D

Ah shucks :)

One question, how much did you pay for your 1kg of Vanilla last year?

Thanks!

One question, how much did you pay for your 1kg of Vanilla last year?

 

Thanks!

Actually we did not buy any on the last trip because the price of Vanilla went through the roof. Now the year before we purchased for $540 for a kilo. We split it 3 ways with two other couples who wanted a large amount. We had the vanilla grower/processor split the kilo 3 ways and then re-package and seal so it would be OK to go through customs.

We will see what the price is this year but the processor for "Cooks Vanilla" is located about a mile from where we live and we know the family well, in fact I went to school with the owners so we get free vanilla extract. The owners own a 600 acre vanilla farm on Fuji and purchase vanilla from around the world.

Tahiti Aromes is on Moorea, well their main facility is. Go there during the stop on Moorea ;)

As far as excursions there are good ones both from the ship and private. I've done both and enjoy both. On some islands it's best to take the ship excursions as there are limitations of available excursions. On Bora Bora and Moorea there are more excursions both ship and private so you might read the boards and glean a bit before making a decision. Also keep in mind the ship excursions are almost always likely to go whereas some private vendors require a minimum amount of people and if that number is not reached they cancel the excursion.

What I will say is the Marquesas is all about the island experience. Moorea and Huahine can go either meaning land or lagoon. On Bora Bora and the atolls it's primarily about the lagoon and on Tahaa it's about Motu Mahana with the primary exception being the drift snorkel. Remember you can do the drift snorkel and then you are taken to the motu so you can enjoy both.

We're getting close to our 60 day mark and am trying to figure out which shore excursions to book. Can you recommend which Marquesas Island tour is a must do? Thanks

I’ve never been to the Marquesas

I've been reading and hoping that you would get to the Cook Islands before we leave for our cruise this coming week. We spent a week on Bora Bora and a week on Moorea back in 1995, and took our first ever cruise on the Paul Gauguin to the Society Islands and the Marquesas last winter. It was a supposed to be a once in a lifetime cruise, but we booked onboard for next week's cruise because we loved it so much. This time we're staying at the Tahiti IC the night before the cruise, and 2 nights after so your info on that was very helpful. After arriving at 6 AM, we'll be there on Friday night and will try take a nap in the afternoon so we don't miss the show. The information on Huahine was also very helpful to us. Last winter we did the day at the beach. The hotel was very nice, and not crowded at all. It turned out that a couple we met at LAX and spent some time with on board were the only other people on that excursion so we had a great time, and the included lunch was delicious. This time we booked the 4x4 to Huahine Iti so we hope to see those beautiful views in your posts.

Please keep this going. I've read the other thread as well, and it has some very detailed info for a first timer, such as menus. But you have the experience that those of us who have been there once or twice before are looking for. We don't want to miss the best of any of these islands. Thank you so much for all your work. It is appreciated.

Any suggestions for ship tours on this cruise? We are going in October.

Any suggestions for ship tours on this cruise? We are going in October.

I believe there are several excursions mentioned in the thread ;)

I am truly thankful for all of the helpful advice given on this thread. The pictures have been amazing, too. We just booked our 10 day cruise on the Paul Gauguin. This will be our 1st trip to FP and cruising on Paul Gauguin. We will be celebrating our 40th Anniversary in July 2019. We are booked in cabin 437. Does anyone know if this cabin will have engine noise? I have so many questions, but I will continue reading this thread, and I'm sure I'll find some answers.

Thank you for your time,

Fount

I am truly thankful for all of the helpful advice given on this thread. The pictures have been amazing, too. We just booked our 10 day cruise on the Paul Gauguin. This will be our 1st trip to FP and cruising on Paul Gauguin. We will be celebrating our 40th Anniversary in July 2019. We are booked in cabin 437. Does anyone know if this cabin will have engine noise? I have so many questions, but I will continue reading this thread, and I'm sure I'll find some answers.

 

Thank you for your time,

 

Fount

You will be fine in cabin 437, have been in 436,427 love the big picture window. No noise either. Have a great time.

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I am truly thankful for all of the helpful advice given on this thread. The pictures have been amazing, too. We just booked our 10 day cruise on the Paul Gauguin. This will be our 1st trip to FP and cruising on Paul Gauguin. We will be celebrating our 40th Anniversary in July 2019. We are booked in cabin 437. Does anyone know if this cabin will have engine noise? I have so many questions, but I will continue reading this thread, and I'm sure I'll find some answers.

Thank you for your time,

Fount

Thank you for the kind words ... I always love helping others ;)

I've been reading the reviews and see that Patrick's tour in Bora Bora sounds amazing. Since we will be there 2 days (Friday and Saturday), does anyone know if it matters which day we book it on? I also read that we might want to be back on the ship for the Moonfish demonstration. Lastly, I read a lot of recommendations for going in Sept. or October. We are booked in July because our 40th Anniversary is the 7th and we sail on the 10th.

Sorry for all of the questions, but my excitement is out of control!

I am truly thankful for all of the helpful advice given on this thread. The pictures have been amazing, too. We just booked our 10 day cruise on the Paul Gauguin. This will be our 1st trip to FP and cruising on Paul Gauguin. We will be celebrating our 40th Anniversary in July 2019. We are booked in cabin 437. Does anyone know if this cabin will have engine noise? I have so many questions, but I will continue reading this thread, and I'm sure I'll find some answers.

Thank you for your time,

Fount

Thanks for the kind words, always willing to help.

437 is just fine. heading toward the rear of the ship and before you get to the marina door it's upper staff quarters.

Engine noise shouldn't be an issue unless the seas are a bit rocky in which case you might hear a groan now and then but that is true on several areas if it's rough seas .... your on a smaller ship ... which you will totally love ;)

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!

I would book that excursion for the second day...we got in later than normal to bora bora and by the time we got our passports back after clearing immigration on the ship, the pure snorkel tour already left...we booked this excursion privately so there was no real chance for error...we will book pure snorkel for our second day in bora bora in 2020

I would book that excursion for the second day...we got in later than normal to bora bora and by the time we got our passports back after clearing immigration on the ship, the pure snorkel tour already left...we booked this excursion privately so there was no real chance for error...we will book pure snorkel for our second day in bora bora in 2020[/quote

Thank you so much for this advice. I would have never thought of that. Does anyone know when we will get a list of the ships activities? I realize we are still over 300 days out, but so curious.

Thank you again for all the help!

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!

Thank you so much for the kind words :)

Feel free to ask questions, if I know the answer I'll give you one, if not I'll at least point you in the right direction.

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!

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 always add the insurance rider even though we have insurance through one of our credit cards. Yes it is an added expense but IMO a good idea to do.

Thanks for the kind words .... always love to help ;)