Scuba Diving review, 10-night Society Is and Tuomotus, 07 March 2018

Scuba diving from the PG far exceeded my expectations. My wife and I are PADI Advanced OW divers with just over 300 dives each. I was initially concerned about the dives because they are very pricey. Also because scuba dives from a large cruise ship tend to be short “dumbed down” dives targeting the relatively inexperienced diver. I booked 7 dives under the assumption that I would cancel several if the first few dives did not please us.

My fears were unjustified; the PG dive team delivers a quality product. The rental equipment, included in the price of the dives, was modern and in very good repair. The program is extremely well organized and everything proceeded properly. We dove with two dive masters that were excellent,friendly and helpful. Our 7 dives consisted of 3 single tank dives done with the PG staff and 2 two-tank dives done with an outside vendor but booked through PG. These 7 dives cost $768/person. In March the water temperature was 84 degrees at each site.

For experienced divers I would recommend the 10-night itinerary over the 7-night itinerary because the diving at the two Tuomotu sites was excellent. We could have participated in an additional dive at Bora Bora and three more at Moorea but we chose not to do this. With the 7-night itinerary you could participate in as many as 8 dives (2 BB, 2 Taha’a and 4 in Moorea).

The PG dive boat is a large zodiac with a tank rack down the center. There is virtually no space to store anything so you are encouraged to leave stuff in storage racks at the marina. Your equipment is already on board prior to boarding the boat. The boarding process is done according to the equipment layout with dive buddies adjacent to each other. The rides to the sites were generally short. At the site you put on your fins and straddle the zodiac pontoon. The divemasters assist with your BCD/tank. You enter the water using an unusual “side roll” technique. Groups are small, typically 4 or 5 in our dives.

The two-tank dives were conducted by outside vendors using their equipment. The Rangiroa zodiac was smaller and had no tank rack. Riding to the site you sat on the pontoon with your BCD/tank between your legs. We entered using a traditional backroll. Climbing back into the boat was a challenge as the ladder wasn’t anchored near the bottom and it tended to swing under the boat. Equipment wasn’t as new as the PG equipment; in particular a few reported problems with their BCDs. They had no room for the tanks for the second dive so we went to their dive shop to refill the tanks. The surface interval was something over an hour in a pleasant covered patio that had a nice breeze.

The Taha’a dive vendor was based out of the nearby island of Raiatea. Their dive boat was a larger aluminum boat with a complete shade cover. Tank racks contained our equipment and the tank for the second dive. The boat was comfortable for the 10 divers and two dive masters. Entry was via a traditional back roll. The ladder to reboard was secure. At the conclusion of the second dive we were taken to the PG motu for the BBQ lunch.

Dive Details:

--Bora Bora, Tapu site: 80’, 54 minutes. 13 divers in 3 groups. Tapu is outside the reef. We immediately saw black tip sharks and sawthem regularly during the dive. Onelarge lemon shark and a small free swimming moray eel.

--Rangiroa, the first dive was 63 feet and 48minutes. Went outside the reef near thegap. Tons of tropical fish, a white tipshark, grey reef sharks, a sea turtle and a tiger shark at the end. The second dive was 68 feet and 56minutes. Fish even more plentiful. A sea turtle, lots of grey reef sharks, a seaturtle. Towards the end we encountered a“freeway full of tuna” that seemed to go on forever.

--Fakarava, 58 feet and 53 minutes. About 15 minute ride to just outside thereef. Several grey reef sharks, a crownof thorns starfish, large “balls” of large snapper. Coral seemed healthy.

--Taha’a We were offered the choice of doing two dives outsidethe reef or a drift dive back into the lagoon and a second dive outside thereef. Unfortunately we ended up with thesecond choice. The first dive was 95feet and 39 minutes but there was virtually nothing to see. We spent lots of time below 80 feet, probablyto burn off our air before the drift was concluded. Our surface interval outside the reef wasaccompanied by an amazing downpour of rain with wind. We were glad to return to the 84-degreewater. The second dive was 72 feet and46 minutes and it was much more productive. We were immediately greeted by black tip sharks that hung with us formost of the dive. Lots of nice coral andtropicals plus a huge Napoleon wrasse.

--Moorea, the Canyons, was 66 feet and 59 minutes. Black tip, white tip and lemon sharks. A smallish sleeping sea turtle. Nice coral with many tropicals includingseveral clownfish swimming through anemones. This was very nice way to end our diving excursions.

Mr. Bob,

Great descriptions of your dives, and great info. Thanks for posting. :)

I enjoyed your review. We take cruises for the diving and French Polynesia is on my list. I considered a live aboard but transportation gets painful with overnights coming and going. You gave nice reviews for the diving, but how would it rank if that was all you did compared to other diving you have done? Thanks for any added advice.

Cindy