Cook Islands Oct. 7th, 2017 Review

Wendy,

 

I heard back on the tuk-tuk tour and I was somewhat surprised by how much this tour costs. When I read your post above I missed that it was a per person quote versus a per vehicle. So, my question is, was it worth the $320 for a half day tour in your opinion? My options are to just rent a car for about $75 or rent two of their electric bikes for a little over $100, obviously the down side is no tour guide or experiencing the tuk-tuk. The other option is doing the PG excursion hike with Pa.

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Hi Doug, not sure I can answer your essential question of whether it's worth it. Obviously renting a car is cheaper. Based on the people I spoke to said, if you do that, just make sure you do your homework and have good tools to find your way around.

What I was doing was comparing the ship's tour, 'Circle Island Tour', 4 hours, by bus. It's currently $129 USD pp.

The tuk-tuk tour translates to about USD$110 pp. 1 NZ$=~$.69 USD.

Wendy,

 

I heard back on the tuk-tuk tour and I was somewhat surprised by how much this tour costs. When I read your post above I missed that it was a per person quote versus a per vehicle. So, my question is, was it worth the $320 for a half day tour in your opinion? My options are to just rent a car for about $75 or rent two of their electric bikes for a little over $100, obviously the down side is no tour guide or experiencing the tuk-tuk. The other option is doing the PG excursion hike with Pa.

 

Thanks for any input,

 

Doug

Hi Doug,

We were on this cruise and rented a car from Island Car and Bike on Rarotonga. They picked us up at the dock and took us to the rental place, not far away. My husband is used to driving on the left side so that was not a problem. I had brought a preprinted map from google of snorkeling sites. We stopped at the Botanical Gardens ($5 each) and then The Rarotonga Hotel, where we took our snorkel gear and towels through the lobby to the beach. They were happy to tell us to come on through to a snorkel area called Are'ea Marine Sanctuary. We met some other folks from the ship there who had taken the bus there. Unfortunately a squall came through and we had to cut it short. I would have enjoyed having lunch at the resort...

Hope that helps,

Susan and Joe

Thanks to both of your responses! What I did not realize and what was not explained in the email to me, was that the cost of $160 per person was in New Zealand dollars. So, $110 per person for a guided tour in a unique vehicle is still more expensive than just renting a car, but I am on vacation, and I think I will let someone else do the driving :D:D

Sounds like a great day!

Doug

Thanks to both of your responses! What I did not realize and what was not explained in the email to me, was that the cost of $160 per person was in New Zealand dollars. So, $110 per person for a guided tour in a unique vehicle is still more expensive than just renting a car, but I am on vacation, and I think I will let someone else do the driving :D:D

 

Sounds like a great day!

 

Doug

Hope you enjoy it. We too went to the Botanical Gardens and the small museum. We had no NZ, but in both cases, the entrance fee was done in a donation box, and we just used USD, no problem. The gardens are small, but very nice. Ditto the museum, just one room, not a must-see.

BTW, if anyone is into the history and anthropology of the Polynesian culture in a big way, the museum on Tahiti, Museum of Tahiti and the Islands, is well worth it. It's usually included in the bus tour that is part of the pre-cruise PG package.

Hope you enjoy it. We too went to the Botanical Gardens and the small museum. We had no NZ, but in both cases, the entrance fee was done in a donation box, and we just used USD, no problem. The gardens are small, but very nice. Ditto the museum, just one room, not a must-see.

 

BTW, if anyone is into the history and anthropology of the Polynesian culture in a big way, the museum on Tahiti, Museum of Tahiti and the Islands, is well worth it. It's usually included in the bus tour that is part of the pre-cruise PG package.

Wendy,

Thanks again for this review and all of the other helpful posts you've made before the cruise. We enjoyed going to Les Tipaniers for the day on Moorea just to check out for future possibilities. We were definitely disappointed by the weather and not landing in Aitutaki, but oh well.The snorkeling and ship were fabulous!

What time of year do you think would be better? One of the Gauguines told me April....

Susan and Joe

Susan and Joe, I guess we didn't meet onboard?

Perhaps the Gauguine was talking about April as a good month for the Cooks? Don't know, the Societies are definitely hot and humid in April--granted I was having hot flashes at that point in my life, but I found it a bit much for me. Also higher risk of rain I believe, kind of like December in "main" part of FP. Too bad we couldn't get someone give us stats on "failures to tender" into the Cook Island ports.

Hi Wendy

Saw your post on the Seabourn threads and remembered your fairly regular postings for PG on CC over the years. Noted you were recently on board, so clicked across to look at your review. Thanks for that. We remember Elmo well. Wonder if Marvin, Ivan and Junar are still on board??

We too were PG regulars over 10 years, but haven't been on since Siglo departed. We have done mostly Seabourn over the past 14 years, but have been thinking of adding in another PG next year with a group of friends as part of a trip down memory lane. Our only concern was having raved for years about the PG, we have been a bit reluctant to take a group of newbies if it's gone down hill... I still find it hard to contemplate sailing out of Taha'a without the Siglo playlist. Their music really made it for us.

It's good to hear that the ship and crew are what we left, know and love (aside from the entertainment). So we might try and pencil in a trip from Australia in 2018 if the price is right. Thanks also for the comments on Le Meridien. We've done the OWB before and probably would have looked at the same again.:eek:

Happy cruising. Hope you enjoy Seabourn.

Hi Wendy

Saw your post on the Seabourn threads and remembered your fairly regular postings for PG on CC over the years. Noted you were recently on board, so clicked across to look at your review. Thanks for that. We remember Elmo well. Wonder if Marvin, Ivan and Junar are still on board??

 

We too were PG regulars over 10 years, but haven't been on since Siglo departed. We have done mostly Seabourn over the past 14 years, but have been thinking of adding in another PG next year with a group of friends as part of a trip down memory lane. Our only concern was having raved for years about the PG, we have been a bit reluctant to take a group of newbies if it's gone down hill... I still find it hard to contemplate sailing out of Taha'a without the Siglo playlist. Their music really made it for us.

 

It's good to hear that the ship and crew are what we left, know and love (aside from the entertainment). So we might try and pencil in a trip from Australia in 2018 if the price is right. Thanks also for the comments on Le Meridien. We've done the OWB before and probably would have looked at the same again.:eek:

 

Happy cruising. Hope you enjoy Seabourn.

Hi, yes, we're looking forward to trying Seabourn. The PG isn't quite the same without SIglo, but the ship in general is excellent! Ivan has retired, don't know the other two names. We are trying to figure out how to do it again before we retire from big-time travel completely!

Wendy, I remember before your cruise that you were going to take the 4 x 4 tour of Huahine Iti on this cruise. I am interested in your feedback to this tour as we are trying to decide between the more typical tour of Huahine Nui with the various cultural stops or the less visited Iti with more natural beauty. I know TBK prefers Iti ,and I am inclined to book Iti , but what is your opinion?

And, was your tour through PG or independent?

Thanks,

Doug

Wendy, I remember before your cruise that you were going to take the 4 x 4 tour of Huahine Iti on this cruise. I am interested in your feedback to this tour as we are trying to decide between the more typical tour of Huahine Nui with the various cultural stops or the less visited Iti with more natural beauty. I know TBK prefers Iti ,and I am inclined to book Iti , but what is your opinion?

 

And, was your tour through PG or independent?

 

Thanks,

 

Doug

Hi Doug,

I'm not sure if you have been following along with my review, but I did the Huahine Iti by 4x4 tour and wrote a detailed review of every stop on that tour. Here's a link to the review if you want to check it out...

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2545707

Huahine starts on Page 10 (post 181). Hope that helps you make your decision!

Hi Doug,

I'm not sure if you have been following along with my review, but I did the Huahine Iti by 4x4 tour and wrote a detailed review of every stop on that tour. Here's a link to the review if you want to check it out...

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2545707

 

Huahine starts on Page 10 (post 181). Hope that helps you make your decision!

Thanks, looks like you had a great time, and I appreciate your input. I was just writing to Wendy as I believe she has done both 4 x 4 's of Nui and Iti and I was curious as to her impressions and or comparisons.. I did just notice she commented on your thread that she loved the Iti tour. So, am leaning toward replicating your decision to do Iti on our first trip to Huahine.

Doug

Thanks, looks like you had a great time, and I appreciate your input. I was just writing to Wendy as I believe she has done both 4 x 4 's of Nui and Iti and I was curious as to her impressions and or comparisons.. I did just notice she commented on your thread that she loved the Iti tour. So, am leaning toward replicating your decision to do Iti on our first trip to Huahine.

 

Doug

Hi Doug, yes, we did the Huahine Iti tour this time and loved it. The guide we had was the lead, i.e., of three trucks, we were in hers. I can't remember her name, but she's a winsome young thing, so if you can choose, choose her 4x4. She's an anthropologist and very knowledgeable, and was the one who provided the commentary at the stops.

Previously we had some the "Sacred Places" (?) tour of Huahine Nui to the more traditional stops, the blue eyed eels, the vanilla stop (hardly a farm), the museum and several maraes, including one up a forest trail which I couldn't hike up to, having just had heart surgery. All very interesting. Lead at the time, by an American anthropologist who was also very good, and gave more of a sociological view, from an outsider's perspective of life in the islands. He ranted a bit at times, frankly.

Huahine Iti is more laid back, stopped at a vanilla farm, and saw how they are cultivated, very interesting. Stopped in a small town, and up in the hills to get a lecture on all the different trees and fruits that grow. And to a marae on the shore. Just lots about the life in this untroubled corner of paradise.

I'm glad to have seen both, and not sure which I'd choose if I were you. Both were ship's tours, and the Nui tour was small, so fairly pricey as I recall.

Neither had an opportunity for swimming, by the way.

Thanks Wendy! While all three tours sound great, I think the Iti tour best suit what we like to see.

And another reason why we will need to come back, to do one of the others next time[emoji16].

Doug

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