You were all right!

I'd like to extend a big "thank you!" to all those who stay with this board and so graciously follow up and answer questions. Your input and wonderful reviews helped make our Paul Gauguin cruise one of our best vacations ever!

My husband and I have thought about FP as a vacation destination for quite some time. He is an avid diver and we both love the water and snorkeling. Our neighbors raved about the PG, so we decided to take the plunge for our 20th anniversary. We have cruised in the past on most of the popular lines, primarily in the Caribbean, and prefer that type of vacation to land based resorts or all- inclusives. So far our best diving/snorkeling had been in Bonaire. We also enjoyed our Norwegian cruise of the Hawaiian Islands. The PG, on the surface, initially appears much more expensive, but if you take into account its all inclusive nature, included airfare, included gratuity, and the fact that food and lodging is expensive in FP...it ends up quite the bargain!

We left Little Rock on Wednesday after work and flew into LAX, where we overnighted at the Crowne Plaza. Check in at the international terminal Thursday afternoon was pretty painless, and soon we were strapped into our "not quite comfortable" seats on ATN. On the way there we drank and watched movies and were generally excited about the trip, so it wasn't too bad. The way back was another story: ATN wins the prize for the most uncomfortable long haul coach experience EVER! Really, there are no words for how bad those seats are (and I am not a large or tall person.)

Customs at the Tahiti airport was as expected, a little hot and humid and too few agents, but soon we were in a cab heading toward the Tiare Tahiti in Papeete. Now I listed all the reasons to my husband why we would want to either 1) stay in Moorea or 2) book the Intercontinental....but all he had on his mind was easy access to the roulettes. He is a food truck junkie. Now the best way I can describe the Tiare Tahiti is "run-down Poconos" for those that are familiar with the east coast, Pennsylvania and NY Catskills region. We were given a huge metal key! Honestly, the air cond did the job, the mattress was fine (but ugh bedding and pillows) and the bathroom was clean. The view of the marina was fantastic, and we were too pooped to let the traffic noise bother us. The best part was watching two Princess ships, the humongous Celebrity Solstice and finally our lovely PG pull into port. At this point my husband was getting nervous because the parts of Tahiti he had seen so far were vastly overpopulated for his taste, and he didn't think mega ships plied the FP waters.

We met Sebastian of Ciao Tahiti Tours promptly at 9am at our hotel lobby, and embarked on our 8 hour 4x4 tour of the interior. Our group was rounded out by a young vacationing couple from France and an English couple off the Solstice. Sebastian spent the entire day speaking French and then repeating himself in English, and this was pretty much the way it was for every tour we took. Some guides did a better job than others! The tour itself was great: The Pompanoo (sp?) valley was awesome, the waterfalls were beautiful, it rained some and it was sunny some. We swam in a cool river, we saw lots of native plants, we ate lunch at a restaurant in the center of the ancient crater. About the time we visited a camp site with giant eels and an arboretum I was starting to get a little tired and the jostling of the 4x4 was getting to me. This was not to be the last time on the trip that I was starting to feel that maybe, just maybe (gasp!) I wasn't a spring chicken anymore.

A little bedraggled we were returned to our hotel, and paid Sebastian the agreed upon amount ($70 per person or 6500 spf...We paid in spf because we had them) This would be a good time to point out that we absolutely did not need any local currency anywhere. The cab drivers to and from the airport quoted us USD. The supermarkets, hotels, pearl stores and roulettes took cc. The market in Papeete took USD, even the market tents in Moorea and the private motu had prices marked in USD. The better stores were 1 =100, or drop the last two digits to come up with the exchange. In some of the smaller, local places it probably came out a little better to use local currency, but we didn't get a great rate when we had to "buy" the francs from our local bank in Little Rock, and then lost money again when we "sold" them back for US currency on the PG. Lesson learned: next time we'll bring only about 50 bucks worth for incidentals!

The roulettes were yummy. Poisson cru has now edged out ceviche and sushi as my raw fish of choice. I am experiencing withdrawal as I type, in fact. My husband hopped around and ended up with some strange Polynesian/Asian/Italian mash up for dinner. We enjoyed watching the local kids play in the square, and there were musicians doing their thing. We took a good close look at the ship that we would be boarding tomorrow and called it a night.

Up next: The PG!

Nice read

Woke up Saturday morning at 4:30 again, and convinced my husband that the market opened at 6am, so off we went. It was a cornucopia of sounds, sights and smells. We breakfasted on bananas, mango and shredded coconut, then started shopping for souvenirs for folks back home. I bought a lovely pareo for myself, and then we hung out at Cafe Maeva upstairs with mugs of tea and took advantage of their free wi fi.

We checked out of our hotel at eleven, and let them hold our bags in the lobby while we did some more shopping/sightseeing/drooling over pearls (OK, that part was just me!) We actually ended up at Cafe Maeva again for poisson cru, Hinano and wi-fi. At two thirty we retrieved our luggage and rolled it across the street to the small tent set up by PG. There were maybe twenty passengers already grouped up to board, and maybe twenty more arrived before they started boarding at 3:03pm on the dot...could you tell I was anxious to get on board? I had my list of things to do!

Boarding/checking in was painless. Champagne, credit card, the "I haven't been sick lately form" and we were escorted to cabin 607, except wait...we were supposed to be in 324! Yup, after over twenty cruises, the elusive upgrade fairy struck!! I was gobsmacked (I love that word). At first I looked at my husband, who had that "don't look at me" face on, and about two seconds later realized he probably should have played it off. I suspect my absolutely wonderful TA, and the fact that we were celebrating our actual twentieth anniversary date on this cruise, had something to do with it.

We made full use of the balcony the entire cruise, and it gave me a place to read in the morning without having to wake up my husband.

The cabin was very nice: all the soft furnishings were in good shape. The bed, and bedding, were first rate. The bathroom and tub were spotless. L"Occitane Verbena toiletries endlessly replenished. We had a bowl of fruit, Godiva chocolates and a bottle of champagne upon arrival. The size of the cabin was like a large balcony cabin or mini suite on the popular lines. I loved the fact that the closets were divided into his and hers, and I had "my space" which was the vanity/desk area and my husband had "his space" by the mini bar. Both of these spaces had a stool/chair and an electrical outlet with US plugs....no adapter necessary. I only had one tiny complaint: to have light at the vanity table ALL the room lights had to be turned on (no biggie, but my husband kept mentioning it...)

OK...so now we had to accomplish THE LIST (thanks, familygoboston!)

1. Dinner reservations. Sunday at La Veranda (Huahine day) and Tuesday at Le Grill (first Bora Bora day because the ship is not moving and it's not as windy, etc)

2. Check on dive and snorkel excursions.

3. Buy internet package. Medium would have been just fine for the week except SOMEONE left their device logged in on Wednesday night which necessitated a purchase of a small package for Thursday and Friday. Be sure to log off!!

4. Check out our snorkel fins from the marina.

We toured the entire ship, unpacked, ate dinner at Le Etoile and listened to some music, but the details are a little fuzzy. Remember that bottle of champagne? At dinner, and lunch, for that matter, the PG features what I like to refer to as the "bottomless glass of wine." It's like being over somebody's home where the host is being really zealous about his bartending duties. I usually had to cover my glass with my hand and say "No thank you!" quite emphatically at some point every meal.

I remember the cruise director leaving the welcome aboard show because he said they had to greet the passengers arriving on the Saturday evening flight. I don't know how I feel about arriving that late on the first day, but we were among the few that left the ship on Friday to catch the 11:59 pm flight so we could be home late Saturday.

Next: Huahine

Great informative report! I especially liked that you went "off the path" with a different hotel than the usual.

I'm loving your review! I'm getting married next summer and planning to honeymoon on the PG in 2017. Your information and details are wonderful!

Huahine dawned sunny and warm (and I do mean dawn...sigh, made it to 5:15am this morning before waking up) We asked for tea to be brought to the room at 6:30 as there are no coffee/tea makers in the cabin. We made our way to what would become "our table" outside aft at La Veranda for breakfast. You can order off the menu or choose from the extensive buffet. The service was extremely attentive...We had three servers taking care of our every need, and this level of attention continued throughout the cruise.

This morning we did the ship's tour "Huahine lagoon cruise and snorkel" It was a great way to spend the morning. At the time we were excited by the clarity of the water and the fish/coral, but in retrospect it paled in comparison to Taha'a and Bora Bora. We also visited a small beach and

munched on fruit and coconut.

Back on board we enjoyed lunch at Le Grill, again off the menu or an excellent buffet. There was a bottomless glass of Stella...

My husband spent a few hours that afternoon blowing bubbles in the pool (diver refresher course) and I cracked open a book I've been meaning to read for a year. The weather stayed beautiful and sunny that day.

There was a family from FP aboard that sang and played guitar/ukalele on deck and on the motus. I loved finding a chair or lounger near them and just listening...They remind me of my extended family (Ukrainian) because we do the same thing when we get together. I thought of it as an extra bonus.

La Veranda that night was over the top. I actually felt a little queasy after all that rich, French food. Everything was very well presented and the service was excellent. We skipped the show that night and just went belly up, setting up a light breakfast of fruit and tea to be brought to our room in the morning...

Tahitianbigkahuna, Cruisedreamer1, and tymike...thanks for the encouragement! This is the first time I've submitted such a detailed review but I just felt that everyone on this board was so helpful to me when I was planning! It's not the same on some of the other boards...

I just glanced at my la Orana for Huahine and realized that we attended the "Children of Huahine Show" at 3pm (actually made me miss my kids...for about five minutes) followed by the moonfish demonstration on the pool deck (super cool...consider NOT booking La Veranda on Huahine day because it was only served at L'Etoile).

TAHA'A

I had some mixed signals here...most of the experts on this board recommend spending the entire day at Motu Mahana, and I can certainly understand why. I mean, what's not to like? Sun, sand, food, drink, music...and pretty darned good shopping too! I wish I had bought a pearl ring that I liked but decided to wait until Bora Bora, and figured I had the ship's boutique as a backup since we weren't going to be back in Papeete long enough to make a purchase.

Our main goal was excellent snorkeling though, so I prebooked the coral garden drift snorkel through the PG and hoped I made the right decision.

I felt a little better that morning when we woke up and saw that it was overcast, not a fantastic beach day after all. Also the first tender to the motu wasn't until ten fifteen anyway, so maybe there would still be coconut drinks left for US by the time we got there. See what my husband has to deal with?

The drift snorkel was FANTASTIC: Best.Snorkeling.Ever....So far, I mean! We've snorkeled in Bonaire, Aruba, Kona, Maui, Belize, Roatan, Caymans, Cozumel, Virgin Islands, Tortola, etc. This experience (and Bora Bora) was the entire package. Excellent soft and hard coral, great sea life, great water clarity. Yes, it does get shallow in parts and you are drifting over coral that is about two feet below (knees straight, arms at your sides). Yes, some of the passes are narrow (again, arms at your side). The current is very fast at the start, and sometimes slowing techniques need to be employed so as not to plow into the person you are following. The tour description clearly states this is recommended for experienced snorkelers only.

We repeated the drift three times, each time taking a slightly different course. We had two guides, one took the lead, then the second guide told each one of us when to "go" and we went single file into the current. It was very quick in the beginning (the current is formed where there is a break in the coral barrier reef that separates the ocean from the lagoon) and honestly I felt like I was flying. I'm glad it was done multiple times because the first time I was just looking where I was going and probably missed quite a bit. We got to a beach after about ten minutes, our guide gave us back our water shoes/sandals (he was snorkeling with them all in a mesh bag) and we hiked back to the starting point, gave him our shoes, put on our fins, and did it again. Very cool, and very well organized!

By noon, we were dropped off at the motu, and the sun started to peek out! And there were still coconut drinks! The afternoon is a blur of great food (poisson cru again), too many coconut drinks, strumming Polynesian music and gorgeous views. We were on the last tender back.

We cleaned up for the evening, watched the sun set on the pool deck during the sail away party, had dinner at L'Etoile, and missed the show, again.

Bora-Bora

This morning my husband had two dives, one at eight and one at ten. We ordered room service breakfast so that I could laze around in the room without having to be "presentable" for as long as I wanted to...but by nine thirty I was on a tender to Vaitape in search of the perfect tahitian pearl ring. That morning I located my top five, and you can rest assured my husband was overjoyed that he didn't get dragged along on that shopping trip! I decided to sleep on it and come back with him the next day to make the final choice.

We met at our favorite outside table at La Veranda for lunch. My husband was full of fish (and mammal) tales: sharks, turtles, dolphins, rays, even a whale sighting as they were getting to the dive site. By the way all the dive excursions leave directly from the PG marina that drops down from the bottom aft. Very convenient and according to him a top notch operation.

That afternoon was spent on the Bora-Bora motu and in my opinion it is not to be missed by beach lovers. Beautiful stretch of white sand, gorgeous view of mount Otemanu, it's just the iconic Polynesian experience. There are no loungers but true beach lovers will just find a gentle slope of sand and throw the towel down. One of those rolled up straw mats from the ABC stores in Hawaii would work great here, then you can keep your towel clean to dry off with later as you are rushing to catch the last tender, again.

Beer, water, soda and snacks are available.

Dinner tonight was at Le Grill. The tables were set up around the pool, the lights were gently flickering, and it was very romantic until the winds started gusting and then the heavens opened up and it started to pour!

By the way, ladies, don't even bother with the flat iron on this trip. I invented some pretty nifty updos that made the most of my natural curl. Take a cue from the beautiful Polynesian women, and if in doubt, just cover it up with a big flower!

We finished our meal indoors (Le Grill is on the pool deck) and the servers never missed a beat, just carrying in all the tables in about five seconds. My bottomless wine glass remained full. This menu was more in keeping with our regular diet at home, mostly fresh fish and veggies with an Asian/Polynesian flair.

Missed the show again, but I think we tried our luck in the casino for an hour or so after dinner.

Next morning we had an outside excursion with Pure Snorkeling. We were picked up by powerboat from the dock about 5min after nine. There were two French couples, and one Spanish couple that spoke fairly good English, so our guide did the back and forth thing with explaining everything twice.

The day was overcast again, which made it a little cold for me. I wore a rashguard while snorkeling, which is necessary to avoid sunburn even with the cloud cover. (my calves actually got burned on this excursion), but I should have brought a dry windbreaker to change into between swims.

We packed a lot into this trip: 1st stop to watch for spinner dolphins (yes) and whales (no). 2nd stop two incredibly large manta rays. They were freakishly beautiful. 3rd stop "the aquarium," the most fish I have ever seen in one place. Quentin, our guide and captain, teased out from a rock a Moray eel with a huge snaggle-toothed grin. Eek! I almost skipped the 4th stop, eagle rays, because I was seriously shivering by now and just needed to warm up a little and we were go-go-go. Quentin offered me a shortie to use but instead he just had me pop in the water at the last minute after the school of rays were found. Our 5th and final stop was at the coral garden. Less fish than the aquarium but truly impressive hard and soft corals. By now we had circumnavigated the entire lagoon, so there is a lot of bang for your buck with this tour.

We decided not to return to the motu for the afternoon because the weather was still on and off rain, and frankly I was exhausted, and cold. I quickly narrowed down my ring to the top three in my head and took my husband to look at each one. So many here have said the right pearl will speak to you. So true! For me it came down to slight variation in color. I already had earrings from Maui, and use them so much because charcoal is my favorite neutral. Robert Wan's shop had my pearl, and they gave me the necessary paperwork to get stamped at the airport to avoid 16% VAT.

Back to the PG, and by this time it was after regular lunch hours. We tried to order room service, but for some reason couldn't get the phone to work. Le Grill was serving "light snacks" which was essentially the off the menu portion of lunch. This was the only time service took a while and wasn't as seamless as usual, but what the heck, I could get my own beer from the pool bar, right? I was getting dangerously used to being waited on hand and foot by this point. I made my husband go get my drink actually!

I think we napped a little, then another fantastic meal at L'Etoile. I know, eat, sleep, repeat, right?

No show for us again, but we actually heard a lot of it from our room, as our cabin was positioned over the Grand Salon. It was not unpleasant, or super loud, but it was noticeable. What was a little unpleasant to me was the rocking of the ship as we made our way from Bora Bora to Moorea that night, all night. My husband said it lulled him to sleep, I was afraid we would tip over several times. I kept my lipstick tubes in the drawer of my vanity and they were just rolling back and forth in there until I had to get up to do something about it. I want to stress that I never felt seasick on this cruise, however.

Still: Moorea, and final thoughts, but I think I'll call it a night for now

Most awesome read, thanks!

Great review.....makes me home sick!

You write from the heart, great read, getting my motor running as I leave for another PG trip in 61 days :)

You write from the heart, great read, getting my motor running as I leave for another PG trip in 61 days :)

Run it in you Big Kahuna knowing I have to wait almost 2 years....... Aaaarrrggghhhh

Oops

RUB it in Mr Kahuna!

Two years ........ Oh my :eek:

The worst day in French Polynesia is better than most good days back home :D

Moorea

Our first day in Moorea was mostly sunny and warm. We started the day as usual outside at La Veranda, hubby left early because he was once again doubling up on dives. I finished my leisurely breakfast and then found a nice shady spot outside of La Palette to complete my second novel of the cruise...a minor miracle!

Incidentally, the library is well stocked with novels. I suspect most passengers leave their finished books behind.

Another thing I noticed is that while anchored in the lagoon, the PG rotates with the wind and current. It's like eating at one of those rotating restaurants with the scenery constantly changing. Pretty cool to have your view change in the stateroom as well.

I poked around in the boutique and bought a few things...It is pretty well stocked and will do in a pinch for gifts.

At lunch (La Veranda, of course!) my husband filled me in on his dives but we had only 9.5 minutes to eat before having to catch the 12:30 tender to the pier. Verdict: great, but not as good as Bora-Bora. I think he's getting spoiled.

For the afternoon, we had prepaid online with ATV Moorea. (BTW, we also prepaid Pure Snorkeling online, only Ciao Tahiti Tours wanted cash after the tour). We were instructed to meet at the pier at 1pm, hence the 12:30 tender. The van finally pulled up at around quarter after, with my husband grumbling that he could have had another beer at lunch, and me thinking "not if I'm riding on the back of your ATV, buddy!"

We were dropped off at the outfitter, which is across the street from the Intercontinental, provided credit card and drivers license, signed our life away, fitted with helmets and given a crash course in how to handle an ATV.

William lead our small posse of five vehicles down the main street of Moorea, past our ship, through the pineapple fields, and up to several scenic overlooks including Belvedere. We stopped to sample marmalade and sorbet, then finished off with a trek up Magic Mountain. Of all the guides we had he did the best job explaining everything to a mixed language audience, and I swear I understood him in either language! He had personality plus. He also explained the particular geology of the volcanic islands and how Tahiti will eventually become like Moorea, which will become like Bora Bora, which will become like the tuomotus. Good stuff.

Back on board it smelled like a flower garden, because the local mamas were making heis and leis! I made my husband a simple single stand lei (which turned out pretty good) and ended up wearing some of the impressive work from the very talented ladies.

I'm pretty sure we ate dinner, and I think we caught most of the local cultural show. I seem to recall my husband got called up on stage to dance, or maybe it was me? It was a good day.

We were going to consider booking the catamaran snorkel on Friday morning, but when we woke up (finally at a decent 7am!) and saw the cool overcast weather, we decided to treat ourselves to a "day at sea."

We monopolized our outside table at La Veranda until I realized we should leave so they could turn it over for us for lunch. I think we packed a little, sigh.

At 5pm the Farewell Party took place in the Grand Salon rather than on the pool deck due to the weather. I actually got a little teary, and usually I scoff at the farewell attempts on RCL and NCL. My understanding was that it was Michael Shapiro's final week as cruise director.

At 7pm we attended the Diver's party and my husband added significantly to his log. Dinner was a little rushed as we had to be out on the pier at 9pm to catch our transfer to the airport. We didn't even notice when we left Moorea and docked at Papeete.

My back still aches from the overnight flight on ATN. I think the worst thing is that they retrofitted the economy seats with a headrest that juts your neck forward at an unnatural angle. Even pharmaceutical intervention didn't help!

Next : final thoughts

What I wanted to do but didn't get a chance:

1. Spa

2. Enrichment lectures

3. See whales

4. Final night Polynesian show

What I will do differently next time:

1. Ten day Society/Tuamotos

2. Bring less fancy clothes

3. Bring some warmer clothes

I still think we will get in the day before, because that first afternoon on the ship is exciting, and I'd hate to arrive late at night. I would stay at the Tiare Tahiti again.

Thoughts on French Polynesia:

1. Hawaii unplugged

2. Lovely, proud people

3. Beautiful water, gorgeous land

My only slight disappointment was the weather, and I know there is no control over this factor. My understanding is that the rainy season does not start until November, but maybe we were close enough? Apparently the least amount of rain is August/September, so next time we'll shoot for that!

I was also quite cold in the water, so neoprene rash guard for me next time with a warm windbreaker to change into after snorkeling.

Thoughts on the Paul Gauguin:

1. *****

2. Perfect size

3. Perfect staff

4. Food mostly very good, some quite excellent

5. Entertainment...OK, but not ever my main reason to cruise

6. Service...the best ever!

We are just now shuffling through scads of photos (most not at all worthy of posting here!) to try to convince friends to join us on our next adventure on the Paul Gauguin, and there will definitely be a next time :-)

Thanks again for all the help and advice!

Oh bummer ..... The end:(

Paul Gauguin just uploaded their new website :)

2017 repeaters is the Cook Itinerary followed by the 7 days Tuamotu itinerary.

In short best of both worlds.

I see you have caught the Flu!

Very nice. Hawaii unplugged. That's a good description.

Brilliant review, well done. Thanks for taking the time to record all the details.

I liked the final conclusions and agree completely.

Seems like you have the flu', - there's only one cure - a return trip!:)

Tess

Thanks so much, olesiabr, I really enjoyed your detailed review. It makes me even more impatient for our February trip! One question. You suggested not booking La Veranda for Huahine day. Something about it was served from L'Etoile? Can you please explain?

The moonfish was only served in LEtoile that evening. We didn't get a chance to try it because we were at La Veranda. Maybe someone else can chime in as to how tasty it was...The chef demonstrated how he cut the fillets that afternoon at the demonstration, and it was really cool!

And yup, we definitely have the FP flu!

The moonfish was only served in LEtoile that evening. We didn't get a chance to try it because we were at La Veranda. Maybe someone else can chime in as to how tasty it was...The chef demonstrated how he cut the fillets that afternoon at the demonstration, and it was really cool!

 

And yup, we definitely have the FP flu!

The moon fish is excellent! I always choose it. Can't get that at home!

My soon to be wife (we hope to be celebrating our honeymoon on the PG) and I thoroughly enjoyed your trip report! You are an excellent writer and it was a great narrative.

Yes please post some pictures!

Thank you so much!

PS: We are booked for the 10 day cruise!!