silby Posted August 2, 2018 #1 Share Posted August 2, 2018 We went on our first PG cruise for our 25th anniversary and had the time of our lives. We started with 3 days at the Moorea Intercontinental in an over-water bungalow and then proceeded to our amazing cruise. Here are some thoughts on the vacation that might be interesting to others. Pre-Cruise at the Intercontinental 1) From others advice we chose to buy the Olympus TG5 and were glad we did. It took the most amazing pictures below and above the water. Most people were surprised when they found it the photos weren't taken from a professional camera. 2) We got a rental car from Avis and picked it up at the dock in Moorea when we arrived via the ferry. Great outfit and clean new cars. We found that having the car was nice as we could come and go as we pleased. However, in the long run it probably wasn't absolutely necessary. All restaurants and tours are happy to come pick you up and return you to the hotels. At the intercontinental there was a market just up the road in easy walking distance. 3) We drove out to Belvedere for the amazing lookouts and took a hike into the mountainside. One of the highlights for us was that we found a waterfall and both got into it. Nice and serene. 4) We hooked up for the ATV tour with Albert tours. This was an amazing tour, especially that we were able to go up Magic Mountain which has some of the best lookouts on the island. I would highly recommend this tour to anybody. If you can afford it, drive your own ATV. Don't share. The tour goes to Belvedere and hits the same lookouts that we had already seen. So, in the long run, we could have just waited for this tour to visit (however we wouldn't have found the waterfall). 5) We had the most amazing meal at the Le Lizard Juane Cafe in Moorea. They picked us up from our hotel and provided great service all the way through. Their Poisson Cru was AMAZING. We were hooked on this most amazing native dish and had it almost every day after. However, Le Lizard's version of it was leaps and bounds better than every other one. 6) We were extremely disappointing with the fixed price dinner/shows that the Intercontinental had. It was extremely expensive, the food wasn't that great (buffet), the show was sort of boring, and they charged you for water! Save your money, you will see plenty of much better shows on the cruise. 7) We believed that the OWB that we stayed in at the IC was the best there was. I don't recall the number, however it was great for the following reasons: a) It was as far out as you could go so it was very quiet. b) it was the only one facing due west so we were able to watch the sunset every night. c) the step into the water was easy - probably only 2 feet of water, however there were gobs of fish and coral to snorkel with every day. and d) we loved walking by the dolphin enclosure as they were always active and wanted to entertain you. 8) We grabbed some french baguettes every morning at breakfast and took it back to feed the fish. My wife would stand in the water and feed the fish I would get down on the bottom and watch and take photos. We saw some amazing fish. 9) We stocked our beverage fridge with beer from the store. It was significantly cheaper then buying it from the IC. It seems to me that most drinks at the bar were almost $20 each. Cruise 1) After you check in on the ship - which was amazingly easy - you are free to go back in port and look around. I believe almost everything shut down early, so shop while you can. Also, if they have food trucks the night you leave, go for it! They were all very good. If you walk around the marina you will eventually come to part of it that is an aquarium that houses hundreds of different types of fish. 2) Sign up for the galley and bridge tour at the service desk as soon as you can. Fills up quickly. We did it right after we checked in on the boat. 3) We are used to very big ships and this cruise only had 220 passengers. At first it was a shock to us on how different the experience was, however we quickly got used to it and fell in love with the personal attention that you get. Amazing that the entire crew somehow memorizes every passengers name! One thing we had a hard time getting use to, however, was the lack of activities. So, typically we ended up shutting down the one-table casino at 2am. Not a complaint, just something more for us to get used to. As the cruise progresses you will find yourself worn out, so lack of many activities isn't an issue! 4) Breakfast on the balcony was the best way to start the days! We also found out that they will allow you to order much more than what is on the menu. We were able to get the eggs Benedict every morning. They were amazing! 5) One of our favorite excursions was in Huahine where we booked outside the ship with Marc's Motu Tour. There ended up being only 4 of us and we were catered to so well. The snorkeling stops were amazing, and the beach lunch was out of this world. Like many other tours they gave a demonstration on how to prepare Pousson cru. 6) We did two tours where we were able to swim with the sharks. This was certainly a highlight of our trip. The bora-bora one was in deep water and we were able to see both black tip and lemon sharks. The one in Moorea was in shallow water and the reef sharks (and stingray) were swimming all around us. 7) We fell in love with the Tahitian people and how into family tradition that they are. We attended the Tattoo talk on the boat and it illustrated to us how different their values are as a people than most westerners. All Tattoo's mean something, and it is typically tied directly to their personal family history. Every time the singers/dancers would come around we were excited to listen to them. Their songs got stuck in our head and we were watching the videos often when we returned home. We had the greatest time of our lives and were glad that we could spend our 25th anniversary there. We look forward to going back and doing one of the longer cruises. I hope some of the disjointed thoughts are helpful to others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hutchinj Posted August 2, 2018 #2 Share Posted August 2, 2018 Wonderful review, Silby. Thanks so much for sharing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emdee Posted August 2, 2018 #3 Share Posted August 2, 2018 Thanks for your review. I still remember so clearly my first trip on board the PG in 2003 almost 15 years ago. Like you we had only been on large ships before. This began a very expensive love affair and 13 trips later we cannot wait for our next trip. The 10 day Tuamotu is amazing. Or even a b2b. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tahitianbigkahuna Posted August 2, 2018 #4 Share Posted August 2, 2018 Thanks for the review .... Always good to hear from others experiences :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davwen81 Posted August 2, 2018 #5 Share Posted August 2, 2018 Thank you Silby, lovely review and one we found interesting as we have our first PG cruise next year. Did you do any PG excursions and if so which ones. Where Is Le Lizard Juane restaurant? We’re staying at the Hilton precruise and wonder if they’d pick up from there, or is it west of the IC making it a bit less acceptable for pick up for us. Many thanks Wendy Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cindivan Posted August 3, 2018 #6 Share Posted August 3, 2018 Thanks for your review. We are going fall 2020 and I love reading and learning from others experiences. Sent from my iPad using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silby Posted August 3, 2018 Author #7 Share Posted August 3, 2018 Thanks for your review. I still remember so clearly my first trip on board the PG in 2003 almost 15 years ago. Like you we had only been on large ships before. This began a very expensive love affair and 13 trips later we cannot wait for our next trip. The 10 day Tuamotu is amazing. Or even a b2b. I just might be moving on that path as well. I could go every year! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silby Posted August 3, 2018 Author #8 Share Posted August 3, 2018 Thank you Silby, lovely review and one we found interesting as we have our first PG cruise next year. Did you do any PG excursions and if so which ones. Where Is Le Lizard Juane restaurant? We’re staying at the Hilton precruise and wonder if they’d pick up from there, or is it west of the IC making it a bit less acceptable for pick up for us. Many thanks Wendy Sent from my iPhone using Forums Le Lizard was on the other side of IC away from the Hilton, however I believe they will pick up from most of the big resorts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davwen81 Posted August 3, 2018 #9 Share Posted August 3, 2018 Thank you and happy anniversary Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wendy The Wanderer Posted August 3, 2018 #10 Share Posted August 3, 2018 Thanks for the review, and great choice for a big anniversary. We did both 20th and 25th on the PG. Fortunately for us it was our first cruise ship, so it became our gold standard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silby Posted August 3, 2018 Author #11 Share Posted August 3, 2018 Thank you and happy anniversary Sent from my iPhone using Forums Much appreciated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silby Posted August 3, 2018 Author #12 Share Posted August 3, 2018 Thank you and happy anniversary Sent from my iPhone using Forums Davwen81, I notice you are from Australia so I thought I would tell you about what our second choice plan was for our anniversary trip. Back in 1994 my wife and I spend about 9 months in Sydney and we did a 4 day dive boat in the Whitsundays. The boat we were on was a beautiful old 25m schooner. We were jealous of another boat we kept on seeing called the Mike Ball Spoilsport which was 5 star all the way. I made a promise to my wife that I would take her back to go on that boat for one of our major anniversaries. 5, 10,15, and 20 came and went without going, so 25th was the year. However once I started looking into the PG I was sold on that. Perhaps we will go back to Oz for our 30th! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DGK Posted August 3, 2018 #13 Share Posted August 3, 2018 Thank you so much for taking the time to post your review. We have our second PG cruise booked Oct. 2019, did you fly ATN in economy if so how bad was it? I am dreading the flight especially the return after being in paradise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davwen81 Posted August 3, 2018 #14 Share Posted August 3, 2018 Hi again Silby, just looked at Mike Ball and it looks really interesting even though we aren’t divers they also do snorkel trips that look very interesting. Your 30th should be good on MB too. We are also celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary next year on PG so looks like it’s a popular venue for celebrations. Cheers Wendy Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeachTunes Posted August 3, 2018 #15 Share Posted August 3, 2018 Thank you so much for taking the time to share your experience and tips. We are more excited than ever about our December PG cruise and pre-cruise stay in Moorea! I particularly appreciate your Olympus TG5 recommendation as we are considering buying one. And, my husband is intrigued that he can order room service Eggs Benedict for breakfast. ;) Happy Anniversary! Here's to many, many more! :champagne-toast: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silby Posted August 6, 2018 Author #16 Share Posted August 6, 2018 Thank you so much for taking the time to post your review. We have our second PG cruise booked Oct. 2019, did you fly ATN in economy if so how bad was it? I am dreading the flight especially the return after being in paradise. Yes, we did fly ATN economy. The flight to Tahiti was just fine as it was on one of the refurbished planes. The seats were comfortable and the service was just OK, however I slept for most of it so it worked out. The flight back to the US was a different story as we were unlucky enough to be on the only plane they haven't refurbished, the Bora Bora. The seats were very uncomfortable and the video players were horrible. I think they have 787s on order. They should be awesome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silby Posted August 6, 2018 Author #17 Share Posted August 6, 2018 Thank you so much for taking the time to share your experience and tips. We are more excited than ever about our December PG cruise and pre-cruise stay in Moorea! I particularly appreciate your Olympus TG5 recommendation as we are considering buying one. And, my husband is intrigued that he can order room service Eggs Benedict for breakfast. ;) Happy Anniversary! Here's to many, many more! :champagne-toast: Glad you learned something from the review. That was the hope! I highly suggest that you also purchase the wide angle lens for the camera. It made for some amazing underwater photos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silby Posted August 6, 2018 Author #18 Share Posted August 6, 2018 Here are a few photos if you are interested: Sunset in Tahiti with Moorea in the background. IC in Tahiti Sharks in Bora Bora Clown Fish? View of the PG from Magic Mountain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeachTunes Posted August 6, 2018 #19 Share Posted August 6, 2018 Here are a few photos if you are interested: Wonderful photos! Thank you for sharing. I have added the wide angle lens to my "to buy" list. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davwen81 Posted August 6, 2018 #20 Share Posted August 6, 2018 Gorgeous photos. Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silby Posted August 10, 2018 Author #21 Share Posted August 10, 2018 Gorgeous photos. Sent from my iPhone using Forums Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now