MARINA/French Polynesia Mar 4-19,2018 REVIEW w/lots of photos

Finally finished reading your great review, enjoyed the pictures of all your tours. Thanks for taking the time & inviting us all along on your adventure.

Allan

Did you (or anyone on this thread) do any of the Oceania excursions?

Your thoughts good or bad??

I have managed to book two private excursions (Fakarava and Bora Bora).

We are taking the Oceania Excursion credit for six (3 each) excursions and will then get 25% off any more that we book through Oceania. Again, any suggestions for Oceania French Polynesia excursions would be greatly appreciated.

and what is more coincidental... we were getting off the Brilliance as you were getting on in Amsterdam 6/21. I hope you had a great time on the Brilliance!!

Thank you for the kind words vacationprincess! Small world...yes, had a great time but missed the opulence and the great food on Marina, especially since I travelled solo and dined a lot in the Windjammer for dinner... zero comparison to Marina’s buffet

I hope You tried Chef’s Table on Brilliance... it was the very best meal I have ever had on any RCL ship ever, and would’ve have passed easily on Marina. And they served superb wines for the parings... my favourite is the Pinot they served which is $60 Can here at home. They did not penny pinch for once.

I’m doing a review on the RCL forum on this latest sailing so join me there if you’re

Interested [emoji846]

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We passed your post on to our roll call group and so far those that are reading it have nothing but good to say about it.

Allan

Thank you for the kind words Allan... that’s what this is all about! Hopefully I can help a few people Along the way, and then you (or your cruise buddies) can come back here after your sailing with a review as well to

Help more future cruisers [emoji106]

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Did you (or anyone on this thread) do any of the Oceania excursions?

 

Your thoughts good or bad??

.

Two of Our best friends on the ship (the couple who hiked to Anaho Bay with us) split a few port days with an Oceania 3 hour tour combined with DIY the other half of the day. Along with them, most people I spoke with felt the O tours were not good value and wished they had done a private, especially when I shared what we had done that day. The only O tour they thought was of value and equal to some privates offered was Huahine land tour.

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Thank you so much for this fabulous review of your trip! We are booked on a 28 day Holland America, r/t San Diego to FP in March of 2019 and this review is tremendous as we will be visiting many of the same spots and actually have tours booked with a number of the same operators! Your review made me that much more anxious for our trip!

Thanks so much for the excellent review. I had sent you an email last Tuesday with a few questions on the Ato tour in Fakarava.

Was it the all day tour?

How much time boating v snorkeling v beach time?

Was it easy to get on and off boat? We are very mature (senior) passengers :D

Would you do this tour again?

Thanks for a response.

Rick

Thanks so much for the excellent review. I had sent you an email last Tuesday with a few questions on the Ato tour in Fakarava.

 

Was it the all day tour?

How much time boating v snorkeling v beach time?

Was it easy to get on and off boat? We are very mature (senior) passengers :D

Would you do this tour again?

 

Thanks for a response.

 

Rick

Hello Rick! I apologize regarding the email... I came home from my most recent vacation adventure to pages and pages of emails and I must've missed yours for whatever reason. I'll answer the questions here in case others have the same questions they'll see the answers... I would also ask you to look through Day 10 again as well as the questions you asked will also be answered via the photos and text I provided more clearly perhaps... Fakarava starts here:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=55816045&highlight=Ato+Lissant#post55816045

Was it the all day tour?

Yes

How much time boating v snorkeling v beach time?

Boating 1 hour there, 1 hour back. Snorkelling vs. beach... you can get in and out of the water anytime you wish

Was it easy to get on and off boat? We are very mature (senior) passengers :D

Take a look at the photos in the link above... several seniors on our tour. One of them not very mobile so she did not do the drift snorkel, and was careful with getting in/out of the boats, but she & her husband were troopers. Not a single complaint and they thoroughly enjoyed the day.

Would you do this tour again?

One of my favorite days of the entire trip.... in a heartbeat yes! :D

Hello Rick! I apologize regarding the email... I came home from my most recent vacation adventure to pages and pages of emails and I must've missed yours for whatever reason. I'll answer the questions here in case others have the same questions they'll see the answers... I would also ask you to look through Day 10 again as well as the questions you asked will also be answered via the photos and text I provided more clearly perhaps... Fakarava starts here:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=55816045&highlight=Ato+Lissant#post55816045

 

Was it the all day tour?

Yes

 

How much time boating v snorkeling v beach time?

Boating 1 hour there, 1 hour back. Snorkelling vs. beach... you can get in and out of the water anytime you wish

 

Was it easy to get on and off boat? We are very mature (senior) passengers :D

Take a look at the photos in the link above... several seniors on our tour. One of them not very mobile so she did not do the drift snorkel, and was careful with getting in/out of the boats, but she & her husband were troopers. Not a single complaint and they thoroughly enjoyed the day.

Would you do this tour again?

One of my favorite days of the entire trip.... in a heartbeat yes! :D

Thanks so much for taking the time to answer my questions. We were booked on the Marina several years ago out of Papeete but had to cancel. Love Oceania but timing was not right. We have been to these islands except Fakarava several times and it is our favorite place to cruise. Instead of Fakarava we had gone to Rangoroa; absolutely incredible snorkel experience. Thanks again

Hoopster, I just watched a show on National Geographic Wild, Sharkfest that was filmed in Fakarava called 700 Sharks. It reminded me of you and your excursion there, and brought me back to this review and your awesome pictures. I really need to find a way to get myself there one day soon. Check out 700 Sharks if you can. The shark and Grouper video is pretty amazing, and so is the research they're doing there.

I am speachless....actually just came here from the RCCL page on which you gave this link.

Also on my all time bucket list, but highly doubtful we will ever get to go.

If you could just mention a round figure for the entire vacation, that would help, but will understand if you'd rather not:halo:

Pictures are to DIE for! Thanks

All of a sudden this post came back up yesterday and I re read it again. Wonderful. Just as good as the times before. Glad to see it again. Give us more. :):):)

Thanks for posting Hoopster! Fantastic review - as a result of reading your review this trip has moved up a few spots on the bucket list!

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Fabulous review. Thanks for posting and including all the terrific pictures.

Hoopster95 - just wanted to take a moment to thank you for the excellent FP review and amazing photos. Just spent the last 2.5hrs reading this thread and following the links for inspiration on our cruise there in 2020 for our 25th anniversary. Thanks for the tips and great and great suggestions. Regards.

Just noticed the recent remarks... sincere thanks for the kind words to everyone who has posted.

That's why I love reviewing like this.... I really hope this has helped a few on here planning this itinerary the next few years.

And if any of you figure something out better than I did, by all means come back here on this thread and post your better experience so that others can gain better knowledge as well.

Happy sailings to you all :D

Just joined this wonderful web site and found this trip review. I have to say, like everyone else, this is one of the best reviews I have read. Your story telling just flows. What wonderful memories you brought to all the cruisers who have been there, and for me and everyone else who has a future trip planned (Windstar 7/7/19) you have raised the anticipation to a fever pitch.

Hoopster, thank you a million times for this extensive review! Husband and I are booked on Marina for a Papette to Lima cruise in March next year, and the kind of information you've shared here is just invaluable. We will visit some of the same islands as your itinerary, so your help here is also appreciated very much. (We don't get Nuku Hiva, so I am sad about that, but otherwise so looking forward to the FP portion of the cruise and will take your advice when arranging excursions, etc.)

I registered on the Forum to be able to thank you for taking the time and loading all the photos, etc. Also Delee, your input was fantastic, too.

Thanks y'all!

VisionaryJax

What a helpful, in depth review! Thank you!

On 9/13/2018 at 5:59 PM, VisioaryJax said:

Hoopster, thank you a million times for this extensive review! Husband and I are booked on Marina for a Papette to Lima cruise in March next year, and the kind of information you've shared here is just invaluable. We will visit some of the same islands as your itinerary, so your help here is also appreciated very much. (We don't get Nuku Hiva, so I am sad about that, but otherwise so looking forward to the FP portion of the cruise and will take your advice when arranging excursions, etc.)

 

I registered on the Forum to be able to thank you for taking the time and loading all the photos, etc. Also Delee, your input was fantastic, too.

 

Thanks y'all!

 

VisionaryJax

Although it was a few years ago, here is my review for our Papeete to Lima cruise we took a few years back.  You might find some helpful information.

On 10/27/2018 at 8:47 AM, cutiepie43 said:

Although it was a few years ago, here is my review for our Papeete to Lima cruise we took a few years back.  You might find some helpful information.

 

 

Thank you so much! I look forward to reading it!

great review with so much information. any contact email for Richard Deane in Nuku Hiva ? His website seems to be down.

On ‎4‎/‎12‎/‎2018 at 7:05 AM, Hoopster95 said:

After that short wait, we were loaded onto those boats and we were off! Referring back to the maps I posted a few posts ago, We headed south from Rotoava along the entire coast at a decent speed the entire way... still took about an hour or so. Note these boats have plastic chairs, or you can sit on the front of the boat on the hard wood.... not the most comfortable so be aware if you have back pain or other issues for these types of excursions

 

 

 

We were all having great fun already enjoying each others company and watching the coastline go by as we sped along to our destination

 

 

 

This video is a better example of how beautifully raw this atoll is as we hug the coastline

 

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how much did you usually tip on the snorkel trips -and to  each helper or just the head person?

I have seen so many Papeete posts today that I felt bringing this thread to the top of the list might help out some folks about to embark on a FP cruise!

My friend Claudio did such an amazing, comprehensive review on the March 2018 PPT-PPT 12 day itinerary.  It is a long read, but so worth it if you would like a sneak peak into what you have waiting for you...

PS - To help answer that question in advance - pure heaven.