How is PG under new management?

[Dolebludger]

There are still some unanswered questions about the PG experience under its new ownership and management. Here are some that come to mind:

 

Are the La Gauguines still present and entertaining?

 

Is Siglo still the band?

 

Does Mark Elwes (sp?) still give his lectures

 

Does Ray Poole still conduct his dolphin watching expedition?

 

What excursions are offered and (since it's not RSSC anymore) what are their costs?

 

Reports of the "new" PG" sound pretty good. Just shy on details such as these.

[bonvoyager]

We've just returned from the 14 day PG cruise, which included Fatu Hiva, Hiva Oa, Ua Huka, Nuku Hiva, and Fakarava, as well as the usual islands in the Societies. The cruise was wonderful. We'd cruised on this ship only once in the distant past, but found everything to be either the same or even better. Still "all inclusive", which included the minibar's sodas, water, beer (restocked daily), and all of the usual stuff from the bar. Les Gauguines are still aboard, and were delightful. Mark Eddowes was on this cruise as well, and gave a number of very interesting lectures. Other lecturers included Heidy, who has lived in the islands for many years, and Bobbie, the naturalist. All of the lectures were excellent. The band is now PJ's--I think they just trade off with the other band. The food was wonderful, every meal, every venue. The ship seems to be getting some well-needed maintenance. Housekeeping was so-so: perhaps this will improve. Staff has not had much turnover since the change of ownership, and all seem happy with the new company. The president of Beachcomber was aboard for a couple of days, and expressed the intention to continue to provide a high quality product, saying that the only changes would be those for the better. It is a unique boat in a very beautiful part of the world, and I hope they succeed. We would not hesitate to cruise with them in the future.

[flyerdreamer]

What excursions are offered and (since it's not RSSC anymore) what are their costs?.

 

I have this info in pdf format. If you give me an email I will attach & send to you.

[Dolebludger]

So far, it sounds like the same PG I have loved! Eager to see those excursions and prices.

[south seas sue]

I just want to say that as long as PG Cruises does not include an airfare deal with their cruise fares, their ships will continue to sail light. I think that is the major drawback at the present time. Its good to hear the good news about the ship and its staff, and I like the new long itineraries, but once you add the airfares charged by Air France and ATN, those discounted cruise fares seem not so good after all...........I would hope they are working on it. Just an observation.......:(

[flyerdreamer]

I just want to say that as long as PG Cruises does not include an airfare deal with their cruise fares, their ships will continue to sail light.:(

 

The 3-6 cruise is sold out. Don't know what deals there were regarding airfare, but sailing to capacity in this economy is good news for the new line.

[pacheco18]

I just want to say that as long as PG Cruises does not include an airfare deal with their cruise fares, their ships will continue to sail light. I think that is the major drawback at the present time. Its good to hear the good news about the ship and its staff, and I like the new long itineraries, but once you add the airfares charged by Air France and ATN, those discounted cruise fares seem not so good after all...........I would hope they are working on it. Just an observation.......:(

 

 

I got free airfare for two with my booking!

[twin123185]

I was also on 14 day cruise - all great - excursions overpriced incredibly however - I did everything on my own. No one should be nervous about sailing this ship.

Incredible is an understatement describing the cruise.

 

Larry

 

Eddowes was on our sailing.

Poole was offered but was probably cancelled due to weather.

[Dolebludger]

On air related issues, I wonder if there is still the "forced overnight" included hotel in LA for those of us who can't make a plane to FP on a some-day connection. I also wonder if there is the day room on Tahiti at the end of the cruise while one is awaiting the night flight back to the USA.

[FlightMedic555]

We are going in July and have the air through the cruise line (air from LAX to PPT). Air Tahiti Nui has the afternoon flight (1pm) out of LAX but they want you there 3 hours early. We could make this from NY on the same day but would be up at about 3am. We will come in the night before and overnight at a hotel near the airport.

 

The air with the cruise line includes transfers in PPT as well as a day room at the end of the cruise at a hotel in Tahiti. The return flight leaves at about 11pm.

[flyerdreamer]

On air related issues, I wonder if there is still the "forced overnight" included hotel in LA for those of us who can't make a plane to FP on a some-day connection. I also wonder if there is the day room on Tahiti at the end of the cruise while one is awaiting the night flight back to the USA.

 

We're using Delta/Air France and it eliminates both these concerns. It leaves LAX in the evening (10-ish) and arrives at dawn in Papeete. I would think that any morning east coast flight would make that no problem. However, for those flying in from the east the "forced overnight" may be more like insurance, just in case weather or mechanical issues preclude you from getting to the west coast before departure. Also my first time on the PG I saw the day room at the end as sort of anticlimactic--you're not really there til the afternoon and have just a couple hours before you have to scrape the black sand off to get ready to fly home. Wasn't worth the $ to me. Using Delta/Air France we have a morning flight to LAX and skip the whole day room thing. Besides, right now Delta/Air France fares are lower than Tahiti Nui, Air New Zealand, or was when we booked last month. A few years back this was the opposite.

[Dolebludger]

I agree that the end-of-cruise day room is anticlimactic. But many PG cruises end on Saturday, and the whole isle of Tahiti closes down at noon! IMO, there isn't much to do there, anyway. So the dayroom, for us, was sort of a utilitarian necessity to keep us from just wandering about on vacant streets. I take it from the above posts that the line is still providing the dayroom, but no longer provides the "forced overnight" room at LAX?

[twin123185]

I agree that the end-of-cruise day room is anticlimactic. But many PG cruises end on Saturday, and the whole isle of Tahiti closes down at noon! IMO, there isn't much to do there, anyway. So the dayroom, for us, was sort of a utilitarian necessity to keep us from just wandering about on vacant streets. I take it from the above posts that the line is still providing the dayroom, but no longer provides the "forced overnight" room at LAX?

 

I beg to differ - we started out recent cruise on a Saturday and Le Marche was the busiest I have ever seen it and there was a lot of action on the streets. Also the Roulettes (sp)

at night were really crowded. Sunday - yes its dead - Saturday - NO WAY.

Larry

Yes you really do need to get to LAX early - the airport is the worst in the world.

[Dolebludger]

Well, the last time we were there was in '05. Stores closed with customers in them! Even customers in line to make a purchase were unable to do so when the clock struck noon. We laughed at businesses running off paying customers. Perhaps, they have "wised up" and realized that when a ship like the PG has just unloaded 300+ people just feet from your store, it is no time to close!

[Wendy The Wanderer]

One of the worst reasons for leaving the cruise early is missing that morning shopping in le Marche!

[Lera]

bonvoyager,

What did you do for your shore days in the Marquesas? Did you gow ith ship excursions or did you organize them yourself? We are going on Mar 12 cruise with same itinerary - Society and Marquesas. I don't want to take ship excursions and would prefer to organize them with local businesses directly. However, it's difficult to find information and list of who's offering car rentlas/tours. Do you have any contacts to share?

What do you recommend or not recommend doing while there? We are more interested in culture/history/archeology as well as nature.

Thank you

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Yes, I'd like to know about the Marquesas excursions available as well, since I saw a recent list that had only one. There were ship-sponsored excursions on each island when I was there just over a year ago. (Sigh!)

[south seas sue]

Lera, I just want to ask why you don't want to take any excursions offered by the ship. The last time we took this cruise at the end of 2007, I looked into private as well as ship sponsored excursions, and found that there were no significant price differences. We only arranged one private snorkling excursion, in Bora Bora with Photo Lagon.

 

Of course, I don't know how much the prices of the excursions offered by the ship have gone up. Perhaps the new company is taking a larger cut, or was unable to negotiate a more reasonable fee with the tour providers.

An earlier poster provided a link to an Acrobat listing of the excursions with prices, but I am unable to open it due to my older version of Windows and Acrobat.

[Lera]

the ship excursions for Marquesas are in the range of $120-150 per person. This is my first trip to Marquesas and Tahiti, but in my previous cruises to Australia and Caribbean, the shore excursions from the ship cost at least double what I could arrange independently and with more flexibility. Of course, it may be different here and i may still go with ship's excurions. A different issue is that on two islands (out of the 4 marquesas we visit), the ship excursion is only 2.5 hrs and doesn't cover all places I would like to visit. So, that's additional reason for wanting to find a local provider.

[gabelle]

We were on the Jan 16 cruise to the Marquesas. I tried to find private tours before we left, but to no avail. Here is how each island played out:

 

Fatu Hiva - Walked into the village where we were entertained by local dancers. This is the place to buy tapa cloth. The walk is VERY hot, but lovely and fascinating.

 

Hiva Oa - The ship provided a Le Truck to the cemetary where Paul Gauguin is buried. Beautiful vistas. From there you can walk to the tiny village or pick the Le Truck up. In the village is a small Paul Gauguin museum. Again, it was very hot. In the afternoon, a local dance troupe performed onboard. No problem to do this on your own.

 

Ua Huka - We did a ship's tour with Mark Eddowes. We visited the museum of Vaipaee, the arboretum, an archaeological site, an artesan village with the obligatory local dance troupe, and the Museum of the Sea at Hane. It was extremely hot. Mark is very knowledgeable, but long winded. Our main complaint about this trip was that we rarely stopped to take pictures of the fabulous landscape. If you can find a private purveyor, you might be better off. As I recall, there were a few taxis at the tender dock, but wouldn't want to rely on that.

 

Nuku Hiva - After much thought and a discussion with the tour desk, we took another tour with Mark. Again, it was extremely hot. The vistas of the Bay of Taihoae were wonderful. Mark gave us a very long talk overlooking the Taipivai Valley. Interesting but much too long in the sweltering heat. We then went down into the valley to a village where we had some local foods and there were some local items for purchase. The last stop was the Catholic church. The ship also provided a free shuttle service to the church and to a tiny museum with Polynesian artifacts. The tour was interesting, but long and hot. It was listed as being 2.5 hours long, but in actuality was probably twice that. Don't know if you could do this on your own.

 

Hope this helps. if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.

Nancy

[Wendy The Wanderer]

There were 4x4 trips offered on all 4 of the islands in December 2008. We took three of them, didn't feel it was necessary on Fatu Hiva. The three we did were definitely worth it--can't remember how long they were.

[Lera]

We were on the Jan 16 cruise to the Marquesas. I tried to find private tours before we left, but to no avail. Here is how each island played out:

 

Fatu Hiva - Walked into the village where we were entertained by local dancers. This is the place to buy tapa cloth. The walk is VERY hot, but lovely and fascinating.

 

Hiva Oa - The ship provided a Le Truck to the cemetary where Paul Gauguin is buried. Beautiful vistas. From there you can walk to the tiny village or pick the Le Truck up. In the village is a small Paul Gauguin museum. Again, it was very hot. In the afternoon, a local dance troupe performed onboard. No problem to do this on your own.

 

Ua Huka - We did a ship's tour with Mark Eddowes. We visited the museum of Vaipaee, the arboretum, an archaeological site, an artesan village with the obligatory local dance troupe, and the Museum of the Sea at Hane. It was extremely hot. Mark is very knowledgeable, but long winded. Our main complaint about this trip was that we rarely stopped to take pictures of the fabulous landscape. If you can find a private purveyor, you might be better off. As I recall, there were a few taxis at the tender dock, but wouldn't want to rely on that.

 

Nuku Hiva - After much thought and a discussion with the tour desk, we took another tour with Mark. Again, it was extremely hot. The vistas of the Bay of Taihoae were wonderful. Mark gave us a very long talk overlooking the Taipivai Valley. Interesting but much too long in the sweltering heat. We then went down into the valley to a village where we had some local foods and there were some local items for purchase. The last stop was the Catholic church. The ship also provided a free shuttle service to the church and to a tiny museum with Polynesian artifacts. The tour was interesting, but long and hot. It was listed as being 2.5 hours long, but in actuality was probably twice that. Don't know if you could do this on your own.

 

Hope this helps. if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.

Nancy

 

thank you for very detailed rundown. It seems that none of the tours visited any of the archeological sites (except Ua Huka - which site was that?). That would be a primary interest for me. Do you know anyone who visited those sites and how they went about it?

[flyerdreamer]

One of the worst reasons for leaving the cruise early is missing that morning shopping in le Marche!

 

So happy that although we take a morning flight out, we arrive early morning, too--and plan to head straight to le Marche! We're just doing it all in reverse! Now hopefully the PG will store our suitcases until the afternoon boarding so we can have hands free to shop and eat.

 

Yeah, I'd have loved a day room, anti-climactic as it is, because that beach was so pretty, but time and $ won't allow. We needed the lowest airfares and Delta/Air France beat the cruise line by four hundred dollars!

[Dolebludger]

In reading the posts in response to my original post on this thread, I take it that the shops in Papeete no longer close at noon on Saturday, and that air purchased through PG no longer provide hotel the night before departure for those of us who cannot reasonably get to LAX in time for the flight. Am I correct in these conclusions?

[flyerdreamer]

In reading the posts ...air purchased through PG no longer provide hotel the night before departure for those of us who cannot reasonably get to LAX in time for the flight. Am I correct in these conclusions?

 

Regarding air. I wouldn't risk $ and vacation time based solely on what is posted on the boards if I were you. What if it's wrong? :eek: Procedures and specials change constantly and the only real facts are what the Paul Gauguin cruise agents tell you. Be safe, and call them about the air rules. That's the only real way to get the facts. Then share here once you know. :)