Questions from a cruise virgin

[gwnorth]

DH and I will be celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary in October 2012 and a trip to the South Pacific has been on our wish list for just as long. We've never cruised before as the large ships always seemed like cattle carriers to me. I do like the more intimate size of the luxury cruise ships as well as their more all-inclusive packaging though, but I have a few questions of you more experienced cruisers.

 

1) How far in advance to people generally book? I know PG doesn't have their 2012 pricing up yet, but do I need to book as soon as they do?

 

2) My biggest concern is the length of the flight from LA to Tahiti. I've only ever flown coach on charters and the longest of about 5 hours give or take. Our last flight I found very uncomfortable as I had been up all night but was not able to sleep on the plane. We will overnight in LA on our way down but travel straight through to Toronto on our way back (with a few hours layover). So I'm wondering, what's the flight from LA to Tahiti and back like? Upgrading to business class isn't an option as the price is exorbitant.

 

3) Based on our budget and time constraints I'm thinking our booking choices are most likely to be:

 

a) 7 day cruise - cat E room + 4 days pre-cruise in Moorea in an OBW

b) 7 day cruise - cat C room + 2 days pre-cruise in Papeete in an OBW

b) 10 day cruise - category C stateroom

c) 10 day cruise - cat E room + 2 days pre-cruise in Papeete in an OBW

d) 11 day cruise - cat E room + 2 days post-cruise in Papeete in an OBW

 

Any advice on which would be the best option?

 

4) If we were to book a category C stateroom should we chance one of the aft cabins? I don't generally suffer from motion sickness but we've never been on a cruise ship before so I don't know how we might react.

 

5) Other than shore excursions and souvenirs, are there any additional costs I would need to budget for? Are drinks from the bar (read foo-foo drinks for me and beer for dh) free during the day?

 

Thanks for all your help.

[Emdee]

Welcome gwnorth from the gwnorth if you can call TO that after today's snow fall.

 

1) How far in advance to people generally book? I know PG doesn't have their 2012 pricing up yet, but do I need to book as soon as they do ?

It depends o what you want. We tend to book and plan well in advance but I think we did our first PG cruise in 2 weeks.

2) Length of flight - Yes its a bit long and you will be uncomfortable but all this shall pass really soon once you get there and the return will be forgotten in the afterglow! We fly from Toronto so we know what you will go through. Frankly if it was a shorter distance I would visit FP more often. The flight is awful but worth suffering through. I hvae done it in both Biz and Coach and honestly the ATN biz is nothing great just a tad more comfortable.

 

My recommendation is 10 day cruise or 11 day cruise depending on whether you want to visit the cooks or not.

 

If you are a bad flier then get in earlier as the two days rest will help you enjoy the cruise more. I wouldnt bother with an OWB in Papeete so if you really want that experience then go three days pre cruise to Moorea - easy to get to from Papeete

 

I am happy with my category E window - I rather visit Tahiti more often. It is such a small ship and the 4th Deck is really convenient that the one time I went higher up I actually missed the 4th deck. A number of people love to have a balcony on the PG. For me its the reverse.

 

I cannot speak for the aft cabins on the PG though I have been on aft cabins on larger ships and dont get motion sickness. I would actually suggest first cruise centre and midship.

 

Get yourself a good OBC and a lot of your excursions will be accounted for. Other costs will depend on you. Hotels and food are very expensive so an overwater bungalow plus food will cost you a pretty penny.

 

Drinks and foo foo drinks and other alcoholic and non alcoholic drinks are all included at meals, bars, room service, bar fridge.

[gwnorth]

Emdee thanks for your reply. We were in Costa Rica for a week in Feb (our first trip away in several years) and I'm still suffering from post-vacation blues lol. Planning a trip even more than a year and a half away helps though, especially with the snow we got today :(.

 

My overall preference would be for 3 days pre in Moorea in an OWB and the 11 day cruise as we would really like to see the Cook Islands. We contemplated a trip there a few years after we were married but logistically it wasn't feasible for us at the time so they have been on our wish list ever since. Unfortunately I don't think dh will be able to take that much time off work and we've never left the children for that long before either. The only way we could feasibly make it work would be to do 2 days post cruise unless the schedule is changed for 2012.

 

In any case we have lots of time to plan.

[Emdee]

I know all about post holiday blues and am busy planning my trip to South America for 2012 January at this time.

 

2 days pre cruise in Moorea is a hard thing - you would have to take the overnight flight then wait until the ferry starts then cross over and then return.

2 days in Papeete is easily doable but I wouldnt waste money in an OWB.

 

The cooks are lovely but you have to remember two things - there are 2 days at sea to get there and back and because of their nature the ship is not able to stop there a lot. When we were in Aitutaki the tenders could barely be filled as they bobbed almost 5 feet up and down. It took 45 minutes to just fill them as each time we had to wait for the wave to bring the tender and ship platform somewhat level. Aitutaki is gorgeous though.

Enjoy your planning -PG cruises has a lot of You tube videos now.

 

Miriam

[gwnorth]

Hmmm, then maybe 4 days pre + 7 day cruise is the better way to go. Since we've never cruised before, this might actually be a better alternative as an introduction to cruising.

 

I'll be sure to check out Youtube.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

DH and I will be celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary in October 2012 and a trip to the South Pacific has been on our wish list for just as long. We've never cruised before as the large ships always seemed like cattle carriers to me. I do like the more intimate size of the luxury cruise ships as well as their more all-inclusive packaging though, but I have a few questions of you more experienced cruisers.

My two cents. You sounds like us. We did our first cruise on the PG for our 20th anniversary (almost 11 years ago.) A perfect thing to do, as it turned out.

 

1) How far in advance to people generally book? I know PG doesn't have their 2012 pricing up yet, but do I need to book as soon as they do?

No, you have time. The longest in advance we've booked the PG was about 15 months, but I believe I booked our first trip about 9 months in advance.

 

2) My biggest concern is the length of the flight from LA to Tahiti. I've only ever flown coach on charters and the longest of about 5 hours give or take. Our last flight I found very uncomfortable as I had been up all night but was not able to sleep on the plane. We will overnight in LA on our way down but travel straight through to Toronto on our way back (with a few hours layover). So I'm wondering, what's the flight from LA to Tahiti and back like? Upgrading to business class isn't an option as the price is exorbitant.

8 hours isn't bad, especially since you plan to break the trip in LA. You will be so excited it will go fast, and they take pretty good care of you onboard. Get up and stand when you can, and think about taking a sleeping pill or something. Flying straight through on the way back is also a good choice, that's what we usually do, since there's no sense hanging around. We did Business once, and that was definitely better, but I wouldn't hesitate to fly the coach trip again.

 

3) Based on our budget and time constraints I'm thinking our booking choices are most likely to be:

 

a) 7 day cruise - cat E room + 4 days pre-cruise in Moorea in an OBW

b) 7 day cruise - cat C room + 2 days pre-cruise in Papeete in an OBW

b) 10 day cruise - category C stateroom

c) 10 day cruise - cat E room + 2 days pre-cruise in Papeete in an OBW

d) 11 day cruise - cat E room + 2 days post-cruise in Papeete in an OBW

 

Any advice on which would be the best option?

I would do the first choice. We did a pre-cruise plus the 7-day on our first anniversary trip, and it was perfect. The 7-day is a great tour of the Society island, wonderful for a first trip. As someone else said, a 2-day pre-cruise on Moorea is difficult. But Moorea is amazing and much nicer than Papeete. And we have only done a balcony once, usualliy we book an E, and it's great--you spend so much time outside you don't really need a balcony, plus sometimes the balcony is too hot and sunny to sit outside.

 

5) Other than shore excursions and souvenirs, are there any additional costs I would need to budget for? Are drinks from the bar (read foo-foo drinks for me and beer for dh) free during the day?

I believe all drinks are still included. Put some money aside to buy yourself a black pearl. We've done this first. I got a nice solitaire on a chain for about $400.

 

Just beware, this cruise and destination is highly addictive!

[gwnorth]

Wendy the Wanderer thanks for your reply.

[FlightMedic555]

We did the 11 night PG cruise which included the Cooks in July and 5 nights precruise in an OWB at the Hilton on Moorea. You can look at my lengthy cruise review.

 

We were in cabin 425 and it was perfect. There is no reason to pay more for a different level cabin if that change would result in less days spent in FP. The flight is long, we upgraded to business at the counter but I understand this is pricey. It was about half the price to upgrade at the counter but still about $700 per person each way. It is a long flight but manageable.

 

I would try to fit in at least 4 days on Moorea even if that means a 7 night vs. a longer cruise. While we loved our choice, we had some flexibility in spending for the trip. We enjoyed the two sea days (one each way) to/from the Cooks but in all honesty, I would not sacrafice 2 nights on Moorea for this.

[Familygoboston]

GWNorth, we are also waiting for Oct '12 pricing to come out... My TA says not till July or August, but I've been watching the boards too. We will definately do a 7 night, as we will be leaving teens at home...good kids and they mostly take care of themselves, but with one being a senior it's a busy time for me to leave for two weeks. ( a realtive will DEFINATELY be here w/ them tho;)) We were thinking a day in LA first (haven't been there to see it, just to pass through, so I'd like to check it out and cut the flight a bit) We'd probably do a second or 3rd day in Tahiti, but I have to see what dates are offered! I can't see us being able to wriggle away for more than 10 days.

 

We have a cruised the mass market ships (Princess, Disney and RCI) a bunch and travel (land based) all the time, but this seems like a really special way to celebrate an anniversary (25 for us:D) I can tell you that traveling on a ship with 2000-4000 pax, while fun, is not really so romantic. This will be our first small ship, and I have high hopes that it will be a bit more quiet and romantic. Seeing the posts here on CC had reassured me that it will be a very nice trip:)

 

Flights: we've done bunches of these loooong ones (Africa, Australia, Alaska and that's just the A's) and there is no way around it, it's like taking a bus in air these days:(. I don't sleep well on planes, but a little benadryl usually helps on an overnight flight. We do try to "take our time" on the outbound flight so we are not wiped out, and then just go home in one big marathon, to get it "over with"...I figure I can always sleep on the job and between loads of laundry when I get home:o Because of some of our past trips, it's looking good that we could upgrade to business, any way you could splurge on that?

 

We loved CR....where did you go? Maybe we will see you onboard PG in FP! Good luck with your planning...sure I'll see you here on CC while we are asking all our ??'s

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Just one comment. If it's a matter of choosing between a night in LA, with a break in your travel, or an extra night in Papeete travelling straight thru from the east coast, choose the latter. Then you can kick back and relax, have a swim and look at the beautiful scenery.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Just one comment. If it's a matter of choosing between a night in LA, with a break in your travel, or an extra night in Papeete travelling straight thru from the east coast, choose the latter. Then you can kick back and relax, have a swim and look at the beautiful scenery.

 

Of course, if you can afford the time to do both, great. Several times we've spent the night in L.A. and had dinner with relatives, that's been a bonus, but always we have spent at least one night in Papeete before the cruise. But the best was our 4 night pre-cruise in Manihi, followed by the 7-day Societies trip. That was the 20th anniversary.

[Familygoboston]

Just one comment. If it's a matter of choosing between a night in LA, with a break in your travel, or an extra night in Papeete travelling straight thru from the east coast, choose the latter. Then you can kick back and relax, have a swim and look at the beautiful scenery.

 

Of course, if you can afford the time to do both, great. Several times we've spent the night in L.A. and had dinner with relatives, that's been a bonus, but always we have spent at least one night in Papeete before the cruise. But the best was our 4 night pre-cruise in Manihi, followed by the 7-day Societies trip. That was the 20th anniversary.

Good advice! I have been reading your advice and reviews here for a a while. Thanks!

[gwnorth]

Flightmedic555 - I've seen a few reviews for the Hilton in Moorea. Do you think it's a better deal that the pre-cruise package PG offers at the Inercontinental? They currently are charging $1,475 pp for a OBW for 4 nights.

 

Familygoboston - we stayed at the Riu Guanacaste near Liberia in Costa Rica. It was wonderful and I can't wait to travel again.

 

It sounds like we are in a similar situation. My kids are a bit younger than yours (they'll be 11 and almost 9 when we go), but old enough that they should be ok with us being away for 2 weeks. They would most likely stay with my parents as they have done in the past the few times we have traveled. My parents are getting older though so this may be our last opportunity to travel without the kids until they are finished high school.

 

Wendy the Wanderer - thanks for the great advice. I never thought about using a sleep aid on the plane. My only reason for overnighting in LA would be to break up the trip, but your right that an extra day in Papeete might make it worth while to travel straight through.

[Familygoboston]

Familygoboston - we stayed at the Riu Guanacaste near Liberia in Costa Rica. It was wonderful and I can't wait to travel again.

 

It sounds like we are in a similar situation. My kids are a bit younger than yours (they'll be 11 and almost 9 when we go), but old enough that they should be ok with us being away for 2 weeks. They would most likely stay with my parents as they have done in the past the few times we have traveled. My parents are getting older though so this may be our last opportunity to travel without the kids until they are finished high school.

 

 

One of the places I didn't get when I went...I hear its beautiful! We thought about going back there for 25, but FR seemed more special... if we had another 2 weeks we'd go back to Australia...most of the way there already ;)

We used to use the granparents, and you are right, it got trickier for them to manage the kids and themsleves outside of their own home as they get older. We now pay the "younger" relatives to come and keep an eye on things! Plus my teenagers say last time we left them with their grandparents they wanted to walk her to the high school bus stop. So that was the end of that! LOL!

Post here if you see any PG 2012 rates, I'll do the same if I hear from my TA...happy planning:D