Loved the cruise but it is not 5 star

[D-ma]

Tiki it only good manners if the ship is rocking and a guest has a plate and a drink that is splashing all over that a waiter on any star cruise line help them. I have been on many cruise ships from the worst tug boat to the Paul Gauguin and I have never not been asked if I needed assistance with my plate. In fact they are lined up in the buffet areas to help all guests not just me. Also, if you think about it a lot of people do not have their sea legs and have a hard time walking so it would just be human decency to assist them.

 

So let me clarify this for you Tiki so maybe you can get your hair back to normal. Not only did they not ask me for assistance they did not ask anyone else.

 

As for my pre-cruise issues. I reported to this blog what happened to me. I am writing because this blog has helped me so much.

I was honest in my telling. I do not hold grudges and I was looking forward to a good time. I have reported mostly favorable things. If you only want a biased opinion then read the company brochure.

[rcandkc]

D-Ma,

I tried to find you the afternoon of boarding by the pool bar but I missed the hat. We were a little late due to a small accident coming in from seeing our muster station. Sorry we missed meeting you.

[rcandkc]

I just realized my reply I just posted should have been to Mllcal. Sorry.

[Tikiintahiti]

I was writing a long letter and then decided it wasn't worth it.

 

As I stated, your situation was a fluke as hundreds of people can attest to. We don't need to drag this through the mud once again.

 

You may or may not of noticed but I haven't posted over the weekend. I'm not here to fight, let the dog bone stay buried.

 

Peace

[D-ma]

Tiki- I am not here to fight. I was just stating my experiences. If you re-read the posts you will find that you were the aggressor. Do you want to know what irrates me-it is someone who was not on the cruise and comes on this board and tries to intimidate others who do not agree with their opinions. If you do not like my opinions do not read my posts. I can tell you one thing I will never let someone like you bully me into giving up my freedom of speech.

[Tikiintahiti]

No one is bullying

 

I just don't like it when someone says something that isn't on the up and up nor stays consistent. Your story keeps evolving ..........

 

Example; On your original post you stated, and I quote, "I only had help carrying my plate to my table a handful of times."

 

Then you change it on a later post to, "Not only did they not ask me for assistance they did not ask anyone else."

 

Can't be both of those answers ..........

 

But people come on here and read your post and think it's the norm, it isn't. My only complaint was the issue regarding the waiters. Not that you didn't have problems but that I felt you over reach a bit, you changed answer confirmed my thinking.

 

You really like digging up the dog bone don't you ........... let it go, I did for several days, it was you that dug it up ........just the facts

[avalong]

Tiki- I am not here to fight. I was just stating my experiences. If you re-read the posts you will find that you were the aggressor. Do you want to know what irrates me-it is someone who was not on the cruise and comes on this board and tries to intimidate others who do not agree with their opinions. If you do not like my opinions do not read my posts. I can tell you one thing I will never let someone like you bully me into giving up my freedom of speech.

 

Go girl

[D-ma]

Tiki- What is with you and your dog bone references? I hope that you are not insinuating that I am a "female dog" or in other words a "bitch". The only thing that I know of that digs up a dog bone is a dog so you must be calling me names.

 

FACT: Calling a women a "bitch" is bullying" and inappropriate behavior for these boards so please go away.

 

FACT: You were not on my cruise so you DO NOT have any authority on anything that I say. Please feel free to write posts on your experiences. I can assure you that I will not read them.

[Leejnd4]

Okay, now it's getting ridiculous.

 

Can y'all stop?

[mllcal]

Sorry you were late for the party at the bar! There were a fair number of us there. I'm sure I'd know you if I saw you again. It was a lovely cruise and glad to share it with everyone. This will be my last post on this board. Bye and best wishes to everyone.

[Tikiintahiti]

Ah ...............

 

Tiki didn't continue this, 6 hours before D-maq made her last post Tiki posted this on another thread D-ma and I had conflict on. Obviously someone didn't catch this letter or the chronological order of multiple post/thread.

 

Enough said

 

[Leejnd4]

Ah ...............

 

Tiki didn't continue this...

 

But you're continuing it now. Again, can y'all please stop? This is starting to resemble a 5th grade classroom.

 

So...moving along...D-ma, thanks for all of your feedback. We board the PG in less than 3 weeks for the Cook Islands itinerary. My personal opinion is that this was an unusual situation likely due to some staffing issues, which I really hope they have resolved by the time we board. I'm one of those people who remembers not being able to sit down at the pool without my favorite soft drink appearing beside me in moments. :) My boss was on the cruise just prior to yours (his second time on the ship), and whatever staffing issues your cruise experienced, must not have been on his. He assured me the service was as impeccable as ever. Sorry it wasn't for yours.

 

The good news is, based on reading your review threads, you didn't let it spoil your time in paradise! And if it's less-than-perfect for us, we won't either.:D

[twin123185]

This sounds like my workplace!

[stephenandrew]

So...moving along...D-ma, thanks for all of your feedback. We board the PG in less than 3 weeks for the Cook Islands itinerary. My personal opinion is that this was an unusual situation likely due to some staffing issues, which I really hope they have resolved by the time we board. I'm one of those people who remembers not being able to sit down at the pool without my favorite soft drink appearing beside me in moments. :) My boss was on the cruise just prior to yours (his second time on the ship), and whatever staffing issues your cruise experienced, must not have been on his. He assured me the service was as impeccable as ever. Sorry it wasn't for yours.

 

The good news is, based on reading your review threads, you didn't let it spoil your time in paradise! And if it's less-than-perfect for us, we won't either.:D

 

I would say the pool service at on our cruise in early April was perfectly satisfactory, but hardly one where I would, as you say, "sit down at the pool without my favorite soft drink appearing beside me in moments. :)" That is not a complaint--the staff were accessible, polite, etc. but I would certainly not say the service was univerally exceptional, or especially noteworhty, memorable etc. (you pick the word). But it didn't matter--if I wanted a drink, I got up, walked 20 steps to the pool bar, and asked for a drink. I really don't know what consitutues 5-star service, but if you can't have a great vacation on the PG, I am not sure where you would be happy. I'd much rather be on the ship now, having to flag down a waiter by the pool for a drink, tcarrying my own buffet plate, etc. than working for a living.

[Leejnd4]

I would say the pool service at on our cruise in early April was perfectly satisfactory, but hardly one where I would, as you say, "sit down at the pool without my favorite soft drink appearing beside me in moments. :)" That is not a complaint--the staff were accessible, polite, etc. but I would certainly not say the service was univerally exceptional, or especially noteworhty, memorable etc. (you pick the word). But it didn't matter--if I wanted a drink, I got up, walked 20 steps to the pool bar, and asked for a drink. I really don't know what consitutues 5-star service, but if you can't have a great vacation on the PG, I am not sure where you would be happy. I'd much rather be on the ship now, having to flag down a waiter by the pool for a drink, tcarrying my own buffet plate, etc. than working for a living.

 

LOL I love your attitude and couldn't agree more!

 

To be honest, I'm perfectly fine without having such over-the-top service. I DID experience it like that, but I considered that to be above and beyond, and truly not necessary for me to consider the ship 5-star. There are many criteria I would use to rate a ship, and exemplary beverage service is only one of them. Like you, I'm perfectly fine going to the bar, and even carrying my own plate.

 

I definitely considered the PG a 5-star cruise, even without the quick-drink-at-the-pool service. It's the overall experience, the way they treat you (as if they truly care about you having the best vacation ever), the high quality dining, the all-inclusive for booze & tips, the personal feeling of it. I have to compare it to other cruises I've taken, on many different lines - RCCL, Windstar, Celebrity, Regent, Crystal - and this one compares favorably to all of them, albeit very different. Certainly it's a HUGE improvement over the mass-market lines (Celebrity, RCCL), where I truly felt like just one anonymous face in a crowd of pax. It was better than Windstar which, while it has the smaller ship and personal service, nickel-and-dimed us to death and didn't have nearly the dining quality.

 

As for comparisons to other 5-star lines: it was a very DIFFERENT experience from Crystal, but no less enjoyable. Crystal is all white-glove and frou-frou, whereas the PG was informal and friendly. The ship itself is a far more casual venue - the decor more understated and less ritzy - but it's important to remember the location: it's infused with French Polynesia. As much as I enjoyed the Crystal experience, and it worked perfectly for my Baltics cruise, you certainly wouldn't feel immersed in tropical Polynesian culture on a Crystal ship!

 

Of course ANY cruise can end up losing points if they provide flat-out poor service. Bad waiters, inability to get drinks, unfriendly crew, long lines for anything, poor room attendants...any number of service failures can cause what should be a 5-star experience to drop. I think that's what happened to D-ma - she didn't have the service she was expecting, which lowered the rating in her eyes. And it's understandable that she'd feel that way.

 

I'll be on her very soon, so I will be sure to report back how it was for my cruise! :D

[AchterVu]

[quote=Tikiintahiti;34070001

 

The worst day in paradise (French Polynesia) is better than most good days back home ;)

 

Fair enough! :)

[MotuIslander]

 

I am the wrong person to talk of service same like Motu or Paris Lady or Tattoo Boy as we are known so automatically get the best service from our favourite staff. Its people like Donna and yourself or Island Retriever who were on for your first time who can truly bring perspective.

 

I suspect that it is more a matter of how you and Paris Lady and Tat and, hopefully I, appreciate the level of service we receive and the appreciation we show the staff. That being said...it is nice to be mentioned along with you PG all-stars!:p

 

What constitutes 5 star?

Its hard to say. We were introduced to the PG when it was Regent and it was run like a 5 star ship. Since then Regent has still maintained its luxury rating but honestly I find them hit and miss now. They have tripled their prices whilst PG has kept them reasonably steady with a small increase for 2013.

 

We just disembarked a couple of weeks ago from the Regent Voyager, and I don't think the service was anywhere near what we have consistently experienced on the PG. It CERTAINLY was less for the money.

[Emdee]

I did two Regent cruises in 2010 and since then havent traveled on them but have gone on Azamara. Reminds me of the old PG with no drinks but wine with meals. Ships are older though but service is excellent. Of course the PG is the PG for us!

[ShoeP41]

I am just back from my 5/23/12 cruise. It was a great trip but the service was not anywhere near 5 star service. I had many people complain to me that they had horrible service in the dining rooms. I found that it depended on the waiters that you got and which restaurant.

 

The free alcohol was great but they generally had only one bar opened at a time so service was very slow. I only had a waiter ask to get me a drink in the pool area once. I almost always had to get it myself. I only had help carrying my plate to my table a handful of times.

 

I really do not care if I have to do things for myself but if you are going to say that you have 1.2 staff per 2 passengers than your service better be top notch. I found that the service was below Celebrity Cruise line.

 

All that being said there were many positives. I will be writing an extensive honest review of my experiences in the next few days. French Polynesia is like living in a dream and everyone should experience it's beauty at least once.

 

 

Having read through this thread(more than once) prior to our departure, I was anxious to see where my opinon would lie. Having returned, just days ago, from the 11 night excursion; which sailed on June 30th, I must say, I am in total agreement with D-Ma. We had a good trip, but by far not a 5 star experience.

 

We were repeat cruisers aboard the PG, from just two summers ago. Don't get me wrong, we are huge fans of the PG, hence our return in just two summers. HOWERVER, Much has declined in these two years. While like D-Ma, we have many positives to identify, there are many things that were a miss. Simple things that should have been avoided to more signficant matters. The entire atmosphere seems to have a rushed/hurried feel to it these days. This occured most often in our dining experiences, the entire cruise. Room service was rarely delivered accurately, as the same can be said about our cabin stewardess (linens, towels, toiletries, mini bar). The ship seems to lack upkeep in a preventative manner. It appears things are just being addressed as they occur, which is unfortunate. The snorkel equipment is run down and needs to be examined upon return of each use, these things break. Take the time to keep it nice, if you are going to offer it, keep up with it. Our room had rattles in several places, that were to the extent that could drive you crazy. The mirrors rattled in two places, the closet door on one side and the divider between our balconies had a rattle that was so terrible my husband had to finally wedge a dining napkin between sections to relieve it. Over the course of our trip, one would have thought someone would have removed this or questioned it. It never occured, the napkin remined, flapping in the wind up till our departure. Our room safe broke, totally unable to open and could not be accessed until the next morning, when the "safe guy" was back on duty. THANK GOODNESS we didn't lock medications in it! We were however delayed 2 hours for an excursion due to this, (repair man left our cabin FOUR times for different tools or parts. This after the first person sent couldn't address the problem.) Thankfully, the tour operator was most understading! Thank you Jean Pierre!!! So many, many things were a miss.

 

Our itinerary had a slight deviation, discovered by us upon checking into our cabin. This was a printed sheet left on our bed. How hard would it have been to post this somewhere in a large manner, to draw attention to it? Thankfully, we are ones whe read everthing. It's obvious, not everone does. We had a private excursion planned with four others, when we caught up with them, a day later, to work out the changes, none were aware of it. Which leads to our next issue, which was the worst of all the negatives we experienced. Now a change to the itinerary was not new to us, this occured on our first time with PG. While we had no idea what to do about our private excursions, we went to the desk and sought help. The staff two years ago, was most helpful! They put our minds at ease, made the necessary calls and took care of everything for us right away.

This time it was NOT the case. We were greeted with less than friendly attitude when explaining the tours had been booked privately. There was obvious attitude if not pure rudeness! This coming from none the less, Pia, the head of the departement. We were so disappointed, to say the least. The little things that were so wonderful about this ship, were missing!

 

It was obvious to us, many have lost that "true love" for what they to do the feeling most have of "it is a job". This went as far as to the second in charge of the ship. He was very honest in his conversations with us, where he so much as said "it's a job, not about what is good but what is good for my family." He works 4 months and is off 4 months. When that mentality is what is happening at the top, you can only expect it to be found throughout!

 

It would not be fair to not mention the wonderful people on board that were on the opposite end of the spectrum. You will not find a better bar tender than Elmo! He loves what he does, and does it so very well. Yes, he too leaves behind a wife and child for 8 months at a time, yet manages to smile and be the best he can be every time you see him (he's been doing this on the PG for 12 YEARS!). There were others, Cesar, we love you and were so greatful you were aboard our sail, great to see you again. We missed Ivan, as he had just departed the day before we arrived.

Jayson, Miki, Chim, you all treated us in the best manner possible. Thank you! Rose and Josephine, in the spa, you are angels, a gift from above. These are few of the top notch of the staff that still exsist, they can be found, it's just a shame they are no longer the majority and a dying breed.

 

We truly hope our comment card, which we completed in great detail, will be given some serious attention. We want to see the ship we loved from two summers ago, bounce back up. Something or somthings have changed and it needs to be identified, reversed, corrected. We hope to return to this ship in the future and find what we loved so much about it during our first time aboard.

[Leejnd4]

Wow. I just got home from this same cruise, and am writing up my review with the exact opposite assessment. Just goes to show you how different people can have such different experiences on the same cruise.

 

There were four of us traveling together, and we all agreed this cruise exemplified a 5 star experience. Our cabin stewardess was incredible - best ever. We always chose the same waiter - Roderick - and he was unbelievable. Dinners were never rushed - they were timed perfectly. Most importantly to me, everyone always got their meals at the same time...a real challenge when we were often at tables for 8. At the buffets, I couldn't walk with a plate without someone taking it from me to carry to my table. After the first day, we never sat down at breakfast without someone bringing our exact desires for drinks - 2 coffees, one green tea, one hot milk. We didn't have a single problem with our room - no rattles, no malfunctions. There were so many little touches on this cruise that made it feel 5-star to us - I'll write more in my review.

 

I can't comment on the snorkel equipment - as divers, we brought our own. I personally would never use borrowed snorkel gear anyway, as I think it's a personal item (mask needs to fit properly, snorkel goes in your mouth - but that's just me).

 

The itinerary change is a common one, and we knew from previously reading this site that the Cook Islands cruises often experience this. Not only do they change the order of the islands, but often they are unable to tender you to the islands due to rough weather. We were prepared for this, and therefore we knew to check, and as soon as we saw the change went to the PG tour desk. They went above and beyond, contacting our PRIVATE TOUR OPS to rearrange the schedule. They did this within a few hours. I was stunned - I thought they would tell me they can't help with private tours.

 

The only sub-optimal experience we had was on our Moorea excursion with Mark Eddows - the bus to pick us up after the walk was a half-hour late, and we sat around on the road in the heat. Then when they dropped us off at the wharf, the tender was there, I saw them see us - but they took off while we were running to catch them! This was a problem for us, as one of our party is diabetic and the long wait put him late for his medication. I complained at reception, and received no fewer than three phone calls apologizing profusely.

 

I'm sorry your trip wasn't as fabulous as ours. I guess I should count myself lucky that ours was beyond incredible.

[macbest]

I'm sorry your trip wasn't as fabulous as ours. I guess I should count myself lucky that ours was beyond incredible.

 

LeeAnne: what room were you in? I wonder if the deck choice or room choice had anything to do with the differences between these two reviews. They are like yin/yang.

[Leejnd4]

We were on deck 4. We had Mary Grace as our room attendant, and she was truly astonishing. I've been on many cruises, and even on the PG before, and she is by far the best I've ever had. She not only cleaned the room but organized everything, in such a manner that I always knew where everything would be. We did get a little messy in there - we were REALLY busy on this cruise, what with all of our dives and private tours, and there were times we left it a total shambles. Yet she always managed to make it not just clean and neat, but orderly and organized...any important documents were stacked on the table, unimportant documents were stacked in another pile (she somehow always seemed to know!). And she would fold any dirty clothes I left out. Her timing was also impeccable - she seemed to know exactly when we were going to be out for more than an hour, and it seemed every time we got back to our cabin, she'd been there sparkling it up, no matter how many times she'd already done it that day.

 

Anyway, I want to say I don't mean to belittle or invalidate the experiences of others. I'm sure they experienced is as described, and I'm sorry to hear that. I'm grateful I got the staff I got, as they contributed greatly to my overall enjoyment.

 

I don't think my standards are any less stringent - I've been on great cruises, I've been on not-so-great cruises, I'm not one of those people who thinks everything is great even when it's not. I know when something is not up to snuff. It sounds like so much of this experience is dependent on who you get - waiters, service people, room attendants. We got lucky and had really good ones. And of course equipment malfunctions in the room would be annoying, so I'm grateful we didn't have any of those.

 

Another comment I will make is about Pia - yeah, we didn't like her at all. She was actually quite rude to Sandy one day. But we didn't really deal with her - the person we worked with at the tour desk was a former Le Gauguin, and sadly I'm drawing a blank on her name...but I'll ask Sandy and she'll remember her. She was over-the-top helpful, and we adored her! And for them to have rearranged our private tours, including with a dive operator on Rarotonga - that was just phenomenal service, IMO.

 

No the cruise wasn't perfect - I've mentioned two issues already (the late bus/tender situation, and Pia's less-than-friendly attitude). And there were other annoyances: PG seems to fall down terribly in the land-transfer department (LOTS more about that in my upcoming review - mainly about chaos and haphazard luggage handling, but that's on land, not the ship). There was also one night in which the service was very slooooow in La Veranda (not Roderick!). But I can't say that these imperfections detracted enough from the experience for me to downgrade my overall rating of this cruise. There is no such thing as a *perfect* travel experience, in any class - I've been on Crystal, Regent and PG (all considered 5-star) and not a one of them went off without at least a few hitches, especially when it's such a lengthy trip (2 1/2 weeks).

 

I'm sad that there are some PG staffers who didn't hit the mark, and that my fellow cruiser seemed to get so many of them on one cruise!

[ducklite]

Now see, to each their own. It drives me crazy wen housekeeping moves my "stuff." I generally leave things neat and organized, and I hate coming back to my room or cabin to have it "reorganized" for me. I was in a resort last weekend and left my toiletries on the counter in the order I like them in, came back at the end of the day and the housekeeper had put a face cloth on the counter and all the toiletries on top of it in a random order. She had also shuffled some work related papers around on the desk and hung up a sweater I had left draped over the back of the desk chair. It was on the chair because there was a draft there from the a/c and I had been using it there--and knew I'd use it there again that evening.

[Leejnd4]

Now see, to each their own. It drives me crazy wen housekeeping moves my "stuff." I generally leave things neat and organized, and I hate coming back to my room or cabin to have it "reorganized" for me. I was in a resort last weekend and left my toiletries on the counter in the order I like them in, came back at the end of the day and the housekeeper had put a face cloth on the counter and all the toiletries on top of it in a random order. She had also shuffled some work related papers around on the desk and hung up a sweater I had left draped over the back of the desk chair. It was on the chair because there was a draft there from the a/c and I had been using it there--and knew I'd use it there again that evening.

 

I hear ya...and I can see how that would be annoying. Somehow Mary Grace seemed to strike an amazing balance of organizing our stuff without re-organizing it - if it was already organized, she left it alone. But if we left things haphazard (which was not uncommon on this trip, especially when we had short periods of time in between some activities) she would organize the stuff we left lying around. I wish I could articulate it, but I'm not sure I'm doing a very good job of it. All I can tell you is, she was truly fantastic at what she did! And this is in contrast to the room attendant we had on our last cruise (Crystal) who seemed to only do the bare minimum. I couldn't really complain about him, he didn't do anything wrong per se...but he was no Mary Grace! I wish I could bring her home with me...I need a Mary Grace in my real life. :o

[Emdee]

One more vote against Pia. She has been there since Regent days. Was extremely rude to us when we complained that we were forgotten at the Rarotonga airport and left to our own devices on a paid ship's excursion.

 

The ex Gauguinne at the desk is Sandi - and she is a real gem. Last year was kind enough to make arrangements for us to use the Sofitel's facilities and gave us any help and support we needed with arrangements.