Review- PG 7 Night Society Islands Oct 2012

[Familygoboston]

I also want to extend our thanks to "Familygoboston" for the excellent review. It was particularly useful for us since our cruise on May 18th will be our first PG. I made notes of many many items that you talked about. We will be much better prepared when we begin our trip to FP. :)

 

Gerry (and Elisabeth)

 

Thanks Gerry! I know for myself, I read every review and made notes and was much better prepared. Some love to be " surprised", but I love to plan :o, so my goal was to make a review for planners, and for folks who love to cruise vicariously! I love a photo review where I feel like I'm on the trip...it's like reading an interactive travel magazine!

I do hope you and Elisabeth have a wonderful time...and do a photo review for those of us at home!;)

[Emdee]

Family,

There is no question that your review is now the definitive one for the cruise critic board.

[Eliger]

Family,

There is no question that your review is now the definitive one for the cruise critic board.

Very well said. I second the motion!!! :D

[Familygoboston]

You guys are making me blush!:o I do hope others will review though- things change, people have different perspectives and I just enjoy reading them:p

[JujuBean71]

Thanks for the incredible review. I enjoyed reading it. I'm beginning my search for a small, luxury cruise in this area or through the Fiji islands.

 

Do you think this cruise would be a good option for a group of 5-6 couples? I don't see why not, but I thought I'd ask for your input.

 

We have a couple advanced divers in the group, so we need to be able to accommodate them.

 

Thanks again!

[Emdee]

Juju,

I don't want to crash family's party but with 5 or 6 couples you will get group rates.

 

We are not divers but people who dive Rangiroa and Fakarava say its fabulous.

[Emdee]

Family ,

I will be doing my PG Live next week when I am on the PG. I cannot wait.

It will not be a comprehensive post like yours but will have more perspective for repeaters.

Miriam

[Familygoboston]

Thanks for the incredible review. I enjoyed reading it. I'm beginning my search for a small, luxury cruise in this area or through the Fiji islands.

 

Do you think this cruise would be a good option for a group of 5-6 couples? I don't see why not, but I thought I'd ask for your input.

 

We have a couple advanced divers in the group, so we need to be able to accommodate them.

 

Thanks again!

Juju, I think it would be great! One of the things I didn't like about a recent cruise we took on a huuuuuuge cruise ship with my cousin and her husband, was if we didn't make plans we never saw eachother :eek: On PG you will see eachother even without making plans to meet up. ( hopefully that's what you want;)) it's a very intimate ship and the underwater activities are spectacular! The divers in your group will find there is a dedicated diving excursion desk. Many of the divers went there and spent considerable time customizing their dive packages. All the divers raved abut #1 how safe they felt with the operation and the equipment and number 2 about the multiple opportunities to dive on this ship. As you'll see in my review, the whole stern of the ship drops down and becomes a platform to launch the dive boats. It's pretty incredible. Diving is not an add on or afterthought on this ship! Some of the folks did mention concerns about the health of the reefs compared to several years ago. I think this is epidemic of most reefs in most places these days, sadly!:(

 

Family ,

I will be doing my PG Live next week when I am on the PG. I cannot wait.

It will not be a comprehensive post like yours but will have more perspective for repeaters.

Miriam

OOo! Can't wait! I am working on my photo book on Blurb right now, so I have been going through all my FP photos and really feeling like I miss it!

[crusinpsychRN]

Your pictures are stunning! Love the sunset through the clouds!

[Familygoboston]

Your pictures are stunning! Love the sunset through the clouds!

 

Thanks DH gets credit for those!! He's a real photo buff, and enjoys taking photos, so we enjoyed the balcony cabin, almost all of those landscapes were taken from our balcony during the sails from one island to the next. (which on the 7 day often took place right at sunset!:D)

[iden]

Hi Familygoboston

 

I really enjoyed reading your posts of the cruise. It's nice to see the photos/menus so I will know what to expect! I'm even more excited now!!!!

[Familygoboston]

Hi Familygoboston

 

I really enjoyed reading your posts of the cruise. It's nice to see the photos/menus so I will know what to expect! I'm even more excited now!!!!

 

Glad it was helpful! That's why I dragged all that ephemera home in my carry on bag ;)

Have a wonderful cruise! FP is an amazing place!

[NJBeaglemom]

This is off topic FamilygoBoston, but seeing as you are about to get hit with one whopper of a snowfall (2-4" here; my daughter in NY is expecting up to a foot), do people there buy up all the bread and milk and toilet paper before a storm like they do here? :p Loved your review. I took notes and will be looking over your packing guide again.

Edited February 7, 2013 by NJBeaglemom

[Familygoboston]

This is off topic FamilygoBoston, but seeing as you are about to get hit with one whopper of a snowfall (2-4" here; my daughter in NY is expecting up to a foot), do people there buy up all the bread and milk and toilet paper before a storm like they do here? :p Loved your review. I took notes and will be looking over your packing guide again.

 

LOL, nothing could be further off topic on the PG boards than discussing 2 feet of snow;):D

 

Yes, we are expecting a real drubbing, up to 2 feet and drifts to 5 in some places due to winds. Unfortunately, one of those "places" happens to be my front yard as we abut are large field where the winds really pick up some speed (on the bright side,it's a great place to XC ski!)

Everyone acts a little goofy, a friend reported the store ran out of bread- like people are mainlining wonder bread because the snow is falling? What is that?:confused: But being a very techy region, most folks can work from home as long as power and internet holds. The biggest deal for all of us, (as you probably experienced with Sandy) is that the electrical infrastructure is getting old and everyone seems to lose power in a stiff sneeze. So we've laid in stuff I can warm up on the gas stove, we've got a gas fireplace and the water and the flashlights are ready. There's not much else to do (unless there is a seat on ATN tonight;). I actually love a good snow and we love to play in it, but not if we have to return to a freezing dark house!

 

Hope everyone stays safe!

[kathy16]

Yes- here in Connecticut we have stocked up on bread and milk (and wine) and ready to "enjoy" the Blizzard of 2013. Thanks to Emdee and you- we are well on our way in planning our May 18 Marquesas, etc PG cruise. Have communicated with other CC posters (Benita, et al) on our cruise- and together we are planning some fun private excursions. But- we are looking for additional people to join us on Ato's excursion in Fakarava on May 20, 2013. We do have a roll call going, but not too much participation. Really looking forward to some fun in the sun in a few months.

Kathy

[Emdee]

Kathy

 

Continue to ask on board the cruise. We rounded up someone for our Fakarava excursion like that and they were so thankful they invited us to dinner and ordered a nice reserved wine.

 

The snow is falling and falling here but I guess we have to expect that in Canada.

 

Long hard drives home and plenty of white outs and accidents ahead.

 

Quite a change from the warmth of FP to the deep freeze here.

[SailingDeb2001]

Glad it was helpful! That's why I dragged all that ephemera home in my carry on bag ;)

Have a wonderful cruise! FP is an amazing place!

 

Thank you for your wonderful review and photos!

 

We will be on the Paul Gauguin for the first time in April.

 

I have a couple questions I was hoping you could answer.

 

Do any of the restaurants have tables for 12?

 

We made our own flight reservations, and we have a late flight (11:15pm) the day the cruise ends. Do you know if they offered any excursions/transfers/day hotels for this last day?

 

Thanks,

Debbie

[rurn0321]

Thank you so much Familygoboston for this wonderful review. We are looking to take a FP cruise in 2014 and your description and the photos your DH took has us pretty much decided on PG. Now to just decide on what dates. Thanks again for all the detailed info. It will be very helpful.

[Familygoboston]

Sorry for the delay- I was away in Fl this last week. Hope I can help!

Thank you for your wonderful review and photos!

 

We will be on the Paul Gauguin for the first time in April.

 

I have a couple questions I was hoping you could answer.

 

Do any of the restaurants have tables for 12?

 

We made our own flight reservations, and we have a late flight (11:15pm) the day the cruise ends. Do you know if they offered any excursions/transfers/day hotels for this last day?

 

Thanks,

Debbie

Tables for twelve...hmmm? I'm thinking we only sat at tables for 8. There may have been one or two larger ones in the center, but most were smaller, and we never sat at more than 8.

I would call PG a out adding their day room, I think you can do that even if you are doing your own air. They provide a tour and bus (or a direct bus) to the day resort where you choose a day room.

Then you are bussed to the airport for the late flight. This is so worth it, as they make it quite seemless!

 

Thank you so much Familygoboston for this wonderful review. We are looking to take a FP cruise in 2014 and your description and the photos your DH took has us pretty much decided on PG. Now to just decide on what dates. Thanks again for all the detailed info. It will be very helpful.

Thank you so much! I think you will love it!

[Mrs_Tiki]

Familygoboston, this is my first visit to the Paul Guaguin board, and I feel so lucky to have seen your great review immediately. DH and I have been considering this trip for our 25th (in Sept) for many years, but after a Hawaii cruise last summer began to wonder if the additional air time and travel expense would be worth it. We wondered if FP could be that much more beautiful than gorgeous Hawaii.

 

Your words and your husband's photos have made a believer out of me! Thanks also for all the very useful travel info and tips. We feel like we could pack and prepare for a Caribbean cruise with our eyes closed, but had no idea of what to expect from a FP cruise.

 

Bravo on the excellent review and photos and a sincere thank you for all of the great information!

[Tikiintahiti]

What?

 

That doesn't look like my BH :eek:

[Familygoboston]

What?

 

That doesn't look like my BH :eek:

Tee HEE HEE! :p This was my first thought too! Mrs Tiki hasn't been on PG??? WHO is Tiki taking then:eek:

 

Mrs Tiki, as you peruse this board you will see that Tikintahiti is a legend here, but we've yet to hear from the real Mrs Tiki yet!;)

 

Welcome new Mrs Tiki! Thank you for your kind words, honestly- DH is quite good at getting great photos from other places too, but in FP it was not hard at all! There is nothing yucky to crop out, the place is truly a post card!!

 

I think for a special anniversary you will not be sorry with PG. It is truly a very romantic trip, and perfect for an anniversary or honeymoon, or if I was blessed to live on the left coast- it would be my go to weekend getwaway:p

 

I'm glad the review helped, I love reading them and there are several more further down that list that are also excellent with photos- off the top of my head Clairesmom and Twin. Several others are truly a wealth of knowledge about FP and PG...I love this board and really seriously considered a 2014 return trip just to spend time with them here and eventually on board...great folks who are very helpful and welcoming!!

 

Familygoboston, this is my first visit to the Paul Guaguin board, and I feel so lucky to have seen your great review immediately. DH and I have been considering this trip for our 25th (in Sept) for many years, but after a Hawaii cruise last summer began to wonder if the additional air time and travel expense would be worth it. We wondered if FP could be that much more beautiful than gorgeous Hawaii.

 

Your words and your husband's photos have made a believer out of me! Thanks also for all the very useful travel info and tips. We feel like we could pack and prepare for a Caribbean cruise with our eyes closed, but had no idea of what to expect from a FP cruise.

 

Bravo on the excellent review and photos and a sincere thank you for all of the great information!

[tropical dreams]

It is the most wonderful cruise! Yes they do have excursions for the people flying out late. The hotel room they give you is nice to take a quick nap and shower but you are not really in it that long.

[Tiki_Man]

Tee HEE HEE! :p This was my first thought too! Mrs Tiki hasn't been on PG??? WHO is Tiki taking then:eek:

 

Mrs Tiki, as you peruse this board you will see that Tikintahiti is a legend here, but we've yet to hear from the real Mrs Tiki yet!;)

 

Welcome new Mrs Tiki! Thank you for your kind words, honestly- DH is quite good at getting great photos from other places too, but in FP it was not hard at all! There is nothing yucky to crop out, the place is truly a post card!!

 

I think for a special anniversary you will not be sorry with PG. It is truly a very romantic trip, and perfect for an anniversary or honeymoon, or if I was blessed to live on the left coast- it would be my go to weekend getwaway:p

 

I'm glad the review helped, I love reading them and there are several more further down that list that are also excellent with photos- off the top of my head Clairesmom and Twin. Several others are truly a wealth of knowledge about FP and PG...I love this board and really seriously considered a 2014 return trip just to spend time with them here and eventually on board...great folks who are very helpful and welcoming!!

 

I guess I should chime in here to help out on the confusion. Tikiintahiti is the expert on all things Tahitian. Tiki_Man (me :) ) is married to the lovely Mrs Tiki (original post). I feel like Mrs Tiki and I HAVE to go to Tahiti this Sept just to be able to keep our screen names :) This has been a bucket list wish for many years and I think we will finally do it this time.

 

One of the big things I am unclear about is whether to fly the ATN flight from LA or use Delta FF miles and take the Air France flight. If I understand correctly the ATN flight leaves mid afternoon from LA and arrives late at night, and the Air France flight leaves LA at midnight and arrives early morning. We plan to spend 2 days at the IC prior to sailing, just trying to figure out which scenario makes the most sense. We will be flying into LA 4 or 5 hours prior to whichever departure (plenty of direct flights from Atlanta to LA) so it will be a VERY VERY long travel day for us.

 

Has ATN upgraded all of its plane's (or will they be complete by Sept?). Is it worthwhile to seat upfront on the ATN plane?

 

I am sure I will have MANY more questions so thank you in advance for all the wonderful info so far.

 

Tiki (wannabe)

[Familygoboston]

I'm glad we've established there is no wife swapping going on ;)

 

Welcome Mr Tiki!! And congrats on your anniversary!

 

Questions: I'm no air expert...there are a couple of good threads here about the recent ATN upgrade including a link to ATN's pres release. But my take on it was that the roll out of new planes was going to take longer than Sept 13, and since there is no way to know which aircraft they plan to use, you'd be taking a gamble.

 

As to the difference between AF and ATN, I think you've hit the nail on the head with the major differences being 1-the ability to use miles (many folks do and AF has more partners, so more folks can use miles there) and 2-that the flight arrives at the crack of dawn. You'd need to book one of your pre nights at IC for the night you are flying in order to get right into your room or wait till 2:30 PM after a long flight:eek:

 

The other thing to look into is the flight home...I believe the AF folks had to debark the ship on Friday night once arriving in PPT to fly out on a late night flight. I could be completely wrong on that, and if you are planning to stay a few post nights, it would not matter anyway. It can be done, but you would miss the last night, which might feel premature.

 

Lastly, We did not book BC on ATN. There are very few seats, and universally people who book them say that they are minimally more comfortable than coach. Those who have done it have tried to upgrade at the gate to make it "worth it"; the last quote I got for 2014 BC upgrade on ATN was 3k per person. It's possible the new BC will be available at that price, but again, if you look at their press release, not sure you'd be guaranteed the new seats. Just walking past the old seats did not even seem worth the $800 pp gate upgrade to me! And I should say, no one has reported being able to get a gate upgrade anytime recently. Most times they are sold out as there are only 3 rows of seats. Also, many report that they only release one BC mile upgrade seat at a time, so you can't use miles to upgrade to BC on two seats; you'd have to do one and hope:confused: they release a second one or share the seat (splitting time, not at the same time:p)

 

Our strategy was to take the included coach ATN flight, we used miles to make the East to West coast trip more comfortable ( DH flies AA regularly and was able to get the exit row- but you could also use miles to upgrade that flight) and then we planned to stay awake for the 8 hour ATN flight (we have tablets and loaded movies on) and then arriving at 11 PM, we hit the hay immediately, and were "on track" from a jet lag point of view.

 

Totally up to you, but I would not spend for the upgrade given the lack of "difference" (no sleeper seats etc) for the money and the relative shortness of the flight (say compared to east Coast to Oz (22 hr)or Africa (16 hr) or Asia (20 + hrs)) And really, don't most of us sit at a desk for 8 hours or in front of the tv on Sunday watching football??:p It's doable and heck I have a lot better things to spend 6 grand on;)