PG Cruise 6/11/05 - Review #2

[oceanbear]

First, you should read "JulieMac's" review as this is an addendum to it, and is also part of her link. Thanks to Julie for posting such a detailed review so quickly. It was great meeting Julie and all the CCers onboard. Thought I’d just add my comments to JulieMac’s.

 

We were on the 7th deck and had no problem with the ships motion, other than keeping us awake one night because we sleep on our sides and the rolling kept moving us. We finally positioned ourselves diagonally across the bed and no more problems.

 

 

On Huahine, we were also on the same excursion, “Marc’s tour”, with JulieMac, Texed and other CCers, and agree it was excellent. This isn’t available to most PG cruisers; as the PG doesn’t stop on Huahine during the regular 7-day cruise.

 

 

 

On Raiatea, we took the “Faaroa River and Island Exploration” offered from the ship. It was fun and informative, and the weather was very nice for this type of excursion, sunny but not too hot with a nice breeze. The guides were fun and friendly.

 

 

As Julie mention the weather on Rangiroa was not very accommodating. We had prayed for “no rain”, but forgot to ask for “no wind” as well. The 2nd day was sunnier than the 1st, but the wind still made for some bad chop, and that spoiled what should have been beautiful snorkeling. The drift snorkel excursions were cancelled or changed. The SCUBA divers may have had better luck. There is not much else to do on Rangiroa, the 2 villages of Tiputa, Avatoruwere not really worth a visit

 

On Bora Bora, we had an all-day excursion provided by our T/A’s travel organization “Virtuoso”. They also hosted a cocktail hour one evening. It was an “around the island” tour on “Le Truck”. It included a stop at “Bloody Mary’s” for a drink, some photo stops, one shopping stop, and a stop at the luxury “Bora Bora Pearl Resort” for an excellent lunch with wine included. We also toured the grounds, and could have used the facilities if we had brought our swim gear. There was some confusion about the return time, and 6 of us did manage to get left behind, but we had no trouble getting back to the dock by local cab. We really enjoyed the tour.

 

The 2nd day was spent on the motu and we enjoyed it as much as Julie did.

 

On Moorea, we chose the "Lagoon Snorkel" tour too, and agree with Julie’s assessment, although, I would recommend doing this excursion in the morning, especially if it’s on a weekend. The water would be even clearer before the tourists and the locals stir it up. We saw Texed and company doing the “Helmet Dive” while we were snorkeling, so be advised; they take place in the same location.

 

On day 2 in Moorea we took a tour bus around the island. Other than the view from “Belvedere”, I would not recommend this trip. Try to find a more personalized tour in a smaller vehicle. The “Off Road Adventure” that Julie took would be a much better choice.

 

Moorea is a beautiful island, and while Bora Bora has beautiful water, it seems to be mostly Resorts. Overall, Moorea would be our pick for a return visit.

 

We took the tour around Tahiti too, but we were on a different bus than Julie. We found this tour frustrating too, but for the opposite reason. Our guide shot through the museum with too little explanation. We arrived after Julie’s bus, but still departed well before.

 

 

My final comments on the crew, food, and services: We found the service level to be of the highest standard. The wait staff was very accommodating. We even got “non-menu” items like soufflés, shrimp cocktails, and even lobster by asking for them the night before. We were also able to get the wine we enjoyed from a previous evening, simply by requesting it.

 

 

This was our 1st cruise on an RSSC ship. I thought the food was very good, if not always excellent. I found the food in the main dining room to compare well with that on Celebrity’s Mercury. The soups and the beef dishes on Mercury were consistently better than on the PG, but the seafood and the desserts were better on the PG. We found a couple of wines and the “house” champagne that we really enjoyed, and of course it’s included at no additional cost. The food in Apicius was excellent, and since the menu stays the same, you need only eat there once or twice during the cruise. We would have tried it a second time, but we were having too much fun dining with our new friends Texed, Jacque, Don and Janice. We always had a good time dining with them. We did dine at a table for 2 on a couple of nights, and found this to be nice option. Although it’s open setting”, we found that not getting there as the dinner hours started, often necessitate a long wait, especially for a table for 6. We also learned to ask not to be seated near a “children’s table”. This particular cruise offered a “children’s program” and a large extended family was onboard. They sat 10 children around one table and the noise they made was quite annoying on at least one evening. We only had lunch in the dining room about 3 times. The buffets change themes daily. We enjoyed some great sashimi one day, some excellent Steak Tartare and delicious Wiener Schnitzel on another. The food, especially the cold selection, was very fresh and tasty. We also tried room service on a couple of occasions for a light lunch. It was very fast, 10 mins, and the food very fresh and tasty too. I loved those crispy Spring Rolls. We enjoyed the afternoon tea on two occasions as well. While not as elaborate as other “teas”, the selection was adequate and the quality very good. We had a continental breakfast on our balcony almost everyday. I think we miss that the most.

 

We didn’t use several of the services. The other services I can comment on are as follows: The Casino was small but adequate for this type of cruise. The ship’s Boutique was also small but adequate. The theater seating was comfortable and seemed to accommodate all those that wanted to see the show. Of the entertainers, “The Gauguines” and “Smiley” were the most enjoyable.

 

The few negatives: The selection of books is limited and there is no real “Library”; this bothered my wife more than me. The exercise room was too small and very limited. It always seemed to be busy when I wanted to use it. The cabin TV’s should be definitely be upgraded to at least 24” LCDs and a DVD\CD player should be added. My biggest complaint: I found that the snorkeling equipment was not as nice as I expected. The mask was adequate, but it was not “fitted” by the staff. The fins, at least in the larger sizes, had stiff and deformed foot pockets. I had to return one painful pair, as I was not given the actual pair the staff had me try on for sizing. I did notice others had much newer fins. In any case, if you are an “avid” snorkeler, you should consider bringing your own gear. Snorkeling fins don’t weigh as much as diving fins and you’ll be certain of a perfect fit.

 

 

One negative, not on the ship, was the flight. While the ATN planes are clean, bright and offer good service, I found the coach seats to be very uncomfortable because of the center armrest design. Instead of placing the electronic controls only on the outside armrests, one set is placed in the center armrest. This prevents it from being raised completely out of the way. My wife is small but I am large. Usually, we fit very well by sharing 2 seats without the center armrest. Since we couldn’t do this, I had a very uncomfortable flight. If this sounds like it could be a problem for you, you might want to opt for Business Class seating. The food was okay going to Tahiti, but terrible on the return. You might want to store away some cookies from the PG’s last brunch for your flight back.

 

 

All in all, this was a great cruise, and while not inexpensive, it was worth the price.

[Kathy Z]

Dennis,

 

It's good to hear from you. I don't know why Bill and I didn't think of sleeping diagonally across the bed on those rolling nights. I thought once or twice that I might land on the floor. Our stormachs did fine because we each took one of the little pills from reception for the longer trips between islands.

 

I'd do a third trip on the PG in a heartbeat if money were no object. Last night as I was trying to motivate myself to prepare dinner I lamented "I wiish Daniel (head chief) were here".

 

It was so nice meeting Rosie, you and the other CC people on this trip.

[JulieMac]

Dennis! Great to hear from you! It was so nice meeting you and Rosie. Thanks for posting your own review!

 

JulieMac