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Is it worth it?


justwo

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Hello,

I have a very good deal on a 7 night sailing December 7, 2013. Sadly, :mad: I am starting to "second guess" the trip. Is going to FP worth the long flight? Cost? I have been all over the Caribbean, love the BVI's, it's beautiful there and so much closer. Honestly was not impressed with Hawaii after an 11 hour flight from the east coast. Will I have the same reaction in FP? Advice? Thoughts? I welcome all responses.

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We have been to Hawaii 3 times, numerous times to,the Caribbean and 4 times to,the South Pacific including 3 PG cruises. The South Pacific will ruin your attraction for Hawaii. It is simply spectacular. If at all possible fly in a few days early and ideally take the ferry to Moorea and decompress a few days before the cruise.

 

It is well worth the long flight.

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Hello,

I have a very good deal on a 7 night sailing December 7, 2013. Sadly, :mad: I am starting to "second guess" the trip. Is going to FP worth the long flight? Cost? I have been all over the Caribbean, love the BVI's, it's beautiful there and so much closer. Honestly was not impressed with Hawaii after an 11 hour flight from the east coast. Will I have the same reaction in FP? Advice? Thoughts? I welcome all responses.

 

After reading some of these posts I'm surprised you even have to ask.:rolleyes:

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I certainly feel it is worth the long flight to try it. The islands are spectacular and much nicer than the Caribbean ports. That said, I was happy that I had the opportunity to go and we made the most of it by taking a two week cruise and adding several days in Moorea because I will probably not be going back. It is a really long trip and when you live 20 minutes from the Ft Lauderdale and 40 minutes from the Miami piers and it is only an hour or two flight to St Lucia or one of the other beautiful islands in the Caribbean, like I do, I will probably opt for those vacations in the future,instead, especially for a one week vacation. My advice is to go once - it really is spectacular and you can decide whether you want to repeat it. I have yet to meet anybody who has experience the PG and FP and not loved it.

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It's worth it. We've been 4 times, on 5 Paul Gauguin cruises, and hope to do it again next year. Yes, the flights are a pain (we only managed Business Class once), but it's still worth it (from the east coast--not sure about the UK or Europe.) We try to stay overnight in L.A., and always arrive at least one night before the cruise starts in Papeete.

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We thought so!

 

We've done numerous land and cruise trips to the Caribbean, and when contemplating our 25th anniversary rejected the Caribbean due to hurricane season. We considered Hawaii and rejected it; because like your experience we heard that in HI it's challenging to get off the beaten path and find "old Hawaii" anymore. We decided if we were to go that far (from the east coast) we may as well go to FP. We were sure glad we did- what we thought would be a once in a lifetime trip will now be a regular "big anniversary" trip every 5 or so years until we can't travel that far any longer.

 

FP is so completely different from the Caribbean. Sure it's lovely in FP too, ;) but FP so much more unspoiled, the raw landscapes are beautiful in every direction and the culture is so much more evident with less intrusion from hoards of tourists and seasonal residents. I've rarely had a resident tour guide in the Caribbean, as i we did with Patrick in Bora Bora- it makes the experience so much deeper!

 

PG in particular is lovely because when you arrive at an island; it is usually with the 300 people you are sailing with. In the Caribbean, you might arrive with only 300 on your luxury ship, but you'll be joined by 10,000 disembarking from other ships also in port.

 

Only you can decide if the trip is " worth it" but we found it to be a place well worth the cost and effort to get there!:D

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Grew up on the east coast and have done umpteen trips to the Caribbean . Sailed the BVI several times. Been to Moorea X2 Bora bora once and in a few weeks we will be on the PG first time for the 10 day trip. NO comparison - very different and I am not a fan of Hawaii . Just do it!

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The islands are beautiful but the PG makes the experience so wonderful. We have yet to find another ship with a crew like the PG. 7 days is just an introduction. When we went the 1st time we too took a 7 day cruise not sure if we would like cruising and or the islands. We are going back for our 6th cruise on the PG in September of 2014.

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I can't wait for my third visit to FP and my 2nd PG cruise--one of the best things we've ever done! We'll be staying for a few days in Moorea before the cruise and a few days on Vahine Island afterwards.

 

I have to say, though, that those of you who say you weren't impressed with Hawaii must not have stayed on Hanalei Bay on Kauai.:)

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No I havent stayed at Hanalei Bay. I think I may like it, though. We saw it from the Helicopter and it looked lovely. I like Kauai of all the islands I visited ( Maui, big island etc). If we return to Hawaii that is where we would stay.

 

I like the relative isolation of FP. Loved the fact that we would only have two or three couples on the entire beach in Moorea.

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In Kaui we stayed past Halalei over the bridges on a wonderful isolated beach close to tunnels where we rented a home for the fam. It was lovely, but very different from FO. For the few extra plane hours I would chose FP, but it's all such a matter of personal preference !

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Is FP worth it? for my 10 pence(cents) worth Fakarava was worth the trip,that for us was the land highlight also Moorea which i think is better than Bora Bora. From the States FP is not too far but from Europe/UK we have around 19 hrs flight time plus stopovers so it's a bit of a jaunt.The ship and crew (and our fellow passengers) were fantastic and we were both very impressed.

For us we can fly to the Carib in 8 hrs so we tend to go to that area as well as Europe,also Thailand is one flight away and has fantastic scenery and some of the best beaches in the world.

 

So..in summing up we enjoyed the PG but probably would'nt travel to FP again...but we're glad we did

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Worth is relative. After a trip to FP you will be glad you went no matter what you spent or how long you are in a plane. I just finished a Carnival 2 night cruise to nowhere out of NYC and it was very expensive for this length cruise but for me it was worth every penny.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

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For short haul weekend cruises out of NYC Carnival absolutely blows away RCCL and NCL. Perfect for a family trip. I would never take them to Tahiti though! Can't believe they went they this year in the way to Sydney.

 

 

 

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It's worth it. We've been 4 times, on 5 Paul Gauguin cruises, and hope to do it again next year. Yes, the flights are a pain (we only managed Business Class once), but it's still worth it (from the east coast--not sure about the UK or Europe.) We try to stay overnight in L.A., and always arrive at least one night before the cruise starts in Papeete.

Must agree with Wendy, overnight in LA (intercontinental harbor view)

Arrive 1 or 2 days early in FP prior to cruise, it will be fantastic.

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Is FP worth it? for my 10 pence(cents) worth Fakarava was worth the trip,that for us was the land highlight also Moorea which i think is better than Bora Bora. From the States FP is not too far but from Europe/UK we have around 19 hrs flight time plus stopovers so it's a bit of a jaunt.The ship and crew (and our fellow passengers) were fantastic and we were both very impressed.

For us we can fly to the Carib in 8 hrs so we tend to go to that area as well as Europe,also Thailand is one flight away and has fantastic scenery and some of the best beaches in the world.

 

So..in summing up we enjoyed the PG but probably would'nt travel to FP again...but we're glad we did

 

 

Mr. Circus Girl-

We have found your flip flops. Some girl tried to sneak them in the U.S.- Just between you and I, you might want to order some alil more masculine in the future. See you in Vegas :)

IMLINK-E272FUC-GSANDALS__1_10.jpg

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Mr. Circus Girl-

We have found your flip flops. Some girl tried to sneak them in the U.S.- Just between you and I, you might want to order some alil more masculine in the future. See you in Vegas :)

IMLINK-E272FUC-GSANDALS__1_10.jpg

Thankyou TB, Yes those look uncannily like mine, will you stick them in the post or can i collect in Vegas:)

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