JVNYC Posted October 2, 2013 #1 Share Posted October 2, 2013 I'm interested in hearing honest thoughts and reviews on French Polynesia. I am seriously looking at booking the Marina in 2015 and have yet to commit. I live in New York and it's an awfully long trip for a tropical vacation to Tahiti when I can get to the Caribbean very easily. I have heard that you can't compare the two places but there are some nicer Caribbean islands off the beaten path that are not crowded and unspoiled. I do like beaches and I'm told that Tahiti really doesn't have good ones...not large and sandy..it's more of a "get in the water" and "be on a boat" place. I have always wanted to go to Bora Bora...but the I'm beginning to wonder if it's really worth it. Happy to hear your thoughts and appreciate your info! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimandStan Posted October 2, 2013 #2 Share Posted October 2, 2013 With Air travel as wretched, and wretchedly expensive, as it presently is, my suggestion is that you take the money that you would have given the Airlines to schlep you to Bora Bora, and treat yourself to some perfectly exquisite Caribbean retreat. At the Viceroy in Anguila or Jade Mountain in St Lucia, any differences from the South Pacific become increasingly irrelevant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare ORV Posted October 2, 2013 #3 Share Posted October 2, 2013 Having been to both I'd say go. We went in 2008 for my wife's retirement "once in a lifetime trip", 4 years later we went back again. Until you've experienced it for yourself then it's real hard to know. Go to LA, spend the night, take an 8.5 hour flight to Tahiti, not too bad at all. No longer than a trip to Europe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawaiidan Posted October 2, 2013 #4 Share Posted October 2, 2013 Have also been to both....like 5 times to Tahiti alone and all the islands of the carribe. Even rented a villa on St John and Mosquito Island once. Tahiti is different, and way less commercial. none of the jewelry and discount watch and liquor malls. There is little poverty, racial tension and crime, un like the carribe. There are no crowds with thousands of passengers daily. The ocean is fantastic and the vistas equally so. Some one once said that there was only one island in the carribe and that the ships sail around at night and they change the names on the pier for the next day. Tahiti is what the carribe might have been 100 years ago before cruise ships. Beaches in Tahiti and all the south pacific are scares because of the abundant coral reefs that are lacking in the carribe in comparison. It is way more expensive in Tahiti than the carribe. As far as flights...fly to Hawaii and spend a few days then it is only 5.5 hours on the Saturday Hawaiian airlines flight.....way better than the LAX layover and 9 hour flight Your call but if you have never been and just keep replaying old vacations to the same places you will miss out on so much that you would never ever get to experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cutiepie43 Posted October 2, 2013 #5 Share Posted October 2, 2013 I'm interested in hearing honest thoughts and reviews on French Polynesia. I am seriously looking at booking the Marina in 2015 and have yet to commit. I live in New York and it's an awfully long trip for a tropical vacation to Tahiti when I can get to the Caribbean very easily. I have heard that you can't compare the two places but there are some nicer Caribbean islands off the beaten path that are not crowded and unspoiled. I do like beaches and I'm told that Tahiti really doesn't have good ones...not large and sandy..it's more of a "get in the water" and "be on a boat" place. I have always wanted to go to Bora Bora...but the I'm beginning to wonder if it's really worth it. Happy to hear your thoughts and appreciate your info! If you are interested here is my review from our Marnia trip this spring. I would do it again in a heartbeat. I have done the Caribbean to death and there really is no comparison to the blue waters of Bora Bora and French Polynesia. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1845227 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wripro Posted October 2, 2013 #6 Share Posted October 2, 2013 The only islands in the Caribbean, imo, that can even hold a candle to Tahiti are Anguilla and St Barts. But even so, Bora Bora and Moorea are a completely different animal. The whole feeling is different. Yes, it's a schlepp but so is Paris and one could also go to Chicago for an urban visit but it's not the same thing. (No disrespect for Chicago. I love it.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jancruz Posted October 2, 2013 #7 Share Posted October 2, 2013 OK..I definitely agree with the people that say go..there is NOWHERE like it IMHO..I have been there three times and cant wait to go again.. Jancruz1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimandStan Posted October 2, 2013 #8 Share Posted October 2, 2013 OK..I definitely agree with the people that say go..there is NOWHERE like it IMHO..I have been there three times and cant wait to go again..Jancruz1 People from California ALWAYS say that :cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulchili Posted October 2, 2013 #9 Share Posted October 2, 2013 I too would say that it is a special place and well worth a trip. If you are traveling on a budget, then visiting FP on a cruise is ideal (with perhaps a few days before or after cruise stay). While FP is beautiful it is also prohibitively expensive to visit on a "land trip" as accommodations and food are outrageously priced. The only negative about a cruise visit (with most cruise lines other than PG) is that it is during their rainy and hot season - so one could see a lot of rain and even Bora Bora is rather ordinary on a rainy day (no shades of blue in the lagoon) :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JVNYC Posted October 2, 2013 Author #10 Share Posted October 2, 2013 Thanks for all the comments...and cutiepie for a great past review and wonderful photos. I'm anxious to hear more. I am seeing alot of snorkeling and water activity...not much relaxing on a beach or walking around. Is it safe to say every day the excursions would be a taking a boat to get in the water? I'm looking at the late March sailing on Marina (ending in early April). Would it still be very rainy, hot and humid at this time? JimandStan, those 2 resorts are excellent choices! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wendy The Wanderer Posted October 2, 2013 #11 Share Posted October 2, 2013 I've been to FP four times, each time I've done a cruise on the Paul Gauguin. We have another one booked for next year. We live in Toronto, so the trip is just as long for us. It's a trek, but we try to break it up with a night in L.A. on the way out, and arrive in Papeete a day or more before the start of the cruise. It's an amazing part of the world, very much worth it despite the hassles. Culturally it's very different than the Caribbean. The Polynesians are wonderful, beautiful people and the islands are spectacular. As I said in the other thread, Bora Bora is not my favourite. It's spectacularly beautiful and the lagoon can't be beat, but it's quite touristy and hotel prices high. But Moorea is even more beautiful and closer, and cheaper than Bora Bora. And there are other islands that are even more remote and quiet, like Taha'a or Huahine. The Paul Gauguin has about 350 pax. It's small, and very intimate and unobtrusive because of its size. It was designed for FP. The staff are incredible, and the food usually very good. And yes, there are many water-based excursions. But there are opportunities to tour the islands as well. Bora Bora is quite interesting, as is Moorea (great views from high up). Not many beaches, but "motus" instead--small islands that surrounding the lagoons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TERRIER1 Posted October 2, 2013 #12 Share Posted October 2, 2013 We are from New York and always thought the same. Why go all the way to Polynesia when we have the Caribbean at our back door. I love the British Virgin Islands and the Bahamas for their clear waters and white sand beaches. Didn't like St Lucia - the topography was beautiful but the beaches not so. Haven't been to Anguilla or St Barts but I hear they are lovely. So why go to Polynesia? Because it is beautiful. Each island is different. The water is clearer than a pool teeming with the most colorful fish. Some islands are mountainous while others are purely atoll. The Polynesians are a warm and wonderful people. It is very expensive (but then so is Anguilla and St Barts) so the best way is by cruise ship where the ship becomes your hotel and restaurant. We just came back in April and are going again in 2015 as part of a longer cruise Down Under. I would suggest that you compare cost on Oceania with those on the Paul Gaughin. We were on the Marina and I do think that the smaller ship is a better alternative. These islands are small and the Marina is a little too big. The plane was not a bad as we thought. We switched in Los Angeles and then the ride to Tahiti was 8 1/2 hours. We weren't wild about the island of Tahiti itself. I would take the Caribeean over Tahiti but the other islands are magnificient. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Caroldoll Posted October 2, 2013 #13 Share Posted October 2, 2013 We have been there four times. Mostly Gaugain. Would not go in the rainy season. April is just about after it. You must have little foot things for in the water because of the coral, but there is nothing like it. We always do the Caribbean, but I would go back to the SP in a heartbeat. My DH says he gets bored. About cost--for instance--he had a fruit drink in Tahiti the last time and it was $18 without alcohol! LOL. You should try it though. I do envy Hawaiidan as it is so close for him, but just one plane a week! I think if I went from the East Coast I might do it with one stop in between. Go for it--you only live once. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darcy15 Posted October 2, 2013 #14 Share Posted October 2, 2013 Try the trip from the UK to Bora Bora for endurance :eek: :eek: .......but, was it worth it? Absolutely!!! :D Stunning scenery, turquoise lagoon - absolutely amazing holiday and I would do it again in a heartbeat :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulchili Posted October 2, 2013 #15 Share Posted October 2, 2013 I do envy Hawaiidan as it is so close for him, but just one plane a week! If I lived in Hawaii I wouldn't be in any great hurry to go to FP. Certainly not in our winter - maybe in July/Aug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawaiidan Posted October 2, 2013 #16 Share Posted October 2, 2013 Many of the islands in Tahiti don't have island beaches BUT, in their lagoons behind the reef, are these super soft sand islands many of which you can be dropped off at for the day...like a desert island. Not much in the carribe like that !! Bora Bora s entire multihued lagoon is a sandy paradise of gin clear 82 degree water... so are the others. A note on climate is in order all the carribe islands are of a desert arid like climate for the most part with scrub and cacti Only Puerto Rico and St Lucia have forests per se Tahiti and Hawaii lie in true tropical climate with rainforests and cloud forests abounding they are both in Polynesia. Abundant flowers and flowering trees. March and April are great both here and there December-Jan-Feb can be very wet and hot Aside from Bora Bora... probably the most beautiful anchorage in the world has got to be Cooks Bay on Moorea.. It is beyond stunning. Go look it up...and you will see That these two are the most beautiful in the world with Autiki in the Cooks, a close 3rd And to stress what others have said... the "cultural difference" is way way different in a good way. Another option.... is while not on Oceana take a HAL 30 day cruise that leaves from San Diego or LA, Hits Marquseas, Hawaii and circle Tahiti. You might want to try that..... as a sampler. If you take me with you I will show you around... ( what a deal);) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawaiidan Posted October 2, 2013 #17 Share Posted October 2, 2013 If I lived in Hawaii I wouldn't be in any great hurry to go to FP. Certainly not in our winter - maybe in July/Aug Whats this "winter" you speak of ? Is it a San Francisco thing?:rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JVNYC Posted October 2, 2013 Author #18 Share Posted October 2, 2013 Thanks Hawaiidan. I'm getting a pretty clear picture now, it sounds good! I wish I could do the 30 day HAL, that would be ideal...but I'm still working (42) and have some time yet before I can take one of those. Someday (sigh). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marseydotes Posted October 2, 2013 #19 Share Posted October 2, 2013 Thanks to Corpkid and others who have recently posted here on O boards, we are thinking of French Polynesia for our big anniversary coming up. It seems, though, that O ships are not in the area in October, and I have my heart set on being on board on our 50th, even if we aren't on our favorite line! All of you wonderful, experienced cruisers, please give us a suggestion for a great October cruise! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wendy The Wanderer Posted October 2, 2013 #20 Share Posted October 2, 2013 I'm confused--you want to be in French Polynesia for your 50th? Or you want to be on Oceania? If the former, the cruise ship Paul Gauguin is a truly lovely experience. See the other thread that was just started here today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuAnn Posted October 2, 2013 #21 Share Posted October 2, 2013 People from California ALWAYS say that :cool: it's true!!!! We have been lucky enough to go to the Carib. many times...but going the "other direction" was just such magic...that is flying from the left coast to there!!! YES...it may be a longer flight for you...but as suggested...break it up and enjoy along the way....LA...and or Hawaii!!! We have been so lucky to sail in so many of the beautiful areas of the world...and we thought that our time...in that area...was magical!!! What ever you decide...enjoy!!! LuAnn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JVNYC Posted October 3, 2013 Author #22 Share Posted October 3, 2013 As a dog lover, this bothers me. Has anyone experienced this? From the LA Times Travel Blog: "My experience on the island of Bora-Bora haunts me to this day. Upon arrival, I was met by large packs of feral dogs. They were starving and diseased. The dogs near the port were waiting for passengers and some relief. Others from the ship joined me in filling paper cups with water to give the thirsty dogs drinks. When I complained to a French official, I was told the common excuse, "They belong to no one and they belong to everyone." On a trip around the island, trash and debris were evident on the roads and beaches. Bora-Bora, you need to clean up your act. Most passengers agreed that the scenery was beautiful but that the lack of compassion for the animals, along with the abundance of trash, made this island visit a nightmare." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wendy The Wanderer Posted October 3, 2013 #23 Share Posted October 3, 2013 As a dog lover, this bothers me. Has anyone experienced this? From the LA Times Travel Blog: "My experience on the island of Bora-Bora haunts me to this day. Upon arrival, I was met by large packs of feral dogs. They were starving and diseased. The dogs near the port were waiting for passengers and some relief. Others from the ship joined me in filling paper cups with water to give the thirsty dogs drinks. When I complained to a French official, I was told the common excuse, "They belong to no one and they belong to everyone." On a trip around the island, trash and debris were evident on the roads and beaches. Bora-Bora, you need to clean up your act. Most passengers agreed that the scenery was beautiful but that the lack of compassion for the animals, along with the abundance of trash, made this island visit a nightmare." Yes, they are there. On the island of Tahiti as well as Bora Bora. The Polynesians don't seem to be the most environmentally conscious society either, despite their paradise. It's sad, for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vaitape Posted October 3, 2013 #24 Share Posted October 3, 2013 Unfortunately what was posted in the blog is accurate. What's really pathetic are the dogs with horrible mange.......looks like they've been scalded. We rented a motor bike years ago to go around the island, NEVER AGAIN! A pack of barking, snapping dogs chased us for what felt like miles..... In truth, the island of Bora Bora itself is beautiful to LOOK AT, not all that beautiful on land. It's all about the lagoon. Moorea, Raiatea, Huahine, and Taha'a are much prettier on land. Tahiti, well Tahiti is Tahiti...warts and all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuAnn Posted October 3, 2013 #25 Share Posted October 3, 2013 As a dog lover, this bothers me. Has anyone experienced this? From the LA Times Travel Blog: "My experience on the island of Bora-Bora haunts me to this day. Upon arrival, I was met by large packs of feral dogs. They were starving and diseased. The dogs near the port were waiting for passengers and some relief. Others from the ship joined me in filling paper cups with water to give the thirsty dogs drinks. When I complained to a French official, I was told the common excuse, "They belong to no one and they belong to everyone." On a trip around the island, trash and debris were evident on the roads and beaches. Bora-Bora, you need to clean up your act. Most passengers agreed that the scenery was beautiful but that the lack of compassion for the animals, along with the abundance of trash, made this island visit a nightmare." While I have never seen this...and been there several times..thank you for your alert to this!!!! If I see this on my next trip...I will certainly try to figure out a way to help. I give $$ to many animal organizations...and I had never heard about this before. Thank you for your information!!!! LuAnn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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