Are we right for RSSC?

[SuzCruise]

My husband and I are considering the 5/29 Paul Gauguin cruise in Tahiti. Our only cruise experience was Alaska on HAL, and frankly the cruise was geared toward a much older crowd than we anticipated. We are in our early 30's. We want to make sure that doesn't happen again. Can anyone tell me what the age is of the majority of cruisers on this cruise? What activities are offered on the ship? Do most people go dancing, gambling or gather in the lounges after dinner, or just call it a night? How smokey are the common areas where smoking is allowed?

Thanks in advance for all of your help!

[cruz_fan]

SuzCruise,

We are in our early thirties and were on the PG from March 20-27 and we had a fabulous time! We were definitely on the young side (I think there were may five or six other couples our age on the ship of 318) but found it just right for us.

I must admit that my husband did usually go to sleep pretty early (sometimes he didn't even make it through the show!) but I was always up, wandering around until the wee hours.

There were usually people at the after-dinner shows (nice, not too over the top) and in the casino. La Palette became a "disco" after 11:30 p.m. but was rarely crowded, usually just some staff hanging out and a few people enjoying the music, but no real dancers (at least on our cruise).

To note: there was so much cool stuff to do and see (sailing into ports and islands was pretty cool and worth getting up early for) in the mornings, that many people did retire relatively early.

We did not find the common areas to be very smoky and did not find there to be many smokers. Of course, this is coming from a smoker! But usually people would go to the cigar bar or to La Palette (which was left open in the evenings so you could smoke out on deck (on the starboard side only)) and not really bother anyone.

We found a few couples here on Cruise Critic before we left and met up with them on the ship and I have to say that knowing them beforehand was really nice. We always had someone with whom to hang around, or find an excursion, or share dinner (although there are MANY tables for two should you prefer to eat alone).

I keep meaning to comment on Greg's posting, but haven't yet gotten around to it.

Please feel free to check out the pictures from our trip at my website: [url="http://users.rcn.com/nancy.dow/"]http://users.rcn.com/nancy.dow/[/url] and email me if you have any questions! (My email address is on the homepage.)

I hope you decide to go on the PG - the islands are stunning, but what really makes the trip is the staff and crew of the ship (not including the marina and spa staff - they're contractors).

Good luck!

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10/01 - Costa Classica (Italy and Greek Islands)

03/02 - Celebrity Infinity (Caribbean)

03/04 - Paul Gauguin (French Polynesia) - PARADISE!