PG Has Fallen Apart

[Emdee]

Friends who had travelled with me last year were also on your cruise. When we met them at the IC post cruise (we were about to board and they were returning home) they said that they had a great time.

 

More than ever I think that the PG appeals to a certain type of person. If one likes the overtly luxurious experience then the PG is not for you. I am a more low key person so while I like personalized service and my creature comforts I am not amongst those who need to feel that I am the most important person in the world. There are hotels and resorts that cater to this type of clientele. Maybe you would have been more comfortable with one of those luxurious suites I have read about on Norwegian ships.

 

The PG lectures alone make it a cut above in my opinion and you add to that the stunning beauty of FP and warmth of PG staff. Therein lies the charm of the PG.

[Espi]

Emdee I never read about delays from customs clearing processes happening aboard the PG. I know you speak from experience and I can appreciate that.

 

As we waited in line, a couple directly behind us waiting in line said that they were on their 3rd cruise with PG and that they'd never seen anything like this aboard the PG. Again--no organization, no movement. Just a very miserable and frustrating experience in my mind. The other couple seemed extremely disappointed in the way that PG was handling the situation. Several others overhearing our conversation echoed the exact same sentiments.

 

I did a LOT of reading and planning and I don't ever recall reviews or suggestions or tips from people about waiting hours in line aboard the PG or other cruise to board Bora Bora.

 

What it comes down to is, you can choose to accept it or not. Be happy or frustrated. Be unremittingly loyal or question PG. Like you and others say, opinions are subjective. For every person waiting in line that day (and there were many), I'm sure there were some who didn't mind. I personally did mind. And I tend to think that MOST people in line didn't like it, and some, like myself, will share with others how they didn't like it. I'll never accept the way that Paul Gauguin handled the situation. In my mind it was handled poorly, and unprofessionally.

Edited September 23, 2014 by Espi

[Emdee]

Emdee I never read about delays from customs clearing processes happening aboard the PG. I know you speak from experience and I can appreciate that.

 

As we waited in line, a couple directly behind us waiting in line said that they were on their 3rd cruise with PG and that they'd never seen anything like this aboard the PG. Again--no organization, no movement. Just a very miserable and frustrating experience in my mind. The other couple seemed extremely disappointed in the way that PG was handling the situation. Several others overhearing our conversation echoed the exact same sentiments.

 

I did a LOT of reading and planning and I don't ever recall reviews or suggestions or tips from people about waiting hours in line aboard the PG or other cruise to board Bora Bora.

 

What it comes down to is, you can choose to accept it or not. Be happy or frustrated. Be unremittingly loyal or question PG. Like you and others say, opinions are subjective. For every person waiting in line that day (and there were many), I'm sure there were some who didn't mind. I personally did mind. And I tend to think that MOST people in line didn't like it, and some, like myself, will share with others how they didn't like it. I'll never accept the way that Paul Gauguin handled the situation. In my mind it was handled poorly, and unprofessionally.

 

This is fine... you have a right to your opinion. I appreciate that. I can tell you that I was also ticked while waiting to be cleared last year on RCCL. Had to rush off in the middle as I needed my carbs to offset my insulin! Fortunately they had a plate of danishes and coffee handy.

When I did the same itinerary I did it in reverse so didnt have that issue with the Tongan or Fijian authorities.

As you say sometimes it not just WHAT is done but HOW it is done. It is good that you post your opinions as they are your own. However others may agree or disagree as is their right.

 

As I acknowledge once again we ourselves get such good care and service that only newbies can sometimes post the unvarnished and unbiased truth as they see things with different eyes.

[6rugrats]

If one likes the overtly luxurious experience then the PG is not for you. I am a more low key person so while I like personalized service and my creature comforts I am not amongst those who need to feel that I am the most important person in the world.

Posts such as these are why this board never fails to amuse.

 

Am guessing you are not aware of how very condescending this sounds.

 

The problem is that PG markets itself as a very luxury experience, charges a corresponding price, and then fails to deliver. I am guessing, reading the very well written review, that poster Espi does not think the sun revolves around them.

Edited September 23, 2014 by 6rugrats

[Espi]

^^^Ha! Well, ask my wife if she thinks I am an ego-centric.

 

But in my opinion, it doesn't matter. PG advertised itself as a luxury line and it failed. And I'm disappointed about it. If somebody else doesn't agree or understand, it's OK. Because they don't have to agree with or even understand me.

 

But I am pretty sure that the world will keep spinning. Even if it's revolving around me. :p

 

Everybody is entitled to an opinion and I just want to share my opinion and make sure that other people are well aware that somebody out there thinks that all is not well on the PG.

Edited September 23, 2014 by Espi

[ducklite]

[/b]

 

Posts such as these are why this board never fails to amuse.

 

 

 

Am guessing you are not aware of how very condescending this sounds.

 

 

 

The problem is that PG markets itself as a very luxury experience, charges a corresponding price, and then fails to deliver. I am guessing, reading the very well written review, that poster Espi does not think the sun revolves around them.

 

 

Well put. If PG marketed itself as a mass market ship, we would have expected mass market, and therefor in many cases, wouldn't have been disappointed. Instead they market as luxury. Many of us feel this is an inappropriate label. We don't feel that "luxury with excuses" works. The complaints are primarily in regard to service, and service shouldn't vary by geography. It's either there, or it isn't.

 

I agree that Emdee's post is very condescending.

Edited September 24, 2014 by ducklite

[Emdee]

I agree that Emdee's post is very condescending.

 

Its not a matter of condescension but a matter of personal taste, who I am as a person. I can afford to be this way and this is not necessarily in the financial sense. As a person I can indulge my wishes whether its dining at a street side vendor or at a Michelin 3 star restaurant: both have their own place and are equally enjoyable in my book. Some people like the fuss of the ultra luxury resorts I prefer the unpretentious,casual, warm and friendly though not necessarily less personal service. This is why I prefer Regent and Azamara over Oceania and why the PG suits me even though its an aging ship without modern amenities that some of the new builds have.

Edited September 24, 2014 by Emdee

[ducklite]

Its not a matter of condescension but a matter of personal taste, who I am as a person. I can afford to be this way and this is not necessarily in the financial sense. As a person I can indulge my wishes whether its dining at a street side vendor or at a Michelin 3 star restaurant: both have their own place and are equally enjoyable in my book. Some people like the fuss of the ultra luxury resorts I prefer the unpretentious,casual, warm and friendly though not necessarily less personal service. This is why I prefer Regent and Azamara over Oceania and why the PG suits me even though its an aging ship without modern amenities that some of the new builds have.

 

 

Again condescending. You imply that some of us can't afford the same luxuries, or perhaps worse that we don't understand what the service should have been.

 

As I said, service has no geographic limitation. I don't want to be fawned over, but I do expect service that is at least "very good." On a ship that bills itself as luxury. Myself and many others felt the service in the PG was mass market and only "fair" for a luxury ship.

[Emdee]

Again condescending. You imply that some of us can't afford the same luxuries, or perhaps worse that we don't understand what the service should have been.

 

As I said, service has no geographic limitation. I don't want to be fawned over, but I do expect service that is at least "very good." On a ship that bills itself as luxury. Myself and many others felt the service in the PG was mass market and only "fair" for a luxury ship.

 

Ducklite I am now condescending.... read my post - I said not necessarily in the financial sense.....I can 'afford' to be this way because I enjoy being this way, because my family support my enjoyment, because so far my health allows me to do this etc etc. There is no luxury in eating at the roulottes in FP or a hawker centre in Asia or a street vendor in India or a dive in Toronto. I enjoy all of these very much and can afford these for various reasons some of which I have stated and many of them not financial at all. I noticed in the past too that you have a tendency to bring everything down to the 'financial' and perceived luxury or lack thereof. My scale of value is based on different parameters so we have to agree to disagree here. I think I am more whitmanesque in my outlook of life ie have the capacity to enjoy that which is simple. This does not require any financial consideration at all bringing it down to the merely 'financial' pollutes it!

[ducklite]

Ducklite I am now condescending.... read my post - I said not necessarily in the financial sense.....I can 'afford' to be this way because I enjoy being this way, because my family support my enjoyment, because so far my health allows me to do this etc etc. There is no luxury in eating at the roulottes in FP or a hawker centre in Asia or a street vendor in India or a dive in Toronto. I enjoy all of these very much and can afford these for various reasons some of which I have stated and many of them not financial at all. I noticed in the past too that you have a tendency to bring everything down to the 'financial' and perceived luxury or lack thereof. My scale of value is based on different parameters so we have to agree to disagree here. I think I am more whitmanesque in my outlook of life ie have the capacity to enjoy that which is simple. This does not require any financial consideration at all bringing it down to the merely 'financial' pollutes it!

 

Service has nothing to do with finances, I never said it did. That seems to be something you are hung up on.

 

I repeat:

 

Service has no geographic limitation. I don't want to be fawned over, but I do expect service that is at least "very good" on a ship that bills itself as luxury. Myself and many others felt the service in the PG was mass market and only "fair" for a luxury ship.

Edited September 24, 2014 by ducklite

[grandma*knows*best]

Its not a matter of condescension but a matter of personal taste, who I am as a person. I can afford to be this way and this is not necessarily in the financial sense. As a person I can indulge my wishes whether its dining at a street side vendor or at a Michelin 3 star restaurant: both have their own place and are equally enjoyable in my book. Some people like the fuss of the ultra luxury resorts I prefer the unpretentious,casual, warm and friendly though not necessarily less personal service. This is why I prefer Regent and Azamara over Oceania and why the PG suits me even though its an aging ship without modern amenities that some of the new builds have.

 

Okay - now you are just kidding right? :eek:

[Emdee]

Service is not financial but many people's expectations of good service or 'luxury' tends to have a direct correlation with what they have paid. Financial considerations then tend to breed a positive/negative viewpoint.

As I said we have to agree to disagree!

Edited September 24, 2014 by Emdee

[ducklite]

Service is not financial but many people's expectations of good service or 'luxury' tends to have a direct correlation with what they have paid.

 

You make an assumption of many of us who feel that the PG was a let down which is not true. The issue isn't with the cost, it's with the way the PG bills themselves. A luxury ship. The service was mass market, not luxury. If we knew we were going to receive mass market level service, we would have expected that. Instead we were told it would be luxury level, and it wasn't, therefore we all felt let down and frankly, a bit deceived.

[6rugrats]

Its not a matter of condescension but a matter of personal taste, who I am as a person. I can afford to be this way and this is not necessarily in the financial sense. As a person I can indulge my wishes whether its dining at a street side vendor or at a Michelin 3 star restaurant: both have their own place and are equally enjoyable in my book. Some people like the fuss of the ultra luxury resorts I prefer the unpretentious,casual, warm and friendly though not necessarily less personal service. This is why I prefer Regent and Azamara over Oceania and why the PG suits me even though its an aging ship without modern amenities that some of the new builds have.

Interesting personality analysis, and really helped us get to know you a little.

 

I can see why you so much enjoy your interactions with the simple indigenous peoples of this earth. I picture a Lady Bountiful, standing tall on the bow of the PG, spreading her largess and lust for life, for the enjoyment of all.

 

If that wasn't your intent, am not even sure what this all means, or what is has to do with not receiving what one paid for. But, it certainly was entertaining.

Edited September 24, 2014 by 6rugrats

[Emdee]

Interesting personality analysis, and really helped us get to know you a little.

 

I can see why you so much enjoy your interactions with the simple indigenous peoples of this earth. I picture a Lady Bountiful, standing tall on the bow of the PG, spreading her largess and lust for life, for the enjoyment of all.

 

If that wasn't your intent, am not even sure what this all means, or what is has to do with not receiving what one paid for. But, it certainly was entertaining.

 

Thanks so much for your compliments! I do stand tall with a lust for life.....

[Dolebludger]

On the Sept. 10 repeater's cruise, the ship appeared to be in as close to perfect physical condition as possible. We had no AC problems in room 731, and heard no other guest mention such a problem. AC problems on tropical cruises are a major "deal breaker", I know -- so I hope the problem with this experienced by the OP has been resolved.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Come on guys, you're getting too personal. Emdee is not, I can assure you, condescending.

 

I agree with Richard, for us the ship was in as close to perfect condition as possible, no issues at all, although some others complained about their bathrooms, and one person mentioned A/C problems. We had "tiny perfect" cabin 423, and I could easily see doing a three week cruise in that cabin--they are so beautifully designed--only problem that some complain about is the closet space, but it was plenty for us.

[twin123185]

So much for this thread dying a quick death. By the way for all you Windstar lovers - the Wind something was in port with us in Bora Bora last week. I admit it looked awesome and very mutiny on the bountyish. At 6pm I talked to two nice people as they got out of the tender. I asked them how they liked the ship. The told me it was okay - pretty good. Not the answer I was expecting from people coming off a "luxury" ship. They asked me of French was spoken aboard the PG as they were from France and they were surprised that no one on their ship - including crew spoke French. They asked me if this was so on the PG. When I gave them the answer they were quite surprised. They said something to each other in French and shrugged. I would actually like to try a Windstar cruise one day. But it won't be in French Polynesia.

 

 

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[Espi]

So much for this thread dying a quick death. By the way for all you Windstar lovers - the Wind something was in port with us in Bora Bora last week. I admit it looked awesome and very mutiny on the bountyish. At 6pm I talked to two nice people as they got out of the tender. I asked them how they liked the ship. The told me it was okay - pretty good. Not the answer I was expecting from people coming off a "luxury" ship. They asked me of French was spoken aboard the PG as they were from France and they were surprised that no one on their ship - including crew spoke French. They asked me if this was so on the PG. When I gave them the answer they were quite surprised. They said something to each other in French and shrugged. I would actually like to try a Windstar cruise one day. But it won't be in French Polynesia.

 

 

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Funny that you mention Windstar because on the very last day of our cruise there was a group of passengers gathered on the deck, waiting to disembark for the dayrooms, and a few of them that we had befriended recommended we check into Regent for our next cruise.

 

I believe (and I might be wrong here) they said that Regent used to own Paul Gauguin or vice versa. And in their mind, when Regent (or whoever) owned the PG, that the PG cruiseline was just overall better. Their opinion was, the PG's quality had declined ever since Pacific Beachcomber assumed ownership. Not a minute after this discussion, Luis Alvarez from PG came up, his normally friendly and cheerful self. I had just gotten through relating to these other passengers how disappointed we felt about PG. Luis was perhaps the nicest staff member on that entire crew. I just wouldn't bring myself to expressing how much of a letdown I felt that the PG was.

 

Again, opinions are subjective. Those French that you met may have been disappointed in Windstar. But I'll definitely look into Regent when we're ready to sail again. This time I'll really do my homework and make sure I feel like I'm getting my money's worth, even it means paying more. I notice via Internet search that one of their ships is scheduled to launch in 2015. That's a plus in my mind.

Edited September 25, 2014 by Espi

[Dolebludger]

Regent was the former owner or operator of the PG. We cruised the PG many times between 2002 and around 2006 under Regent (known as Radisson in those days). And we were on the "repeaters' cruise of Sept. 10 this year. As I said above, we found the PG pretty much the same as it ever was (with the welcome addition of open bar, established by Regent and continued by the current owners). The PG had been one of Regent's older ships (launched in 1996), and therefore the staterooms are just a little small by current standards. Ships sailing under the Regent banner have significantly larger suites, and are all-inclusive to the point of including shore excursions and air from selected cities. IMHO, Regent is an excellent choice. Before booking Windstar, however, I would recommend checking on room size and what is and is not included. I checked on them some time ago, and seem to recall that the rooms were rather small, and the policy was far from all-inclusive. Things change, so check it out.

Edited September 25, 2014 by Dolebludger

[Emdee]

Regent was the former owner or operator of the PG. We cruised the PG many times between 2002 and around 2006 under Regent (known as Radisson in those days). And we were on the "repeaters' cruise of Sept. 10 this year. As I said above, we found the PG pretty much the same as it ever was (with the welcome addition of open bar, established by Regent and continued by the current owners). The PG had been one of Regent's older ships (launched in 1996), and therefore the staterooms are just a little small by current standards. Ships sailing under the Regent banner have significantly larger suites, and are all-inclusive to the point of including shore excursions and air from selected cities. IMHO, Regent is an excellent choice. Before booking Windstar, however, I would recommend checking on room size and what is and is not included. I checked on them some time ago, and seem to recall that the rooms were rather small, and the policy was far from all-inclusive. Things change, so check it out.

 

Dolebludger, the one thing to remember about Regent is that though they are techinically all inclusive including excursions only the very cheap excursions are included. I sailed on them last year and found that my excursion bill was substantial ( in the thousands) in spite of having included excursions. I do love their basic cabins though and the 'true' Regent staff. Dont care for the Oceania implants.

 

I had looked at taking the Regent cruise to FP in December in addition to our repeaters but once we decided to go to the far east had to shelve that thought. Also feel there is nothing like the PG in FP!

[Dolebludger]

Emdee,

 

We too would prefer the PG for Polynesia. She was built to cruise that area, with her shallow draft to clear the outer reef openings, and just seems to belong there. From what I hear from others too, Regent's "included shore excursion" program leaves something to be desired. I mentioned Regent as line worth checking out for itineraries not cruised by the PG (and/or where the shallow draft PG would be rather rough).

[Cruising Librarian]

Concur about the state of the ship now vs. under Regent.

 

We sailed a 7, 10 and 14 day itineraries in 2006, 2007 and 2008 under Regent and just got off the repeaters cruise. The ship looks much better now than it did then. The stained carpets are gone, the furnishings have been updated and our cabin (316) was in great shape. And the service is just as friendly as I remember. There were a few lapses in the housekeeping department, that was a first.

 

In the last three years we have sailed all of Regent's ships once, totaling 45 days on board. We were very satisfied with 2 of those three cruises , but in our experience service on Regent is nowhere near as attentive as on the PG. One staff member has gone out of his way to make us feel welcome when we have seen him on the ships...we met him on the Paul Gauguin.

 

Also not a fan of the Regent excursions. I've had a few good ones, but for the most part they are bus tours and on the cruise I was unhappy with, they cancelled several without a logical explanation. And since they are "free" no recourse.

Edited September 25, 2014 by Cruising Librarian
more content

[Emdee]

Concur about the state of the ship now vs. under Regent.

 

We sailed a 7, 10 and 14 day itineraries in 2006, 2007 and 2008 under Regent and just got off the repeaters cruise. The ship looks much better now than it did then. The stained carpets are gone, the furnishings have been updated and our cabin (316) was in great shape. And the service is just as friendly as I remember. There were a few lapses in the housekeeping department, that was a first.

 

In the last three years we have sailed all of Regent's ships once, totaling 45 days on board. We were very satisfied with 2 of those three cruises , but in our experience service on Regent is nowhere near as attentive as on the PG. One staff member has gone out of his way to make us feel welcome when we have seen him on the ships...we met him on the Paul Gauguin.

 

Also not a fan of the Regent excursions. I've had a few good ones, but for the most part they are bus tours and on the cruise I was unhappy with, they cancelled several without a logical explanation. And since they are "free" no recourse.

 

Lakshman?

[Wendy The Wanderer]

We're Gold on Regent and we're done with them, at least for now. Pricing out of sight, and we too don't like the included excursions, although we took advantage of them nicely in Alaska. If we did Alaska again, we might consider Regent again, but not likely anything else.