What to do after arriving in Papeete

[SugSug]

We will be arriving in Papeete Tahiti early in the morning (4:25 AM) and would like to know if anyone knows what one is supposed to do until we are allowed to board the Marina at approx. 11:00 AM. We have not purchased transfers from Oceania, as we have heard that they are very expensive - what else is new!! What are we supposed to do with our luggage if we stay in town?

Thank you

[BillK400]

We were on a 14 day RT cruise from Papeete last year (fantastic cruise!). We also arrived early; about 5:30am as I remember. There are plenty of cabs at the airport and for less than $30 (as far as I can recall) you can get a cab for a very short ride (maybe 10 min at most) to the port / ship.

 

Last year we were able to drop off our luggage and board the ship when we got to the port (at about 6:30 am or so). We did not get our room until about 3:00, but was a pleasant surprise to be able to board immediately, have breakfast, take a nap on a lounger, etc. I think this may have been different than other cruises from Papeete as others had posted that they could drop off their luggage with Oceania at the ship but were able to board at about noon or so.

 

If cant board the ship, drop off the luggage and walk around town.

[MasonRite]

I have heard there's not much to do in Tahiti, so I had my TA reserve a day room at Le Meridien. http://www.lemeridientahiti.com/

 

I have the attention span of a 5 year old! Waiting from 6:30am until boarding time would drive me crazy. The day room will allow me to shower, eat breakfast and have a bunch of tropical drinks while sitting on the beach.

I figure we will head to the ship a little after lunch time.

[Leejnd4]

Papeete is definitely not the most impressive port you will see on your FP cruise. But the rest will be nothing short of FABULOUS! So yeah, your first morning will surely be your worst, but I promise you your enjoyment factor will increase exponentially.

 

If you can arrange for a day room that would be best - that would give you the opportunity to freshen up after the long flight, and have a pool to hang out at while you wait.

 

If you don't want to do a day room, cab it to the port and see if you can drop your luggage off. (I'm not sure if that's possible - we did a day room - but a comment above says you should be able to so that sounds promising!) If so, that will give you a chance to visit Le Marche, the huge public market in downtown Papeete. That is definitely worth a visit, especially if you will have to fly home immediately after the cruise so you won't have time to see post-cruise. I'm not sure what time it opens...but if I recall correctly, some shops were opening by 9:00 am. Maybe you can find a cafe to have a cup of coffee until the shops open.

 

Editing to add - Le March is a short walk from the cruise ship terminal, so unless you have limited mobility it's an easy walk. And hey, you'll be in TAHITI! :)

Edited March 3, 2015 by Leejnd4

[Viesczy]

We will be arriving in Papeete Tahiti early in the morning (4:25 AM) and would like to know if anyone knows what one is supposed to do until we are allowed to board the Marina at approx. 11:00 AM. We have not purchased transfers from Oceania, as we have heard that they are very expensive - what else is new!! What are we supposed to do with our luggage if we stay in town?

Thank you

 

There should be cabs available, those services are CHAMPS of being available (gotta make hay while the Sun shines) for flights.

 

As far as what to do, you got the market very close to the pier and the city itself reminds me of a mini-Honolulu. So once it opens its eyes (later than 4.25 AM!), you'll be able to pass the time right quick and in a jiffy!

[Jancruz]

Before you board the ship go to the big market and purchase a flower arrangement for yur cabin..they are beautiful...and you can enjoy them for many days..

Jancruz1

[Minoushka]

We took a cab to port to drop off our luggage and lightened our load .I had an extra bag to send away with clothese we changed from etc ..all ready with cabin labels and locks

We then headed to the market across the way and the stands around the ship.There are tour vendors if you want to do 4 hour tour of Tahiti ...it is actually quite nice

We opted for the market then walked to ferry port wher we enjoyed a big bottle of water from the upstairs restaurant and sat with a view of the port

We headed to the ship at around 10:30 ...boarded shortly thereafter

I was a zombie ..not sleeping on the plane at all ..grabbed a bite to eat then went off to rest.I cannot remember ever being that tired .if you can pay deviationand choose your flights.We went to Atlanta for no good reason ...next time will head directly to LAX .

On our return I rented a hotel room in town to rest before our nightime flight.The hotel picked us up at the port and later dropped us off .we were not really close to town but room was comfy and clean

Bon Voyage

[CHUCKIE50]

If he is available I can highly recommend Carl's Taxi in Papeete Carls.cab@mail.pf. We were on the Jan 4 Marina voyage and a couple from our roll call Barbara and Arnold arranged for him to pick us up at the airport. He was waiting for us after immigration and drove us to the ship to drop off our luggage in a large tent that O had set up. Carl had a few other pick ups at the airport but we had arranged for him to return in 2 hours to give us a tour of Papeete. After Carl dropped us off at the ship we then went to the market and walked around there for a bit. Other than the floral displays we weren't very impressed with the market and found our way to Mcdonalds where we had coffee. Carl returned promptly at the agreed upon time and gave us a very nice three hour tour of the area. He was born in Australia and therefore speaks perfect English. He was extremely charming and witty. If you haven't made other arrangement there will be tour operators for Moorea near the entrance to the ship and we had a fine snorkeling tour with one of them that we developed a nice rapport with. Thanks to Jancruz's recommendation we purchased some flowers at the market for a great price that lasted the whole 10 days of our trip.

[canuck.qc]

If he is available I can highly recommend Carl's Taxi in Papeete Carls.cab@mail.pf. We were on the Jan 4 Marina voyage and a couple from our roll call Barbara and Arnold arranged for him to pick us up at the airport. He was waiting for us after immigration and drove us to the ship to drop off our luggage in a large tent that O had set up. Carl had a few other pick ups at the airport but we had arranged for him to return in 2 hours to give us a tour of Papeete. After Carl dropped us off at the ship we then went to the market and walked around there for a bit. Other than the floral displays we weren't very impressed with the market and found our way to Mcdonalds where we had coffee. Carl returned promptly at the agreed upon time and gave us a very nice three hour tour of the area. He was born in Australia and therefore speaks perfect English. He was extremely charming and witty. If you haven't made other arrangement there will be tour operators for Moorea near the entrance to the ship and we had a fine snorkeling tour with one of them that we developed a nice rapport with. Thanks to Jancruz's recommendation we purchased some flowers at the market for a great price that lasted the whole 10 days of our trip.

+1 for Carl. He is very informative & entertaining.

[Queen of DaNile]

We won't have time to visit the flower market before we board. Are there similar markets on Raiatea or Bora Bora?

[Paulchili]

+1 for Carl. He is very informative & entertaining.

 

Agree - we used Carl as well, albeit for transfers only.

Would use him again if in the area.

[ORV]

If he is available I can highly recommend Carl's Taxi in Papeete Carls.cab@mail.pf. We were on the Jan 4 Marina voyage and a couple from our roll call Barbara and Arnold arranged for him to pick us up at the airport. He was waiting for us after immigration and drove us to the ship to drop off our luggage in a large tent that O had set up. Carl had a few other pick ups at the airport but we had arranged for him to return in 2 hours to give us a tour of Papeete. After Carl dropped us off at the ship we then went to the market and walked around there for a bit. Other than the floral displays we weren't very impressed with the market and found our way to Mcdonalds where we had coffee. Carl returned promptly at the agreed upon time and gave us a very nice three hour tour of the area. He was born in Australia and therefore speaks perfect English. He was extremely charming and witty. If you haven't made other arrangement there will be tour operators for Moorea near the entrance to the ship and we had a fine snorkeling tour with one of them that we developed a nice rapport with. Thanks to Jancruz's recommendation we purchased some flowers at the market for a great price that lasted the whole 10 days of our trip.

 

Good to hear that some people had a good experience with Carl. I had booked him for a tour and a transfer, he became wishy washy on the tour, which was going to be at Moorea, claiming auto issues that might not be fixed by the date we were going to be there, and then he completely quit communication by email within the last month or so before the cruise. He was communicating with another party on our roll call, that I was in contact with, so I know his email was working. Since he had become incommunicado I made other arrangements for my transfer. I sent him an email letting him know I wouldn't need him at the airport, still never heard back from him, although the other party also was letting him know that I was trying to contact him.

 

After the cruise I got a nasty email from him claiming I was a no show and put him out. No way would I recommend him.

 

But I would recommend FiFi.