Any lounge at the port intahiti for concierge? ??

[Hawaiidan]

With due respect you will learn what that means in theSo pacific.....

trandfer costs fromairport 28-30 USD

Hospitality room...youwill discover a lot........sorry to say

Get a darn room and a taxi I saw the lines of the plane shuffeling into the bus Got to the ship 1 hour before they did.....only a 5 mile trip.

 

Get smart, dont be frugal. Tahiti hates frugal they will skin you to the bone if you show thrift... Tahiti wasfounded on bucks and them that had lots... really!!!!

[Caroldoll]

If you get there early, get a room. Taxis are plentiful and cheap. The ship is very close to the airport. There are MOTELS around there. It if VERY HOT and VERY HUMID. If you HAVE to get there on embarkation day, you will be absolutely drained. If you leave on a late flight you will be absolutely drained. Cheap taxis though! Nothing else is cheap. My husband paid $19 for a fruit drink with no alcohol the last time.

 

We are going again, but know all the down sides and taking an early debarkation flight on Air France. Nothing pays to suffer in that heat and humidity for almost a day.

[vaitape]

We who have experienced Papeete have shared our experiences.

 

Maybe O has spiffed up their hospitality room before the upcoming cruise season but doesn't sound like it.

 

Book a local hotel, get a cab, and you will start and end your French Polynesian holiday relaxed and refreshed.

 

Your World World, Your Way, Your Choice.

[Hawaiidan]

Thank you Great Information. Was this letter given out this year?

 

Wondering if it pays to do their transfers to get to use the day room.

 

Anyone know cost of transfers?

 

Thanks again,

 

Robert

 

O wanted about $150 pp for the transfer..... er, bus ride to a tent and a card table check in.. Bags were piled up. Me....well I paid 28 for a cab went to Tahiti Nui for $145.00. So you do it...under $200 and get a ac room and bath. O does it and you pay $300 and get to walk aimlessly in the stupefying heat and humidity, for 10+ hours as you recall the phrase " mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the mid=day sun" Trying to resist the temptation to cut your wrists.

Tahiti pier...( no terminal, ) Its facilities are its flat concrete, has bollards and bits to attach lines to and fenders to protect the ship.. That is the port amigo..... Oh I forgot....there is the ocean too.

[roberts2005]

OK you are starting to win me over. How good or bad was Tahiti Nui.

[Hawaiidan]

OK you are starting to win me over. How good or bad was Tahiti Nui.

 

It was just fine... your going to need a bed a shower and a toilet... and after 14 hours your going to be Roberts the Zombie... You will be 2 blocks from the ship so you can save another cab fare. Book well in advance. For my 2017 Jan trip...I have already booked my hotels.and details.

 

The rooms are simple euro beds not luxury but nicer than the Tahiti Airport hotel. Plus, If you feel like it, you can wander around and look at stuff...

Keep on the main drag for safety, because Papeete is mainly a sailors port for a huge region.. and it attracts a seedy element off the main drag... some tough hombres...and you will stick out like a sore thumb, People not into personal property.....unless its yours. Watch for petty criminals.

 

What the O's transfers are really designed for is people with either zero travel experience who are scared about landing in a foreign land...with ...oh my God, foreign people!!

OR

People who dont know how to plan or dont care to plan leaving it all to someone else. For this they pay $$$$$$$$$

 

Been visiting Tahiti ever since 1983....and have it down pretty good...

Enjoy your cruise...and relax...being prepared and organized is going to be the difference between a good cruise and a fantastic cruise.

[vaitape]

Wow Dan....you've said all! We've been going to Tahiti since 1980....almost annually til recently...and it is as you described. We've found Tahitians to be a very generous people, once they get to know you. We've never had a scary incident there but then, we keep a low profile as we do in any country.

 

We've never taken a day room on Arrival Day because we either catch the first ferry to Moorea or the first flight to Huahine. We like to stay for awhile in FP at either end if we're doing a cruise. When we've done land trips, we've stayed as long as 2 months. So yes, we love FP, warts and all.

 

Here's what we'd do: Stay at the Tahiti Nui on Arrival Day. Then stay at the Interconti on Departure Day.

 

Get your rooms booked ASAP. O isn't the only cruise ship porting in PPT and accommodations are limited.

[Caroldoll]

Your clock will be sooooo off. You should not have scheduled to arrive on departure day. You will be "out of it" for two days. Viatape and I are from California and it takes a day. If you are from back East, it takes more than a day, unless you can sleep like a rock on the airplane...then maybe a little easier. No matter what, the heat and humidity will sap you. Why are we going for a fifth time...nothing is more beautiful. The mountains with clouds caught on the top and the breezes. (There will be a lot of rain until July). Nothing is more beautiful. I am a Hawaiian girl. Just the warm rain and bare feet are cathartic to me...but to be so tired that you don't enjoy anything for two days...that is bad. I tried that on the first trip.

 

Get a room! Any room and get a shower and change clothes and THEN GO OUT IN THE HEAT AND ROUGH IT.

 

 

Have fun. We will be on the March 9 cruise.

[Hawaiidan]

you arrive...do it yourself...get an AC room as fast as possible..shower...sleep till boarding time.........any other way is design for disaster

 

Its a totally wonderful place if you plan on doing it on IT's Terms....not yours.

 

Best way to see Tahiti ........do it one way. Either arrive or depart by cruise ship The rt air trip for a 7 to 10 day is evil on you. This ain't going to Hawaii ...double the pain to get there. Be smart or get a rude education.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Sounds like there's a consensus here. No offense to the OP, but when I read the original message, I laughed out loud. There really is nothing at the cruise port. There are some benches in the shade nearby.

 

We never arrive on embarkation day. Several times we arrived early in the morning at PPT and had to wait at the airport for a flight to another island. That is bad enough, although we survived quite nicely sitting out by the fare where they sell shell necklaces and stuff, and strolling through the terminal. Fine, but tiring. Another times I guess we did the cruise air and were taken to the IC (or the old Meridien) where we sat by the pool and had lunch. Not half bad. You'd think that the so-called "day room" put on by O would be at least that much (this was the Paul Gauguin, a different story.)

 

But best is to arrive early and spend a couple of nights at a nice resort hotel, if you can't afford the time to take three days and go to Moorea.

 

Which hotel does O use for the dayroom? If it's the IC it won't be awful. Just make sure to pack your bathing suit where you can find it, and bring a plastic bag for storing it wet.

 

Walking around Papeete is not *that* bad. There are some interesting stores, and if you're luck the main Marche will be open, which really is fun. Just make sure you don't have a lot of hand luggage that you can't leave by the dock.

 

Really, O needs to do better than this I think.

[spindrift]

It really is too bad with O knowing the conditions of PPT going and coming, that they don't include a room at least prior to the cruise. I mean a room for one night included, then you can purchase two nights, three, etc.

 

Once you are on the trip (we went several times), it is fabulous in the South Pacific--only PPT is the nightmare, at least in our estimation. We stayed at the old Stouffer, I think (that was years ago), and at Intercontinental the last couple of times. What is really great is just get off the plane and catch the boat to Moorea. Beautiful accommodations.

 

Also, right near the dock you should stop in the flower market and buy a beautiful arrangement for your room. I think the flowers are the most reasonable in PPT; everything else is quite expensive.

[Hawaiidan]

When you arrive at 6 am... it really dosent matter whether your bed and shower is in the ritz or a midnight mission. Tahiti Nui hotel provides the same sleep quality at that time at the intercont. and at half the price, and Oh, saves another $30 cab......... Getting a hot potato lux room to be unconscious in makes to me not great economy.. If it is sort of soft, has AC and a shower....what else really matters.....Sleep is its own reward.