Requesting a little quick help: Valparaiso --> Papeete

[Tarpeian Rock]

So we leave next week and are so excited. I looked at the Ports of Call board, but couldn't find anything recent on the following. Would appreciate thoughts from any veterans of this itinerary:

 

Bora-Bora: I realize December - January is height of rainy season. Is this like tropics where every day it rains hard but briefly, or should we brace ourselves for a complete (please not 2) day of rain?

 

Easter Island: Everything I've read points to minimal "facilities." Since a majority of O cruisers are of a certain age - we surely are -just wondering if this is as stark as I've read, and if the best advice is to fast that morning instead of breakfast & coffee. ALSO: are US $ accepted here? Credit cards for incidental purchases?

 

Papeete: O got us on an earlier ATN flight than we expected - 11:05 AM. Docking at 7. We've reserved ground transportation with Viator, which I guess is an international whatever as we've previously used them in Vancouver. Anyone used Viator in Papeete? Does an 8:30 pickup for the 11:05 ATN flight seem reasonable? And - anyone with Verizon phone experiences in Papeete?

 

Thanks so much for any thoughts!

[RJB]

So we leave next week and are so excited. I looked at the Ports of Call board, but couldn't find anything recent on the following. Would appreciate thoughts from any veterans of this itinerary:

 

Bora-Bora: I realize December - January is height of rainy season. Is this like tropics where every day it rains hard but briefly, or should we brace ourselves for a complete (please not 2) day of rain?

 

Easter Island: Everything I've read points to minimal "facilities." Since a majority of O cruisers are of a certain age - we surely are -just wondering if this is as stark as I've read, and if the best advice is to fast that morning instead of breakfast & coffee. ALSO: are US $ accepted here? Credit cards for incidental purchases?

 

Papeete: O got us on an earlier ATN flight than we expected - 11:05 AM. Docking at 7. We've reserved ground transportation with Viator, which I guess is an international whatever as we've previously used them in Vancouver. Anyone used Viator in Papeete? Does an 8:30 pickup for the 11:05 ATN flight seem reasonable? And - anyone with Verizon phone experiences in Papeete?

 

Thanks so much for any thoughts!

Bore-Bora, A few years ago end Jan. 2 days of sunshine. Wonderful. No Easter Island as we did PPT to Sydney. In fact weather in FP was very good with just a little rain. In PPT airport very close to cruise pier and very small so you should be O.K.

[Paulchili]

Bora Bora - no way to predict. It is rainy season and rain is more likely than not. That said, we have had several sunny days there as well as rain all day - all during Jan/Feb.

Easter Island - there are some facilities but not everywhere. No need to starve but maybe skip the coffee :).

If you are on a private tour, go to the lounge EARLY or be prepared to wait & wait for your tender ticket. Better to have a few Chilean pesos from Valparaiso for souvenirs.

Papeete – 8:30 pick up sounds good but I would not make it any later. Processing at PPT is very slow – at the same time you don’t want to spend there any more time than you need to :D

[Hawaiidan]

It will be summer... 86-88 degrees high daily and 85% ++humidity during that time....bug population will be robust Jan is the second wettest month of the year. followed by feb There are an average of about 16-18 rainy days per month. Dont sweat it, I would not... Heck I am going next year in Jan too!!

 

So Yes, expect rain squalls daily,,with the potential of storms of several days duration.......It can get very heavy. For this reason, at this time of year, I avoid getting cabins with verandas.. as they can be almost useless much of the time.

Others cite,"well we has sunshine", which is nice but the reality is there will be lots of wet....You can take that to the bank. It can last up to5-6 days at a time.

The sea will not get bad Leaving South america you have to cross the Humbolt current and that can get bumpy.

However if you snorkel it wont be that bad.

 

I have been to Tahiti many times, and lived in the central pacific for over a decade... I am a realist... You need to be too....but dontget super stressed.

 

Easter Island the credit card is not widely accepted... get some cash. Most stores and tiny cafes are not plentiful

 

However for Pitcairn they accept USD

 

Dollars accepted and credit cards on Tahiti...by taxi etc...

 

Allow 2.5 hours for economy process at PPT 1.5 hours if Business/first

Be advised its an openair airport...only Business/first class have an AC lounge

 

Bottom line......be happy....its better to go and hit some mild discomfort than to not go at all

[Flatbush Flyer]

Have you signed up on the "roll call' for the M&G?

[lais]

They took my USD all over Easter Island from drivers to trinket sellers. I took small bills. No problem.

[Sopwith]

We cruised Papeete to Lima this past April. Bora Bora was amazing, did a snorkelling trip which took us around the whole island. Some of the best snorkelling we've done. The two day stop at Easter Island was one of the highlights. We did a two day tour with Easter Island Travelling (Marcus), arranged independently, and it was excellent. (If you plan to go snorkelling it doesn't matter if it rains. ;-)

 

The tendering part was a bit of a gong show. The swell was too high to tender into the port at Hanga Roa so the ship moved to a small cove on the north side of the island where there was a very *small* dock. So small they had to moor one of the tenders to it to make a larger dock for the other tenders. It took a while but they got it done and eventually got everyone ashore. On the return on day two the swell was even higher. Getting the pax back on to the bouncing, bucking tenders over this tiny dock, through the first tender and into the second tender and then back onto the ship was pretty hairy. They had ship's crew and a bunch of locals form a human chain on each side to assist people, since there were no railings. But again, they got it done with no incidents we heard of. All in all, the trip was amazing. I would highly recommend you do a guided tour or you will miss virtually all of the best EI has to offer. Most of it is fairly remote from the town.

Edited January 2, 2016 by Sopwith

[Paulchili]

 

The tendering part was a bit of a gong show. The swell was too high to tender into the port at Hanga Roa so the ship moved to a small cove on the north side of the island where there was a very *small* dock. So small they had to moor one of the tenders to it to make a larger dock for the other tenders. It took a while but they got it done and eventually got everyone ashore. On the return on day two the swell was even higher. Getting the pax back on to the bouncing, bucking tenders over this tiny dock, through the first tender and into the second tender and then back onto the ship was pretty hairy. They had ship's crew and a bunch of locals form a human chain on each side to assist people, since there were no railings. But again, they got it done with no incidents we heard of. All in all, the trip was amazing. I would highly recommend you do a guided tour or you will miss virtually all of the best EI has to offer. Most of it is fairly remote from the town.

 

What you say is very true. At least you were lucky in that you did get to tender to EI - as difficult as it was. It is not that uncommon for ships to miss this stop altogether due to weather - and that would be a real shame and a terrible disappointment.

[RJB]

We cruised Papeete to Lima this past April. Bora Bora was amazing, did a snorkelling trip which took us around the whole island. Some of the best snorkelling we've done. The two day stop at Easter Island was one of the highlights. We did a two day tour with Easter Island Travelling (Marcus), arranged independently, and it was excellent. (If you plan to go snorkelling it doesn't matter if it rains. ;-)

 

The tendering part was a bit of a gong show. The swell was too high to tender into the port at Hanga Roa so the ship moved to a small cove on the north side of the island where there was a very *small* dock. So small they had to moor one of the tenders to it to make a larger dock for the other tenders. It took a while but they got it done and eventually got everyone ashore. On the return on day two the swell was even higher. Getting the pax back on to the bouncing, bucking tenders over this tiny dock, through the first tender and into the second tender and then back onto the ship was pretty hairy. They had ship's crew and a bunch of locals form a human chain on each side to assist people, since there were no railings. But again, they got it done with no incidents we heard of. All in all, the trip was amazing. I would highly recommend you do a guided tour or you will miss virtually all of the best EI has to offer. Most of it is fairly remote from the town.

So you see that Oceania can do almost anything if they want to and put their mind to do it. Let's hope that is the direction that they are going in the future. :):):)

[Sopwith]

So you see that Oceania can do almost anything if they want to and put their mind to do it. Let's hope that is the direction that they are going in the future. :):):)

 

Yes. At first many people were upset with the tendering delay, but in the end all were thankful that the crew had gone the extra mile to complete the stop successfully. The conditions were such that many captains would have cancelled altogether.

 

Here are a few photos of the tendering operation:

[Sopwith]

Yes. At first many people were upset with the tendering delay, but in the end all were thankful that the crew had gone the extra mile to complete the stop successfully. The conditions were such that many captains would have cancelled altogether.

 

Here are a few photos of the tendering operation:

 

Hopefully this attempt at the photo upload will work better.

[RJB]

Hopefully this attempt at the photo upload will work better.

Great pictures. Both of the uploads worked for me. Thanks

[grmmybtty]

We were on the same cruise 2 years ago. It was pouring rain our first morning in Bora Bora. We had booked a lagoon cruise with Patrick, which we allowed us to cancel without penalty due to the weather. It cleared up a couple of hours later and we shared a van tour of the island with some other cruisers. The second day started out really nice. We booked a lagoon tour at the dock and had a wonderful time with the perfect weather. After we returned, the skies turned dark and opened up. One of the tenders had to bob like a cork for over half an hour before they could discharge passengers back on to the ship. So like Hawaiian Dan says, the weather is unpredictable.

 

For Easter Island, we booked a 2 day tour with Green Tours. They provided a box lunch for a minimal extra cost. A few of the locations do have food offerings and our guide made several restroom stops, so it is not a service desert.

 

We anchored off Pitcairn Island. It doesn't seem possible for a ship as large as the Marina to dock or even send in tenders since there is no harbor. The islanders came aboard on a long boat with wares for sale. USD were very welcomed.

 

If you are going to buy Tahitian Pearls, get them in Fakarava. The prices seem to be the best there.

 

We had a 10am ATN flight. We made arrangements to be picked up early, got to the airport in only 15 minutes. If you plan to buy anything at the airport, they accept dollars and euros, but will give change in Polynesian francs.

 

It was a great cruise. A lot of sea days if you like that kind of thing.

[CincyAL]

Great info from everyone speaking from personal experience. I hate the posts on CC that say "although I have never been there-I read".