Notoriously bad ship departure-airport transfer connections

[AtlantaCruiser72]

I have only flown in/out of PPT once - back in 2000 on Air France.  The main thing I remeber was that "magically" halfway across the Pacific the Air France Cabin Crew suddenly lost the ability to speak English and did not hand out any customs forms to non French Speaking passengers.  When we landed in Papeete at an ungodly hour of the morning (4am-ish) the French Customs staff was yelling and screaming at the passengers in French only and refusing to hand out any customs forms or process anyone without a form (makes sense right?).  It took us nearly 3hrs to get through customs and believe it or not once we got into the bag reclaim they were just STARTING to put up bags on the belt, which took yet another hour ...... If you've seen the bag reclaim in PPT you will know just why this was so ludicrous. 

Once we finally left the hotel and got to the Intercontinental Resort I spoke with the Radisson Hospitality Desk staff about this (we had a day room booked through Radisson Seven Seas Cruises) they said that what we experienced was normal and that we should have know to expect it as Americans ....  I did not feel very welcomed to Tahiti!!!!  Fortunately once onboard the Paul Gauguin things changed for the better and we felt warmly welcomed in the rest of the Society Islands and the Marquesas.

Then we had to disembark and fly home, which was a reverse of the arrivals mess - slow, inefficient, staff running around yelling at passengers in French Only, etc.  Our Flight was supposed to leave at around 5:30am, and I think we left the ship at 2am, only to be told by the check-in staff "You Late!  You gonna miss plane!"  It only got worse from there - customs was not even open to process the outbound passengers, and once they arrived only would speak in French, then there was no staff at the "gate" (I use that term loosely) until after 6am - a full 30 minutes after scheduled departure time, and I think we finally left PPT around 7:30am, a full two hours late, which caused us to miss our connection in LAX (we had allotted nearly 4hrs to make the connection from Air France to Delta) and have to stay overnight there before flying home to Atlanta, which Air France refused to provide any compensation for of any kind.

As wonderful as the Paul Gauguin experience was I would be VERY unlikely to return because of how unwelcome we were made to feel in Papeete.  I understand they are a French Island, and that it is the official language, but they rely heavily on tourism from North America and a bit more bilingual hospitality would have made all the difference.

The fact that I remember this all so vividly 18 years later is a testament to how bad the PPT airport experience was!

[sammiedawg]

We have loved our FP trips, so I would encourage others to experience this part of the world. 

There have been frequent threads on this topic, including a recent one specific to the OP’s sailing.  I advised then, and now the importance of getting a quality hotel room,  specifically the Intercontinental hotel.  It will cost two, three hundred dollars but worth every penny.  So called day rooms are generally not sold.  I would avoid a cruise line “day room “  which will likely involve large numbers of people sitting in an uncomfortable conference center.  I would avoid taking day tours or renting a car prior to going to the airport, you will be hot, sweaty, exhausted before you arrive. 

Go to the hotel in the morning,  you probably won’t have access to your room right away. But you can relax at the facility, have a nice lunch and get into your room mid afternoon. Rest, have a nice dinner, relax some more then  taxi to the airport. 

Another option is to fly out the night before disembarkation.  Many sailings get into PPT and other remote locations the day prior.  This has worked for us a few times,  start flying  the night before and completely avoid the debarkation day issues. 

[RuthC]

11 hours ago, OlsSalt said:

 

Word was on our just recent Maasdam cruise ending in PPE, if you booked your flight with HAL - FlightEase - you were allowed to stay on the ship until 7pm - not in your cabin, but could hang around the public areas and I assume enjoy the Lido buffet too.

Was there a secure area set up in which to leave carry-ons?

[OlsSalt]

The continual horror stories about Papeete arrivals and departures makes me wonder if HAL should use another fairly major port city in this part of the world and tweak their South Pacific itineraries - any experiences with flights and airports Fiji, Tonga, American Samoa, Samoa?

If not, then I endorse SammieDog's suggestions and add it to the cost of travel to this part of the world. But still keeping in mind -  about 6 hours of time and discomfort is your fiscal trade-off when using the PPE airport for departure. 

[OlsSalt]

3 minutes ago, RuthC said:

Was there a secure area set up in which to leave carry-ons?

 

Yes, the Papeete airport does have a fee luggage drop-off facility. One could have dropped off their luggage and  then used a taxi or rental car for other activities until coming back for the check-in torture.

Our own end of the trip planned changed midstream which is why we ended up floundering. We heard about the problems and I arranged for a "youth hostel" room near the port and an Avis rental car with the intention we would do a round the island trip on our own - leaving plenty of time  to drop off the car and check in at the airport.

Then HAL mid-trip offered this 7 hour "transfer" round the island tour which we took as a substitute for our DIY tour. The timing lag between drop off and protracted check in was merely an abstract at that point.  

But now hopefully everyone knows what to expect and options they can explore upfront for their own comfort and cost preferences. 

Edited October 18, 2018 by OlsSalt

[RuthC]

I was asking about a secure area on the Maasdam, for those disembarking passengers who had to leave their cabins, but were allowed to stay aboard until 7:00 PM.
After all, it's difficult to be dragging your carry-ons along with you everywhere you go all day.

[roberts2005]

I go with the idea, if possible, of leaving the last night of your cruise not the following day.  Have a nice dinner and take taxi to the airport.  You maybe missing a night on the ship, but avoid the headaches of where to spend the day.

[NHlover]

We were also on the Kon Tiki Voyager.  We booked the Air France flight at 7:30 a.m. on Oct. 14.  Our Hal transfer was at 4 a.m. and after we got to PPT we had to wait until 4:30 for the check in windows to open, but we were like 6th in line.  We did have Business Class tickets so were given a pass to the priority lounge which is very comfortable, has food, and also showers for someone doing a day of sight seeing before flying home.  I had heard on the ship from someone that they purchased from Air Tahiti Nui a 4 hour pass to the lounge for $60 with the intention of showering and having a comfortable place to wait.  That might be an option to check out too.  Leaving the night before is an excellent option, but when I checked that out with Holland America early in the booking process that option was not allowed as they were not sure they would dock in time.  That changed as time went on but we had already booked the 7:30 a.m. flight..

[OlsSalt]

Lots of good suggestions about Papeete airport departures here. I will try to put them all together in FAQ so others can and will benefit in the future.  Thanks for all the feedback.  If only we had spent more time on this topic up front ... ...........

[Jammu2]

4 hours ago, OlsSalt said:

The continual horror stories about Papeete arrivals and departures makes me wonder if HAL should use another fairly major port city in this part of the world and tweak their South Pacific itineraries - any experiences with flights and airports Fiji, Tonga, American Samoa, Samoa?

If not, then I endorse SammieDog's suggestions and add it to the cost of travel to this part of the world. But still keeping in mind -  about 6 hours of time and discomfort is your fiscal trade-off when using the PPE airport for departure. 

Fiji might be different, being quite popular with Australians. They have their own modern airline, like French Polynesia. But the others you mention dont have the airline support.

A lot of Air Tahiti Niue flights are actually cruise line charters, so they bring in new passengers from LA in the morning and take departing passengers to LA at night to coincide with early morning banks of flights to final destinations. Not all are regularly scheduled flights that a random person can book. 

Oceania rents the old governors house for a hospitality center on their embarkation/disembarkation days. They charter the flights for their OLife customers. Transfers, etc. It helps.

[nomadista]

On 10/17/2018 at 11:09 PM, OlsSalt said:

PS - no priority lounges that we could see, but you will have chickens running through the check-in area. 

There is a priority pass lounge in Terminal 1 at PPT. 

Lounge opens 150 minutes prior to first flight scheduled departure and closes after last scheduled departure. Scheduled flight times exclude Hawaiian and Lan Airlines. It is Airside - International Departures. After Security Checks and Passport Control, the lounge is located upstairs of the International Boarding Area.  It's the only air-conditioned area in the airport, and is comfortable.  There are cold snacks, wine, beer & liquor, wifi, showers and TV.  It makes it much easier to wait. 

 

[JeffElizabeth]

LOL. Okay, you guys have me beat! I will stop complaining about flying out of Shiopol!

[Diver2014]

You should have been with us on September 15, 2001 with 500 people at PPT trying to get on the one and only flight back to LAX since flights to the USA resumed that day. I've never seen such a long line of people and they were not in very good moods at all.

The madhouse at LAX was just as bad - trying to get planes and crews where they were supposed to be.  

 

[Hlitner]

On ‎10‎/‎18‎/‎2018 at 11:00 AM, OlsSalt said:

The continual horror stories about Papeete arrivals and departures makes me wonder if HAL should use another fairly major port city in this part of the world and tweak their South Pacific itineraries - any experiences with flights and airports Fiji, Tonga, American Samoa, Samoa?

If not, then I endorse SammieDog's suggestions and add it to the cost of travel to this part of the world. But still keeping in mind -  about 6 hours of time and discomfort is your fiscal trade-off when using the PPE airport for departure. 

We have our own nasty stories about Tahiti, but it is the only game in town for those wanting to travel in this part of the world.  Consider that Samoa is about 1600 miles from Papeete or about 4 cruise days!  Fiji is nearly 2200 miles!  We really do enjoy the Society Islands (especially Bora Bora and Moorea) but could care less if we ever saw Tahiti again!  A great strategy for land trips is to fly-in to Papeete and immediately use air or water to get to one of the other islands.  But the bottom line is that if one wants to visit the Society Islands, Papeete is the only viable option other then approaching by sea.  And yes, we have done that too and it was terrific.  If you have the time, and enjoy sea days, consider a transpacific cruise from the USA to either Sydney or Auckland.

 

Hank

[DeeniEncinitas]

For us we do  b2b cruises so we do not end up with the horror stories like a lot of our CCERS ! Been there done that and it was a day from Hell!!! (We were young LOL)! 

Denise😊

[cruisetheworld67]

Well then....it  seems the best solution might be to  take the  month long HAL  cruise  RT  out  of  San Diego  in  MArch   which visits  this part of the world  and also circles  Hawaii. So  you can see these  islands but not have to deal  with the airport in  Tahiti.

[*Miss G*]

Does anyone know, or heard from, OlsSalt?  She’s been gone from CC for quite a while now.  I hope she’s alright.

[RuthC]

5 minutes ago, *Miss G* said:

Does anyone know, or heard from, OlsSalt?  She’s been gone from CC for quite a while now.  I hope she’s alright.

She was planning to board the Maasdam on July 9. Since she usually takes long cruises, she hasn't been gone very long.

[*Miss G*]

1 hour ago, RuthC said:

She was planning to board the Maasdam on July 9. Since she usually takes long cruises, she hasn't been gone very long.

 

Thanks Ruth.  It looks like her last post was March 21st.  She’s normally quite active so I was hoping she was okay.