FP limits cruise ship size

[Mercruiser]

Effective January, FP will limit cruise ships to 2500 passengers, with some exemptions up to 3500 passengers.

 

In practice, this doesn't really seem like much of a change, in that really large ships rarely make transpacific crossings anyways. (I'm sure someone will find an exception that proves the rule. 😉)

 

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/25900-islands-of-tahiti-position-to-small-and-medium-sized-cruise-ships.html

[Tahitianbigkahuna]

Bora Bora will likely invoke their desired protocols .... no more than 1200 cruisers in port on any given day.

 

Larger ships will be asked to use Tahiti, Moorea and Raiatea for visits.

 

Small ships, up to 700 passengers will be given priority when to many ships are trying to visit the same island.

 

This is likely the first phase  .... my guess is no ship larger than 2500 passengers will be allowed to visit any island in FP. Ships over 1200 will be asked to port in Tahiti, Moorea and Raiatea  .... 

 

Actually there are many ships with 3500 passengers that stop by on the trans-pacific cruises. Many cruise lines have had big ships stop in the islands. My guess is smaller islands like Fakarava and Rangiroa and many of the islands south of the Society Islands will come up with similar protocols as Bora Bora. 

 

I mentioned this was likely 2 years ago and took flack from the behemoth lovers .... frankly I'm happy this is happening  .... a ship with 2500 passengers doesn't need to stop at an atoll with 800 locals  .... just wrong. 

[woodscruise]

I will be interested to see how the cruise lines will react to this news. Maybe new ports of call. Tonga and America Samoa come to mind.

[Iamcruzin]

Sounds good to me. Those Mega ships ruin the island experience bringing in crowds of people especially if there is more than one ship in port on the same day.  Even in the Caribbean it can be an awful experience with crowded beaches and shopping areas.  I can stay on Long Island for that experience.

[Plum Happy]

Wow, Ovation of the Seas transpacific to Hawaii would be impacted.  

 

The capacity is 4,905 and unless they limit the passengers that can sail on the ship (if that is an option), they may have to reroute the ship to other ports.  It would affect some other lines as well.  Celebrity Eclipse will be able dock with no issues.  

[erinsmom03]

Well this stinks... a transpacific paired with Hawaii/Seattle or Vancouver has been my dream for when my husband and I retire. We are both teachers so May and September don't work for a trip now. Especially one that is 25 or so days long. Bummed!!!!

[Iamcruzin]

25 minutes ago, erinsmom03 said:

Well this stinks... a transpacific paired with Hawaii/Seattle or Vancouver has been my dream for when my husband and I retire. We are both teachers so May and September don't work for a trip now. Especially one that is 25 or so days long. Bummed!!!!

I would book another line on a smaller ship that offers the itinerary.  I remember when 2500 passengers was a large ship. One of my best trips was on Celebrity Summit and she was already long in the tooth compared to the newer ships in service at the time.

[suzyluvs2cruise]

Thanks @davwen81

Here's a link to an article about Tahiti limiting Cruise Ships if anyone wants to share the information. 

 

Tahiti to Limit Cruise Ships in 2022

[neverbeenhere]

Time to design and build smaller ships. Of course, that means higher fares for those ships. 

[cruiselvr04]

Try Viking. They had a fabulous 30 day cruise Hawaii and Bora Bora in January 2022.  Lots of sea days of course but we love those.  It went fast.  30 days is perfect for a retirement trip.  Maybe in a couple of years….

Edited September 25, 2021 by cruiselvr04

[cruisequeen4ever]

That will have an impact on Royal Caribbean more than other cruise lines who routinely do Transpacifics because of the mega ships. Places were already considering restrictions on capacity, and then the pandemic may have given them more opps to consider them. Hopefully good itins can still be accomplished. 

[Ashland]

I was considering Celebrity TP for 2023 (1st leg) but prices were crazy and it sold quickly the category I would have wanted. I opted for their 2nd leg from Hawaii to Vancouver for May 2023 instead. Seems like a lot who booked the TP are going to possibly be unhappy with this change.

[GateGuardian]

5 hours ago, erinsmom03 said:

Well this stinks... a transpacific paired with Hawaii/Seattle or Vancouver has been my dream for when my husband and I retire. We are both teachers so May and September don't work for a trip now. Especially one that is 25 or so days long. Bummed!!!!

 

Not sure about post-covid schedule, but Celebrity usually does a Australia --> Hawaii --> Vancouver and vice versa once a year. Their ship capacity is under 3500

[Ashland]

1 hour ago, GateGuardian said:

 

Not sure about post-covid schedule, but Celebrity usually does a Australia --> Hawaii --> Vancouver and vice versa once a year. Their ship capacity is under 3500

Eclipse will be doing this itinerary and you're correct their capacity is just over 3k.

[zekekelso]

5 hours ago, cruiselvr04 said:

Try Viking. They had a fabulous 30 day cruise Hawaii and Bora Bora in January 2022.

Note: picture me pantomiming a balance scale with hands, palms up, moving up and down. 
 

Life savings? 30-day Viking Cruise? Savings? Cruise?

[cruiselvr04]

Lol.  It was so cheap.  Unbelievable in fact. $7500 pp.  All balcony.  Everything is included except gratuity.  It booked in a matter of days. Never see that again I’m sure.

[jlseymour3]

35 minutes ago, cruiselvr04 said:

Lol.  It was so cheap.  Unbelievable in fact. $7500 pp.  All balcony.  Everything is included except gratuity.  It booked in a matter of days. Never see that again I’m sure.

You have a different understanding of cheap than I do - Ovation next year was two-thirds that price all in for both of us.  With extras maybe 40% the cost of Viking.  

[cruiselvr04]

I understand….however if you look at price pp per day it was about $212.  There are a lot of balcony rooms on the newer Royal ships that run $3100 a week for 2.  Of course you can cruise in an interior for less.  If you look at it that way it was a very good deal.  
 

 

[Petoonya]

Very best- Oceania Regatta. 680 passengers, Tahiti- Hawaii- LA every April. About $6500 for two. 18 days.

 

Edited September 27, 2021 by Petoonya

[Tahitianbigkahuna]

I think many of you haven't read the info  ....

 

The mayor of Bora Bora wants to hold the limit to 1200 passengers on the island per day .... so ships over 1200 may be impacted very soon. And if another small ship is already visiting Bora Bora many mid-size ships (800 and larger) will likely be impacted.

 

Large ships (over 1200) may be impacted even more in the future and will be pointed towards Raiatea, Moorea and Tahiti. Over 3500 and your out of luck even for the 3 ports I mentioned.

Edited September 27, 2021 by Tahitianbigkahuna

[Wilcoam]

Exactly, T-BK, as I stated b4, if your sailing in the future doesn't stop in Bora Bora, IMO you're not really seeing Tahiti, but I'm partial to the magic of Bora Bora, that spectacular view, Villa Mahana, Patrick's excursions, etc, I could even argue the local ship's one night overnighter there doesn't do it justice, we've always added 3-4 nights extra, and flew to BB, b4 or after the cruise 

 

And similar to those folks who claim that they've been to Antartica via sailing on a big commercial ship, but never got off the boat, that somehow a drive by, that was experiencing Antartica, um, no it's absolutely not! You need to be on an expedition ship

 

IMO French Polynesia is best experienced on a small cruise that departs and returns to PPT, and or a mix of land hops via small plane and or cruise, but that's just my opinion

 

jc    

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

[Petoonya]

Unfortunately, there are those who don't have the funds to do Paul Gauguin, Wind Spirit, Regatta or Aranui. Don't get me wrong. I hate to see the big ships in Tahiti. But if I couldn't do the ships that I cruise, a visit/drive around Tahiti from Papeete would help me feel I'd hit the bucket list anyway. I'm sure vendors love the big ships coming in as well.

[Tahitianbigkahuna]

2 hours ago, Petoonya said:

Unfortunately, there are those who don't have the funds to do Paul Gauguin, Wind Spirit, Regatta or Aranui. Don't get me wrong. I hate to see the big ships in Tahiti. But if I couldn't do the ships that I cruise, a visit/drive around Tahiti from Papeete would help me feel I'd hit the bucket list anyway. I'm sure vendors love the big ships coming in as well.

 

I disagree about vendors ... I'm sure if there was concern the vendors would be all over the mayor of Bora Bora ... cruising only makes up 25% of the tourism dollars ... the mega ships will be replaced by small ships that meet the current rules ...

[Petoonya]

We disagree. If cruising comprises 25% of tourism dollars, that's would be a BIG cut to a population already reeling from near 2 years of COVID. And it will take a lot of people, a lot of small ships and a lot of big bucks to match a 2000  passenger mega. If there was that much interest in Tahiti by people with deep pockets, who can afford small ships, the current small ships would be forever sold out. They aren't.

 

Again, I don't like big ships- anywhere. For a multitude of reasons. And I applaud FP's decision to downsize. But I also don't hold it against anyone who decides that, if available, big ships and prices/amenities  are best for them.

 

Where I live everywhere you go you need to take Pacific Coast Hwy with all it's twists and blind turns. Bicyclists ride on the highway where there is NO shoulder. It makes me crazy, and I wince passing them. It's not ideal, it's stupid and it has consequences. Like megas in Tahiti. But I applaud the bicyclists for their sense of adventure and freedom all the same. (But I wish the state would curtail it too- double standard! lol!)

[Tahitianbigkahuna]

13 hours ago, Petoonya said:

We disagree. If cruising comprises 25% of tourism dollars, that's would be a BIG cut to a population already reeling from near 2 years of COVID. And it will take a lot of people, a lot of small ships and a lot of big bucks to match a 2000  passenger mega. If there was that much interest in Tahiti by people with deep pockets, who can afford small ships, the current small ships would be forever sold out. They aren't.

 

Again, I don't like big ships- anywhere. For a multitude of reasons. And I applaud FP's decision to downsize. But I also don't hold it against anyone who decides that, if available, big ships and prices/amenities  are best for them.

 

Where I live everywhere you go you need to take Pacific Coast Hwy with all it's twists and blind turns. Bicyclists ride on the highway where there is NO shoulder. It makes me crazy, and I wince passing them. It's not ideal, it's stupid and it has consequences. Like megas in Tahiti. But I applaud the bicyclists for their sense of adventure and freedom all the same. (But I wish the state would curtail it too- double standard! lol!)

 

My point was the vendors .... when a mega arrives only a handful will be able to get a good excursions because of the available infrastructure. Most passengers will simply step off the tender and walk around a bit and think they've seen lets says Bora Bora ... they haven't. A few smaller ships will bring as many passengers as the infrastructure can support in many cases ... and the cruisers will experience an excursion that represents a better look at the island. My main point about mega ships is they don't belong entering some lagoons on small islands  ... Fakarava is a perfect example ... ships with 2500 do visit but there are only 806 locals with only a handful that provide lagoon excursions ... you can't say the passengers experience Fakarava like it is meant to be.