Just off the ship Dec 2022

[astrocat]

A fantastic Marquesas, Tuamotus and Society Islands two week cruise. Any questions, please feel free to ask! 

[shrkdive1]

We will be on the same intinerary this coming September and looking forward to it.  What excursions did you do in the Marquesas?  We are starting to do our planning and looking for ideas.

[highplanesdrifters]

On 12/18/2022 at 10:47 PM, astrocat said:

A fantastic Marquesas, Tuamotus and Society Islands two week cruise. Any questions, please feel free to ask! 

Would love a quick recap.

[astrocat]

Hi both, here you go with some thoughts.  It was a wonderful cruise, the ship looks lovely and the food and beverages etc were outstanding as always (our third cruise with PG but first to the Marquesas so a privilege to be there).

 

Fakarava – Rode bikes in the morning (not a ships tour, we simply got off early and hired  push bikes). Biked to airstrip and back, viewed lighthouse and beautiful church with incredible shell grotto. Swam off a local beach. In the afternoon, I did the ship’s Pinnacle snorkel (had registered early) – quite robust conditions but the snorkelling is well known to be great, and was.

 

Fatu Hiva – husband and I did a walk around the village in the morning. Then in the afternoon he did a ships road trip from Hanavave to village Omoa and I did a guided walk to the local petroglyphs. Both through the ship and both were very good. All this which I read was true: “Fatu Hiva is the island of superlatives: the furthest south, the wettest, the lushest, the most isolated, and the most authentic.” Loved this place and the Jurassic Park backdrops..

 

Hiva Oa – did a ships tour in the morning between Atuona and Taaoa. Visited a fascinating marae, ships cultural guide was excellent. Then, we walked the town, visited market (bought a lovely handmade  pareo), visited Paul Gauguin and Jacques Brel museums and resting places.

 

Tahuata – quiet walk in the morning, visited the church and the local market. I went back in the afternoon and did a more robust hike up behind the village.

 

Nuku Hiva – this was also the morning of the England – France world cup game .. decisions decisions! We went ashore and watched part of the game, including the first French goal, with the locals at the market.  Very atmospheric. The chef had also come ashore and was purchasing lobster and tuna absolutely fresh from the locals. Had an afternoon swim at the delightful sand beach to the right of the pier area(when you are facing inland). 5 mins walk and totally recommend.  The only real place to swim we saw in the Marquesas and it was a delight.

 

Rangiroa – unexpected stop which the captain had only announced 24 hours prior (was to be a sea day so a bonus!!) so I immediately contacted and booked 6 Passengers at last minute, and managed to get 7 other people to come with me. We had an incredible time. Bottlenose dolphins in the water. Snorkeling outside the reef was again robust but actually very manageable once I was in the water.  The Aquarium snorkel was calmer and predictably lovely. Very professional and responsive outlet.

 

Huahine – got a taxi via the tourism office, dropped us off at the Coral City garden (site of old Sofitel) – absolutely magnificent snorkeling and I was the only one there! Hasten to say husband was onshore looking out for me. You do need flippers there as the current was noticeable but a huge number of fish and clear water. Interesting also to see the ruined hotel site and the defunct swimming pools.

 

Bora Bora – Pure Snorkeling – went independently and not booked via ship as the company’s half day lagoon excursion (had done it 2x previously) visits multiple sites.  Max 8 people. Can’t recommend them highly enough. 3 sites, rays, dolphins, mantas, sharks and the Aquarium site which was spectacular.  

 

Tahaa - drift snorkel – a truly beautiful snorkel via the ship with only 8 people on the boat. Did the drift 3 times.  A lovely site next to a resort,  not the one I had been to previously, which is closer to the motu. Dropped us at the motu afterwards, after a v interesting visit to Pearl Farm. 

 

Moorea – got off ship and went with Jo’s Tours on a random chance at the pier. We had been going to rent a car but Avis doesn’t have their ‘under tree’ office anymore which is sad. In any case, Luana was absolutely fantastic as a local guide and shared all her knowledge and insights with us. Visited all the sites, and ate bananas off her tree at home!!  Highly recommend.

 

Hope all this helps for starters. Snorkeling seems to dominate the above now I read it back, but it's part of a total experience.  I would also want to acknowledge the beautiful Tahitian people and their efforts to welcome at each port. This whole cruise was breathtaking in its scenery and its waterways, however the warmth of the people was even greater than that of the sunshine. 

 

Astrocat 

[highplanesdrifters]

@astrocat Thanks for taking the time to write a great recap! Much appreciated.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Having been on the ship twice before, what changes, if any, did you notice under the new regime?  Were there any staff from the past that you recognized?  How, in general, did the staff morale seem to you?  Same as always?

 

I'm very glad to hear you had a great time.  We did the 2-weeks Marquesas in, hmm, 2008!

[astrocat]

Another thing while I think of it .. tenders are a FAQ on the board here. We had zero problems and the PG system was easy to follow.

 

Daily announcements made it very clear what time the first 'open' tender was going to be (either 0730 or 0800) and that the next couple of tenders would be prioritised for ships tours.  If we were not on a ships tour, we made sure to be on the first open tender. This made it easy to hire bikes on Fakarava for instance (there were a limited number of bikes if not on a tour).

 

It also made it easy to make all the connections for our non ships tour bookings. 

 

I don't know how difficult it is for a non ships tour person to get on one of the prioritised tenders but to us it seemed much easier to just get the first one of the day and then no issues!  

[astrocat]

1 hour ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

Having been on the ship twice before, what changes, if any, did you notice under the new regime?  Were there any staff from the past that you recognized?  How, in general, did the staff morale seem to you?  Same as always?

 

I'm very glad to hear you had a great time.  We did the 2-weeks Marquesas in, hmm, 2008!

Hi Wendy, there was certainly no step backward that we could see -- in fact some of the experiences seemed enhanced. All the food was good (as usual) but the lunch buffets were top class - rotation of countries (Greek, Indian, US, Mediterranean etc). We loved eating at the Verandah, outside. 

 

There was definitely a noticeable change in the demographic of passengers. Est. 80% French, 10% US, 10% others. No Aussies that we met, and we were two of 4 NZers. The French / Canadian travellers were fun to be around (esp for World Cup banter). I never noticed staff prioritising French speakers over English / others (this was flagged as a concern in some earlier posts I saw). Everyone still gets the same special PG treatment ( how on earth do they learn everyone's names?!)  

 

The key announcements were always made in both English and French, including trivia questions ha ha, it was all very well done, and if you embrace the experience your French will improve - mine did!

 

Yes some of the same team around: eg the Santa Rosa band, our absolute favourites. If I win Lotto I am flying them to NZ for a party 🙂 ... we were in La Palette for them every night, and their Elvis show is a dont miss.  Also Jerry in the piano bar. So good. 

 

Les Gauguines definitely continue to be celebrated and ran daily culturally enhancing (and fun!) experiences.  

 

The captain hosted a return cruisers event, at which he talked about Ponant looking to get new ships in the fleet generally but look retain this PG.  

 

Overall, I left thinking I would rather cruise every 2nd year and make it something special like this, rather than a lesser experience more often. 

 

[sita]

Please comment on state of the coral reefs 

[astrocat]

Hi Sita. The coral we went to in Rangiroa, Bora Bora and Moorea was generally good. Some of it was very good indeed, in terms of anemones etc in the drift snorkel area and at Huahine. 

 

There are obviously wider overall global issues with water temperatures etc which are extremely complex to solve and comment on but I was pleased, appreciative and I hope respectful of the coral I was close to on this trip eg not touching or standing. 
 

All the coral we saw was supporting good fish numbers which is also encouraging, and there were relatively few urchins. 
 

hope this helps. Astrocat 

[Tahitianbigkahuna]

FYI  ....

 

The demographics are different for the Marquesas itineraries ... in general the ration of French/Europeans in great on the Marquesas itineraries than the others. you may notice that in 2024 there were added Marquesas itineraries as the demand from France/Europe has increased  ... as they travel far they like the longer cruise, the Marquesas. 

[highplanesdrifters]

1 hour ago, Tahitianbigkahuna said:

FYI  ....

 

The demographics are different for the Marquesas itineraries ... in general the ration of French/Europeans in great on the Marquesas itineraries than the others. you may notice that in 2024 there were added Marquesas itineraries as the demand from France/Europe has increased  ... as they travel far they like the longer cruise, the Marquesas. 

Your posts and comments are always so helpful! Thanks.

[astrocat]

2 hours ago, Tahitianbigkahuna said:

FYI  ....

 

The demographics are different for the Marquesas itineraries ... in general the ration of French/Europeans in great on the Marquesas itineraries than the others. you may notice that in 2024 there were added Marquesas itineraries as the demand from France/Europe has increased  ... as they travel far they like the longer cruise, the Marquesas. 

That makes a lot of sense thank you! 
 

[Jenallan18]

Hi Astrocat

 

We are going on this tour 29 Dec 2023 so thank you for your detailed posts.  How strenuous are the hikes and walks you did? And do they allow life jackets on the drift snorkel?  I’m the swimmer and my husband is the hiker and we are trying to find tours we can enjoy together.  Thanks Jenny 

[equinelady]

Astrocat,

thank you so much for your detailed review.  Getting so excited, we leave Sept 20th.   Can you clarify a little more the difference, for the Bora Bora pure snorkel,  using the PG tour versus private.   

   I booked the PG, my thoughts being to meet onboard passengers more readily.

thanks ahead

[Meggiemotu]

We leave on Sept 1.  We booked directly with Pure Snorkel as we have had on 2 previous cruises.  In fact this year we booked both days on Bora Bora - it is that fabulous.  We also booked Marc’s Motu Picnic through Huahini Nautique .  Beautiful full day , snorkeling, being on the water, lunch on a motu.An excellent operation and if they have 8 persons will pick you up at the dock in a little boat.  If anyone is going on the 9/1/23 cruise and is interested, lmk 😁!