Help with cabin choice

[Jenallan18]

Hello.  We are first-time cruisers with Paul Gauguin and would appreciate some advice re cabin choice.  We are looking at a cabin near the 'Captains Reception Lounge' but can't see anywhere what that lounge is used for and wondering how much traffic or noise there would be.  Likewise traffic and noise in a cabin near the Bridge or Stairway / Elevators.   Does anyone have any experience in staying in cabins in those areas from a noise perspective?  Or would you recommend Deck 8 instead.   Thank you so much for your advice.

[Tahitianbigkahuna]

On 2/27/2023 at 9:53 PM, Jenallan18 said:

Hello.  We are first-time cruisers with Paul Gauguin and would appreciate some advice re cabin choice.  We are looking at a cabin near the 'Captains Reception Lounge' but can't see anywhere what that lounge is used for and wondering how much traffic or noise there would be.  Likewise traffic and noise in a cabin near the Bridge or Stairway / Elevators.   Does anyone have any experience in staying in cabins in those areas from a noise perspective?  Or would you recommend Deck 8 instead.   Thank you so much for your advice.

 

The Captain's Lounge is used for meetings up to about 20 people. The Bridge entry is just past the door to the lounge. There may be a tad more 'traffic' simply because of crew going and coming to the bridge but I wouldn't worry about it.

[Jenallan18]

Thanks TBK and FM555

[grendelsdad]

We just stayed in 708. I saw the captains lounge is near our cabin on the floor plan but we literally had no evidence of it or traffic from it. It might only be accessible from the odd-numbered side, not sure. 

[Jenallan18]

Thanks Grendelsdad.  We have booked 809.  If anyone has feedback on that cabin please let me know.  
 

hope to see some of you onboard.  

[Tahitianbigkahuna]

8 minutes ago, Jenallan18 said:

Thanks Grendelsdad.  We have booked 809.  If anyone has feedback on that cabin please let me know.  
 

hope to see some of you onboard.  

Quiet area ... VB gives to a bit more room to get past the bed and the balcony is a tad larger  ... 

[Jenallan18]

38 minutes ago, Tahitianbigkahuna said:

Quiet area ... VB gives to a bit more room to get past the bed and the balcony is a tad larger  ... 

what do you mean by VB? 

[Tahitianbigkahuna]

15 minutes ago, Jenallan18 said:

what do you mean by VB? 

Veranda B

[Jenallan18]

8 hours ago, Tahitianbigkahuna said:

Veranda B

Gotcha.  Cheers.  I’ll learn all the PG FP lingo at some point 🤣.  If you’re on the same trip shout out (14 day 30 Dec)  and I’ll likely be asking about excursions in the next couple of months.  Thanks TBK

[Tahitianbigkahuna]

5 hours ago, Jenallan18 said:

Gotcha.  Cheers.  I’ll learn all the PG FP lingo at some point 🤣.  If you’re on the same trip shout out (14 day 30 Dec)  and I’ll likely be asking about excursions in the next couple of months.  Thanks TBK

 

I'm not on that cruise ... and I rarely give recommendations on excursions any longer. 

[Emdee]

I love the 8 th deck for its convenience to the pool and pool bar. 
We have been sailing and traveling the world and haven't been back on the PG since 2017 but 13 trips before that. At least 5 on the 8 th deck. One on the 7 th and the rest on the lowly but still comfortable 4 th deck. 

[Jenallan18]

10 hours ago, Emdee said:

I love the 8 th deck for its convenience to the pool and pool bar. 
We have been sailing and traveling the world and haven't been back on the PG since 2017 but 13 trips before that. At least 5 on the 8 th deck. One on the 7 th and the rest on the lowly but still comfortable 4 th deck. 

Thanks Emdee.  Quite the expert on this ship and region no doubt.  Thank you for your reassurance of our choice.  Now to look at excursions … 

[Tahitianbigkahuna]

Jenallan18

 

Truth be known ... many returnees pick deck 4 cabins as the price is substantially less. Deck for isn't 'lowly' ... fact is the actual cabin foot print is the same as most of the deck 6 & 7 cabins ... yup, same size and amenities. Only different you won't have a balcony ... but there is so much deck space on the ship that you can go find a 'balcony'. 

[Supertuscan99]

I never embraced the philosophy of “ the ship is your balcony” and wouldn’t sail on the PG without one..yes it’s more $$ but there is nothing like spending early mornings, late afternoons and later evenings on your balcony away from everyone else..coffee in the morning, snacks/champagne in the late afternoon and late evening reflection makes this an even more special trip for us….btw, we love the five aft cabins on deck 7…reserve early and snag one, there is nothing like an aft cabin for us ! 

[Emdee]

Once we went on deck 8 we never went back to the 4 th. Just loved having the balcony and the proximity to the pool bar. Mervin or Ernesto would very kindly bring my fresh lime and salt drink to the cabin.
Also Abner was an amazing butler. Poor guy brought us coffee the one day we wanted to sleep in….as every other day we called for 6 am coffee. He was so very sorry about it. 

 

The 7 th deck cabin was nice because it had a shower rather than a tub.. 

 

The 4 th being close to the reception was nice. 

 

I am very wary of the changes with the new ownership so haven’t gone back on board. 

Edited August 5, 2023 by Emdee

[sita]

Emdee, it is nice to see your postings. We too are wary of the new owners. Your bringing up Ernesto and Mervin warms my heart.

[Emdee]

Good to see you here….all we need is Wendy and Steve to have an old timers get together on the board. All of us go back to Regent days.

[Supertuscan99]

Ponant showed their true colors during the pandemic…cheers to our fab TA Sid who made sure we were refunded …back to FP next month, but still won’t return to the PG..too bad for us since we enjoyed the PG immensely 

[Snowcat1]

So why are you people wary of the new owners? Isn’t PG as good as it used to be?

[Supertuscan99]

The ship and staff are still 100%…I’ll answer as best I can from my experience only….the new owners, Ponant purchased this cruise line just before the pandemic…they weren’t truthful, took a very negative not customer centric approach to passengers who booked and were extremely reluctant to refund as opposed to offering a credit for a future trip for which none of us knew when they would restart …..it was unfortunate for ponant but keeping customers money for some future” what if “ didn’t fly with a lot of us….again, my TA worked hard. (shouldn’t have to) to finally get our money back…

[Tahitianbigkahuna]

I'm not perfectly fine with everything that took place ... however, to be fair to Ponant it was likely the deep pockets of Mr. Ponant that helped get the PG through the down time of covid. 

Ponant is a work in process as far as the PG. I believe they've finally figured it out that the PG is it's own brand  ... they cannot deal with the PG in the same way as the other Ponant ships ... I see positive signs every time I go aboard over the last few years but there is still room for improvement. 

The heart and soul of the PG is the crew and for the most part that has not changed ... 

Other small cruise lines are starting to check out FP and some will be staying in FP ... competition is always healthy for the consumer. 

[Snowcat1]

Thanks for letting me know the cruise experience should still be the same.

[Supertuscan99]

Good analysis big kahuna…branding is everything