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Moana Explorer Programme


mermaid 285
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I'm not sure anyone on here has personal experience of this, as this is designed for kids and I know not many of you will be travelling with kids.  But as we will be travelling with a child in the right age group, I was wondering if anyone has indeed seen this programme in action or had their child take part and could tell me if they would recommend it or not. Many thanks in advance.

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This isn't going to be much help, but there were lots of kids on our cruise and it looked like they were having a good time with lots of indoor and outdoor activities. There were two activity leaders on board and they were both quite genial with the adults. Les Gauguins/Gaugines also did some activities with them, which I think would be memorable.

 

I'd bring long-sleeve rash guards, wide brimmed floppy hats and whatever else you deem necessary so you have less concern about sunburn. It is so easy to burn in the FP sun.

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26 minutes ago, AussieBoyTX said:

This isn't going to be much help, but there were lots of kids on our cruise and it looked like they were having a good time with lots of indoor and outdoor activities. There were two activity leaders on board and they were both quite genial with the adults. Les Gauguins/Gaugines also did some activities with them, which I think would be memorable.

 

I'd bring long-sleeve rash guards, wide brimmed floppy hats and whatever else you deem necessary so you have less concern about sunburn. It is so easy to burn in the FP sun.

That is really helpful AussieBoyTX!  We have an assortment of rash guards already, LOL!  But thanks or the tips. When was your cruise on Paul Gauguin?  This will be our third cruise on this ship, but our first as a family.  Last time we were on the ship was 2012.

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1 hour ago, mermaid 285 said:

When was your cruise on Paul Gauguin?  This will be our third cruise on this ship, but our first as a family.  Last time we were on the ship was 2012.

There have been a lot of ship upgrades since then! We were on Christmas 2022 for Society & Cook Islands. I wrote a summary here and a long version in the Ponant forum.

 

I look forward to hearing about your cruise!

Edited by AussieBoyTX
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1 hour ago, AussieBoyTX said:

There have been a lot of ship upgrades since then! We were on Christmas 2022 for Society & Cook Islands. I wrote a summary here and a long version in the Ponant forum.

 

I look forward to hearing about your cruise!

Great review on the Ponant forum AussieBoyTX!

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3 hours ago, Snowcat1 said:

Is the Moana program on each cruise itinerary or just during holiday and school holiday times?

 

Yes, only when the kids are off from school, but the best part, I think if they're under 18 they go for free🙂 The program was going on when we were just there, and the kids look like they were having a good time.

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13 hours ago, Snowcat1 said:

I was looking to avoid kids. So is there anyway to find out if the program is offered on a particular cruise? I suppose children can be on board even if the program is not offered.

The Moana programme is only offered during school holiday periods, so if you plan carefully to avoid them you should be fine avoiding kids, unless of course anyone brings kids below school age!

Being an educator myself, I have always had to travel in school holidays, including two cruises on the PG before I had my son.  Even in school holidays there aren't many children on board.  

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  • 2 months later...

In case anyone else is in the same position as us and would like some information on the Te Moana Explorer programme I thought I'd give some details of our experience.  The programme runs in school holidays and activities can be chosen to fit around anything else that you are doing as a family. Activities will take place even if only one child signs up. Parents can choose to take part in the activities themselves but this is not a requirement.  Our son really enjoyed every activity he took part in, from games in the Captain's lounge, to tug of war on the motu in Bora Bora to snorkelling with turtles in Moorea.  He was always really excited about the activities which centred around learning about the fauna and flora of the islands. On a couple of evenings there were also events such as star gazing and cinema night with popcorn. The programme was fantastic and our son already can't wait to sail on the Paul Gauguin again.

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  • 1 month later...
On 9/18/2023 at 4:01 PM, mermaid 285 said:

In case anyone else is in the same position as us and would like some information on the Te Moana Explorer programme I thought I'd give some details of our experience.  The programme runs in school holidays and activities can be chosen to fit around anything else that you are doing as a family. Activities will take place even if only one child signs up. Parents can choose to take part in the activities themselves but this is not a requirement.  Our son really enjoyed every activity he took part in, from games in the Captain's lounge, to tug of war on the motu in Bora Bora to snorkelling with turtles in Moorea.  He was always really excited about the activities which centred around learning about the fauna and flora of the islands. On a couple of evenings there were also events such as star gazing and cinema night with popcorn. The programme was fantastic and our son already can't wait to sail on the Paul Gauguin again.

How old was your child? My son will be 13 and I am hoping he will enjoy the program!

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Hi,

 

he was 8, the other participants were between 7-16. Our son is really into marine life so he was very happy taking part in whatever was going on.  They did things such as taking the kids snorkelling and identifying different sea creatures, knowledge quizzes, investigating different things to do with land and sea, tug of war on the motu in Bora Bora, watching movies and documentaries whilst enjoying pizza and popcorn as well as star gazing one evening. Whenever I picked up our son the older kids also seemed pretty happy to be there and every one seemed to get along well.  Of course each child is different and this may not be for everyone.  But as our son aspires to be a marine biologist, it was absolutely perfect for him.

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23 hours ago, JinxyB said:

How old was your child? My son will be 13 and I am hoping he will enjoy the program!

 

Hi there! 🙂 if you can possibly swing it, I would take him! My son is in college, we just went in June, and I swear it was the best vacation of our lives! Clearly, he was not in the children's program, but if I could have swung it when he was younger, that would have been fantastic. We've taken our son to 26 countries so far, and traveling with children may not be optimal for some, it really opens up their vision of the world. The kids I saw on board the program were having a great time, and so were the parents. The ship is full of nice, well mannered, curious travelers, looking to further themselves and explore the world - you won't find many folks at the bar, crying into their drinks, looking for something to slam.

 

If you do it I hope you have a great time! 🧜🏻‍♀️

Edited by TheDarkestBlue
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4 minutes ago, TheDarkestBlue said:

 

Hi there! 🙂 if you can possibly swing it, I would take him! My son is in college, we just went in June, and I swear it was the best vacation of our lives! Clearly, he was not in the children's program, but if I could have swung it when he was younger, that would have been fantastic. We've taken our son to 26 countries so far, and traveling with children may not be optimal for some, it really opens up their vision of the world. The kids I saw on board the program were having a great time, and so were the parents. The ship is full of nice, well mannered, curious travelers, looking to further themselves and explore the world - you won't find many folks at the bar, crying into their drinks, looking for something to slam.

 

If you do it I hope you have a great time! 🧜🏻‍♀️

We are booked for a 14 day cruise next summer! I’m so excited- this is a bucket-list trip for me and we are going to enjoy it to the fullest. It’s also great that kids are free 😃

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  • 4 months later...
On 11/1/2023 at 10:35 AM, JinxyB said:

We are booked for a 14 day cruise next summer! I’m so excited- this is a bucket-list trip for me and we are going to enjoy it to the fullest. It’s also great that kids are free 😃

July 6?  We'll be on that boat with a 13 year old and 9 year old.  Can't wait!

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On 4/1/2024 at 2:43 PM, JinxyB said:

We are going in June - so excited!

Have a fantastic time!  If you have a moment to drop us some kid tips right afterward, we'd love to see them.  But don't worry about it if not, for sure.  

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1 hour ago, BeechMan said:

Have a fantastic time!  If you have a moment to drop us some kid tips right afterward, we'd love to see them.  But don't worry about it if not, for sure.  

I definitely will! 😃

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  • 1 month later...
8 minutes ago, BeechMan said:

You must be just about packing bags, JinxyB!  Hope it's a great trip!

Thanks - packing for the trip and also my son’s sleep away camp (he goes a week after we return home from French Polynesia)! Plus, work and an unexpected surgery for a kidney stone last week, and I am READY for vacation! 😄

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hello- we are onboard now and having a fantastic time. There are only three children on this sailing - luckily they are the same age range (13-14 years). My son has participated in some of the Moana Explorer program and has enjoyed it for the most part. For example, yesterday in Hiva Oa, they took the three kids to the beach and did some exploring. 
 

We are spending a lot of time at the pool and just having fun as a family. My son has also befriended a lot of the staff. I will post the sheets from the Moana Explorer program in a little bit! Overall this sailing is a lot of older French/European people - we are definitely in the minority being Americans, but that doesn’t bother me at all. Food and service are fantastic!

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2 hours ago, JinxyB said:

Hello- we are onboard now and having a fantastic time. There are only three children on this sailing - luckily they are the same age range (13-14 years). My son has participated in some of the Moana Explorer program and has enjoyed it for the most part. For example, yesterday in Hiva Oa, they took the three kids to the beach and did some exploring. 
 

We are spending a lot of time at the pool and just having fun as a family. My son has also befriended a lot of the staff. I will post the sheets from the Moana Explorer program in a little bit! Overall this sailing is a lot of older French/European people - we are definitely in the minority being Americans, but that doesn’t bother me at all. Food and service are fantastic!

Thanks for the update, and I'm so glad you're having a great time!  I was wondering about whether they would still run the Moana Explorer program if there are a small number of kids - glad that they do.  I'm curious to see how many there are on the July voyage.  Absolutely fine with me if there aren't many Americans.  Glad the food and service is top notch.  

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1 hour ago, JinxyB said:

trying to add images of the program but it doesn’t seem to be working 

 

Don't spend a moment of your cruise when you could be enjoying other things on this!  🙂  Enjoying the updates!

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On 6/13/2024 at 5:07 PM, BeechMan said:

Thanks for the update, and I'm so glad you're having a great time!  I was wondering about whether they would still run the Moana Explorer program if there are a small number of kids - glad that they do.  I'm curious to see how many there are on the July voyage.  Absolutely fine with me if there aren't many Americans.  Glad the food and service is top notch.  

The reason there weren't many kids on the 14 day sailing is because most Americans (of working age who might have kids) struggle to get that long off from work.  When we went on the 14 day Marquesas cruise there were only 2 kids on board, we didn't have our son at the time and were in our mid-30s. Other than ourselves there were only about half a dozen people below 60 on that cruise. To be honest we were shocked at how old a demographic this cruise attracted, after having been on the 7 day cruise before where the average age is around 50-60.  Last year we had 6 or 7 kids on our 7 day cruise in late August. If you go mid July to mid August it could probably be a few more.  The staff who run the Moana programme are fantastic and looked after our 8-year-old really well and the programme was fun and very educational too.  I was also pleased that many of the older people on the ship complimented us on our boy rather than being annoyed by his presence.  We hope to be back on the Paul Gauguin in the near future it's a fabulous cruise for families and very underrated in my opinion.

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