Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

Updated requirements for scuba diving on the PG

Leejnd4

By Leejnd4,
in Paul Gauguin Cruises

 Share

Recommended Posts

  • 2 weeks later...
minidonuts85

minidonuts85

Posted
Posted (edited)

Hey guys! The dive desk has moved to deck 5 right outside of Le Etoile. 
 

We weren’t asked for logs, he did check for the medical cert and just asked when our last dive was. 
 

first day of diving tomorrow in Bora Bora 🙂 

 

@ldtemptynest

Debbie will we see you guys tomorrow? 

IMG_2579.jpeg

Edited by minidonuts85
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Leejnd4

Leejnd4

Posted
  • Author
Posted
3 hours ago, minidonuts85 said:

Hey guys! The dive desk has moved to deck 5 right outside of Le Etoile. 
 

We weren’t asked for logs, he did check for the medical cert and just asked when our last dive was. 
 

first day of diving tomorrow in Bora Bora 🙂 

 

@ldtemptynest

Debbie will we see you guys tomorrow? 

IMG_2579.jpeg

Thanks so much for this info! I'll be doing the first two dives on day one in Bora Bora as well. Can't wait to hear from you how they were!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
minidonuts85

minidonuts85

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, ltdemptynest said:

@minidonuts85

we r doing the 8 am & 10 am dives tomorrow. i cant believe we haven’t run into you yet?  we have dinner res @ 6:30 tonight. where will u be hanging out?

 

correction. 7:45 and 10. 

No kidding! Was hoping we’d see you guys by now. The past two nights we’ve closed down the piano bar and La palette (oops lol) but since we’re diving early tomorrow, we’re hitting the sack early tonight. But we are doing the same dives too so for sure tomorrow!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Leejnd4

Leejnd4

Posted
  • Author
Posted
2 hours ago, minidonuts85 said:

We dive along with @ltdemptynest today at Anau and wow, the mantas! 

 

 

Those are AMAZING shots! Who took those? I am SOOOO hoping I get that close to them! And I want to thank you for taking the time out of your cruise to keep us updated on how the diving is going. It's really ratcheting up the anticipation factor. I CAN'T WAIT! 😁😁😁

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
minidonuts85

minidonuts85

Posted
Posted
On 8/30/2023 at 3:34 PM, shrkdive1 said:

Thanks @minidonuts85 for confirming wetsuit conditions. Looking forward to being there next month. Got my medical form signed by doctor yesterday.

We even asked the dive team what they thought and they said we’d be fine as long as we’re comfortable with it. They did say if they thought it might be too cold, they’d tell us. They had shorties available as well and a warm shower for rinsing off. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
minidonuts85

minidonuts85

Posted
Posted

We debarked before the PG a few hours before she sailed back to Papeete so we could start our Moorea vacay. Pic of my fiancée waving as she sailed away. 
 

The cruise was just superb and the dive operation top notch. Here are a few snaps of the dive area. All of those kits are not going on the same dive boat! They are just staged and ready for the day. Each person has a name tag on their tank with gear. On the dive boat you’ll sit in front of your gear. We did side rolls off of the boat. There is also a shower with warm water on the marina if you care to use it and cubby’s for anything else you need to store. There really isn’t room on the boat for bags, phones, etc. they’ll stow things like sunglasses. I forgot my GoPro on the boat, after descending, on one of our dives and another one of the guides caught up to me underwater to hand it to me. Just cannot say enough good things! Also was able to dive with @ltdemptynest and her husband. Both are amazing people! 

IMG_2602.jpeg

IMG_2605.jpeg

IMG_2603.jpeg

IMG_2598.jpeg

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Leejnd4

Leejnd4

Posted
  • Author
Posted
9 hours ago, minidonuts85 said:

We debarked before the PG a few hours before she sailed back to Papeete so we could start our Moorea vacay. Pic of my fiancée waving as she sailed away. 
 

The cruise was just superb and the dive operation top notch. Here are a few snaps of the dive area. All of those kits are not going on the same dive boat! They are just staged and ready for the day. Each person has a name tag on their tank with gear. On the dive boat you’ll sit in front of your gear. We did side rolls off of the boat. There is also a shower with warm water on the marina if you care to use it and cubby’s for anything else you need to store. There really isn’t room on the boat for bags, phones, etc. they’ll stow things like sunglasses. I forgot my GoPro on the boat, after descending, on one of our dives and another one of the guides caught up to me underwater to hand it to me. Just cannot say enough good things! Also was able to dive with @ltdemptynest and her husband. Both are amazing people! 

That's wonderful to hear! Our cruise is two months away. Getting super excited! Enjoy your vacay on Moorea. 🙂 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
ltdemptynest

ltdemptynest

Posted
Posted

As @minidonuts85 has stated… all has been superb. I will post a detailed review upon return. We are also currently at the Moorea Hilton. Flying home on Wednesday. 😞

 

The highlight for us has been a private whale swim we did! It was surreal.  We were able to swim with 3 adult humpbacks about 5 meters from us.  Will post a separate review for that as it deserves its own.  

 

 

IMG_4357.jpeg

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Leejnd4

Leejnd4

Posted
  • Author
Posted
2 hours ago, ltdemptynest said:

As @minidonuts85 has stated… all has been superb. I will post a detailed review upon return. We are also currently at the Moorea Hilton. Flying home on Wednesday. 😞

 

The highlight for us has been a private whale swim we did! It was surreal.  We were able to swim with 3 adult humpbacks about 5 meters from us.  Will post a separate review for that as it deserves its own.  

 

 

IMG_4357.jpeg

WHERE WAS THIS?? I don't recall reading about private whale swims! Is it something you did during the cruise? If so, I need to find out how to arrange this!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
minidonuts85

minidonuts85

Posted
Posted

I’ll also add, it was a real treat to not have to tender out to dive shops and spend time on paperwork and gear fitting. We were done with two dives by 11:30, time enough to shower and have lunch. I know for some stops, the dives are contracted out but otherwise, it was very nice to just be ready to go. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Leejnd4

Leejnd4

Posted
  • Author
Posted
1 hour ago, minidonuts85 said:

I’ll also add, it was a real treat to not have to tender out to dive shops and spend time on paperwork and gear fitting. We were done with two dives by 11:30, time enough to shower and have lunch. I know for some stops, the dives are contracted out but otherwise, it was very nice to just be ready to go. 

And that's one of the reasons I chose the PG for my French Polynesia cruise. You just can't beat the convenience of diving right from the ship!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
ltdemptynest

ltdemptynest

Posted
Posted
On 9/3/2023 at 2:18 PM, Leejnd4 said:

WHERE WAS THIS?? I don't recall reading about private whale swims! Is it something you did during the cruise? If so, I need to find out how to arrange this!

@Leejnd4 We just arrived home yesterday, I will take me a bit to get reviews done…But. I wanted you to have the whale swim info so you can see if it works for you. 

There are a lot of companies that do this.  One of the most popular options for this is with a renowned expert on whales who resides in Tahiti.  I have no personal opinion, but heard from 2 separate couples on the cruise that they were very disappointed in their experience, not because they didn’t swim with whales, but because of the tour operator- specifically the “expert”.  They booked through cruise. 

I booked the whale swim privately with Pacifik Attitude in Moorea.  I opted for a private for my husband and myself. I emailed them directly at pacifikattitude at gmail . com.  There were 5 of us on the boat.  the Captain, The swim guide,  a photographer and us.  Not sure if the photographer was included or if he just showed up for personal ?- but he got some great shots, and we bought them from him. 
 

I think they offer a small group option as well as the private. 

 

Now… you must remember that actually getting to swim with whales is hit or miss.  They explain this often and want to limit expectations… but for us we just got very lucky.    The guide and photographer who were in the water with us were very excited by our experience as they thought it was rare and exceptional according to their experiences.  The private tour that was exiting the boat when we arrived did not swim with whales. ( they were very disappointed).  

 

Even if  you don’t get to “swim” they usually do get you close enough by boat to see some great breaches and behavior.  So I knew going in it may just be a private boat ride- whales or not!  

 

The education, boat ride, scenery would have been enough for me even if we didn’t get to swim…. plus they threw in lunch and drinks.  

 

feel free to email me at dma1107 at aol. com  if you have further questions 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
sjkoen

sjkoen

Posted
Posted
18 minutes ago, ltdemptynest said:

@Leejnd4 We just arrived home yesterday, I will take me a bit to get reviews done…But. I wanted you to have the whale swim info so you can see if it works for you. 

There are a lot of companies that do this.  One of the most popular options for this is with a renowned expert on whales who resides in Tahiti.  I have no personal opinion, but heard from 2 separate couples on the cruise that they were very disappointed in their experience, not because they didn’t swim with whales, but because of the tour operator- specifically the “expert”.  They booked through cruise. 

I booked the whale swim privately with Pacifik Attitude in Moorea.  

 

I opted for a private for my husband and myself. I emailed them directly at pacifikattitude at gmail . com.  There were 5 of us on the boat.  the Captain, The swim guide,  a photographer and us.  Not sure if the photographer was included or if he just showed up for personal ?- but he got some great shots, and we bought them from him. 
 

I think they offer a small group option as well as the private. 

 

 

 

Thanks! I am looking atbprivate with https://en.blueinvitation.com/ for same reasons and I'm worried about the impact of the chaoticness on the whales.

 

How was ScubaTec? We dive with them tomorrow to get wet. 😀

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...