Which 7-Day Society Islands Cruise Would You Pick for a Diver?

[WorldTourPrincess]

Hello PG cruisers! I’d like to take advantage of the no-single-supplement promotion they have going right now and book something for summer 2025.  I would like advice on which 7-day itinerary to book. My options are: Tahiti & the Society Islands and More Society Islands & Tahiti. Can anyone guide me on which itinerary you think is better?  I’m an avid scuba diver and plan to do Rangiroa and Fakarava (North and South) prior to the cruise. I am also a teacher and restricted to travel during July and August.

 

Thanks for any insight you can share!🤿🐠🦈

[Leejnd4]

19 hours ago, WorldTourPrincess said:

Hello PG cruisers! I’d like to take advantage of the no-single-supplement promotion they have going right now and book something for summer 2025.  I would like advice on which 7-day itinerary to book. My options are: Tahiti & the Society Islands and More Society Islands & Tahiti. Can anyone guide me on which itinerary you think is better?  I’m an avid scuba diver and plan to do Rangiroa and Fakarava (North and South) prior to the cruise. I am also a teacher and restricted to travel during July and August.

 

Thanks for any insight you can share!🤿🐠🦈

If I read the itineraries correctly, it appears that the difference between the two is that the “More” itinerary includes Raiatea, but you get only one day on Moorea, whereas the regular itinerary skips Raiatea and includes two days on Moorea. 
 

I’m a huge diver myself, and I’ve been to FP three times but have never dived in Raiatea, so I can’t answer whether it’s a must-see island for divers. I can tell you that Moorea is one of the most beautiful islands in all of FP (many consider it their favorite) AND it has fabulous diving, so for my money I’d rather skip Raiatea and have two days on Moorea: one to dive, and one to do a land-based tour and see the spectacular scenery. 
 

If you’re going to be diving at Fakarava and Rangiroa, you are already going to be experiencing about the best diving you can get in FP. So you really can’t go wrong with either of these itineraries. I think it will boil down to where you’d rather dive: Raiatea or Moorea. 

[WorldTourPrincess]

24 minutes ago, Leejnd4 said:

If I read the itineraries correctly, it appears that the difference between the two is that the “More” itinerary includes Raiatea, but you get only one day on Moorea, whereas the regular itinerary skips Raiatea and includes two days on Moorea. 
 

I’m a huge diver myself, and I’ve been to FP three times but have never dived in Raiatea, so I can’t answer whether it’s a must-see island for divers. I can tell you that Moorea is one of the most beautiful islands in all of FP (many consider it their favorite) AND it has fabulous diving, so for my money I’d rather skip Raiatea and have two days on Moorea: one to dive, and one to do a land-based tour and see the spectacular scenery. 
 

If you’re going to be diving at Fakarava and Rangiroa, you are already going to be experiencing about the best diving you can get in FP. So you really can’t go wrong with either of these itineraries. I think it will boil down to where you’d rather dive: Raiatea or Moorea. 

Awesome, thank you! So I guess now the question is- does Raiatea have diving and is it any good?

[AussieBoyTX]

I thought of the diving on PG as something to do -- rather than a great diving experience. The sites were near the ship, which certainly was good in that our trips to the dive sites were quite short -- always less than ten minutes. But they also were the best that the islands had to offer.

 

Just for example, we dove at Toopua in Bora Bora. I've been there several times and it can be a an excellent place to see mantas and other rays. On this day with PG, the currents were not favorable and the water was murky (which we've also experienced). The other operator decided to abandon the dive and find another site. 

 

Also be aware that most of PG's dive customers are novice or infrequent divers. Of the thirty-plus divers on board, perhaps six were PADI AOW of higher. The sites were picked with that in mind and that also limited our bottom time since we all began to surface once the first diver ran low.

 

Even so, the guides were good and we were grouped with reasonably like experience divers, never in groups larger than six and usually smaller. We got in first and got out last, so the shortest dive I had was 45 minutes, though there was a bit of bottom time waiting around under the boat.

 

A bad day diving in FP is better than a good day in many other places. I'd just say that if you're coming to FP for diving, set your expectations accordingly.

 

Now, if I could comment on Rangiroa & Fakarava -- both are spectacular! I would just note two things:

 

1) All operators I've been with in FP take certifications very seriously and do the dive planning based on your certification. At Rangiroa, Six Passengers had dives for CMAS 1,2 & 3 star certifications. CMAS 1 star is equivalent to PADI Open Water. 2 star to PADI Rescue. I don't know the PADI equivalent for 3 star, but it must be a professional level. All this to say the PADI OW divers had a dive profile set at 60 feet and missed most of the Tiputa pass. We were in the second group. I don't know what the max depth planned was, but mine was around 100 feet. Excellent dive. There was a third deeper group that saw what we saw, but also saw some dolphins, so we had a small bit of remorse about that.

 

2) Fakarava South Pass is worth the entire trip to FP on its own. Make sure your operator will definitely do that dive, as it is a full day expedition from the north side, where you're probably staying. Also, the operator we used (Dive Spirit Fakarava) only took CMAS 2 star or higher on their South Pass trips. Max depth was 93 feet and dive time was 45 minutes plus. Note that CMAS can have different deco definitions than PADI. I never went into deco, but spent more than ten minutes of the dive with a less than three minute NDT. A diver with more conservative settings than mine would have been in a deco situation.

 

The Fakarava North Pass dive was also spectacular -- we started in blue water, not being able to see anything and leveled out at 100 feet. Within minutes we were sucked into the atoll and saw all the sharks, fish and coral. Very impressive.

[WorldTourPrincess]

Thanks so much! I plan to stay in Rangiroa, Fakarava North, and Fakarava South. How long would you recommend staying in each place?

 

Is Raiatea worth visiting (or diving) or is two days on Moorea better?

4 hours ago, AussieBoyTX said:

I thought of the diving on PG as something to do -- rather than a great diving experience. The sites were near the ship, which certainly was good in that our trips to the dive sites were quite short -- always less than ten minutes. But they also were the best that the islands had to offer.

 

Just for example, we dove at Toopua in Bora Bora. I've been there several times and it can be a an excellent place to see mantas and other rays. On this day with PG, the currents were not favorable and the water was murky (which we've also experienced). The other operator decided to abandon the dive and find another site. 

 

Also be aware that most of PG's dive customers are novice or infrequent divers. Of the thirty-plus divers on board, perhaps six were PADI AOW of higher. The sites were picked with that in mind and that also limited our bottom time since we all began to surface once the first diver ran low.

 

Even so, the guides were good and we were grouped with reasonably like experience divers, never in groups larger than six and usually smaller. We got in first and got out last, so the shortest dive I had was 45 minutes, though there was a bit of bottom time waiting around under the boat.

 

A bad day diving in FP is better than a good day in many other places. I'd just say that if you're coming to FP for diving, set your expectations accordingly.

 

Now, if I could comment on Rangiroa & Fakarava -- both are spectacular! I would just note two things:

 

1) All operators I've been with in FP take certifications very seriously and do the dive planning based on your certification. At Rangiroa, Six Passengers had dives for CMAS 1,2 & 3 star certifications. CMAS 1 star is equivalent to PADI Open Water. 2 star to PADI Rescue. I don't know the PADI equivalent for 3 star, but it must be a professional level. All this to say the PADI OW divers had a dive profile set at 60 feet and missed most of the Tiputa pass. We were in the second group. I don't know what the max depth planned was, but mine was around 100 feet. Excellent dive. There was a third deeper group that saw what we saw, but also saw some dolphins, so we had a small bit of remorse about that.

 

2) Fakarava South Pass is worth the entire trip to FP on its own. Make sure your operator will definitely do that dive, as it is a full day expedition from the north side, where you're probably staying. Also, the operator we used (Dive Spirit Fakarava) only took CMAS 2 star or higher on their South Pass trips. Max depth was 93 feet and dive time was 45 minutes plus. Note that CMAS can have different deco definitions than PADI. I never went into deco, but spent more than ten minutes of the dive with a less than three minute NDT. A diver with more conservative settings than mine would have been in a deco situation.

 

The Fakarava North Pass dive was also spectacular -- we started in blue water, not being able to see anything and leveled out at 100 feet. Within minutes we were sucked into the atoll and saw all the sharks, fish and coral. Very impressive.

 

[AussieBoyTX]

18 hours ago, WorldTourPrincess said:

Thanks so much! I plan to stay in Rangiroa, Fakarava North, and Fakarava South. How long would you recommend staying in each place?

 

Is Raiatea worth visiting (or diving) or is two days on Moorea better?

 

 

I don't have experience on Raiatea. Moorea is known for its shark dives -- there are some operators that feed the sharks -- but reputable ones don't. On PG, we didn't see sharks and the dives weren't that spectacular. In your case, Maybe I'd do Raiatea just for something different.

 

As for Rangiroa & Fakarava, how much time do you have and how are you traveling? If the weather cooperates, Fakarava South & North are a day each.

 

Fakarava South is basically the single tidal drift dive into the atoll. There's not a whole lot going on outside the water if you're actually staying on the South side. When I was there, there was a single resort and the ruins of the dynasty that eventually moved to Tahiti.

 

Much more going on on the North side and depending on where you stay, there are small villages with restaurants, but still the dives we were offered were the drifts into and out of the atoll. We did the drift dive in, had a two hour surface interval while the tide changed and then did the drift out.

 

If you have time, both are among the best dives in the world and maybe you'd want to repeat them. I'd definitely do the South Pass again.

 

Similarly in Rangiroa, all of the diving centers on the Tiputa pass. Drift in / drift out, left & right sides. We stayed two days with AM & PM dives and thought it was worth it. 

[Elquailo]

We've been on the PG three times previously, and went diving every day at every stop except for Motu Mahana. We also have always done pre-cruise and post-cruise dives in Tahiti, and either Moorea or Bora Bora. Twice (2004 & 2009) our cruise included Raiatea, and the ship coordinated with a local operator there called Hemisphere Sub who were excellent. In looking through my dive log, the site was called "Miri Miri/Mushroom Patch". The dive site was along the West side reef of the islands in between Raiatea and Tahaa, and most similar in my opinion to the sites at Moorea off of the two bays. All are great sites, other than maybe Table Top in Bora Bora. Our favorites were usually Tapu in Bora Bora and Shark Gallery in Moorea, due to the huge numbers and variety of sharks (my favorite are the lemon sharks!). Every dive site in FP is better than any dive site here in Massachusetts! 😉