Tahiti Pictures up on Webshots!

[joyride]

I finally have uploaded our pictures from the TP cruise in August. We stayed at the IC Papette pre-cruise and at the IC Moorea post cruise. We also did Mark's Motu Picnic, Bruno's, Helmet Diving and Teiva's tour on Bora Bora. My webshots link is below! Enjoy!!! (I've got sharks, stingrays, eels & lots of scenery of Paradise)

 

If you have any specific questions, post here and I will try to answer. We took so many pictures, I did not attempt to name all of the various fish and such.

 

It truly was the trip of a lifetime, and nothing ANYWHERE compares to the water and the sealife in the Tahitian Islands. Our cruise did not make it to the Cook Islands, so that is not included.

[susie2shoes]

Thanks for the great photos. Really motivated me to get out there, see the sights and snorkel in Tahiti.

[LisaB19]

Great photos Joyride!

The necklace you bought is exactly like what I want. What is the black material on the chain? Can I ask how much it was?

How did you feel about doing both a pre and post cruise stay? Are you glad you did both?

Lisa

[joyride]

Susie - yes, you must get in the water in Tahiti. That's what it is all about, the underwater world there is the best you will see anywhere. I still can't get over the variety of fish that we saw!

 

Lisa, the necklace I bought was around $500. The pearls are not grade "A", they are B or C. The black part of the necklace goes over a wire and it's sort of like leather, but actually it's probably some type of plastic. Anyway, I love the look - I can wear it with jeans or more dressed up. I've gotten tons of compliments on it! I probably wear it more than I would if I had gotten a more "dressy" style of necklace!

[cruzegirl]

Great photo Joy.........

Can't wait for my cruise there next year...... And if you are seeing all that snorkeling, I can't wait to dive there.....lol... Awesome.

How did you feel about the IC Moorea? Price wise? Food wise? I'm going with 3 gal friends and 1 wants to do Bora Bora instead of Moorea... But Bora Bora is too expensive.....I so can't wait.....:D

[LisaB19]

Joyride, how did you feel about the pre and post cruise stay? Would you do both again and if so, for how long?

Lisa

[joyride]

Well, we did over the water Bungalows at the IC Papette pre-cruise and at the IC Moorea post cruise. Here's what we thought:

 

The IC Papette was really nice. We loved the pools, the lagoon, the grounds, etc. Our bungalow was very far away and the most expensive one. I would do a less expensive lagoon bungalow instead to be closer to everything. The snorkeling at our Papette bungalow wasn't very good at all.

 

I loved Moorea, but it was alot of hassle taking the ferry over and back after the cruise. The snorkeling at the hotel wasn't very good and we were not impressed with the pool or anything else - it's just kind of old. If you go to Moorea - everyone raves about the Sheraton and that is probably a better choice. We did enjoy really great snorkeling at the Motu that the IC Moorea takes you to on their boat (for $10).

 

If I had it to do again, I would not spend the money on the Over the Water Bungalows. They are very expensive and just not really worth it. I would just book a Panoramic room and then go hang out and snorkel in the Lagoon areas and the pool. I would probably not go back to Moorea to stay, it's alot of travel time and expensive by the time you take the ferry both ways and then get your transportation to and from the hotel.

 

Food and drinks were VERY expensive at both spots and not really worth it, but you have to eat - so you just bite the bullet on that one. We ate at the "Cafe" type place and split entrees or a pizza to keep the price down. The food was good and plentiful, so this worked for us.

[littledee85]

Hello Joyride.... Thanks for the great pictures!!! We are going on the Pacific Princess in two weeks and these really psyched me up for the upcoming trip. When you were snorkeling in Raiatea about how deep was that water? Did you book your tour through the cruise lines? It seemed to be a great tour. Do you have any contacts if not through the cruise line? We will be in Raiatea until 4a.m. and have lots of time to take in an adventure.

 

Thanks again.

 

Deb

[mmyorkston]

Your pictures are great. What kind of camera did you use for underwater?

[joyride]

LittleDee - the tour in Raitea was with Bruno. The link is http://www.tahaa.net.

It was an awesome day. He only takes about 12 people or so and the whole day includes the pearl farm (where I bought my necklace), a vanilla plantation, lunch, snorkeling in 2 spots - ending with the drift snorkel through the coral gardens. The coral garden snorkel is not deep - but there is a current and you have to work your way through the coral without getting cut. It was awesome and we did just fine with snorkel shoes and we wore rash shirts and gloves. There were similar tours offered by Princess that included the coral gardens - but we had a smaller group and Bruno timed it so we weren't anywhere with the masses. When we did the coral gardens - we had it all to ourselves. It was definitely one of the BEST tours we have ever done in 18 cruises!

 

My camera is an older digital Canon Elf Powershot 5500 with an underwater casing. I'm actually going to have to replace it because it has some problems when it gets too hot. I had to crop most of the pictures a bit to make them look OK and to take out some dark spots that seem to appear around the edges of the pictures when it is acting up. But, it has been an awesome camera for me until recently!