Brief Review of Paul Gauguin Aug 16-27

[NJBelle]

Hello All,

 

Just wanted to give a brief review of our recent trip on PG. We have traveled on all the other Regent ships, and also Silversea and Crystal. Overall, we had a fabulous time. Would definitely do it again. We chose this due to the length, the number of sea days (we love them!) and the inclusion of the Marquesas. We thought the captain was great, the CD (Dionnne, the first woman CD on Regent) was wonderful and the Ambassadors of the Environment (AOTE) program was just the best. We had absolutely wonderful weather, too!

 

Rooms - not much more to add to others comments. They were smaller than the other Regent ships, but still very nice. Good use of space. Flat screen TV. Even with 3 people it was fine, but would definitely reserve a balcony. Lots of nice opportunities to enjoy some fresh air and wonderful views on this cruise.

 

Food - was very good. On an 11 day cruise, we ate in CR 7 times, La Veranda 3 times and Le Grille one time. All were very good, although we would give the service in CR a higher grade that LV. Le Grille was fun (and they really can make it seem like a nice evening restaurant even though it is the same place you have breakfast and lunch) but the service is more casual. One night we had a special evening in CR - the M'D was great to set this up and we had just wonderful service. Dennis in CR is great.

 

Front Desk - I have to mention this since it is the only "no" we heard all cruise. We realized that in Bora Bora the next day that we would not have time to come back on board the ship for lunch. Although we went personally to the FD before dinner and asked for a box lunch, we were told "no more box lunches". We had no alternative. Not 6 star service.

 

AOTE - this is just an absolutely wonderful program. Our daughter is 13 and so we signed her up for $199. Best money we ever spent. The two naturalists - Ben and Hideyo - were so great. They were good with kids of all ages, but also good with the parents as well (who were welcome to attend all the sessions). Ben and Hideyo were so knowledgeable that I came away with so much information, and still felt like I had had the most relaxing vacation possible. Please don't hesitate to sign up for the Ambassadors of the Environment if you get a chance. Very worthwhile.

 

Enrichment - Again, we really just thought we were going on a wonderfully relaxing vacation - which we had. But, we also went to the lectures by Mark Eddowes and also by Jacqueline somebody (I am doing this without notes). Mark was incredible and I learned so much about the area and the culture. Jacqueline was so much fun and so enthusiastic about Paul Gauguin, so I want to acknowledge that as well.

 

Excursions - mostly we went on the AOTE excursions (included in the fee for our daughter) but we did do a few. Any diving excursion is just wonderful since the marina staff is so good. Dominique was phenomenal. Robert taught our daughter to water ski just like that! Also, I took the "Helmet" - kind of like snuba - excursion in Bora Bora. Definitely consider this - it is a cross between scuba and snorkeling and was so much fun. I think these are offered in Moorea and BB - but they may be different. I would definitely recommend the one in BB. In Moorea, we took Dr. Michael Poole's whale watch and had a lot of fun. Saw whales and learned alot from Micheal himself. Definitely recommended.

 

Pre-cruise - We recommend that you come in early. We did and went to Moorea for 4 days. Went to Sheraton and stayed in an Over Water Bungalow and it was FABULOUS! Definitely recommend it. (If you do want to do an OWB at the Sheraton, then don't forget to get a Starwood account first to get the discount).

 

Hope this is useful to future cruisers to this area. We loved it and will be doing it again in the next few years.

 

Best, NJBelle

[Travelcat2]

I enjoyed reading your review -- especially since you have been on other Regent ships and luxury cruise lines -- this gave you a good basis for comparison. It was particularly good to hear that the food quality was "very good".

 

Not surprised that you heard "no" from the front desk. These employees (usually contractors) are, in my opinion, the worst representation of Regent. I have rarely heard of someone receiving excellent service from this area. Did the FD indicate that they were no longer doing box lunches? This is the first I have heard of this change of policy. Wonder if you were given accurate information.

 

Hopefully, Regent is able to keep up the food and service during their last year (2009). If they are fortunate enough to purchase the PG as rumored, I would sail her again as they would bring her up to the level of other Regent ships.

[CruiserPK]

Thanks NJ Belle for such a thorough review. We are leaving on Friday for our trip (8 nights pre cruise- 3 Tahiti, 5 Moorea) then on the PG for 14 nights. I am glad you enjoyed Dr. Poole's excursion....it has received mixed reviews and we thought it sounded great. Having cruised Regent numerous times, I was wondering if you are at the level where they have a special shore/ship event. Did they offer this on the PG? I am curious what they will do for the gold, plat., titanium event. Thanks for any input.

Cheers, Pam

[NJBelle]

Hi, in response to the question about box lunches, I got the impression that they did do box lunches, but had somehow reached their limit. So they meant that "no one else can get a box lunch now" for Bora Bora. I pushed pretty hard and then one guy said they would "check". Then about 15 min later they called my stateroom and said I should just get room service. Again, not what I wanted to hear!

 

We are still at Silver, so we did get our Internet and free telephone calling (was actually helpful when we need to call my daughter's orthodontist about a wire gone wild). I didn't hear anyone talking about their levels or any special event for their higher levels. The Society party had a lesser percentage attending than for regular cruises (that is, non Tahiti cruises) and I would guess that is due to many taking this as a first cruise on Regent (like the honeymooners, etc).

 

There were lots of very nice people on this cruise. In addition to some families (like ours) and several sets of honeymooners, it was a bit older of a crowd than I had predicted, but the ones who choose a cruise like this seem to be the very active ones.

 

Best, NJBelle

[RachelG]

Enjoyed your report. What you observed is right in line with our experience last year. The only ship's personnel we had any problem with were the front desk. One lady acted like she just didn't want to be bothered when my son went to check out a DVD, so I went down myself. Not like there were lines of people needing help with things--she just had a bit of attitude.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Interesting about the level of service in La Veranda versus L'Etoile.

 

I haven't eaten in LV since they changed to concept to French Bistro from Apicius, but I do remember the maitre'd there. He was a tall, thin Germanic-accented man, whose name I can't remember, but something like Helmut. Was he the MD by any chance? He always struck me as being stiff-necked and a bit too efficient.

[Emdee]

Wendy, Ivan is the MD in La Veranda. The last time I went he was MD in L'Etoile. We went a few times and found the service good on all but one day when it was spotty. I agree though that L'Etoile was excellent - best we have ever had on the PG in service and food and that Dennis is great.

 

NJBelle, you will have to book the PG for next year as its out of commission after that. We have booked for next year's November trip to Fiji.

 

Miriam

[spagirl83]

In you post you mentioned, "In Moorea, we took Dr. Michael Poole's whale watch and had a lot of fun. Saw whales and learned a lot from Micheal himself. Definitely recommended." What did you like about it so much, anything special?

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Miriam, thanks. I guess that could all change by December in any case. Doesn't sound like Ivan is the guy I remember. Franco has always been our MD in the past, he was on the ship for the longest time, but has now branched out into moving from ship to ship--saw him on Navigator in 2007. Great MD.

 

I know that Siglo and Hal will be gone--wonder what kind of entertainment we'll have?

[vaitape]

We think the tall thin Germanic fellow's name is Manfred...he really is sweet, especially after a day on the motu after an assault by a water squirt gun....no kidding! Good fun....and lots of laughs. There was an Ivan who was in charge of the Grill in 2006.....same fellow who is MD for LV now? Is Raffey still onboard?

 

Is the PG "going out of commission in 2010" or is the Regent's lease just expiring? .......can't see her going into dry dock in January 2009 only to be mothballed in 2010.

 

Wendy, can your travel agency obtain the entertainer schedule for the Dec cruise? We've not heard Siglo before....Amy Abler was an entertainer on the PG when we cruised. She was great and super personable. Perhaps she will take Hal's place?

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Vaitape, yes, Manfred! Glad he has loosened up a bit, but then we had a bit of a set-to with him in 2005 (the famous buffet dinner, which I'm sure you remember reading about.)

 

Oh wow, you've missed Siglo! I've heard less-than thrilling things about the replacement bands, but I'm hoping they have improved by now, since they must rotate bands on a regular basis. Siglo is on the ship right now, do you have a fall cruise planned? I know they won't be on in December, because Texed asked. I've heard about Amy, so here's hoping.

[poolechick]

We thought Amy Abler was really really horrible when we were on the PG in March '07. We're THRILLED that Hal will be on board for our cruise in 9 days! We've loved him since our first PG trip in '05.

[vaitape]

Wendy: yes, we have that cruise planned. Still trying to work out air.

Poolchick: sorry to hear that you didn't find Amy to your liking. Oh well...Hal will be there for your cruise.

[NJBelle]

Hello All, I realized I made two mistakes in my original review, but I don't know how to edit. So, I will apologize for referring to L'Etoile as Compass Rose, but I think most of you knew what I meant. However, I realized that that I got my location wrong for the Helmet dive. The one I took was in Moorea, not Bora Bora. It is offered in both places, but mine was in Moorea, and was great.

 

Also, someone asked earlier what I liked about Michael's excursion in Moorea. Well, for starters, we saw two sets of whales quite close, including one mother and baby. And his personal enthusiasm and knowledge is just hard to beat. He loves what he does and loves teaching others about it. That is infectious and made us really love the excursion.

Best, NJBelle

[ORV]

Raffey was in charge in LeGrill.

 

I'll put in a plug for the afternoon bartender in LaPalette, Teresita, she's great fun. She also serves drinks during dinner in Le Etoile.

 

The service crew in the restaurants were all very good. Better in the evening than lunch and dinner but still good and attentive most of the time.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

So, I will apologize for referring to L'Etoile as Compass Rose, but I think most of you knew what I meant. However, I realized that that I got my location wrong for the Helmet dive. The one I took was in Moorea, not Bora Bora. It is offered in both places, but mine was in Moorea, and was great.

 

Don't worry about it--I've been known to refer to the deck 4 E cabin as a "G", since this is the Voyager equivalent (in terms of rank, not size, obviously.)

 

For the helmet dive, how deep were you, and did you see just lots of fish, or was there coral involved as well? I've never done this, since I love regular snorkeling, but I'm wondering if my husband might like it.

[ORV]

 

Better in the evening than lunch and dinner

 

 

Should be breakfast and lunch, dooh

[Cruisedreamer1]

Is Laksman still on the PG? He worked both the pool bar and the piano bar near the casino? He made the best lattes(really Starbucks like) on boardship! He had worked at a Starbucks in the Middle East prior to the Regent. He really is a sweet young man.

[Emdee]

Yes Lakshman is still on board. If I knew about his lattes I would have asked him for one.