Options at end of PG Cruise

We are thinking about booking the PG for a 10 day cruise. We want to use miles for my airfare so we will be on our own from airport to hotel to cruise. My question is what are my options post cruise for the time between leaving the ship and the late night flight. Can someone please comment on any tours offered. I am aware of the day room option which seems a little pricey at $298 for two. Any information would be appreciated.

Since I wrote this request I've had several conversations with Paul Gauguin Cruises. Since there have been many views on this post I thought I would share with you what I found out. If you book the day room through PG you may stay on the ship until after lunch around 1-1:30 PM. Otherwise you need to be off by 9 AM. Not sure we know what we are going to do based on this fact. If you book the day room you get lunch on board, a small 2 hour tour and transportation to the Radison for a day room. At 8 PM they pick you up at the Radison and take you to the airport. Probably not a bad deal for $148. I'm not sure what we are going to do but we did end up with the late night flight back to LAX. I hope this information is helpful. You can confirm by calling PG direct. This is what I was told by them. Very helpful, friendly and answered all my questions.

We were on the 11 night cruise about 7 weeks ago and had the post cruise "package". For clarification, those with the day room had the option of either going directly to the hotel at noon or going on a 2.5 hour tour, also leaving at noon. If you did not have a PG package you had to leave the ship by I believe 10am.

 

We did the tour and in hindsight I would not have done that. We did not get to the hotel until almost 3:00 pm and we were told that we had to vacate the room by 6:00 pm with departure at 7:30 pm. Not a lot of time in the room. The tour was nothing special and I would, next time, get off the ship earlier in the morning and get to the hotel. While the room might not be available the beach and pool looked great. We made the mistake of not having our bathing suits available.

Flight Medic ~ Can you give me some details as to what is the 2.5 hr tour? Like a bus tour around Papeete ?

Thanks in advance!

Agree with Flight Medic55, although the tour wasn't bad, the hotel was quite nice but our time there was short and rushed. If we could do it over we would have skipped the tour, and enjoyed the hotel/facilities more. Beware however, food/drink/everything off the ship is way pricey. We were glad we had some munchies/water in our day pack. That $8 bottle of water after the long hot wait at the airport was a shockeroo after the open indulgence we enjoyed onboard!:eek:

We thought the tour was extremely boring. Museum, sacred site. Nothing special. When we go back on PG in January, we plan to skip the tour and go directly to Radisson after lunch. Assume we will have to cab it.

I agree about the bus tour--the only good thing was the trip to the mueum, which has many artifacts related to the history and anthropology of Polynesia. So if this interests you, go. Otherwise, you can go straight to the Radisson and sit by the pool or have a swim--sometimes they'll even let you have your room early.

Thank you everyone! Sounds like we'll be skipping the tour as well in Oct!

Need some relax time at the hotel beach/pool before the flight home :)

Thanks to everyone who added input to this thread. If anyone has additional thoughts or ideas please post. Has anyone out there ever booked a day room on their own?

Thanks to everyone who added input to this thread. If anyone has additional thoughts or ideas please post. Has anyone out there ever booked a day room on their own?

We took the Fiji-Tahiti cruise in May 2010. Since I booked through an online source, that I cannot mention here, I had to schedule our own airfare and transfers. I realize you are not going to Fiji, but we took a taxi, had breakfast, stayed in our dayroom until time to get on ship and taxied to the ship for under $100 US total for two. PG wanted $700 plus. In Tahiti I had looked into a dayroom in a Motel across from the airport. I cannot remember the cost they quoted but it was way cheaper than PGs dayroom. More importantly however, we controlled our destiny and were much more refreshed upon arrival than the others. Not as fancy but very adequate. Taxi to motel in Fiji was accomplished before others were even close to finishing their required orchid tour after the all night flight. For the end of our trip I chickened out and used the PG bus and dayroom including a tour. Regreted it. If you don't mind doing a little computer inquirey ahead of time and don't need 5 star room for several hours and like to relax, I highly recommend booking on your own.

My wife and I are going on the PG Oct 23rd, and like most, are flying out on Oct 30th at 11:30p, and we are still quite undecided about our plans for the full day post cruise, so we really appreciate this thread and the advice

 

For now we decided to play it by ear, see if we end up meeting another couple (or two) we enjoy spending time with, find out what they are doing that day, and maybe then make a decision mid-cruise, since it seems quite easy to book the PG day option once on board, and with the internet, one can book a resort so easily (if not have one's TA do so state-side) last min

 

It sounds like unless you can get an early check-in at a resort (like 10:00a) so one can have have a full day in PPT, it seems more worthwhile to book via PG, stay on the ship through lunch, let em transport you, (and luggage) and buy the Radisson Day room package (and skip the tour option)

 

My question is for those who have spent time in PPT itself, is whether the city itself is worth exploring, on one's own, outside of a resort, so to speak, not through a PG Tour, etc

 

Thx

jeff n Tara

Oct 23 PG

In reading through this thread - I see that some people book a dayroom through PG tour at the Radisson. We are scheduled to sail on June 29, 2011 but the dayroom is included in our package. Is this because we are doing a post-cruise 4 day package in Moorea? Our package includes all transportation, pick up at airport transport us to ship. We stay on the PG until 12 or 1PM (have lunch onboard) and then get transported to Moorea. At Moorea someone will be picking us up and transporting us to the IC Moorea. When we are done at Moorea we are transported back to the Pier to Papeete and someone will meet us and take us to the Radisson dayroom until it is time to go to the airport. they will again pick us up and take us to the airport for our flight to LAX.

 

Is this something new for 2011? I just want to make sure that I fully understand and that there are no mishaps or miscommunication. We booked this trip by ourselves after doing extensive research on the internet. I have spoken with Cindy Cabalo and others at PG Sales office and they were very pleasant and explained everything to us. We never use a travel agent when booking any of our exotic travels with the exception of our trip to Egypt, Red Sea and the Dead Sea.

 

:rolleyes:

Buburin,

 

When PG was run by regent they always provided us with a day room from about 2 or 3 in the afternoon until check out for the airport 7 or so. I understand that the new owners continue this pratice. At one point they used to take us to the hotel at about 10 and then we would hand out and have lunch there before getting our rooms.

This is definitely not new.

My question is for those who have spent time in PPT itself, is whether the city itself is worth exploring, on one's own, outside of a resort, so to speak, not through a PG Tour, etc

 

Thx

jeff n Tara

Oct 23 PG

 

I hope you still read this before your departure. Papeete is small, but I have always enjoyed it, a busy South Pacific town with an interesting market hall frequented by local people and tourists alike.

 

In town, we bought a pearl necklace one year, tropical print cloth another ear, shopped for French books, walked along the waterfront, and sat in a cafe people watching.

 

You need no tour guide to explore the town. There is a tourist office with maps at the waterfront.

 

For fun, you could take the big slow ferry over to Moorea and return with it. The fast ferries are not good for sightseeing. All ferries depart at the downtown waterfront.

 

I wouldn't know, however, what to do with luggage. We always stayed at a downtown hotel overnight.

Thanks Floridiana

 

We are currently in Bora Bora but join the PG on Sat, and we would really love to check out the city on our last day, as we're a little resorted out so to speak, not that where we are isn't stunning, but we're itching for some non-resort action, so we're looking forward to getting off our lagoon island to dine on shore at Villa Mahana, Bloody Mary's, La Matira Beach, etc

 

So the last thing we'll need is another day at a resort in PPT per se, (we already spent a night at the Marama suites, what a great hotel, but nowheere near anything you can walk too) but of course, if the Raddisson is downtown or close by cab, why not? If not, for our lifestyle and wants, maybe we will look into a more downtown hotel for a day room, etc, where we can drop of our luggage

 

Thx so much

jc - toronto

Hey guys, hope you are having a great time, or will be having one soon!

 

If you want to do something different, you could rent a car for the day and drive around Tahiti, ending at the airport for your flight. I've not done this, so don't know all the details, but have considered it. Having a guidebook would help with this.

 

Not sure where you'd pick up the car, you might have to take a cab to the airport to do this, but I'm sure that info is somewhere, perhaps on the Pacific Islands board.

 

There are also tour guides in Tahiti who can offer you 4x4 trips up into the mountains, I believe.

 

And yes, the dayroom option has always been included for folks buying Air from the cruise line. It's very nice at the Radisson, but yes, a bit isolated. It's different though, with a gorgeous black sand beach (no reef, so no snorkelling.)

We stayed downtown in the Hotel Tiare next to the Post Office. It is not very quiet because Boulevard Pomare between the hotel and the waterfront is very busy. They have some rooms in the sidestreet, but you won't see the sunset over Moorea from there.

 

This is not a resort hotel, it is simple and clean. I have only seen Europeans there never Americans, who seem to go to the resort hotels. The reports on tripadvisor are uneven.

 

We prefer this hotel whenever we need to stay near town, been there on various trips over time and would stay there again because it is in walking distance to the Roulottes, the ferries, the cruiseship dock, the stores, and the post office.

Again, thanks to everyone who has commented on this thread. The information is very helpful. As others come home from their PG trips please let us all know what you did between leaving the ship and arriving at the airport.

we end up going with the tour on 10/30 b4 heading out to Radission. Like everyone said, the tour is kinda whatever with stops at the James Hall Museum, a beach stop with a lighthouse, and a beautiful waterfall. The best part was the waterfall, however it was a MOSQUITO buffet area!! I had bug spray with me but it was all packed in the suitcase already. Just a warning to wear long pants and/or be ready with bug spray if u're going w. the tour. I'm still scratching as I'm typing this!

 

We did arrived at Radission around 330p and had to ck out by 7p. I had a short nap and shower....We still had time for dinner at the hotel restaurant b4 taking the bus to the airport. I'll try to write a review of the cruise later this week.

For those of you who have recently cruised on the PG any new thoughts or suggestions for what to do after the cruise and before the airport?

Upon disembarking we will catch a taxi to the airport to rent a car (Hertz), then drop our bags off at the Tahiti Airport Hotel, then explore Papaeete and the Intercontinental Beachcomber Resort near our hotel. We have the hotel for 24 hours, can check in at 2 pm. The beach at the resort is said to be pretty, so we'll check out their snorkeling, also the sunset from there over Moorea is said to be gorgeous. We'll drive to the roulettes in the evening for dinner. And drive to the airport in time for our after midnight flight back to Hawaii. Also there's a McDonald's 2 blocks from our hotel.

Wilcoam, We are going on PG Jan 15th and booked a precruise extension in Bora Bora. Did you stay at the thelasso spa or Le Moana. We have chosen Le Moana based on reviews we read here and other places. My question is this: The pre-cruise extension is listed as 4 days (3 days on in the islands). It turns out to be only 3 days. Why do they say four days. What happened to my 4th day. I was pretty upset about this but am trying to get over it. Any info you can offer would be much appreciated. Thanks!

A lot of you on this board have returned from the PG since this thread started. Any new insights into what you did at the end of your cruise and reviews of the different options would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Our last day in Papaeete was wonderful. We basically did those things we planned to do in my post of Nov. 21st. All our baggage was outside under a big tent and high security on the dock right off the boat. The taxi to the airport cost $25, which we had booked early, when we caught it from the airport to the pier to embark. (That ride cost us $30, since it was 11 pm. The ship waited for us Saturday night.) Then we didn't have to pay the $15 charge for the boat calling to book for us. Our taxi was wonderful - Fifi's Best Taxi in Tahiti, that I had booked by emailing her.

 

The Hertz girl was very nice and gave us an upgraded car for the cheapest price for A/C. It was a manual shift, but worked very well.

 

I can't say enough about how nice the Tahiti Airport Motel was. They let us check in early to a room with no view, but a king-sized bed and good A/C and a good refrigerator. It was just what we wanted. We could chill, nap, and then venture out to explore Papaeete. I booked the motel room through Orbitz, and we had paid for a queen-sized bed room.

 

We did a town walk and it was HOT at 4 pm. Got some high quality tee shirts at the shopping center. Walked along the quay and enjoyed the green manicured lawn beside the boardwalk.

 

We got to the Intercontinental Beachcomber Hotel just at sunset time, and did indeed see the beautiful sunset behind Moorea from the hotel lobby.

 

We didn't feel like driving back in to Papaeete from Faaa for the Roulettes, so instead went to the Ocean Restaurant half a block from the motel. It is a Chinese mostly counter take out that I had read a blog on. We ordered rice with sweet and sour shrimp and took it back to our room. Delicious! The shrimp were huge. I must also say that locals came up to the counter carrying their own pots and bowls to pick up dinner in. Very environmentally friendly! I must also say that we took about 8 bottles of water and sodas from our cabin refrigerator on the ship and our fruit, and ate and drank it all. (The motel refrigerator kept them nice and cold.) An ice cream bar and ice cream cone at the airport cost $12!

 

The airport was a mess. All the flights were packed with Christmas travelers and getting through security was extremely slow. Thinking our flight direct to Hawaii would be less crowded, we got to the airport 2 1/2 hours before our flight. It took us two hours to get through security. Air Tahiti Nui passengers were so delayed by security that their flight was 2 1/2 hours late.

 

Since I had booked the motel room for 24 hours, we were able to enjoy its air conditioned comfort up until the last minute, before we had to be at the airport.

 

By now you must know that I am very frugal. We saved a lot by not taking the cruise ship's post cruise package and were able to do exactly what we wanted to do independently.

 

Finally, our 14-day cruise on the Paul Gauguin was pure heaven! Two weeks of pure bliss! The staff couldn't have been nicer, our meals were awesome, and we met two very special people. We did our own excursions to save money, and got tattoos!

Lots of post cruise suggestions. On disembarkation I assume you pick up your "checked" luggage on the pier. If you go on the tour and end up at the Radisson do you take your luggage to your room? i.e. your luggage goes in storage on the bus tour. Is the bus like a European tour bus or a school bus?

Does your "checked" luggage go from the pier to the airport directly? and you pick it up there before check in?

Is a room safe available at the Radisson in case you go to the beach or pool?