cruisernurse
May 21st, 2004, 08:49 PM
Day One: Pre-cruise
Flight on ATN 101 was great. Very attentive staff. Flight was the smoothest we have ever had. Landing was so soft you could hardly feel it touch down. I would recommend ATN to anyone. We took the LeTruck for $2.00 to the Beachcomber. The locals will tell you that it doesn’t run after dark. That is not true. It actually runs until 9pm. Just make sure if you are going to the Beachcomber go across the airport parking lot, up the stairs and stand at the bus hut on the same side of the road as the airport. The LeMeridian is a different story. Bus driver said it doesn’t run because it is so far out. Not sure about that though.
We stayed at the Tahiti Beachcomber. We were upgraded from a garden room to the panoramic view. The rooms were spacious, beautifully decorated, and quiet. The view was wonderful. We overlooked the sand bottom pool and had a great view of Moorea from our patio. The swimming pools were great. The lagoon looked nice. One of our buddies snorkeled and said it was pretty good. The food was very good, but was quite expensive. For the breakfast buffet the cost was $28.50pp. I ate a piece of toast for $1.65 and had a glass of water. My hubby went all out with the buffet and said it was very tasty.
Day 2
We left the hotel on 5-7 and headed to the airport to pick up our rental car from Avis. I had reserved it online. We were about to run the credit card through and I asked the lady if the car had air conditioning and she said no. My email had said it did. So we opted to just go to the ship and try a downtown rental agency the next day. Avis took us to the ship free of charge.
We got to the ship around 2:30. Fastest check-in ever. No pictures though since we were apparently there before they set up the photo props. We went straight to our room. Our luggage was there within 30mins. Our room was 6070. It was absolutely wonderful. Had a great balcony with 2 chairs and a small table. Quiet room, no motion, and was 1 floor above the dining room and 1 floor below the laundry room. Very close to the elevator too. Our room steward, Ernesto was very attentive. Had fresh fruit waiting for us and put a mattress pad on our bed. The mattress pad made our trip. I hate hard beds and this was the most comfortable bed I’d ever slept in on a ship. The room was nicely laid out and there was more than enough space for everything we had. There was not enough hangers, but we had brought an iron so that wasn’t a problem. The view from our room was awesome. We had several sunsets and sunrises too. I would tell you girls to bring your own hair dryer. The one provided is for VERY short hair only. The TV programs were pretty much non-existent. Of course we didn’t watch TV much anyway so it really didn’t bother us that much. Couldn’t tell you about the life boat drill since we didn’t attend it, but I didn’t hear much complaining about it though.
The buffet was a lot to be desired, but with the people leaving and the new ones coming on board we figured this was the reason for the quality of the food. We found that the buffet was just average for the rest of the trip. The pizza was to die for though. Remember that at night you only have the dining room and the pizza bar open to choose from unless you pay for alternative dining at Sterlings or Sabitini’s.
Day 3 Tahiti
We opted to not rent a car since it was a holiday in Tahiti. The traffic was bumper to bumper. Several of us met at the pier and did a circle island tour with Marama. It was a last minute thing, so it was a little chaotic, but we finally managed to get the tour started around 1030am and it lasted FOREVER! There was a woman on the bus that I would have like to put a sock in her mouth. If she didn’t ask 1000 questions I swear she asked a million! Her payback was that her credit card was turned down at lunch. She had her cell phone of all things and it rang and rang. I swear if she wasn’t asking questions she was talking on the dog gone phone. Were we proud to get rid of her. Only to find out she was staying 3 doors down from us.
The entertainment was pretty sad. Put us right to sleep. So we went back to the room and went to bed and slept like babies.
Day 4 Huahaine
ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL! I would love to go back here to stay for a few days. We did the Marc’s Motu picnic. $80pp. We had booked it over the net and it was as good as everyone said. The drift snorkeling was very fast. It felt like we had only been in the water about 10 min, but when they picked us up we had went a long distance. The picnic was delicious. The grilled tuna and barbeque chicken was really good. Remember, No bathrooms. If you are shy about using the restroom in the open, you might want to think about doing something else. Our outrigger pilot was so funny and very informative. He carried us around his island and took great pride in telling us all about his home.
We returned to the ship for dinner. Our dining room waiter was good, not the best we have had, but ok. The food was ok too. Not really good choices of desserts to choose from. The cheesecake was our choice most nights.
We skipped the entertainment that night. Too tired after a long day at sea.
Day 5 – Sea Day
Read by the pool, sun was hot, the band was pretty good. The hamburgers were great.
Formal night.
Day 6- Raratonga- Cook Islands- we rented a scoot car here. It was a blast. We rented it through Jetsave Travel over the net. $65NZ/all day. We did not get a Cook Island driver’s license, he didn’t require one. If you do this you need to know the cars are small, loud, and bumpy. My husband was exhausted after driving it all day. We stopped at the beach across from the Raratonga Fruit Stand. The snorkeling was great. We saw starfish, sea snake, and many colorful fish.
Day 7- Sea Day- rained most of the day. So we took several naps, read again and did nothing but rest. A great day to unwind.
Day 8- Raietea
We had booked a tour with Bruno (Tahaa Tours) months ago. Well as some of the previous post had said he doesn’t always show up. He said via email he would be at the pier at 8:30-9am. Well he didn’t come until later only to tell our group he would be back at 10. Well since we had waited on our first day for a couple of hours, my husband and I decided we only had a short time to do something on this island, so I found Stephan with Mata Tours for $40pp for the whole day and we did his tour. He was great, funny, musical, and gave a fun trip. We did more with him than Bruno had said he would do and we saved $60. We fed stingrays, fed sharks, did the coral gardens, went to his private motu, had fruit, and he showed us a few vanilla bean plants. His motu overlooked Bora Bora. It was a LONG trip around the island. If I did this again, I would just tell him after his stop at his private motu that he could take us back the SHORT way the ship. He got us back in time to see the local dancers. This was the best entertainment of the whole cruise. Those children were so sweet and could they dance. I took way too many pictures, but it was worth it.
Day9- Bora Bora- We rented a car the first day and toured the island on our own. We got off the ship on the first tender and went straight to the Eurocar rental. I am proud we did that because within 5 minutes there were at least 10 couples standing in line to get a car.
That night we did the sunset cruise with Taravan (Richard Postma) and it was really great. Cost $65pp including drinks. The sunset wasn’t the best but it was still really nice. We watched the canoe teams practice at sunset. That was cool. We ate at Bloody Mary’s for lunch and it was very tasty. We also went back for dinner. We were disappointed for dinner. We were able to make it back for the 8pm tender. That was good, because the next ferry isn’t until 11pm. Not sure why there isn’t a tender at 9 or 10. A lot of the group did the 4x4 and really enjoyed it.
Day 10- Bora Bora- . Almost all of our group went on the Sharkboy tour. The water was so clear and the sharks were numerous. My husband had fed the sharks with Mata tours and seemed to enjoy those better. The cost was $55pp. He took us over to a motu, then did a brief snorkel. The current was strong, so some opted to stay in the boat. I have to say I was exhausted after just a few minutes of that snorkel experience.
Day 11 Moorea- We did the helmet dive with Aquablue. What can I say, it was unbelievable. An experience I will not forget. You don’t have to know how to really swim, you just have to make sure you don’t’ mind having your ears pop a little. He said you felt like an astronaut but I have to say it was difficult to try to run in the water with the weighted helmet on. But I would do it 100 times again. Cost $65pp
Day 12 post cruise
We got off the ship that morning by 8:30 so we could take the 9am ferry back to Moorea. We stayed at the Beachcomber. We didn’t get upgraded this time, but it was nice just the same. I have to say though this hotel isn’t as nice as the one in Tahiti. The food was good at the poolside bar and grill. The view wasn’t as nice from the pool either. The sunset was the best of the whole trip. We left the following afternoon and took the ferry back to Tahiti. We had dinner at the Beachcomber. We then proceeded to the airport. We checked in with ease and it wasn’t too long of a wait. We were pleasantly surprised. The flight home was long, but smooth. We are now home taking out a loan to pay for the 400 plus photos.
If you have any questions, please let me know.
Nancy
Flight on ATN 101 was great. Very attentive staff. Flight was the smoothest we have ever had. Landing was so soft you could hardly feel it touch down. I would recommend ATN to anyone. We took the LeTruck for $2.00 to the Beachcomber. The locals will tell you that it doesn’t run after dark. That is not true. It actually runs until 9pm. Just make sure if you are going to the Beachcomber go across the airport parking lot, up the stairs and stand at the bus hut on the same side of the road as the airport. The LeMeridian is a different story. Bus driver said it doesn’t run because it is so far out. Not sure about that though.
We stayed at the Tahiti Beachcomber. We were upgraded from a garden room to the panoramic view. The rooms were spacious, beautifully decorated, and quiet. The view was wonderful. We overlooked the sand bottom pool and had a great view of Moorea from our patio. The swimming pools were great. The lagoon looked nice. One of our buddies snorkeled and said it was pretty good. The food was very good, but was quite expensive. For the breakfast buffet the cost was $28.50pp. I ate a piece of toast for $1.65 and had a glass of water. My hubby went all out with the buffet and said it was very tasty.
Day 2
We left the hotel on 5-7 and headed to the airport to pick up our rental car from Avis. I had reserved it online. We were about to run the credit card through and I asked the lady if the car had air conditioning and she said no. My email had said it did. So we opted to just go to the ship and try a downtown rental agency the next day. Avis took us to the ship free of charge.
We got to the ship around 2:30. Fastest check-in ever. No pictures though since we were apparently there before they set up the photo props. We went straight to our room. Our luggage was there within 30mins. Our room was 6070. It was absolutely wonderful. Had a great balcony with 2 chairs and a small table. Quiet room, no motion, and was 1 floor above the dining room and 1 floor below the laundry room. Very close to the elevator too. Our room steward, Ernesto was very attentive. Had fresh fruit waiting for us and put a mattress pad on our bed. The mattress pad made our trip. I hate hard beds and this was the most comfortable bed I’d ever slept in on a ship. The room was nicely laid out and there was more than enough space for everything we had. There was not enough hangers, but we had brought an iron so that wasn’t a problem. The view from our room was awesome. We had several sunsets and sunrises too. I would tell you girls to bring your own hair dryer. The one provided is for VERY short hair only. The TV programs were pretty much non-existent. Of course we didn’t watch TV much anyway so it really didn’t bother us that much. Couldn’t tell you about the life boat drill since we didn’t attend it, but I didn’t hear much complaining about it though.
The buffet was a lot to be desired, but with the people leaving and the new ones coming on board we figured this was the reason for the quality of the food. We found that the buffet was just average for the rest of the trip. The pizza was to die for though. Remember that at night you only have the dining room and the pizza bar open to choose from unless you pay for alternative dining at Sterlings or Sabitini’s.
Day 3 Tahiti
We opted to not rent a car since it was a holiday in Tahiti. The traffic was bumper to bumper. Several of us met at the pier and did a circle island tour with Marama. It was a last minute thing, so it was a little chaotic, but we finally managed to get the tour started around 1030am and it lasted FOREVER! There was a woman on the bus that I would have like to put a sock in her mouth. If she didn’t ask 1000 questions I swear she asked a million! Her payback was that her credit card was turned down at lunch. She had her cell phone of all things and it rang and rang. I swear if she wasn’t asking questions she was talking on the dog gone phone. Were we proud to get rid of her. Only to find out she was staying 3 doors down from us.
The entertainment was pretty sad. Put us right to sleep. So we went back to the room and went to bed and slept like babies.
Day 4 Huahaine
ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL! I would love to go back here to stay for a few days. We did the Marc’s Motu picnic. $80pp. We had booked it over the net and it was as good as everyone said. The drift snorkeling was very fast. It felt like we had only been in the water about 10 min, but when they picked us up we had went a long distance. The picnic was delicious. The grilled tuna and barbeque chicken was really good. Remember, No bathrooms. If you are shy about using the restroom in the open, you might want to think about doing something else. Our outrigger pilot was so funny and very informative. He carried us around his island and took great pride in telling us all about his home.
We returned to the ship for dinner. Our dining room waiter was good, not the best we have had, but ok. The food was ok too. Not really good choices of desserts to choose from. The cheesecake was our choice most nights.
We skipped the entertainment that night. Too tired after a long day at sea.
Day 5 – Sea Day
Read by the pool, sun was hot, the band was pretty good. The hamburgers were great.
Formal night.
Day 6- Raratonga- Cook Islands- we rented a scoot car here. It was a blast. We rented it through Jetsave Travel over the net. $65NZ/all day. We did not get a Cook Island driver’s license, he didn’t require one. If you do this you need to know the cars are small, loud, and bumpy. My husband was exhausted after driving it all day. We stopped at the beach across from the Raratonga Fruit Stand. The snorkeling was great. We saw starfish, sea snake, and many colorful fish.
Day 7- Sea Day- rained most of the day. So we took several naps, read again and did nothing but rest. A great day to unwind.
Day 8- Raietea
We had booked a tour with Bruno (Tahaa Tours) months ago. Well as some of the previous post had said he doesn’t always show up. He said via email he would be at the pier at 8:30-9am. Well he didn’t come until later only to tell our group he would be back at 10. Well since we had waited on our first day for a couple of hours, my husband and I decided we only had a short time to do something on this island, so I found Stephan with Mata Tours for $40pp for the whole day and we did his tour. He was great, funny, musical, and gave a fun trip. We did more with him than Bruno had said he would do and we saved $60. We fed stingrays, fed sharks, did the coral gardens, went to his private motu, had fruit, and he showed us a few vanilla bean plants. His motu overlooked Bora Bora. It was a LONG trip around the island. If I did this again, I would just tell him after his stop at his private motu that he could take us back the SHORT way the ship. He got us back in time to see the local dancers. This was the best entertainment of the whole cruise. Those children were so sweet and could they dance. I took way too many pictures, but it was worth it.
Day9- Bora Bora- We rented a car the first day and toured the island on our own. We got off the ship on the first tender and went straight to the Eurocar rental. I am proud we did that because within 5 minutes there were at least 10 couples standing in line to get a car.
That night we did the sunset cruise with Taravan (Richard Postma) and it was really great. Cost $65pp including drinks. The sunset wasn’t the best but it was still really nice. We watched the canoe teams practice at sunset. That was cool. We ate at Bloody Mary’s for lunch and it was very tasty. We also went back for dinner. We were disappointed for dinner. We were able to make it back for the 8pm tender. That was good, because the next ferry isn’t until 11pm. Not sure why there isn’t a tender at 9 or 10. A lot of the group did the 4x4 and really enjoyed it.
Day 10- Bora Bora- . Almost all of our group went on the Sharkboy tour. The water was so clear and the sharks were numerous. My husband had fed the sharks with Mata tours and seemed to enjoy those better. The cost was $55pp. He took us over to a motu, then did a brief snorkel. The current was strong, so some opted to stay in the boat. I have to say I was exhausted after just a few minutes of that snorkel experience.
Day 11 Moorea- We did the helmet dive with Aquablue. What can I say, it was unbelievable. An experience I will not forget. You don’t have to know how to really swim, you just have to make sure you don’t’ mind having your ears pop a little. He said you felt like an astronaut but I have to say it was difficult to try to run in the water with the weighted helmet on. But I would do it 100 times again. Cost $65pp
Day 12 post cruise
We got off the ship that morning by 8:30 so we could take the 9am ferry back to Moorea. We stayed at the Beachcomber. We didn’t get upgraded this time, but it was nice just the same. I have to say though this hotel isn’t as nice as the one in Tahiti. The food was good at the poolside bar and grill. The view wasn’t as nice from the pool either. The sunset was the best of the whole trip. We left the following afternoon and took the ferry back to Tahiti. We had dinner at the Beachcomber. We then proceeded to the airport. We checked in with ease and it wasn’t too long of a wait. We were pleasantly surprised. The flight home was long, but smooth. We are now home taking out a loan to pay for the 400 plus photos.
If you have any questions, please let me know.
Nancy