Jump to content

FlightMedic555

Members
  • Posts

    1,719
  • Joined

Recent Profile Visitors

The recent visitors block is disabled and is not being shown to other users.

FlightMedic555's Achievements

Cool Cruiser

Cool Cruiser (2/15)

  1. There are companies there but reserve in advance for the best options. On Bora Bora look at Reef Discovery Pure Snorkeling tour or at their sister company Lagoon Services.
  2. If you look at the monthly weather the best chance for minimal rain would be June-Sept. this is when we have always gone, actually July or August, and last year had 1 day of rain over our 15 nights. Obviously it could be lousy weather at any time of the year but July-August is historicsllly the best
  3. Been on PG 8 times. Windstar this coming July. While Oceania is not a big ship 600+ passengers is still big for these ports. I would choose the smaller ship. If it works for your schedule I would try to delay until at least April when the weather may be better
  4. The beach is beautiful and usually available both days. There are no bathrooms, no food, and a very limited amount of chairs. They do have a cooler with some drinks. There is little shade. You should definitely do some type of snorkel/lagoon tour on one day (some are full day, some are half day) and then spend an hour or two in town (at the tender location) to shop/look around. From what I have seen most who go to the motu stay for only a couple of hours, at most. The snorkeling is average at best as most of the water is crystal clear with a sandy bottom.
  5. We were on the PG for our 8th time this past July. We are trying Windstar in July of this year. Returning guests notice little things. No flowers in the rooms. No fruit in the rooms. No petit fours after dinner, only the same poor cookies every night. At the repeaters cocktail party the captain was expected but did not even have the courtesy to show up. New cruisers are offered OBC and a credit which rivals my discount although I have been on the ship 8 times. The PG fare has gone up and air is now no longer included. I am paying $2800 per person all in on the Windstar for one of the newer midship window cabins. 277 sq feet on the Windstar vs 200 on the PG. While I love the crew on the PG I have my doubts that the price difference is worth it i realize PG is all inclusive but we don’t drink. Even if we added in the all inclusive rate of $89 per person per night on the Windstar we would still be saving about $1-1.5k per person on Windstar. After my last cruise I sent a lengthy email to PG expressing my concerns. They acknowledged receipt but never contacted me I hope the Windstar is fantastic
  6. January is the rainy season for both. A number of years ago I did a cruise from Australia to Tahiti in January. We had to divert for two cyclones. When we finally made it to Tahiti the weather was great. If you have other options for time of year to travel I would stay away from the South Pacific from around Nov/Dec to March, just like I would be very cautious in going to the Caribbean during hurricane season.
  7. When you look on line the conversion rate you see is the bank rate that you may not be able to obtain. The best rate that we saw was from the ATM at the PPT airport. That rate was about 1000 cfp (or xpf) = about $9.15 USD. You do need to add in any ATM fees that you may have. The rate at the staffed currency exchange window was about 10% worse and there was an $8 fee per transaction with a limit of $500 USD per transaction.
  8. Tea time every day from 3:30 - 4:30. Finger sandwiches, fruit, ice cream, etc. Taxi from airport, or Intercontinental, or Hilton to the cruise pier is about $25 USD plus or minus a few dollars. Simple from all as they line up at the airport and the hotel concierge will call for one. They will accept USD or local XPF. If USD they convert 1000 XPF = $10 USD. The Hilton is very nice, clean and modern. The Intercontinental has a much more Polynesian feel, I think better food and better pools. There is a mall across the street from the Hilton with a large supermarket.
  9. I did see ebike tours up to Belevedere this past July. They were part of a group. Not sure if you can rent independently.
  10. He is renowned for his work in Moorea. I doubt it is private. http://www.drmichaelpoole.com/
  11. Lots of info here. It is recommended that you use legitimate reef safe sunscreen to obviously preserve the coral. I wear a long sleeve rash guard (and sometimes pants as well). Minimizing the amount of skin exposed to the sun reduces the areas that need any sunscreen. https://www.tropicalsnorkeling.com/best-snorkeling-sunscreen/
  12. Fare Suisse is a nice pension in Papeete. The owner provides no cost transport from the airport to the pension and then free transport, when you need it, to the ferry or cruise. It is very simple and clean, but really no amenities. It is about a 4 minute walk to the waterfront and then another 10 minutes to the market. It is also about 2 blocks from a large supermarket.
  13. I suggest you bring your own mask and snorkel and borrow their fins. That way you will know that the mask fits. Some also prefer the full face snorkel. We will be on the Star Breeze in July.
  14. I would be comfortable in taking a ferry at 9am or later. You just need to look a the schedule to see your options.
×
×
  • Create New...