Review: Society Island and Tuamotus, Oct 2-12

This review, to be posted in pieces over several days, covers my trip on the M/S Paul Gauguin between 2 and 12 October 2013, the “Society Islands and Tuamotus” itinerary. I will address general topics in this thread. Two additional specialty threads will be posted, one on Dining and Food and the other on Diving.

First, let me say that I was very ambivalent about this cruise prior to departure. My previous cruise experience has been limited to a dozen voyages on Cunard (excellent) and two Princess cruises (Walmart-at-sea). As a solo traveler, I was concerned that I might be surrounded by lovey-dovey honeymooners, major-anniversary celebrants, and organized tour groups. And while each was present on the trip, I definitely did NOT feel isolated or uncomfortable. In fact, I had a great time meeting and greeting people from all over the world. More on that below under Social. My other concern centered on food. I am a “foodie”, and I know that provisioning a large ship in the remote South Pacific imposes certain major limitations. I was pleasantly surprised, however, as the food exceeded what I had hoped for and was at times better than what I’ve had on Cunard (though it’s not difficult to exceed Princess!). See the Dining and Food thread for an in-depth discussion.

Despite my pre-cruise trepidation, I enjoyed this cruise immensely. So much so that I am booking again for next year, same itinerary. The ship is beautiful, the crew is amazing, the itinerary is perfect, and the experience is magical. Of course there were occasional hiccups, but they were all part of the adventure, and most passengers took them well in stride. But even those for whom serious issues arose during the trip (see Incidents and Accidents below) still seemed to enjoy the trip overall and did not let those inconveniences spoil their fun. I know that a few past reviewers have questioned the claim by PG that it offers a “5-Star” experience, but I can only assume that those reviewers were unreasonably demanding. My experience was definitely “5-Star” and exceeded my highest hopes.

GETTING THERE:

I used the PG air package, taking Air Tahiti Nui from LAX on the morning of embarkation. I do NOT recommend this option. ATN was fine ... I have no real complaint there. It’s the timing that did not work for me. After driving 2.5 hours from my home in Palm Springs to LAX, checking in as early as modern security restrictions require, flying over 8 hours, and transferring to the ship, I was absolutely delirious with fatigue and jetlag. The flight arrived at 9:30 PM, but it took over an hour to get through immigration and customs at the airport, so that we got to the ship at about 11PM. It was well after midnight local time when I got to the cabin, got unpacked, and got to bed. Yet in order to make the excursions the following day in the first port of call, Huahine, I had to be out of bed by 7AM. So I had less than 7 hours sleep, and thus started my trip in a state of exhaustion. It took me three days to “catch up”. Next time, I will fly Hawaiian Airlines from LAX to Honolulu, overnight there, then fly on to Tahiti and arrive at a civilized afternoon hour, free of jetlag and without rushing around.

My ATN flight was on the “Rangiroa”, one of the newly outfitted planes. And it was very nice. Bright, colorful, clean, very nice cabin crew. The seats were perhaps a bit narrow (they have a 2-4-2 configuration, but a 2-3-2 would have been MUCH better) and the cabin a bit cold (the crew were wearing fleece jackets!), but that’s modern air travel for you.

We arrived in a pouring rain and had to run across the tarmac to the terminal building (no jetways). The high humidity was like a slap in the face. We were greeted by a group of Tahitian singers and dancers, which made the long wait to clear passport control a little less painful. PG reps met us on the other side with smiles and leis, which lightened the mood considerably. On to an air-conditioned tour bus while PG managed my luggage for me, then a quick drive to the ship. We had to walk only about 20 feet from the bus to the gangway, which is good when you are too tired to walk! More smiling crew greeted us with champagne in the Grand Salon for a very quick registration, then we were escorted off to our cabins. All very smooth, well-organized, and relatively painless. The ship sailed exactly on time at 11:55 PM and without fanfare.

ACCOMMODATIONS:

I was in cabin 318, a lower level cabin with two large portholes. I thought the cabin itself was superb, exceeding any balcony-level cabin on Cunard (and of course it FAR exceeded Princess). It was very clean, and nicely decorated with Polynesian things, including a large stone tiki in a little wall niche. One wall was almost entirely mirrored, which gave a sense of greater space. There was ample closet space, and lots of cubbyholes in the wall for additional storage. The mini-fridge was fully stocked with Coca-Cola, Sprite, one American brand of beer (Budweiser, I think) and Heineken, and lots of bottled water. A tray of fresh fruit was on the table together with a plate, knife, and napkin. There was a small alarm clock on the desk, a hairdryer in the closet, a small sewing kit, waffle-weave bathrobe and terrycloth slippers, a nice nylon drawstring carry-bag with the PG logo, and even a large umbrella for use on shore excursions!

But the highlight for me was the bathroom. All white, marble floor, and a bathtub rather than the micro-showers seen on so many other ships. Lots of storage cabinets in the bathroom, too. Nice rack above the tub for drying wet things, which was a great convenience. My only complaint might be that hot water was not always available, especially right after excursions when every shower on the ship was probably running. The bath products were numerous and appeared higher end, though I did actually not use any of them.

Cabin service was outstanding. My stewardess, April Jane, was exceptionally quick to learn my habits and to anticipate my needs. And she was always very friendly and smiling. She even picked up, folded, and stacked my dirty clothes and hung wet swimsuits on the rack above the tub (until I got embarrassed and started doing it myself)! I left her a generous additional tip.

I did order room service breakfast four times on this trip, something I rarely do otherwise. But I wanted to see how efficient they were. The order form offers half-hour windows for delivery (e.g.: 7-7:30 AM), and on every occasion but one it arrived very precisely, literally to the minute, at the beginning of that window. One the fourth occasion, it arrived at the end, but still within the time window. And the orders were always correct and still hot. I was impressed.

SOCIAL:

As I said above, I was a bit nervous about the social aspects of this trip. To be quite frank, no one would ever mistake me for heterosexual. And older Americans are notoriously homophobic. Combine that with my age (55) and the fact that I was traveling alone, and I was convinced that I was going to have a very solitary cruise. I could not have been more wrong. Yes, there were certainly those who made no effort to hide their contempt for my “lifestyle” (including one crew member, the French AV technician), but they were very few in number and easy to avoid. Several couples, including both young honeymooners and older anniversary celebrants, were very friendly and frequently invited me to dine with them. The divers formed a little common-interest group that I was able to participate in quite easily. And the various excursions facilitated a lot of socializing that tended to continue even after re-boarding the ship. At no time did I feel at all lonely, isolated, or deliberately excluded. I had a great time meeting new people and hearing their stories. And some even seemed to enjoy my own long-winded tales!

There were about 270 passengers on this cruise. Of those, the vast majority (156) were Americans. There were 62 from Canada, including about two dozen participating in a retirement celebration for a physician. France had 12 aboard, and the UK had 11. The rest were a mix of Argentinians (4), Australians (5), Brazilians (4), Chileans (3), Germans (2), Dutch (3), New Zealanders (4), Norwegians (3), and one each from Belgium, Mexico, and Russia (all based on passport rather than residency).

There were quite a few late-marrying 30-somethings on honeymoon, but the age range was largely skewed well north of 50. One older lady seemed largely confined to a wheelchair, and another used a walker throughout the trip. One gentleman looked as though he might expire at any moment. But for the most part, even the older folks were quite active. And indeed, PG is NOT a lay-around-by-the-pool kind of cruise. This is an ACTIVITY-oriented cruise line with an appreciable level of physical exertion required.

In addition to the retirement party group mentioned above, I spotted one extended family group, at least two tour groups, and many groups of two and three couples traveling together. There was only one person under age 18 on the ship: a little girl of about three that became the darling of passengers and crew alike. There were three older lesbian couples, but I think I was the only gay man among the passengers (there were several others among the crew).

TIPPING:

PG does state in its promotional materials that all tips are included and has a brief blurb to the effect that tipping is not a normal part of Polynesian culture. PG also states that passengers should feel free to acknowledge favorite crew members, if so desired. Well, I passed out tips quite generously, I must say. Service was far superior to anything I have ever experienced with Cunard, and the crew was clearly working very, very hard to meet every request or requirement. The maitre-d’ in the restaurants and the two head waiters personally escorted each passenger to a table at every sitting, offering each lady their arm. Waiters and bartenders remembered beverage preferences after the first encounter. And everyone seemed to know my name even before I met them for the first time. So much so that the on-board gossip turned to speculation about photos being passed around below deck to teach the crew members all of our names! Given this exceptionally high level of service and attentiveness throughout, I really wanted to tip several people, including the cabin stewardess and the dining room staff (I sat at the same table most nights and so had the same waiter most nights).

Shore excursions were another matter entirely. On a couple of the trips, it was quite clear that the guides actually *expected* to be tipped. One in particular even went into a protracted schpeel about the difficulties of feeding a family in Polynesia, plucking at our heartstrings to stimulate a tip. On a couple of occasions, I was more than happy to tip the guide. On others, I did not do so. The less they said about their living conditions, the more likely I was to tip. I do not like to be coerced.

In short, disregard PG’s statements about tipping. Use your own conscience as your guide and do as you would do at home.

INCIDENTS AND ACCIDENTS:

This cruise was noteworthy for the very high number of incidents and accidents among the passengers. I do not know whether we were an exception among PG cruises, or if this might be the norm. I suspect it is the norm.

In Bora Bora (Day 3), two middle-aged men rented motorscooters to drive around the island. One hit gravel and lost control of the scooter and the other crashed into him. The second gentleman spent the next several days with painful road rash on arms and legs, wrapped in bandages and hobbling on crutches. But no broken bones, thankfully.

Several people got seriously sunburned, to the point of large blisters forming across the shoulders. The sun is ridiculously merciless so close to the Equator, so be generous with the sun screen, and wear hats, sunglasses, and coverups!

One honeymoon couple nearly had their honeymoon ruined when a minor scratch on the groom’s ankle, after being in the ocean, became severely infected. Over time, it progressed to a significant cellulitis that required IV antibiotics while onboard and transfer to the hospital in Papeete immediately upon re-docking in Tahiti.

Even I was not immune. I suffered a baro-trauma to my right ear while diving in Fakarava and lost hearing in that ear for the remainder of the trip. Others slipped on dive ladders and smashed knees and heads, and one lady got bit by a stingray and developed a swollen hand.

More significantly, some kind of stomach bug did run through the passengers during the trip. I picked it up on about Day 3, and it left me feeling queasy and exhausted for about 3 days. I did not eat at all for one entire day. I talked to many others who had it as well, some to the point of vomiting and being confined to bed. Even some of the crew came down with it. It did not seem to be a true norovirus, but rather some kind of relatively minor stomach bug. I could never decide whether it was in the food or the water, but I started insisting on only bottled water at meals, and that seemed to help in my case.

Seasickness - The PG is remarkably stable for a smaller vessel, and most of the anchorages are exceptionally calm and in protected lagoons. I did sense motion when we were in transit between islands, but it was never significant. Compared to the North Atlantic in January, this was like floating on a calm lake. I was not aware of anyone who complained of seasickness, though the behind-the-ear patches were everywhere as preventatives (probably unnecessary).

We did have one amusing incident. In Bora Bora, as we returned to the ship via the tender, a young lady spotted a mildly obese man sunning himself on his cabin balcony, immediately above the tender landing. Seemingly oblivious to his surroundings and common courtesy, the man was very apparently entirely naked. The young lady on the tender began shouting "Naked Man! Naked Man!" and pointing. The man did seem to hear her, since he quickly "re-arranged" himself so as to be less indecently conspicuous. And he was never spotted again on subsequent days!

WEATHER:

Wow, we got lucky! With the exception of just two very brief 10-minute showers, we had outstanding weather! Skirting, puffy clouds, bright blue skies, and lots of sunshine. The sea swell was never more than 2 feet, if that much. The lagoons were amazingly calm. But the wind was occasionally very brisk, even at anchor. And the sun was murder. You simply cannot imagine how strongly it beats down! And once you get ashore, the cooling sea breeze stops about 50 feet inland and the heat takes over. So when on excursions, take plenty of water and sun screen or coverups!

To its great credit, PG offered one truly exceptional but necessary on-shore amenity. At every tender drop-off and pick-up point, a Gauguin or Gauguine manned a small table with cold water and iced tea, a few chairs, and a large canvas umbrella to offer some shade while we waited for the tenders. But the best part was the large ice cooler full of handtowels soaked in refreshing cold water for wiping off your face and hands. I began to look forward to those toward the end of every shore excursion!

CURRENCY:

French Polynesian Francs are the local currency, and the ship does offer currency exchange at the Reception Desk. Most on-shore vendors do take US dollars and Euros, but no other currencies. The rate offered by vendors on shore varies widely, however, and is usually less than what is offered by the ship. Credit cards are taken in most shops, and even by some independent roadside vendors, with charges processed only in Francs. If you pay in dollars, your change will be in Francs, which makes the exchange rate even worse. I do recommend taking plenty of Polynesian Francs with you when you leave home. And always have a few thousand francs (one dollar = about 850 francs) in cash when going ashore for the little odds and ends too small to charge to a card. Doing so will greatly ease the mind-tease of calculating an exchange on the spur of the moment.

More tomorrow, including Entertainment and Shore Excursions

I need to add a few amusing incidents to the Incidents and Accidents section above. These were all minor, and no one was harmed, so we all took them in a spirit of adventure. Poop will happen, ya know!

On one non-PG excursion in Fakarava, a outboard boat motor failed, giving rise to a fear that the passengers might be stranded and miss the ship's 5 PM departure. But after some time and tinkering, it started again and they made the last tender.

On a PG excursion, a large tree fell across the road in front of a jeep. Locals soon arrived with a chain-saw to hack it up and move it out of the way.

On another PG excursion, this one in Moorea, a jeep with six passengers dropped off the edge of a narrow concrete track on a sharply inclined road up to Magic Mountain. Both the front axle and the rear differential grounded out. It took half an hour and lots of arguing and sweat to get the jeep ungrounded, but we all enjoyed it immensely!

Expect the unexpected, and go with the flow!

Your experience certainly did mirrors ours, down to room 318, except for the mishaps. We certainly were not aware of so many accidents. About the only, incident I can think of was a guy who stepped on a sea urchin at the Motu Mahana. Something that would be hard to generalize over several cruises would be the friendliness of fellow passengers, but I would agree that the cruisers on our sailing were also very friendly, and you could see groups getting together who didn't know each other before the cruise. I think that if you are seeking that kind of interaction, you will find.

Nice to relive the cruise through your experience.

Dessert skies,

Great detailed review. So helpful to newbies.

What a large number of accidents, though. Either you were more aware of them or just had an accident prone cruise. I have seen a couple of minor scrapes and bruises and one PG friend recently left his cruise ill (you know who you are!) but not that many.

The scratches from coral easily get infected and its important to look after them as prescribed. I too have had bad sunburn on this itinerary though I am brown skinned and don't get sunburn elsewhere so proper sunscreen and uv protected shirts are recommended at all times.

Glad to know that fresh eyes also see the PG experience the same way as we cheerleaders do. We have recently been accused of only seeing the good and to be fair we love her and FP so much that its easy to view all thru rose coloured specs.

I was on the two cruises before this and each one about 100 people arrived the night the ship left. I just don't understand this. By the way Hawaiian air gets you in at 9:30 pm on Saturday nights only. The only difference is that you will be already in the time zone.

Twin , I too am for arriving earlier especially for us easterners. its easier to get into the time zone and relax as well.

I do believe ( not confirmed yet) that flights on the repeaters cruise will be overnight to arrive on the 10th early morning. To me its almost as bad as arriving late night. However, to some they are able to rest up in the morning. One more advantage is that our first day is Motu Mahana which will be a major chill out day for all.

Great review and so glad that you had a good time. Can't wait to hear about your diving. Also interested to hear if you rented your own boat in Bora Bora, we are just not that brave. Not sure if any of my tips helped but so glad you were able to make new friends and have a good social experience also.

Cheers.

Mark

Lovely details in this review; looking forward to your dive detail and whether your whale wish came true!

A few pieces of advice.

1.Pay the few extra bucks and fly in a day or 2 early. This is available through PG Cruises.

2. You stated this, "Use your own conscience as your guide and do as you would do at home." To clarify, the younger Polynesians are getting westernized thus they are 'expecting' tips. However, the older Polynesians don't expect it, in fact some might be offended.

The official French Polynesian tourist web site states this, "Tipping is not customary in Polynesian culture and is not expected. However, tipping is welcomed for exemplary service." Years ago the last sentence was not on that statement but as the younger generation is now more involved with the tourist it was added, just remember the older Polynesians look at tipping in a different light.

The review was very good and precise which is wonderful for newbies, bravo :)

When we first went to FP in 2000 there was no tipping anywhere. This has certainly changed.

As for mishaps, the big one for us was 2005 I think, when a man on our boat during the Stingray Ballet excursion in the BB lagoon slipped while climbing into the boat (after being warned and refusing help), and broke his collarbone. He was airlifted out the next day, his dream vacation completely ruined. So be careful out there!

To the OP, thanks for the review!

Glad everyone seems to be enjoying my review.

As several of you noted in relation to tipping, French Polynesia is indeed becoming more westernized. A couple of the excursion guides (most notably the lovely lady who guided the tour between the ship and the Radisson day rooms on Tahiti) bemoaned at some length the increasing westernization among the rising Polyneisan generation. Seems many of them go off-island for the education and return later, bringing new-found habits with them. I heard lots of complaints about "kids today" that have little or no interest in their cultural heritage and traditional Polynesian ways. I found it interesting that some of the islands, especially Taha'a, quite aggressively limit access to the island by non-Polynesians, presumably to limit western influences and to preserve the traditional way of life. I applaud that.

Over the last few years the FP government passed a tariff (tax) that many of the places are now require to follow. This is basically a service fee like in the states would be a mandatory tip. This new tariff is often already included in the prices quoted/printed. The tour vendors seem to not be under this new tariff rule but most other service jobs/places are. ;)

Loved the review as it seems very well balanced and very objective. How did you learn about all the mishaps??? We must have been oblivious.

I do believe ( not confirmed yet) that flights on the repeaters cruise will be overnight to arrive on the 10th early morning. To me its almost as bad as arriving late night. However, to some they are able to rest up in the morning. One more advantage is that our first day is Motu Mahana which will be a major chill out day for all.

That seems correct - the flight schedule is out for early Sept and it does appear that the Tuesday flights leave late and arrive very early Wed morning. We booked our flight out on Sunday and that day still has the 15:30 option so we don't have to fly on the red-eye. Yes, we will get to the IC a little late but can sleep in on Monday.

Looks like 3 flights - 2 ATN and 1 AF

All get into Papeete between 5 and 5:35 am! This will make the airport an insane place. What will everyone do until 3pm? My guess will be day rooms at the IC.

Today I will cover a few lesser topics, plus one biggie: Shopping.

PHOTOGRAPHER:

Every cruise ship these days has at least one - and usually many - onboard “professional” photographers. They set up large fake backdrops, usually halfway blocking the routes to the dining rooms, and push passengers into highly artificial poses. The resulting photos are then posted on what I call The Wall of Shame for all to see (on Cunard, it is one of my evening rituals to peruse the gallery looking for amusing photos). And of course you can buy them ... for a mere $24.95 each! I was very pleasantly surprised to find that the lone photographer on PG was unusually unobtrusive. Yes, he set up his backdrop in the passageway just outside L’Etoile, effectively blocking the path. But it was very easy to pass by without being pressured to pose. And the backdrops were often very simple single-color ones. A printer malfunction meant that the Wall Of Shame was open only sporadically, since there were few prints to display.

I did notice that the photographer used some techniques not seen on other cruise ships, techniques that did make his photos a little more interesting. He seemed to like using a fish-eye lens, so that his passenger-subjects were at the center of a skewed scene. Oddly enough, that technique was sort of successful when done on shore with a natural scenic background. And many of his photos taken on Moto Mahana were really quite good. He also used soft-focus a lot, making us older folks look a little less wrinkled. I liked that.

I had him take photographs of me on three occasions: with a “Bali Hai” backdrop on the night of the Polynesian Festival, and twice with the entertainers in Polynesian costume. None of them came out well. But I never photograph well anyway.

INTERNET:

The Internet connection seemed not to be working throughout the cruise. I never once saw anyone in the small computer lounge, though I did see a few people glued to their mobile devices during the day.

SECURITY:

Security was less intense than what I have experienced on other cruise lines. Yes, we went through the usual screening at first boarding. But bags of personal items or purchases brought aboard after shore excursions were not scanned, and I am not sure that the body scanner was ever turned on when we re-boarded. Since crime is not really a problem in French Polynesia, I am sure there was little concern about people secreting weaponry aboard. But the obvious absence of meticulous security was a bit jarring and reminded me how paranoid we have become in the US.

On shore, I saw policemen (“gendarmes”) only once or twice, and only on the more touristy islands. Everyone seemed very relaxed, as though even petty crime were a rarity. This was in striking contrast to many Caribbean ports, where cruise passengers are given detailed instructions on how to prevent loss to pickpockets and bag snatchers while on shore.

The lifeboat drill on PG was an unusual experience. Other cruise lines have you gather at a variety of mass muster stations where they run through a verbal agenda, then practice donning your life jackets. And those life jackets are usually to be found inside your cabin. For those of us who arrived late at night, the PG muster drill was held next day, and it was absolutely mandatory. We all gathered in the Grand Salon and went through the usual verbal agenda. The donning of life jackets was demonstrated by crew members, but was not practiced by passengers. We were then split into four muster groups and actually escorted to the location on the promenade deck where we would board lifeboats in a true emergency. And all life jackets are stored there in storage lockers, not in the individual cabins. We were held there until the head safety officer came through each group to be certain that everyone was present and understood the procedure.

SHOPPING:

I did far more shopping on this trip than I normally do. I am NOT a souvenir collector, but for some reason I felt more compelled to buy lots of little chotskis on this trip.

Colored “Tahitian” pearls are THE thing in French Polynesia, of course. And they are virtually everywhere, and at virtually every price. So many of the shore excursions stop at a small family-owned pearl farm that you will definitely visit at least one. I saw three during this cruise. At some, the tour is conducted in very broken English, while at others (Taha’a comes to mind) the tour was much better and more informative. But the real objective is to sell pearls.

BE VERY CAREFUL WHEN BUYING TAHITIAN PEARLS. In my opinion, the prices in most of the local shops, and even from the vendors at card tables on the beach and beside the streets, are grossly inflated. Yes, the sellers give detailed explanations about the various grades and qualities of the pearls, making it sound as though you are getting a premium product at a bargain price. But the one thing that you cannot see in the normal retail setting is actually a thing of critical importance in pearl quality and thus pearl value: the thickness of the nacre, or pearl substance. Tahitian pearls are cultured, which means the oysters are stimulated to apply nacre to a nucleus that has been artificially inserted into the oyster. But the only way to determine the thickness of the nacre is by x-raying the finished pearl. If the nacre is very thin, it can wear off or chip more easily. Pearls with very thin nacre, regardless of the surface quality, are of lesser value. If you buy a necklace comprised of 10 mm pearls, you have no real way of knowing whether the individual pearls have a 4 mm nucleus with a 3 mm layer of nacre or an 8 mm nucleus with a 1 mm layer of nacre. The former is more valuable than the latter, but I was unable to locate even one vendor in French Polynesia who would reveal this information. I am deeply suspicious that most of the pearls sold locally have thinner rather than thicker layers of nacre, since rapid turnover of the oysters to increase production volume has the negative result of thinner nacre.

If you intend to buy pearls while in French Polynesia, do your pre-cruise research. Check to see what the prices are in your home area, or even through reputable online sellers, so that you will have a basis for comparison. A 17-inch strand of 9-11 mm round dark pearls can be had online for under $3000. Even the beach vendor on Motu Mahana was asking almost $7000 for the same item.

I was personally interested in two things: a single loose pearl for collector purposes (I collect loose gem stones), and a pair of cufflinks with dark pearls. Loose pearls are offered in most of the shops in FP. But all of the 14 mm round dark loose pearls that I saw were priced well above $2500, some as much as $4000+. Truly giant pearls of the type I wanted (well above 14 mm) had 5-figure price tags. Yet 14mm loose pearls can be had through reputable online dealers for as little as $1000. Ditto cufflinks. One shop in Bora Bora wanted $550 for a pair of cufflinks, each of which contained a single round dark 9 mm pearl mounted on a simple base-metal setting. I have since found a similar item online, but with precious metal settings instead, for half that price.

But again, with a little pre-cruise research and some carefully diligent shopping, you can find some nice purchases. But you will not be getting any great bargains. You are just not going to find Tahitian pearls at bargain-basement, “it’s-a-steal” prices during your cruise. Caveat emptor.

Pareos (aka “sarongs”) are another hot tourist item in FP. But once again, careful shopping is required. Some of the pearl and vanilla farms, as well as the more pricey air-conditioned pier-side shops in Bora Bora, were selling pareos at 4200 francs each. I found the exact same items in alleyway shops or the Marche (Market) in Papeete at three for 5000 francs.

In general, if a shop is air-conditioned, expect the highest prices. And the closer to the tender pier, the higher the prices. The best prices are to be found among the individual vendors at card tables along the roadside or away from the center of tourist activity. And frankly, I felt much better buying my shark-tooth-and-single-pearl necklace from the elderly lady at the card table under the mango tree at the roadside in Bora Bora than I would have done had I bought a similar item in some glass case in a fancy shop in town. Especially since she was sitting there actually making the shell necklaces that she was selling.

Vanilla, whether whole beans, powder, or extract, is another hot tourist item. And the same rules apply. The PG gift shop sells shrink-wrapped bundles of about a dozen beans from Taha’a packaged in an attractive bamboo cylinder for $12. The exact same item purchased directly from the vanilla plantation on Taha’a itself sells for $7. Some places were selling larger packets of two or three dozen beans for as much as $110! Yet according to the very informative guide in Taha’a, you can buy a dozen beans and place them in “the cheapest white rum you can buy” to create your own extract that, according to her, “will last you for several years”.

I was amazed at the things people bought and the prices they paid. Each of us has our own taste, but what do people do with 4 (!) large rosewood purely-decorative outrigger paddles? Or a three-foot-tall tiki figure? Heck, I even commented as I was buying my shark-tooth-and-pearl necklace that I would probably wear it for not more than 3 days after I got home, then tuck it away in a drawer.

Tomorrow: Onboard Entertainment, Individual Ports, and Excursions.

Looks like 3 flights - 2 ATN and 1 AF

All get into Papeete between 5 and 5:35 am! This will make the airport an insane place. What will everyone do until 3pm? My guess will be day rooms at the IC.

I suppose it all depends on whether or not you can sleep on a plane. I cannot, so jetlag and fatigue are major considerations for me. The dayrooms might help ... I will cover that topic in tomorrow's post. But if you want to arrive rested and ready to being your cruise immediately upon boarding, I do very strongly recommend arriving in Papeete at least 24 hours before embarkation. There are many hotel options in Papeete that are more affordable than the packages offered through PG, so you CAN arrive early without significantly increasing your total holiday expense (I confess I am a penny pincher, especially when it comes to hotels where all I plan to do is catch up on sleep). Sleeping in on the first day of the voyage was not really an option this time, since Day One was in Huahine and most of the excursions set off between 8 and 9 AM. Several couples that I talked to *did* do the pre-cruise 3-day or 4-day hotel package, and every one said they were really glad that they did.

Great review! I'm wondering how common all these accidents are? On our PG cruise we also had a passenger who slipped on her scooter in the sand and had to be taken off the ship in a backboard at the next port for x-rays, fortunatly she just had serious brusing. My father scraped his leg while snorkling in Rangiroa a few years back and was hospitalized for several weeks due to an infection that wouldn't respond to antibiotics. I hope the person who scraped his leg is OK.

Great review! I'm wondering how common all these accidents are? On our PG cruise we also had a passenger who slipped on her scooter in the sand and had to be taken off the ship in a backboard at the next port for x-rays, fortunatly she just had serious brusing. My father scraped his leg while snorkling in Rangiroa a few years back and was hospitalized for several weeks due to an infection that wouldn't respond to antibiotics. I hope the person who scraped his leg is OK.

Hi I am the wife of the unfortunate one who got carted off to hospital at the end of our cruise. He actually scratched his leg not on coral, but with his own fingernails (he said it was really itchy?!) and it must have got infected with all the swimming. I am happy to report that we made it home to NZ 3 days after the cruise finished when he was cleared to fly. He will be on antibiotics for another week but he will be just fine! Talk about a memorable honeymoon :rolleyes:

The only options through PG cruises are the 3 day stays. we are arriving on Friday and booked the IC Moorea on our own because PG couldn't give a good rate. That will hopefully give us enough time to adjust to the 7 hour time difference.

The other option is do your air through PG, pick your dates and pay a deviation fee.

Hi I am the wife of the unfortunate one who got carted off to hospital at the end of our cruise. He actually scratched his leg not on coral, but with his own fingernails (he said it was really itchy?!) and it must have got infected with all the swimming. I am happy to report that we made it home to NZ 3 days after the cruise finished when he was cleared to fly. He will be on antibiotics for another week but he will be just fine! Talk about a memorable honeymoon :rolleyes:

Thanks for the clarification ... so many things happened that it is difficult to remember the details correctly. I am VERY relieved to hear that hubby is on the mend! Glad you saw this and updated us!

The only options through PG cruises are the 3 day stays. we are arriving on Friday and booked the IC Moorea on our own because PG couldn't give a good rate. That will hopefully give us enough time to adjust to the 7 hour time difference.

Actually that is not true as you can ask for shorter stays booking with PG. Not always the most cost effective but certainly convenient.

Actually that is not true as you can ask for shorter stays booking with PG. Not always the most cost effective but certainly convenient.

You are correct. We did inquire about the daily rates from PG, but were given rates significantly higher than we could get by booking directly. The three day pre or post cruise rates are decent, though.

Hi I am the wife of the unfortunate one who got carted off to hospital at the end of our cruise. He actually scratched his leg not on coral, but with his own fingernails (he said it was really itchy?!) and it must have got infected with all the swimming. I am happy to report that we made it home to NZ 3 days after the cruise finished when he was cleared to fly. He will be on antibiotics for another week but he will be just fine! Talk about a memorable honeymoon :rolleyes:

Glad to hear he'll be OK, infections are scary things now!

Today, I will cover Onboard Entertainment, Ports of Call, Excursions, and the post-cruise Dayrooms.

ONBOARD ENTERTAINMENT:

The Paul Gauguin is really not intended to be an entertainment center in and of itself. It’s a very nice hotel that moves from place to place, offering meals, drinks, and a nice room for sleep in between off-ship activities. Thus the onboard entertainment is confined almost exclusively to on-deck mini-parties at sail-aways or one event each evening in the Grand Salon. During the day and while in port, there is little to keep you occupied, if you remain onboard, other than the single pool and laying in the sun. But since 99% of the passengers went ashore on every port day, that is not a problem. You are there to see the islands, not the ship. Nonetheless, PG does present some small-scale entertainments unlike anything I have seen on any other ship, and they were very successful.

The most unique entertainment was a pre-dinner “Block Party” event held early in the cruise. We were all invited to prop our cabin doors open at 6PM, gather in the hallway, and meet our neighbors. The stewardesses poured wine, at least one Gauguin/Gauguine was present in each area, plus one or two ship’s officers in whites. It was great fun, and really greased the social wheels. Other cruise lines should consider a version of this activity.

The Gauguins/Gauguines also had a Tahitian Temporary Tattoo event to help keep us occupied on the at-sea day. Using rubber stencils and children’s black Halloween makeup, they applied wash-off tattoos to those who wanted them. A huge success, with folks lining up 5 and 6 deep for small turtles, geckos, and hibiscus flowers, large stylized manta rays, tribal or clan markings, and even a massive tiki face. Several of us suggested a change to henna, so that the tattoos would last beyond the next dip in the pool, but black is the only color allowed by Polynesian culture (henna is brown, fades to gold or yellow).

The tattoo event was followed by a Polynesian dance class, but attendance was low and only the women wanted to participate. Gentlemen were not offered lessons in the more-aggressive male dances.

Evening Shows in the Grand Salon: I attended only the three Polynesian shows, so can only report hearsay on the others. The pianist, Dan Murphy, did a show one evening that was billed as “movie musical comedy songs from throughout the years.” After-reports suggest that the genre was actually movie music in general, not musical comedies in particular. A slide show of movie posters intended to supplement the music was apparently poorly synchronized and often interrupted. The reviews were less than glowing. Otherwise, Mr Murphy was in the Piano Bar most evenings and often in Le Grille at tea-time. He is a competent pianist, but there is a reason why he is working on a cruise ship in Polynesia rather than in a music studio in NYC or LA. Still, he was very friendly with passengers and eager to take requests, including mine for a complete run-through of “South Pacific” during tea time on deck in Bora Bora. Other ‘shows’ included a Liars’ Club event, Krew Kapers, featuring the talents of various crew members, a screening of the Mel Gibson version of “Mutiny on the Bounty”, and an evening of vocals by the cruise director. I skipped all of these.

The highlight of onboard entertainment for me was the Polynesian shows. The ship’s own entertainers, Les Gauguins (male, Tihoni and Teuai) and Gauguines (female), performed traditional Polynesian songs and dances on the first night, in Huahine. Very entertaining. Quite well-polished as ship-board shows go, overseen by a traditional Tahitian “Mama”. They also did a few afternoon events on deck, most notably on the sail-in at Rangiroa (more on that below).

On the first evening in Moorea (toward the end of the cruise), an amateur group of young people came aboard to present their show as part of a Polynesian Festival evening throughout the ship. The evening actually began with a “mini heiva”, during which 6 or 7 Polynesian Mamas plopped down in the floor outside L’Etoile and La Verandah, poured out huge piles of fragrant flowers and leaves onto colorful cloths, and proceeded to make leis and heis (headbands) for the guests. Some were even made-to-order. Guests were also invited to join the Mamas on the floor and make their own. These leis and heis were totally different from the type you often get in Hawaii. Those at the mini-heiva were dense and heavy, often containing hundreds of flowers each, all packed tightly together on a cord, with greenery used to create fringing and spikes. They were stunningly colorful, and the smell was amazing. Later, some of the Mamas sat in the floor in front of the stage in the Grand Salon during the show, making more and bestowing them on random audience members.

The amateur show was brilliant! This is a “do-not-miss-it” event, in my opinion. The singers and dancers were “regular” Polynesian young adults who obviously really enjoyed what they were doing, rather than carefully auditioned pros chosen as much for their appearance as for their talent. It was refreshing to see young women with normal jiggly bits and a few extra pounds instead of a row of uniformly thin models. The show started with a cleverly choreographed lesson in the various ways to tie a pareo, for both women and men. A demonstration of high-speed coconut husking followed, with the men making an amusing show of smearing themselves with the resulting coconut milk. Traditional songs and dances followed, in solo, pairs, or groups. This troupe interacted more with the audience during the show itself, as well. The men, in particular, went out into the audience and quite literally “got in your face” with their (fake) facial tattoos and aggressive expressions. The costumes seemed more authentic and handmade than those in the subsequent show. They were accompanied by a small band of men on various stringed instruments and a drum, and again they seemed truly “authentic” and genuine, more like an informal spontaneous gathering than a carefully produced production. I enjoyed the evening immensely. And the entire group posed for photos with guests afterward.

The second show, in Papeete on the last night, was billed as a professional group. And that professional status clearly showed. Don’t get me wrong ... the show was excellent and very entertaining. But the female participants in particular were all reed-thin (unlike the US, Polynesian culture used to valorize heavier women, but this show was “westernized” in that regard) and heavily made up. The costumes were far more lavish and clearly expertly made (I noted in particular that the men’s pareos had been altered with darts and gathers to prevent “costume malfunctions”, and were made fast with velcro strips rather than hand tying). The choreography was much more advanced and complex. But the music was recorded rather than live, and the singing appeared to by partially lip-synched to the recording. Again, I *did* enjoy the pro show, but I was more impressed by the amateur show, largely because of the latter’s greater seeming authenticity and the sheer personal enthusiasm of the participants.

The band Santa Rosa – A few people here have bemoaned the loss of a previous band that left PG recently. They were replaced by Santa Rosa, a group of Asian-Pacific Islanders (non-Polynesian) that seem to specialize in early rock and roll. I am not a fan of live bands, but I still enjoyed this group. There was something amusing about 5 or 6 Asians in golf bibs, Blues Brothers sunglasses, Hawaiian shirts, and white pants singing Beach Boys and Jimmy Buffet tunes. I was reminded of Mr Chow in the "Hangover" films. They performed at several sail-aways and regularly in La Palette, the bar at the stern of the ship.

The casino on board consists of one blackjack table, one roulette table (I never saw it in use), and a small room with about a dozen small-change slot machines. But we had a Blackjack tournament most days, with a $50 buy-in and a prize always above $200. The same small group played on most days, and it became a nice (if expensive) vehicle for socializing. A few people played later in the evening, especially later in the cruise, but the casino was vastly under-utilized.

Spa – I did not use it, and only rarely saw anyone in there. The prices were high but comparable to spa prices on Cunard.

Library – There is a small library of one or two hundred books that are available on an honor system. Mostly fiction titles (left behind by past passengers?) plus a few guidebooks available through Reception. Lots of people read while on deck in the afternoons, many with Kindles.

DVDs – Each cabin has a DVD player integrated into the small television, and there is an extensive DVD library at reception. I highly recommend indulging in a little cheesiness and viewing “South Pacific” at some point during the cruise. And make it the 1958 Mitzi Gaynor- Rossano Brazzi version, not the unfortunate 2001 remake with Glenn Close and Harry Connick Jr.

The chef offered galley tours, but I did not attend. I am told that photography was prohibited on that tour.

Lectures – Several “enrichment lectures” were offered, including one by archaeologist/anthropologist Mark Eddowes on Polynesian culture, and one by Dr Michael Poole on dolphins and whales. I missed both due to late-returning tours, but I am told they were both good, despite various problems with AV equipment used for accompanying slideshows.

Sail-Ins and Sail-Aways – Because the ship leaves most ports very promptly at 5PM, there is the opportunity for on-deck festivities at each sailing. These festivities range from the low-key, with Santa Rosa playing in La Palette at the stern (e.g.: leaving Bora Bora, or leaving Rangiroa in a brief rain shower), to more extensive catered affairs around the pool. The sun set at about 6PM each day, so watching for the “green flash” became part of the fun. Another highlight was playing “name that island” and trying to figure out whether or not we had been to or were going to the many islands in the distance. The sail-away from Taha’a offered particularly scenic views of Bora Bora at sunset.

The best, however, was not a sail-AWAY, but rather a sail-IN ... to Rangiroa. We arrived at Rangiroa at noon, so the sail-in coordinated nicely with lunch. The ship entered the low-lying atoll through a disturbingly narrow passage, and there were dozens of spinner dolphin around the ship as we sailed through the passage. The Gauguins/Gauguines performed a lengthy set on deck by the pool, including some dancing by Tehoni. The galley crew set up tables next to the pool, decorated with fruits and flowers. Tattoo-covered Teuai arrived in a pareo and wielding a meat cleaver, which he used constantly for the next two hours to whack away at coconuts, to which guests added their own measure of rum to make ersatz pina coladas. A chef also sliced purple star apples for guests to try (I took a pass). Teuai also posed for photos, cleaver in one hand and coconut in the other, and the ladies lined up for it. I wonder why? (LOL) I will be posting to YouTube a video of the entire sail-in, which can be found using keywords Rangiroa, “sail-in”, “Paul Gauguin”, and “2 Oct 2013”.

(Regarding pareos, I *had* to ask: What does a real Tahitian man wear under his pareo? Teuai informed me, without flinching, that he wears nothing under his.)

PORTS OF CALL:

HUAHINE – Our first stop. A less-developed island, but still well populated. Maroe, the village or small town nearest our anchorage, was packed with locals, and offered a few shopping opportunities. I have a weird attraction to local grocery stores, as I find they are a good barometer of the local culture, so I sought out one. I had never before seen the entire foreleg of a cow packaged for sale. This place had an entire freezer full. A browse through the meat and refrigerated sections confirmed what I already know about the difficulty of getting food supplies in such a remote island chain. But most of my time in Huahine was spent on an independent tour, detailed below.

BORA BORA – Obviously a major tourist destination. Beautiful scenery. Breathtaking mountain formations. Lots of pearls shopping in Vaitape, with prices all over the map. A careful scout through them alerted me to the fact that there are few real bargains on pearls in a tourist destination. But I did manage to scoop up a shark’s tooth and Tahitian pearl necklace from a sidewalk vendor. I paid $25 for it, which was probably too much (the pearl had an obvious flaw, though the pearl was positioned to hide the flaw), but I felt better giving the money to someone obviously working to support her family than to some shopkeeper.

The best price and selection, for things other than pearls, that I found in Bora Bora were at Boutique Bora Bora, across the street and just to the right (south) from the tender dock.

And it was in Bora Bora that I found the most absurdly over-priced souvenir I have ever seen in my entire life of traveling. One slickly decorated, ultra-modern, air-conditioned shop had small glass bottles, smaller than a shot glass, each with a cork in the top. Half were completely empty, but had printed labeling on the side that read “Sable du” (sand from) followed by a bullet-list naming the various islands. The object was to buy the bottle and to fill it yourself with sand from the island of your choice. The price was a “mere” 2900 francs. That’s US$ 31.00. Yes, thirty-one dollars for an empty glass micro-bottle with a little printing on it! For that price, you want something valuable already IN the bottle, right? Well, the other half of the bottles for sale had an even smaller bottle dangling inside the first bottle by a string from the cork. That second, smaller bottle also appeared to be empty ... but it wasn’t. The larger bottle was labeled with words to the effect that the smaller bottle contained “Fresh South Pacific Breezes”. So for the same $31 price, rather than an empty bottle, you could get some valuable air-in-a-bottle. I guess tourists will buy anything .......

RANGIROA – Though Rangiroa covers a very large space, the vast majority of it is a lagoon. The total population is less than 15,000, and the village nearest the ship’s anchorage is very small. I spent all of my time diving and thus did not go ashore, but I was told that the village was largely shut up since it was a Sunday. We were there only from noon to 5PM. But the sail-in and sail-away were amazing, with lots of dolphin watching from the deck.

FAKARAVA – In many ways, this was my favorite island. It is the least developed among those we visited, and the least populated, yet it is the second largest of the atolls. There was almost nothing on shore in the way of shopping or other activities. The only amusement was a stroll down the middle of the concrete street, which was utterly devoid of vehicles or people. It was almost insufferably hot, so I found myself scurrying from shade-spot to shade-spot. School was in session at the tiny primary school, at least one micro-size pearl shop was open, and a few elderly women were sitting on their porches, but I saw few other signs of life. I was very much reminded of the Caribbean back in the late 1960s and early 1970s, right down to the large water-collection cisterns next to each house.

There is church on the island within walking distance of the tender dock, and it is worth a visit. I assume it is Roman Catholic, based on the construction of the altar and the presence of Madonnas and saints’ images. But I did notice a large Russian Orthodox icon panel to the right of the altar. I had to wonder how and why it got there. The rest of the decor consisted of shell work, including an unusual altar backdrop comprised of hundreds of oyster shells with their mother-of-pearl interiors glowing in the light.

TAHA’A – Pronunciation of the name of this island became the running amusement among passengers, since English makes almost no use of the glottal stop indicated by the apostrophe in the name, and the repetition of the “ah” sound was easy to exaggerate. It is properly pronounced “tah-HA ah”, but most of us were reduced to saying “Tah-ha-ha-ha-ha”.

This is a large island that shares a lagoon with nearby Raiatea. It is home to a major vanilla-producing industry, as well many pearl farms. The island is undeveloped, however, and has only a minimal tourist presence. We were actually prohibited from going ashore except as part of an organized tour group operated by local residents. The island is thus very much unspoiled. But to see it, you must take one of the three land tours offered there.

The principal attraction at Taha’a is Motu Mahana, a small island owned for generations by a Polynesian family but partially leased by PG for use as a private beach resort area. PG has a nice set-up there, with lots of chaise lounges, large round wooden tables with umbrellas and benches, and a gazebo area for serving a nice lunch. The onboard spa offers massages on the beach, and there is some decent snorkeling (watch for the brightly colored blue-lip clams). Just be careful of the hundreds of sea urchins that can easily pierce your foot and even flip-flops, and the thousands of squishy sea cucumbers. One snorkler even spotted a pair of octopuses. There are local vendors at the periphery of the beach selling anything from vanilla beans and oil to pearl necklaces priced in the high four figures USD.

The crew vs passengers kayak race was especially fun, with lots of jovial rivalry acted out in good fun. One crew member had his kiteboard out, but we could only watch. Some of the crew used the ocean side of the island for a little afternoon-off privacy.

MOOREA – This was by far the most dramatic of the islands, in terms of topography. But it was also the most “touristified”. Lots of high-end hotels with over-the-water bungalows. The old Club Med is now a ruin and has been derelict for almost 20 years, but most of the other developments are on the other side of the island.

The tender pier is at the village of Papeto’ai, in the ‘Opunohu Bay (in fact, the current Google Maps satellite image of Moorea captures the PG at anchor and the tender as it approaches the PG; you can also see the round PG umbrella on the pier itself). There is no fixed-location shopping near the tender pier. Instead, small-scale local vendors set up tables under canopies along the pier. The prices here seemed more reasonable than on the other islands. I was able, for the first time, to haggle with the vendors well enough to get a 40% discount on what I wanted to buy. Additionally, several pearls shops have vans or cars stationed at the pier to transport shoppers to their place of business, free of charge and free of purchase obligation. We took one of these, and the driver was very nice, but the prices in the shop were very high.

With so little in the way of facilities near the pier, going ashore here requires either an organized tour or cab fares. Rumor had it that a simple day pass to the Intercontinental Hotel was $200 per person, however. A few people did independent tours here, including one large family group that rented a catamaran for the day. Lots to do here, but getting from pier to activity requires both time and money.

PAPEETE, TAHITI – Having boarded late, I was able to see Papeete only briefly on the last morning onboard. I did finally manage to find some acceptable prices on pareos (3 for 5000 francs or about US$55) and pearls. A visit to the Marche Papeete (the municipal market) is a MUST. It is a short walk from the ship and one block back from the quayside. It is large, and obviously intended largely for locals. Vendors sell everything from fruits and vegetables to colorful fresh fish, trinkets, clothing, souvenirs, wine, flowers, and other goods. One aisle has multiple vendors making on-site and selling gorgeous leis and heis, in case you have not already had a few.

EXCURSIONS:

HUAHINE – Thanks to the organizing efforts of NiagraGirl, a group of us took an independent excursion, Marc’s Motu Picnic. This differed from the tour offered by PG in that it was longer and included a partial circumnavigation of the island by motorized outrigger. But we started by truck, sitting in benches added to the truck-bed and covered with an awning (the awning poles were nicely decorated with island flowers). We hit a few land-based sites, including a small vanilla “plantation” (??really an excuse to steer us towards some cousin’s vanilla stall??), one archeological site beside a lagoon that included a small open-air museum and lots of sand fleas, the local shopping district (site of my grocery tour), and a unique collection of blue-eyed eels in a freshwater pool that the locals feed, maintain, and reportedly regard as “sacred” (my amateurish video of the eels is on YouTube under “Huahine Blue-Eyed Eels”).

Then we shifted to the motorized outrigger for the water-based portion of the excursion. Of course, this included a stop at an off-shore pearl farm, really just a shack on pilings. After that, a brief drift snorkel over a shallow reef that seemed to thrill everyone, since it was our first glance at the underwater world. Then we had a stop at a private motu for a picnic lunch of poisson cru (aka ceviche, but without the cilantro), BBQ chicken (massive chicken legs!), saffron rice, locally-grown vine-ripened watermelon, and local pineapple. We ate at tables that stood in shallow water, which served first to cool us and second to keep away the sand fleas so abundant on dry land. After lunch, a long but very pleasant boat ride back toward the pier, with one stop to feed black-tipped reef sharks. That stop was itself great fun, since you get in the water with the sharks which are as much as 5 feet long. But no touching!

We also got to pass closely by the just-launched 144-foot super yacht “Encore” (http://www.charterworld.com/index.html?sub=yacht-charter&charter=sailing-yacht-encore-ay-7941), a sight that set us all agog for its sheer opulence and conspicuous consumption.

All in all, a very good day! Thank you, Chris, for organizing it!

BORA BORA – This was a dive destination for me, so the only excursion I took there was the waverunner trip around the island’s lagoon. After making our way ashore in the PG tender (watch for the outrigger racers riding the stern wave of the tender to and from the ship, my video on YouTube), we were transferred a short distance in two vans to the site of the Intercontinental Hotel. On their grounds, a family runs a small business that includes waverunner tours. After the briefest and most sketch-like of pre-tour operating instructions, we quickly took to the water. It quickly became apparent that this tour was far less about seeing the island from the water than it was about zipping around on a small watercraft. At times we hit 40 mph, and you had to concentrate so closely on controlling the waverunner that it was difficult to appreciate any view other than the one immediately off your own bow. Still, the colors of the water, and the changes in that color as the depth changed, were absolutely amazing. And we did get a good close-up assessment of several of the higher-end hotels and their over-the-water bungalows (I preferred the Meridien). We made a brief snack stop on the company owner’s family motu, where we were served locally grown grapefruit, bananas, and pineapple. But the best part was the guide’s family, a half dozen male cousins less than 8 years of age, rushing out into the lagoon to greet us, to moor our waverunners, and to help us out of our lifevests. When we were ready to leave, they started our waverunners for us, helped us put on our lifevests and board the craft. Then they played a game of trying to throw themselves under the rooster tails we made as we sped away. It was truly memorable.

A note about the bar-restaurant, Bloody Mary’s – A significant number of passengers seemed to feel compelled to visit this place. Yet among the many people I asked, not one had any idea as to the derivation of the name. Most attributed it to the cocktail, since lousy versions of it were the main item on the drinks menu. Not even one person associated the bar with the colorful character from “South Pacific” (“Bloody Mary is the girl I love, now ain’t that too damned bad?....”). Very frustrating.

RANGIROA and FAKARAVA – both dive destinations for me, so no organized shore excursions.

TAHA’A – Exploration of Taha’a with PG. Another small truck with seating in the flatbed portion. This was a true “off-road” experience, up rutted, muddy dirt roads through jungle to reach the higher points of the island. Lots of jiggling and jarring and being tossed about in your seat. And lots of dust and dirt. Great fun! The view from the belvedere (literally “pretty to see”) was awe-inspiring. While there, we were again served grapefruit, bananas, and pineapple, and the two tour guides played ukeleles and sang Polynesian songs. Plus the obligatory stop at a pearl farm and a vanilla plantation. But the vanilla stop on Taha’a was far and away the best vanilla plantation we saw, perhaps because Taha’a is “the vanilla island”. The prices for the vanilla (beans, powder, extract, oils, soaps, etc) were better than previously seen on other islands, and the exchange rate offered at the till was quite good.

At the end of the tour, it was obvious that our guide, Armando, expected a tip. He even gave a little speech about the difficulties of earning a living in Taha’a, since that island actively discourages the tourist trade. Some tipped, others did not.

MOOREA – On the first of two days in port, I opted for Ato’s Off-Road Safari. This excursion was very similar in concept to the tour on Huahine. However, it was far dirtier, and so dusty that the shower ran red with local dirt when we got back to the ship. We made several stops during the climb up the mountain to take in some stunning scenery of both the beaches and the mountains. We drove through extensive pineapple fields to get a close-up look at how they are grown. Then we stopped at a juice processing plant, though we were confined to the gift shop. Still, tasting the coconut liqueurs and other fruit liqueurs was fun. The shop also offered the best collection of postcards I had yet seen on the entire trip, and at the best prices. Then a stop at the Lycee Agricole, the agricultural school, for fresh-squeezed pineapple juice, fruity ice creams, and tastings of various fruit jams. The lime jam and the pineapple-banana jam were incredibly good. Next up, a stop at an archaeological site, then off to “Magic Mountain”, a ridge point overlooking the bay. We were promised a “surprise” there, and we did indeed have one. The second truck ran off the very narrow concrete roadway on a steep incline and became stuck. It took about a half hour to free it. One of the many Incidents and Accidents of the trip. But the view from the peak was, like all the others, awe-inspiring. Our guide on that excursion was Spirou, a Frenchwoman who spoke excellent English (the guide in the other truck spoke little English, so took the French tourists with him). Ato’s Off-Road Safari is an excellent excursion, and I highly recommend it.

My last excursion was Dr Michael Poole’s Dolphin/Whale Watching trip. But first, to illustrate the degree to which this tour depends on the whims of Mother Nature, let me say that the first group, who went out on the first morning in Moorea, got to hang out next to a whale mother and her calf not half a mile from the ship, just inside the mouth of the lagoon. Those of us still onboard the PG could only stand at the railings and watch from a distance. The pair were resting, and so stayed near the surface and relatively motionless. Watchers got to go in the water more than once and to remain quite close to the whales for an outstanding underwater view. It must have been spectacular. It was thrilling enough even for those of us just watching from afar.

My group, on the morning of day two in Moorea, had to search a little harder. First, we tracked two pods of dozens of spinner dolphins each, that had just entered the lagoon near the ship. Several of them treated us to the sight of their characteristic spinning breach displays. Lots of oohs and aahs.

Then we went off in search of whales. Dr Poole rang up friends and colleagues on fishing boats and other whale-watching tours until he heard about an adult and calf pair just outside the lagoon on the west side of the island. We motored across a lagoon that was smooth as glass, then out through the breakers into the open ocean beyond. We very quickly spotted whale spouts, plus at least two other whale-watching tour boats. The pair turned out to be a trio, two adults and a calf. The calf was a newborn, at most 6 weeks old according to Dr Poole. But the calf was obviously wounded along its dorsal surface, which led Dr Poole to speculate that one of the adults was a male attempting to separate mother and calf so as to mate with the mother. And indeed, as time passed, the adults moved further to the southwest while the calf wandered aimlessly back and forth on a more westerly course. For a time, it even circled the boat repeatedly at close distance as though hoping we were it’s mother.

Did I (and we) get to get in the water with whales? YOU BET I DID! I read the previous reviews on Cruise Critic and knew to sit in the back of the boat to increase my chances. And sure enough, Dr Poole sent us into the water in small groups, beginning with those at the back, so I was literally the first in the water after our chaperone, Thierry. And that first group got to see all three whales, before the adults moved away. It was all very quick, since the whales were in motion in the open ocean and not at rest inside the lagoon, but the image is etched permanently in my memory. Sadly, my Sony HDR-AS10 video camera, supposedly waterproof to 200 feet, imploded at 65 feet in Fakarava two days earlier, so no underwater imagery of the whales. I am crossing my fingers that one of my fellow tourists who had great photos (WhenCanWeGo Beverly’s husband) will forward copies to me.

Later groups saw only the calf, but they were able to view it for a longer length of time and at slightly closer range. Still, I GOT TO SWIM WITH WHALES IN THE WILD!!!!

A few observations about Dr Poole’s tour. Occasional past reviewers have noted his manner and implied that he is rude or bossy. I have to disagree. Dr Poole is a highly educated professional constantly engaged in his life’s work. This was very apparent during our tour, as Dr Poole repeatedly took out a small dictation recorder to make detailed observations in obscure scientific terminology. The “dis-association event” that he thought we were witnessing seemed to be a very unusual occurrence, since Dr Poole made many notes in which he stated the precise time and GPS coordinates as well as each whale’s appearance and movements. What does this mean? It means we tourists are his guests, invited into his laboratory. Unfortunately, too many tourists do not behave as invited guests and instead become self-absorbed interlopers.

If you go on Dr Poole’s tour, LISTEN TO AND OBEY HIS EVERY INSTRUCTION. As he said himself repeatedly, his rules are for your safety and the safety of others, and he does try to treat everyone equally and fairly. If he tells you to be ready to go in the water, BE READY! The decision actually to go is made suddenly, and the group up for water must move very quickly and enter the water very quietly. Jump in and you *will* get yelled at for not following directions. Hang on to the entry ladder too long, and you *will* get yelled at for holding up those behind you (I learned that one while trying to put on my fins in the water). Splash around with a standard crawl swim-stroke after entering the water, and you *will* get yelled at for scaring the whales. In the end, at least three people in the front of our boat missed out on getting in the water because they were not ready when called upon and they took too long to get ready. At least one was obviously disgruntled, but that’s what happens when you do not follow directions.

Since returning home, I have corresponded with Dr Poole about the “dis-associated” calf. That afternoon, after our tour, Thierry was able to confirm that the two adults were both male. So the calf was already separated from its mother when we first saw it. Dr Poole hypothesized that it had associated with the two adult males only temporarily, and the end of that association just happened to coincide with our encounter. His colleagues tracked the males for the next couple of days, but the calf was never seen again. He hopes that it relocated its mother, but cannot confirm that. It could not have survived alone.

Dr Poole's Whale Watching Tour is a "must do" on any PG cruise that visits Moorea during whale season.

DAYROOMS:

I had never been on a cruise where dayrooms were available at either end, so I had absolutely no idea what to expect. The concept is certainly a very good one – keep the customers/passengers comfortable and occupied during a long period between disembarkation and air travel. The execution was, however, a little inconsistent.

Our luggage left the cabin the night before and on the next morning went on to the hotel in a separate conveyance. We boarded a standard tour bus at about 12:30 (after a nice lunch on board) for a tour of the island of Tahiti. Stops included the reconstructed home of James Norman Hall (co-author of “Mutiny on the Bounty”), Venus Point, to which Captain James Cook was dispatched in 1769 to observe the important Transit of Venus across the Sun in that year, and the Three Cascades or Vaimahutu Waterfalls.

The “Bounty” house seemed to me like a “throw in”, since few if any of us were familiar with the author or his actual trilogy of novels (though we were all well aware of the various “Bounty” films). We were given a detailed tour of the simple two-bedroom house, but I dropped out early for sheer lack of interest.

Venus Point was a little more interesting. A few monuments to Cook and others, a nice gift shop, some massive rubber trees, and a lovely black sand beach with views of the Tahitian coast and Moorea in the distance. There were a number of locals engaged in various activities on the beach, including a group of kids playing soccer and some young adults practicing their outrigger team racing skills. On the whole, it did seem to be a hangout for locals, with few obvious tourists around.

But the Three Cascades was the best stop, by far. As it happened, our tour guide’s family owns the falls and the valley in which it is located, so we got a very detailed tour of the area. It is absolutely magical. As we left to move on to the Radisson Hotel, we got a little lecture about the social and cultural changes that have occurred recently in French Polynesia, but unfortunately that lecture was tinged with a little too much (in my opinion) philosophical preaching of the “why can’t we all get along” kind, with a few hints of religion tossed in for good measure. Still, the tour is well worth doing, if only because the stop at the waterfalls and Venus Point offer such splendid scenery. And its free.

Whether passengers are assigned to the Radisson or the Intercontinental for their dayroom seems to be dependent on the category of cabin assigned on the ship. The Radisson is definitely the less opulent of the two. On arrival, I immediately noticed peeling paint along all of the eaves of every building and discoloration and staining of the exterior walls, as though exterior maintenance had been deferred for some considerable time. Check-in was very fast, but getting to the room was an adventure in pathfinding as we wound our way around corners from one building to another, up this elevator and down that one then back up another one. The room itself was very nice, but housekeeping had left the A/C off and the drapes of the west-facing sliders open, so it was very hot when I walked in. A very deep (25 feet?) spacious balcony overlooked a grassy lawn facing the sea, but an unsightly chain-link fence separated the hotel property from the beach itself. I wanted a nap, but the alarm clock was not working. Getting a new one from the Front Desk or Housekeeping proved utterly impossible. I called the desk, but no one could understand that I wanted either a working clock or a wake-up call for 6 PM today (for a nap) rather than for 6AM tomorrow (after a full night of sleep). So I went to the desk in person to try again. They became convinced I was having trouble with the WiFi. I gave up. Half an hour later, a manager and a maintenance person arrived at the room, tools in hand, to “repair the problem.” Once they understood that all I needed was a new $5 alarm clock, they left with promises to dispatch one. None ever appeared.

We were firmly cautioned by hotel staff on arrival at the Radisson to make reservations in the restaurant if we intended to eat there before going to the airport at 8:30 PM. I opted to test the system and did not make reservations. I went to the restaurant at 6:45 for dinner, and was seated immediately, since it was still 2/3 empty. The waiter, “Kiki”, was an absolute hoot, thoroughly entertaining. He was the spitting image of Albin/Zaza in the French film “La Cage Aux Folles”. The menu changed at 7P, but I was still allowed to order off the pre-7 menu. I had the spring rolls, and they were outstanding. Still hungry, I later ordered the shrimp gazpacho off the post-7 menu. That was a mistake. Everyone seemed to arrive at the restaurant at the same time, 7PM, and suddenly it was controlled chaos. My gazpacho took at least half an hour to arrive, though I was fully occupied during the wait by watching Kiki/Albin flutter about apologizing to everyone for the delays. When it arrived, the gazpacho was inedible. For some odd reason, it was cream based, and it had enough salt in it to re-salinate the Pacific. My 6 delicious spring rolls, inedible gazpacho, and can of Coke cost a “mere” $46.03.

On leaving the Radisson at 8:30PM, we were each given a shell lei, a very nice touch. The trip to the airport was reasonably quick and easy. Arriving there, we collected our luggage from a semi-secured area and proceeded to the check-in lines. Then things fell apart again. ATN had two flights bound for LAX, departing 45 minutes apart. That meant there were about 400-500 people needing to check in, all at the same time. We were directed by the tour bus personnel to a single seemingly interminable line, assured that there was only one line. After standing there a few minutes, I decided something just did not seem right. How could three check-in desks handle 500 passengers and all their bags in a short time? So I scouted around a bit and quickly discovered through ATN personnel that there were TWO lines, one for each flight, and three more check-in desks. So I and many others quickly scurried over to a loop-line area that was otherwise totally vacant. It moved quickly and smoothly after that. Security and outbound passport control were a breeze. The waiting area was very nice, especially for a tropical open-air facility. The flight departed on time without issue and we all got to LA in one piece.

Tomorrow: Separate threads on Dining and Food (that will also address attire), and on Diving With Paul Gauguin.