Wendy and David's Reunion Cruise (September/2014)

Hi guys, it was so great to meet so many of you, both those who were active on the CC roll-call, and others who won't, including the large number of first-timers on this trip. Yes, there were many first-timers--repeat-cruiser numbers were surprisingly low, in the 30% range I believe.

So, a hello to all, and hope we meet again!

Air France:

Premium Economy turned out to be quite comfortable. I had heard the seats were hard, so I actually took a dollar-store chair cushion, which I used, but didn't really need. Only glitch with AF was the pilot's strike which started during the cruise, and of course we were reading about it every day in the little newspaper. We had very little information from AF, up until I got mail telling us we could check in, and then checking the flight status 24-hours previous, which indicated the flight home was "a go". Turned out the pilots were staying at our post-cruise hotel, and all was well. The Destinations Department on the ship kept on top of the situation as best they could, which was helpful.

Pre-cruise:

We eschewed the luxurious and went for family-style. We flew to Moorea on the Sunday before the cruise and rented a car. Stayed at Les Tipaniers, a lovely hotel with charm to spare, mostly European with a great beach and restaurants. Also close to Le Petit Village for shopping. We were happy campers and would go back. We finally made it all the way around the island, and it is gorgeous over there. We didn't do much else, went up the Belvedere of course, and dozed and swam away our jetlag.

Embarkation:

Ferried back to Papeete on the day, and walked over to the ship with our roll-aboards and embarked immediately, avec champagne. After checking in, we went immediately to our tiny, perfect cabin. Oh, I love those little cabins--so well laid-out and nautical. We were in 423 and it was in great shape. Our stewardess did a great job, and was usually around if I needed things, like extra beach towels.

The ship:

The ship, we thought, was in wonderful shape, just as good as we remembered from 2000, our first trip. Perhaps that was partly because some of the "top brass" were aboard for this special itinerary, but I would hope that's not the case. Richard Bailey, the CEO of the company was onboard for the first few days, and came back on board in Moorea on Friday evening. And Oscar (?), who is something like operations manager in Washington was onboard the whole time.

The staff:

The staff were all at the top of their game. Watching those bartenders in the Piano Bar do their magic was a thing to behold! Glad to see Elmo still there--he treated us like royalty the whole time--it seems he's almost filled Arnold's shoes in some ways. Everyone seemed to be making personal connections with passengers around the ship that carried on throughout the cruise.

I can't fault anyone, in any department, everyone was great. We had the good fortunate (who knows why?) to have dinner with Richard Bailey the second night, which was great because we are now big fans of his; the commitment to the environment seems quite genuine. And we also ended up at the Captain's table near the end of the cruise, who knows why, but that was great fun--Captain Tony is a charming man and I'm glad I got to meet him.

The Food:

We ate mostly in L'Etoile, going once to La Verandah but not making it to Le Grill (just laziness.) The dinners in L'Etoile were, for the most part, really excellent--as good as I remember the food from 2000. As some of you know, the quality of the cuisine has had its ups and downs over the years, but it was very, very good this time. My only fault would be that they tend to over-dress most salads--something I forgot to mention on my complaints form. I really didn't think of it until I was eating a wonderful, simple lettuce salad at Le Meridien post-cruise, dressed sparingly with good olive oil and some balsamic. Most salads on the PG were really heavily-dressed, some drowning. But really that's my only complaint. I did get tired of eating so much as the cruise progressed, and we started ordering fewer dishes, and walking away from desserts. I just can't eat so well every night and survive!

Post-cruise:

We paid the $15 fee to have a taxi arranged on disembarkation morning. We were whisked to our cab and sped off to Le Meridien, our choice for one night prior to our AF flight the next day. Further away from Faa'a than the IC, but a very, very nice location. Our room was in the left wing of the hotel, as you face the water. I suspect that's the more desirable side--the ocean swings around right there, so it's quite and our view from the balcony exquisite. Loved the grounds of this hotel. Loved the room. I swam in the ocean and snorkelled a bit, saw a few fish and some strange snake-like creatures that looked like they were related to sea cucumbers--not snakes or eels. The pool was also very nice. We had lunch at the pool bar, and had dinner in the larger dining room in the hotel, and the food was good. Expensive, but no more so than other places in Tahiti. For longer stays, looks like there is shopping walking distance from the hotel. We would definitely go back to this hotel.

I'll talk about specific destinations in a subsequent post.

Wendy,

Diane Moore the President was scheduled to come on the cruise. However she had to have surgery on her ankle for a multiple fracture so was unable to attend. Oscar came in her stead.

Did you see Francis in L'Etoile? He is a young Arnold. Sorry to see Arnold go but he was getting old and I guess couldnt do it any more. Of course Elmo is going strong.

You are correct about personal connections with staff. This is what makes the PG, THE PG.

Wendy,

Diane Moore the President was scheduled to come on the cruise. However she had to have surgery on her ankle for a multiple fracture so was unable to attend. Oscar came in her stead.

 

Did you see Francis in L'Etoile? He is a young Arnold. Sorry to see Arnold go but he was getting old and I guess couldnt do it any more. Of course Elmo is going strong.

 

You are correct about personal connections with staff. This is what makes the PG, THE PG.

Yes, knew about the ankle episode. I thought Arnold just moved to Regent, maybe I'm wrong.

Wendy,

Diane Moore the President was scheduled to come on the cruise. However she had to have surgery on her ankle for a multiple fracture so was unable to attend. Oscar came in her stead.

 

Did you see Francis in L'Etoile? He is a young Arnold. Sorry to see Arnold go but he was getting old and I guess couldnt do it any more. Of course Elmo is going strong.

 

You are correct about personal connections with staff. This is what makes the PG, THE PG.

Diane promised me she is going to lock herself in a padded room before the 2015 Reunion Cruise on the TM! :eek:

David was surprised when he read my initial posting that I hadn't mentioned the Gauguins, since they are an addition since our last cruise.

I can say that the ladies now have their eye candy, and we deserve it!

The fellow who was Mr. Tahiti, whose name I tried to memorize but couldn't, with all the tattoos, was particularly friendly, helpful, as well as being very, er, strong! What can I say? I'm a sucker for half-dressed Tahitian guys with tattoos!

BTW, anyone manage to get photos of the Gauguins? I tried, and failed.

We certainly enjoyed this cruise. This was the first time that we had done the "Tuomotus & Societies"-type itinerary, and we appreciated Miriam's lobbying to tweak this one. The two days at Motu Mahana were great.

But the Marquesas itinerary that we took in 2008, where we stopped at four islands "up there", was still the best. But this actual *cruise* was our absolute best experience on the ship--including our first one in 2000 when were blown away.

Moorea Pre-cruise:

Just another pitch for Moorea as a pre-cruise destination. It's so easy to get there and back. Lots of hotels, from pleasantly modest to extremely luxurious to choose from. Physically beautiful, but lots to do.

Motu Mahana:

We had two days on the motu. We hadn't seen it since the typhoon a few years ago. We like the new chaise lounges (like on the ship) better than the old canvas sling chairs. The fact that it's now a "wet" landing is kind of a pain, but not a big deal.

First trip was the first full day of the cruise. Since tender times weren't accurate, on the first day, we waited (we thought) until after the first crush. Turned out that the motu was heavily populated by the time we got there, so had to find chairs quite far off on the left. But that was fine, we got close to the water. We chased the shade as the afternoon progressed, and David could watch me while I ventured into the water for my first snorkel.

Lunch was delish, including poisson cru, my personal favourite. For first-timers, having the motu day on day #1 must have been a bit weird--I understand why they usually try to make it a bit later.

Second trip was just before Moorea. Everyone was so mellow by then--we all got pretty friendly with each other, so there was a big party atmosphere that was missing the first day. No poisson cru, however--phooey! But I got to see our tattooed Gauguin climbing a coconut tree. It started raining just after lunch, and lots of people left, or tried to. But the line was too long, so we took refuge at a covered table, and made some new friends. And then the weather got amazing again!

Huahine

We did the ship's tour on this island, Sacred Sites and Legendary Places. Led by an American guy who has settled on the island, an anthropologist by training. It was a very good tour, saw lots of maraes, and circled the island on our Le Truck. The guide was a bit garrulous, I have to say. And he had a lot of insights into the social anthropology of the island, which was great, but I think some of us expected a bit more cultural anthropology, i.e., the traditional culture. Not that he didn't tell us lots, he did, but his delivery was somewhat uneven and he got sidetracked easily and left us standing around where we'd rather have been moving.

The last part of the tour was an uphill climb on a trail up to a marae. It was very hot, and I gave up less than halfway up. So be aware, if you are disabled or slow walking.

This was our first visit to this beautiful island, and I'd now like to go back. I'm interested to find out about the Lapita Maitai hotel, which is owned by the PG group. A three-star, which is our style.

Rangiroa and Fakarava:

We didn't do much on Fakarava, but had a great all-day motu day on Rangi. I had decided that two long snorkelling days would be too much for me (and David, who doesn't like the water), and I was right.

In Fakarava we just got off and walked along the road, and people-watched. David sat on a wall while I ventured into the water, and saw some nice fish off-shore. It was very hot, so back to the ship it was!

On Rangi, we did Miriam's Reef Island tour, which was amazing. Despite the very long boat ride, which some complained about quite vocally. But the motu we were taken to was lovely, the water a colour I don't remember seeing. We had a great big group of reef sharks who hang around the boats, so we got to watch them quite a bit, and got to feed them.

The picnic was terrific--I got more poisson cru (excellent). The snorkelling was a bit disappointing. In that crystal clear water, you'd think there'd be more fish. But you had to swim out to some of the larger coral heads to see any fish at all--but there was some big ones, mostly hiding in "caves" under the heads. I should have had a life jacket for that--I found that I wasn't comfortable snorkelling in deep water for very long, although I got better as the cruise progressed. David sat under the picnic fare and chatted with Rodolfo and got to know Horace, Miriam's brother-in-law. Our hosts did a round of music, as well.

As I said, the boat trip was long and kind of tedious, but we went out into the channel at the end to see dolphins. It was very rough and frankly I didn't feel safe in the boat (and as usual, was looking in the wrong direction to see dolphins.) Then we went to the "aquarium", which was amazingly full of fish. Snorkellers went into the water and swam with them, literally hundreds and hundreds of good-sized fish. I stayed on the boat, because I don't like being kicked by other snorkellers, and the water was very deep. This place is close to the dock--I'm betting you could just hire a guy in a boat to take you there. There is a small motu as well, so presumably you could walk in to snorkel.

More later...

Correction.....Horace is Colin's cousin!

Correction.....Horace is Colin's cousin!

Sorry, yes I knew that.

Oh, and I have to say something about Steve Wood, the CD. I thought he did an excellent job--the ship was full of activities. And I'm one who usually dislikes the CD, most are too shrill and "in your face", but Steve was really great.

And funny, I just realized that the "Ivan" who is maitre'd in La Verandah is NOT the same Ivan who used to be maitre'd back when it was Apicius. He was a tall European gentleman who often quite intimidated me! I found that by looking in that great little book they gave us to commemorate the Reunion Cruise.

Maupiti:

Well, as you all must know by now, Maupiti was a bust. We kept an eye on the seas as we were chugging from Rangi, but once we got within sight of the island it was obvious we weren't going to be able to tender in. We got some brief, beautiful, views of the island as we turned around and hastened towards BB.

Bora Bora:

So, we got an extra afternoon in BB. We had nothing planned there, having done most excursions multiple times. So this was going to be my last-minute shopping trip, with a visit to the motu. Well, I didn't even bother going to the motu--I was glad to spend a couple of days out of the water, taking advantage of the ship being quiet. We did wander around town, and saw some wonderful modern jewellery designs. But my shopping was limited to the bazaar at the dock, where I bought some more inexpensive mother-of-pearl items.

We had the Wind Spirit beside us in port--sure is a nice looking ship! Sad to see the Bora Bora Lagoon Resort gone, almost completely swept away. I have memorable shots of those beautiful OWB's from the past. I have heard that several other hotels have been abandoned, not sure if it was the economy or the weather.

Moorea:

So, after another day at the motu (described above), we went on to Moorea. For us it was a return, since we'd done a pre-cruise there, and actually seen the PG in Cook's Bay the day before our cruise started. We love this island.

We spent the first day on the ship, having a late-afternoon excursion planned, the Sunset Catamaran trip. Spent the day just gobsmacked by the scenery in Oponohu Bay--a constantly shifting panorama of jagged peaks, some shrouded in clouds. Got ready for our catamaran trip, and went to the Grand Salon to wait, and had a great chat with Mark Eddowes. What a character he is, very funny, and so interesting. So we were completely unaware that those clouds had swept through and it was pouring rain outside. Soon enough, the operator cancelled our trip--he said that even if the rain stopped, there would be no sunset because of the overcast. Oh well.

So, the next morning, we were ready for our afternoon whale-watching with Michael Poole. Went ashore quite early, because I wanted to peruse the jewellery and other wares onshore. Lots of nice stuff, good prices on pearls that seemed very nice, even though of unknown quality. I could easily imagine buying some of this stuff, but I didn't, this time.

Sat on the windward side, enjoying the respite from the heat, awaiting Miriam, who had organized the trip, and Michael himself. We boarded, and it was a nice-sized group--the boat was not packed.

We went out of the lagoon, and around the island to the west, searching for any sign of humpback whales. We had to go quite a ways, and had turned south around the northwest tip before we found signs. But then we were rewarded with a wonderful whale breach within sight of the whole boat (that's when the whale tries to jump out of the water). It was absolutely thrilling. We saw lots of dorsal fins, and one fluke in the air, fairly close to the boat. Following along with the whales were a pod of rough-toothed dolphins.

We didn't get to snorkel with the whales as some of the other trips did--it was way too rough. We then went back into the lagoon looking for spinner dolphins. Didn't find any, but had fun watching the surfers at the edge of the lagoon--the Tahitians have taken the stand-up paddle board to a new level, combining it with surfing and boogie boarding into a great-looking sport.

All in all a wonderful excursion; barely made the last tender, they were waiting for us and checking cabin numbers as we boarded!

After cleaning up, we went to the sailaway and goodbye celebration on deck. The whole staff came out and were lined up along the railing and down the stairs on deck 9. They sang the "Paul Gauguin" song, and it was a moving, tearful goodbye, as we sailed off in the sunset to Papeete. Boo hoo!

As you can see, I haven't mentioned the shows. That's because we didn't make a single one, even when we really, really tried! Well, that's not true--we did the Liars' Club, and that was, as usual, a real hoot! Steve Wood, Mark Eddowes and John the pianist from Toronto were all very funny. I think we would have won, but there were lots of disagreements within our group. Who cares anyways--we were rolling in our seats!

We didn't even make O Tahiti E, which is usually a highlight for me, thrilling. Hope it was thrilling for those who went.

Thanks so much Wendy for taking the time to post your review. It has magnified our symptoms of the PG Flu (our sailing was back in Jan. 2013 ). Thrilled your trip was so wonderful for yourselves and so many others.

Donna

I just wanted to point out that the blue baseball cap I wore around the ship, and that is shown in my avatar, is a PG cap that I bought on the ship in 2000. It's still viable, although I bought a new PG cap on this ship this time! I also have my original PG t-shirt from 2000, and wore it on water excursions. It's kind of baggy and not particularly attractive, which is why it's lasted so long, but I love it still.

Donna, hope you get to book another PG cruise soon!

Thanks for your report, Wendy. I have been wanting to go back to Tahiti on PG ever since our first trip. But I was worried that it would not be as wonderful as we remembered since Regent is no longer running the ship. You have allayed my fears, and I am going to look at some itineraries.

We were actually quite impressed with the company who runs the PG--their commitment to the environment particularly. We had the pleasure of Dick Bailey's company at dinner one night, and were impressed with him as well.

Thanks Wendy! Loved your report...I think there were a few times during our hard charging tour through Central and Eastern Europe (the day we toured Istanbul with our private guide for 11 hours for instance!) that I though, "hmmm, we could have been on the Motu today" ;)

Thanks Wendy! Loved your report...I think there were a few times during our hard charging tour through Central and Eastern Europe (the day we toured Istanbul with our private guide for 11 hours for instance!) that I though, "hmmm, we could have been on the Motu today" ;)

But I bet you had a great trip too. Have you done a trip report anywhere? I'm trying to plan a trip, probably land, for next Sept/Oct and am entertaining all ideas.

But I bet you had a great trip too. Have you done a trip report anywhere? I'm trying to plan a trip, probably land, for next Sept/Oct and am entertaining all ideas.

Hi Wendy

It was a great trip, so very different from PG; a little sobering to see what's gone on in Eastern and Central Europe over its history, but very informative, and that's what we were looking for! We met some wonderful people (it was similar to PG in that sense) and we've decided we do enjoy river cruises, but we've got a few more "adventurous" destinations to conquer before we take another. So look into the river cruise, it's a neat way to see things! Also, Istanbul was pretty amazing and one of those places I fear will get more difficult for Americans to visit in another dozen years.

I do have some posts I did on my live blog (link posted in my signature below) with hubby's pictures- the Internet on a river cruise is generally excellent because you are always so close to shore. I have a thread started on the River Cruise boards of CC also, but no photos there yet; DH is working furiously this week before he starts a new job next week to finish all our photos. Once they are done I will begin a day to day review much like my PG review, and it will take a bit of time since I want to be as thorough as I was with my prior reviews!

DH has got some amazing photos though! Can't wait to share them!

Im also waiting for some of you on the repeaters cruise to share some photos! Please!!!;)