2nd timer itinerary advice

We went on the PG near the end of its Regent ownership, and we visited Tahiti, Bora Bora, Moorea, Taha'a, Rangiroa, Raiatea, and Huahine. We are now planning to take our second PG cruise, and, while we want to go back to some of those, especially Bora Bora and Moorea, we want to see some new places in French Polynesia (i.e., not interested in Fiji or other similarly distant destinations). We are thinking of next July or August. It looks like some cruises visit the Cook Islands, some visit the Marquesas, and there are also some ports in Fakarava that we have not seen. Could someone give me some advice on the pros and cons of the different cruises? I suspect this subject has been addressed in earlier threads, but my attempts to find them with the Search function were not successful :confused:, so if someone can direct me to an earlier discussion, that would be fine as well. Thanks.

with any of these cruises. The Marquesa cruise will have more sea days (I love sea days). These islands are very isolated and some have the appearance of Central California landscape: rolling golden hills. All of these do not have much a developed tourist industry.

Marquesas vs Cooks - both are very different. Marquesas rugged and great for hiking. The Cooks with their lovely blue water and gorgeous Aitutaki motus. The problem with the Cooks is that you may or may not make it to Aitutaki as the swells are huge. We almost didn't as it took 45 minutes to load the tenders. The PG bosuns are very experienced and they would wait for the right moment to put you on the tender.

Since you are a PG fan I say do both. We certainly enjoyed both.

My favourite however is the 10 day Tuamotu itinerary which I think has the right mix of both islands and Atolls.

We loved the Marquesas trip; had it high on our list after our first PG trip. Had a wonderful time, what a magical part of the world!

However, our first 4 cruises on the PG were the 7-day Societies trip (3 and 4 was a back-to-back.) We never tired of that itinerary.

And I believe now, you go to Huahine instead of Raiatea. Right?

Thanks to all three of you who responded. I think we've narrowed it to two cruises. On our previous cruise we didn't know any better and rotely went with ship-sponsored tours. There were big winners (e.g., Poole's dolphin watching expedition) and some real losers. The one day I remember best (or worst) was when everyone on the ship except about a dozen of us went on a private tour of Moorea, but I have no idea who everyone flocked to. Can someone recommend a private tour of that island? From my old guide book dating from that cruise I'm seeing good things about Hiro's Tours and Albert Activities; are either of those the one that was so immensely popular?

My suggestion for Moorea is rent a car in advance. They will deliver it to the dock. Drive around the island - Belvedere, agricultural station etc and then end up either at the Hilton or the Sofitel for lunch and the beach. Both have day arrangements that you can pay for.

My suggestion for Moorea is rent a car in advance. They will deliver it to the dock. Drive around the island - Belvedere, agricultural station etc and then end up either at the Hilton or the Sofitel for lunch and the beach. Both have day arrangements that you can pay for.

Thanks but we both really hate to drive, not only in a foreign country but even here at home. So I definitely do not want to rent a car. Hence the question about possible private tours.

Renting a car on Moorea is a breeze. No traffic and basically one road around the island. Tour on your own time with no timetable. I do this every time.

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A couple of things:

(1) If you choose not to drive on Moorea, perhaps you can connect with someone who does not mind driving on your itinerary's roll call. That's what we did--in addition to having someone else do the driving, two couples can split the cost of the rental/gas.

(2) We did the 14-day Marquesas cruise, and had a great time; I would add that I am not a "sea-day" kind of person, and that cruise had (I believe) 3 sea days. I much preferred being on the islands, snorkeling, hiking, horseback riding, etc, as opposed to lounging around on the ship. (The ship is quite nice, but I felt like I can enjoy a sea day anywhere--if I am going to be in FP, I'd rather be on one the islands as opposed to the ship.) Anyway, I just point this out because if you feel similar you may want to consider The Society Islands/Tuamotus cruise, which I think is 10 days, and only 1 sea day. If I get to go back, that's what I would do, or maybe even back to back 7 day cruises.