Info for 30 day Pacific Island Cruise wanted

We are travelling on Holland America Statendam for 30 days. Ports include: Hilo; Lahaina; Honolulu, Hawaii: Fanning Island, Bora Bora, Raietea, Papeete, Moorea, Rangiroa, Noku Hiva Marquesas Island. Looking for information on each of these island as to things to do and see. We like snorkelling, nature, shopping, but far most subjecting ourselves to the culture and people. Warnings and info that is good to know. We usually prefer to explore on our own once on land but if there is any specific ship excursions that come highly recommended then we are interested in learning about that too. Any suggestions on how to pack for 30 days ??? :)

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

Join the Roll Call for your cruise. There you can meet others sailing with you. Often people plan private tours and are looking for others to join. To join, go to the top of this page and move the cursor over "Community". Select Roll Calls from the drop down. Scroll to your cruise line and then Click on your ship. Finally, find the thread for your sailing.

Second, Princess had a similar cruise in October/November. Cruise Critic member SailorJack wrote a great review on the Princess section.

Check the Ports of Call section for info on your ports.

Here is your ship's roll call. Just scroll down to your sailing date. :)

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=320

No one can plan for you as we all have varied tastes, Get some library cruise books out. Tahitiexplorer,com a good site for Polynesia. Google is your friend. Also Tripadvisor.com.

Gr8trips, We had a wonderful cruise such as yours. Fanning Island is THE unique stop. End-of-world isolation. Infrastructure nearly non-existent,(Think Gilligan's Island). Lotsa gals 'With Child', 1 sand pathway, Pigs and piglets everywhere, all on an islet of 3/ft Elevation, Hmm. NukuHiva was for our Anthropology & Herman Melville fix. I organized Landrover tour for lunch at Yvonne's at Hatiheu w/stops at Hikoku'a Tohua Archeo-sites deep in the hills. Those who did not join us were jealous. Papeete Rental Car $cheap$ got us to lonely beaches down in Tahiti Iti area for 'local color' and cold beer. Get to Lonely Planet or TripAdvisor Web-sites and start GOOGLING. Enjoy. Locomotiveman Tom

Love that amazing itinerary and ship, Gr8trips! I sailed on the beautiful Statendam in '95. Be sure to enjoy the lovely teak wraparound Lower Promenade (Deck 6), the extensive art collection, and fresh flowers everywhere.

Regarding shore excursions, we had the best day on Bora Bora, renting a waverunner and circling the island. We also had a blast on the 4x4 jeep excursion. On gorgeous Moorea (my favorite) we had a great day renting a couple of cars (from Avis), with new friends we met on our cruise. We explored along the way, going to Belvedere Lookout (amazing view of both Cook's Bay and Opunohu Bay), stopped for paero and pearl shopping, and happy hour at Sofitel Moorea.

You may want to check out the Pacific Islands Ports of Call forum: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=104, as well as the Hawaii forum.

I would pack pretty light, mixing/matching a few colors that work together. And consider that the Statendam offers full laundry and dry cleaning service- you will find laundry bags and price lists in your stateroom. There are also onboard self-service launderettes, with coin-operated washers and dryers and complimentary irons and ironing boards.

Enjoy your cruise! :)