French Polynesia Cruise vs Land Vacation

So I am trying decide between the two options. And it is driving me crazy! LOL. I really want to do the OWB thing but the cruise is also appealing because food is all included and you get to see multiple islands. Plus we will have things to do at night on the cruise where as on land on the resort it is pretty dead. For people who have done land and cruise which did you prefer?

Considerations

-We have enough hotel points to stay in Moorea for 4 days and Bora Bora

for 3days. So hotels would be very cheap (may have to pay a upgrade fee to get the OWB). So even though food is very expensive and of course the flight to Bora Bora it will be offset by the cheap lodging.

-We can take a 10 day cruise on the Ocean Princess unfortunately we can't stay more days pre or post cruise BUT we could use our two day stay in Bora Bora to stay at the Intercontinental Thalasso OWB so that I can experience that.

Tough decision right? :p Help Me!

Why not a 7 night cruise on the Paul Gauguin with a 3 or 4 night hotel stay as well.

Best ship plus you get an OWB experience, all in a 10 - 11 night package.

Paul G is out of my price range :rolleyes:. I should have added that to my considerations LOL. We have points to fly so that will be cheap. The 10 day Princess cruise for 2 people is the same price as 1 on Paul G. I would love to do Paul G one day though. Thanks for your input though!

I've taken both Princess and PG in FP several times.

When you add up all the inclusive stuff from LAX and you manage to wait and take advantage of a PG 2-week sale ............ PG cost no more.

Remember everything is included on the PG except some shore excursions.

PG inclusive per person

Pre-cruise day room - $100

breakfast at pre-cruise day room - $35

transfers to and from the PG - $50

bar tab - about $150

tips - $100

day room on departing day - $100

2 shore excursions included - $150

That's about $1400 per couple tossed in compared to Princess. When you combine that with a 20% savings by grabbing a 2-week sale price you are at the same rate as Princess but you get much better food & service in a smaller ship ......... ;)

Ohh I didn't know about the sale. When do they do that? Plus I should be able to get credit back on not using the flights. Since I have points.

Never know but usually it comes up a few times a year on selected cruises. I always take advantage of the 2 week sales.

A big difference between Princess and PG .......... PG is by far superior

Just thought I would post the sales on Paul Gaugin, this page shows a Valentine's sale and then on the right some other sales.

www dot pgcruises.com/take-your-sweetie-tahiti

There is no 2-week sale on thier web site right now. As I said you never know when it may come up but when it does it's a great way to save.

Hi

What exactly is a two week sale? Does that mean it is on for two weeks or something else?

Thanks

PG Cruises from time to time will have a 2-week sale where they offer a good discount of certain cruises. The offer is only given for a 2 week period and then it is gone.

so i am trying decide between the two options. And it is driving me crazy! Lol. I really want to do the owb thing but the cruise is also appealing because food is all included and you get to see multiple islands. Plus we will have things to do at night on the cruise where as on land on the resort it is pretty dead. For people who have done land and cruise which did you prefer?

 

Considerations

-we have enough hotel points to stay in moorea for 4 days and bora bora

for 3days. So hotels would be very cheap (may have to pay a upgrade fee to get the owb). So even though food is very expensive and of course the flight to bora bora it will be offset by the cheap lodging.

 

-we can take a 10 day cruise on the ocean princess unfortunately we can't stay more days pre or post cruise but we could use our two day stay in bora bora to stay at the intercontinental thalasso owb so that i can experience that.

 

 

Tough decision right? :p help me!

why choose.

Do both.

There is a Valentine's Day sale on where they say it is 50% off the listed price and the airfare is free from LA - i have a courtesy hold on it but would have to give my deposit by Monday... should I wait for one of these 2 week sales? How great are they? The trip is for our honeymoon and we are wavering on booking because of the expense.

Sometimes- although the 2 week sales usually state "new bookings only", your TA may be able to transfer your existing booking to take advantage of the sale price, with no penalty. But- that may only be possible if there is a lot of availability on the ship. Worth a try- worked for me!

How good are these two week sales though. This current sale only lasted two weeks, ending yesterday. Is this price a "two week sale" price or does it get better if I wait for one? It is $5045 per person including transportation to and from LA for a category E room (Room 431?) with $600.00 in shipboard credits per person (what can we use $600 each for on the ship - this would be our first cruise, can you tell? Usually resort people) in September. The 7 day cruise.

How good are the sales usually?

Ahhh so much pressure!

is the special your talking about as 50% off and included airfare is always available.

To wait or not to wait? Hummmmmmmmmmmm

Really depends on how important the date you want is. The 2 - week sale is for cruises that might be a bit slow on filling up. If you have a firm time your wanting to go I would book it as that date may nor be on a 2 - week sale.

If your dates are flexible you might want to wait and take a gamble.

How good are the sales usually?

Ahhh so much pressure!

It depends but It's been good enough that I've taken advantage of it a few times.

You will know if it is a 2 - week sale because they call it as such, "2 - week sale"

I just got back from the Ocean Princess with a 4 day land trip pre-cruise. If I were to do it again, I would do a land trip. Probably to Moorea and Taha'a. I found the islands to be similar enough that if I had missed one of them it would not impact my experience that much. We were so busy on the cruise that we were tired and went to sleep early so nightlife didn't matter.

So I am trying decide between the two options. And it is driving me crazy! LOL. I really want to do the OWB thing but the cruise is also appealing because food is all included and you get to see multiple islands. Plus we will have things to do at night on the cruise where as on land on the resort it is pretty dead. For people who have done land and cruise which did you prefer?

 

Considerations

-We have enough hotel points to stay in Moorea for 4 days and Bora Bora

for 3days. So hotels would be very cheap (may have to pay a upgrade fee to get the OWB). So even though food is very expensive and of course the flight to Bora Bora it will be offset by the cheap lodging.

 

-We can take a 10 day cruise on the Ocean Princess unfortunately we can't stay more days pre or post cruise BUT we could use our two day stay in Bora Bora to stay at the Intercontinental Thalasso OWB so that I can experience that.

 

Tough decision right? :p Help Me!

My husband and I did the SP cruise on Princess 9 years ago for our 25th anniversary. It was the best cruise ever! Don't hesitate. Even though we didn 't do a land stay at all, several of the stops were overnighters and we had more than enough time for us to have a wonderful experience on every island

How good are the sales usually?

Ahhh so much pressure!

just check the website, sale starts today:) feb 19

So I am trying decide between the two options. And it is driving me crazy! LOL. I really want to do the OWB thing but the cruise is also appealing because food is all included and you get to see multiple islands. Plus we will have things to do at night on the cruise where as on land on the resort it is pretty dead. For people who have done land

 

I just got home last night from a 6 day land owb at the Hilton Moorea, then a 10 day cruise with Princess. Both experiences were fantastic and yet different. We like to travel not only to see the highlights of an area but we like to get to know the locals. The land trip provided this. We met lots of nice people, ate at the local eateries, shopped in their stores, and chatted with everyone who wanted to talk. I also loved being in an OWB, it's better than a suite.

The cruise was very different, we got to see more, and experience a small taste of each island. Most nights we were too tired from our adventures to go to the shows. The food was tasty, but not local food. Most of the people we met were not locals, but from the CC boards. (A very fun group, we had a blast!)

 

For us we would probably go on a land tour our first trip, but we loved our cruise and the experience it provided, especially meeting everyone from CC.

 

The best choice would be what are you looking to experience on your trip. No matter which one you choose it will be great!

PG Cruises does bring the local flavour on board. They have local women in men who act as hosts and hostesses . They talk about their islands their culture and also have some craft activities. If you are interested in Anthropology Mark Eddowes in wonderful and brings the entire history and socio economic fabric of French Polynesia to you in a very down to earth way.

A few weeks ago we found an impromptu Polynesian dance off between of the male gauguins (hosts) and a guest. It was amazing and a lot of fun. The women were singing to the guitar and these two guys were dancing in the corridor. The guest had a lot of stamina and managed to dance for quite a long time. I have never seen that previously. They also bring professional dance troupes on board as well.

If you have to choose I would choose the PG. Otherwise I would do a couple of nights in an island and then the PG.

...

A few weeks ago we found an impromptu Polynesian dance off between of the male gauguins (hosts) and a guest. It was amazing and a lot of fun. The women were singing to the guitar and these two guys were dancing in the corridor. The guest had a lot of stamina and managed to dance for quite a long time. I have never seen that previously. They also bring professional dance troupes on board as well.

 

If you have to choose I would choose the PG. Otherwise I would do a couple of nights in an island and then the PG.

I totally agree with Emdee--the PG is a magical experience if you can afford it. The 7-day cruise is a wonderful introduction to several islands, and combining this with 3-4 nights on one of the islands is just the best.

Emdee--they now have male Gauguines (Gauguins, I guess you'd have to say)? I'm surprised.

They did for years but some Gauguines got PG ...... WOW, a good pun :)

Interesting they have started again .........