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PG review 10/22/5 with pre-package (Long review)


Jake84

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Review time!

Traveled with another couple- they have done 7 previous, we had done 5 previous cruises- none with Radisson. Did 4 day pre-package.

 

Flights:

Loved Air Tahiti Nui- the US airlines could learn a thing or two about customer service! Flew from the east coast a day prior and would certainly recommend this for anyone who has jet lag issues. I have had trouble in the past for the first few days when I have done marathon time zone jumping! I also got sleeping pills and was glad I did. Stayed at the Radisson at LAX- ok for a night- nothing special.

 

Pre-package with Radisson:

First night- Intercontinental Beach Tahiti- seemed nice enough- got in late and went to bed! Woke up and opened the curtains to beautiful Moorea in the distance. Transfers went smoothly, well informed about where we had to be when etc.

 

Ferry to Moorea, bus waiting to take us to the Intercontinental Beach Moorea.

 

Rooms were ready when we arrived, but they did not have us near the other couple as we had requested. They did shuffle us so we were about 6 beach bungalows away from each other. Which was fine.

 

Rooms were very nice, clean, large, great view, quiet. I did not like the lack of screens on the sliding doors or the windows. I love the outdoors, but I like it outside. I did not like the fact I couldn't sit on the little deck without lizards sneaking in. Found them darting around the room, on the ceiling etc. All I could think about at night was them walking all over me.

 

Ice: Needing to go to the main building bar.

 

In 3 days- not once was my room made up. I had to call every single day. The other couple had no trouble and their room was done daily while we were at breakfast. You had to call for turndown service, which I did daily and had no trouble.

 

Snorkeling: Was ok- fairly shallow, I saw lots of dead coral (sadly), some fish, some currents near the over water bungalows, but be aware of the black sea urchins- they have long spikes (nasty looking).

 

Parasailing: Same guys at the hotel go to the ship, so if you are going to do it, do it at the hotel (cheaper of course). I did it- did not love it, a little scary and windy; (I did it before and didn't love it- so why would I do it again??)- Everyone else loved it.

 

Car rental: The cars are very small, roads narrow, and people drive fast and pass when they should not! Beware! We used Budget which was right on site. Not the cheapest on the island, but the easiest.

Belvedere Lookout: Great view, try to pick a clear day to visit, it was great!

We did drive around the island, did a little shopping, not much to do, but that is what I loved about it.

 

Meals:

At the Hotel: breakfast included in package- it was fine- all kinds of hot and cold foods, fruits, juices, pastries etc.

 

Attended the beach Polynesian show on Wed night; Large buffet, food was good, show was ok- the women were great, but the young men did not seem very interested in their performance.

 

We had our rental car, so we drove ourselves, but the restaurants do have shuttles.

 

Thur: Honu iti- Stingrays swimming by, food again was good (I don't love fish- the others loved it). I got French onion soup- it was awful.

 

Fri: LeMinereva-(the boat) - Best meal we had on the entire trip. Very quaint atmosphere- good food, very small place. I loved it.

 

Upon returning Fri pm, the front entrance to the hotel was full of kids and cars. 2 guards did finally let us in. There was local kid’s disco night going on. It was so loud you couldn't even communicate with the front desk help. It went on until after 1 am. I was in a beach bungalow a moderate distance from the main lobby. It was very loud and disruptive even in my room. I felt badly for the folks who were nearer in the garden view rooms.

 

Sat: transfers all went smoothly- ferry ride fine- brought right over the PG (about 4pm boarding)

 

Check in: very smooth- very few people appear to be onboard yet.

 

Overall Destination: Loved seeing French Polynesia- I do think that this gives you a great idea of what the islands are like.

 

Ship: Had 7th floor C cabin. About 3/4 of the way back. Smell of exhaust was always present on the balcony, and sometimes in my room and in other parts of the ship even with doors closed. I don't know it the air intakes are near the smoke stack? I thought the ship was showing its age. The dust ruffle on my bed had wear holes in it; the carpet seemed worn and unclear. Public areas I thought looked less worn out.

 

Vibrations/dry dock: I read some chats about this before I left, so I payed close attention when I was on board. I would avoid cabins 735-41. It seemed the worst in these areas. I spoke with the captain about the dry-dock in Jan- he said they could not fix the vibration and that was just the way it was. Also confirmed that the lounge on the back of deck 7 would be suites, the casino and boutique would be redone (sounded like expanding boutique and making casino smaller.)

 

Staff: Wait staff, bar staff, room attendants: Friendly, helpful, staff remembered your names, great room service folks, great service always! Never waited for anything I asked for- from a foam pad for my bed (beds are very very hard without it), to limes for my husbands Gin and tonics. My room was always made-up quickly. Always seemed to have enough staff. Exceptions: See note below concerning Cruise director and her assistant.

 

Shows: went to 3 of the Polynesian shows on board- they were good, thought it gave the cruisers more of a feel for the destination. Also- the Gauguines were a plus.

 

Motus: Motu mahana; Surf shoes, hat, sunscreen, sunglasses, sun shirts a must!!!! Very sunny!! Pretty good snorkeling (shallow water)- get there early for a chair, but wait until the first rush of people gets out of the water to eat lunch and then go- you will have the place to yourself. They were burning debris the day we were there, so the air was full of smoke and unpleasant when you were down wind.

Bora Bora Motu: Very few people- (Lack of chairs, restrooms, and lunch I think discourages folks). If you like the beach, it was great, water better for swimming. Snorkeling was good (deeper and bigger fish), but it was much rougher seas.

 

Coral Comment: I thought the hotel, excursions, and cruise line needed to do a better job of instruction/education about coral preservation. I witnessed lots of people standing on and touching coral (which will kill it!) The coral is dead in lots of areas (and in the Bora Bora lagoon as well) If they don't correct what is happening they won't have any left to enjoy. I left it on the comment cards for all the good that does.

 

Food: Overall: good, a few great items, and a few bad items. Breakfast- ate twice in our rooms, twice in the dinning room, and the rest at the buffet. Lunch-Ate at Motu Mahana, packed lunch for Bora Bora motu, and rest at the buffet. Buffets were ok- some items everyday- some changed.

 

Dinners: Did not like the reservation thing- just let folks show up, would you really be over run with people at any given time??

Ate at The Grill once- food good but salty- did not love the atmosphere-informal, windy, floor was wet. Ate at La Veranda (French) once- loved the atmosphere, food was good, but the menus and wines are set for the week, so once was enough. So, the rest of the time was in the main dinning room- L'Etoile- Food was good, atmosphere good. Wines were good, and poured liberally. Wait staff was fabulous.

 

Favoritism: coincidence?? The first night on board we were on the fantail for departure; the cruise director and her assistant were making the rounds, speaking with people. I heard them ask folks near us if they were repeaters with Radisson. In fact they were 4 time Radisson cruisers. I noticed over the week: I was never seated near a window at dinner, but they always were, the head waiter never once came to our table, but visited them nightly. The cruise director and her sidekick seemed to stop by and chat frequently on board (and greet with kisses), but barely a hello to us. We are friendly chatty folks- very approachable. This in not how do endear future travelers to repeat with Radisson. Maybe because we are young?? (youngish? 38)

 

Excursions: Loved the shark and ray feeding on Bora Bora and the Lagoon discovery on Moorea. Didn't really care about the sharks, but loved the rays.

 

Seasick: Departed Bora Bora before dinner. Many people leaving the dinning room and were unable to attend dinner at all. Seas were rough. The next morning we arrive in Moorea, only to wait outside the bay for over an hour. Why not stay in BB until after dinner then depart??

 

Tenders: Did not have to ever wait long, they seemed to be running all the time. Did not understand why on Raiatea they do pull up to the dock. It certainly seemed built for much larger ships.

 

Shopping: Sorry- not big shoppers- bought tee shirts in Bora Bora and pareos and pearls in Moorea. Scary bathroom on dock in Bora Bora- go before and wait until you get back on the ship. I think Radisson could spend a few dollars and do some updating for them.

 

Fri PM back to Tahiti: Felt like the trip ended sooner. People getting off Friday eve was strange. Would have prefered to stay in Moorea the extra night and return to Tahiti Sat am.

 

Radisson day room: It was very loud! Local kids at the beach with radios, swimming, fooling around, socializing etc. Could not nap with the noise, but nice to be able to unwind a little before 2 days of travel.

 

Radisson Home offices:

Bad, bad, and worse. I booked the PG trip in July 04 for Aug 05 (special anniversary- we would be in BoraBora). In May 05 (under 90 days till sailing) we were called by our travel agent- we had been bumped for a charter. I understand business and money maters. What I did not like was how Radissons handled it. Radisson had known since Oct 04 they had chartered the ship. Radisson did not let us know for 8 months!!!!! 8 months- think about it- the planning, the schedules (3 medical people-some with patients to rearrange and reschedule. Think about the last time your MD cancelled your appointment and how put out you were- imagine 2 weeks worth and the negative impact.) This could have been avoided. We never could get an answer as to why Radisson would wait 8 months to inform us (and others booked on this cruise??). Radisson initial offer: 2 alternative weeks to choose from - it was not possible for us to make those dates (child leaving for college), and no offer of compensation or upgrade. We were in limbo for a month. Our travel agent could get no answers- take or leave the initial offer per Radisson. No one would return her calls or emails. Never an apology from Radisson once for their mix up. We were out 800$ to rebook our first class air Boston to LAX (we had done that leg on our own). As advised in the chat rooms, we contacted Mark Conroy. No help, compassion, or assistance at all. Radisson did eventually (after lots of emails and calls) agree to give us an onboard credit. When final paperwork arrived, the onboard credits were not there, and the person at Radisson who promised it had left the company. Start with the calls again. What a nightmare- very difficult situation which could have been made much easier if Radisson had been on the ball to begin with, apologized, and been helpful with the rebooking.

 

In the end the trip went great, problem free, destination wonderful, pre-package, ship, and food good.

We did our homework on Radisson, and choose them partly based on their reputation, partly on this destination.

 

I would be very reluctant to recommend this cruise line based on the home office.

 

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Thank you for taking the time to write the review. We've always wanted to sail that route. I certainly think Radisson owed you better treatment for all the inconvenience.

 

We are taking our first Radisson cruise in January and hope they don't charter the ship out from under us! We're also considering Auckland to LA on Mariner late next year.

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Radisson admitted they had chartered the ship in Oct 04 for prize winners in a contest a supermarket chain was running.

They said it was an oversite that we (and our TA) were not informed sooner.

 

Also- I have been unable to edit my original review- corrections/typos my hubby found in my review:

 

Moorea dinners: Should be Linareva

Moorea rental car: Should be Europcar

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Jake84:

 

I'm just curious --- were you on the "PG's "standard" 7 day itnierary or on one of their extended cruises? I ask because of your comments about vibration. We took the PG's standard 7 day cruise in '02, and took two of these back to back in '03. We experienced no vibration on those cruises --- neither in the lounge on deck 7 nor any place else. Then, in September '05, we took the 14 day Cook Island cruise, and many days the vibration on deck 7 was really pretty bad. Up until I read your review, I attributed this to the fact that on the 7 day cruises, the ship goes very slow, as it has little distance to cover. In contrast, on the Cook Island cruise, there were times when the ship had to "make some speed" to be on time. And we all know, I'm sure, that the faster a ship has to go, the worse any vibration usually becomes. So I was just wondering if your cruise was the 7 day itinerary, or something different.

 

Thanks,

Richard

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I was on the standard 7 day.

 

You could feel the vibration when we were docked and when we were at sea. You could feel it ever so slightly in my stateroom (747), but much more toward the center of the ship (in the hallway.) And yes I was walking around feeling the floors and walls just so I could give an accurate report after reading many comments on these chat rooms about it. Not sure how bad it was inside those cabins, but I can only imagine it was present. The crew seemed aware of it. I spoke with the captain and first officer about it. They told me there was nothing that could be done about it. They did say it was unusual for a ship to have vibration problem mid-ship, and that it was usually a problem in the back of ships. Not sure if it has gotten worse with age??

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Thanks, Jake. From your report, I must (sadly) conclude that something has gone wrong with the ship with age, as we found no vibration anywhere on our '02 and'03 cruises on her. I had thought (and hoped) that the vibrations on our Cook Island cruise in '05 were due to the higher speeds the ship had to make to cover the greater distances. Wrong conclusion, it would appear. Moreover, I must note that I read this and other cruise boards frequently, and never saw a post mentioning vibration on the PG until recently (rough ride in rough waters, yes -- vibration, no). I am sad, too, that apparently no effort will be made to track this down and fix it in the future dry dock.

 

Thanks,

Richard

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Jake84,

I heard they didn't use the dock at Raiatea because of politics or something about the ownership position of the competing cruise line. Don't know idf that is true. We have been on the PG twice 2001 & 2003 and didn't notice the vibrations however we were farther forward. From time to time the stability of the PG seems to be an issue. It is a shallow draft ship so in rough water it rocks. We took the patch on trip number 1 and didn't need it. Ditto on trip two. As a returning passenger, we did get some special attention from the hotel head, whatever you call him. We also were adopted by one of the Gaugines the second time, don't know why there just seemed to be a chemistry between her and my wife. If my daughter wasn't getting married and that I am going to be unemployed I would be planning another trip.

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egret:

 

Very sorry to hear about your unemployment in the future. Just one question. On you PG cruises in '01 and '02 did you ever visit the lounge on deck 7? Do you recall any vibration there? We recalled none from our '02 and '03 7 day cruises. But vibration was there "big time" last September on our 14 day Cook Island cruise. Wondering if it is a case of poor memory on our parts, or if something really has gone wrong with the ship?

 

Thanks,

Richard

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Richard, we just returned yesterday from our 11/05 to 11/12 PG cruise. We have previously sailed her in 2000 and 2002 and did not notice the vibration. On this past week's cruise we did notice a slight vibration when attending functions near the stern. Our cabin was well forward so we never felt anything other than normal "roll" while underway.

 

As you well know, the MS Paul Gauguin has been consistently ranked as the world's best cruise by various cruise publications of stature. Nothing during this past week changed our opinion about the value of this cruise, the exceptional service level, the wonderful people of French Polynesia, the crew's dedication to please from luggage handlers to the new Captain Zupan..ect. ect..ect.

 

I know that I'm preaching to the choir by posting you, however, "yes" more noticeable vibration, however pale in comparison to the Navigator and other ships that we have sailed.

 

It's ironic to read posts from Anthonnnnny and his evaluation of Radisson in view that he has not sailed the flagship of the fleet. You and we know the PG to be elite. While we have spent more money with other lines over the years and are in no way "touts" for Radisson, the PG will remain dear to our hearts. We were happy to hear that they will continue through 2009 and God willing, we will return many times. They have a keen ability to make all their guests feel special; a priceless asset IOO!

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If by "the flagship of the fleet" you mean the Voyager, near the stern on that ship it is "vibration city" and far worse than the Navigator or the PG.. But even with the new vibration problem, the PG remains the best way to see French Polynesia. And, actually, the most cost effective way.

 

Thanks,

Richard

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