What about long layover time before flight on PG??

Just wondering if any of you have any advice what to do with our long day after getting off the ship before our 10pm flight. Is there somewhere to go and relax before the overnight flight? Does anyone know what time they make you get off of the ship??

Thanks in advance!

If you are going in March, your travel agent is not doing a very good job of telling your what your trip consists of. Rad always gives pax a day room on the day of disembarkation and I don't think that has changed yet. There used to be a tour offered as well. I suggest you log on and do a search on this board for someone that has recently reviewed their cruise for what the last day was like.

Pat

There's a dayroom provided at the Radisson hotel, very nice. It's not available until mid-afternoon, so after you disembark (which is later now), you have the option of doing a bus tour (not bad, goes to the cultural museum, you get to see a bit of Papeete), or just going straight to the hotel and sitting around the pool until your room is ready.

or for anyone that has the answer. Remember how Rad always used to split the Cat C's and above and take them to the Le Meridien and those under a Cat C were taken to the Beachcomber........do you know if all categories now go to the Radisson hotel? Would make sense if they do. I wasn't that fond of the old split em up routine and it also gave people a false sense that they were going to a superior hotel just because of their cabin category and that was not always the case as some of us reported in reviews.

Pat

We were on the P.G. December 2005/January 2006. Some people were sent to the Radisson Hotel (us), others the Beachcomber. I didn't hear of anyone going to the Intercontinetal (although they may have.)

The free bus tour stops at the Tahiti Museum (cultural and historical stuff on Tahiti), then the oldest Marae in Tahiti, and then the Paul Gauguin Museum and lunch. We did the tour because we were spending two more days in Tahiti and at the Radisson but if we weren't staying, I think I would have gone straight to the hotel. The Radisson has a nice infinity pool area and access to a public beach, a restaurant and bar. Not a bad way to kill time before a long flight :)

We were allowed to disembark the PG at 1PM after lunch, so we checked our carry-on bags with the ship and walked across the street to do some last minute shopping at the Marketplace. We purchased vanila, inexpensive mabe pearl necklaces, Tahitian fabric and a few other little trinkets to bring home for gifts.

When we returned to the ship we took our last dip in the pool and ate lunch. The excursion desk arranged a taxi for us and we went directly to our day room at the Sheraton. Since we booked our air independently, we booked the Sheraton on the internet. We spent the afternoon at the hotel pool and beach, took a short nap and headed to the airport at 10pm for our return flight to Honolulu which departed just after midnight.

Well, it sounds like they've changed things again since I was there in June--at that time, all day-room guests were being sent to the Rad.

thanks for all the replies! I called radisson today and they said that we will all go to the radisson hotel for the day rooms! Sounds like a great way to relax before a long flight home!

Yes it is. If you like swimming, they have a great pool, so consider whether you want to go straight there instead of doing the tour. I think they will store your bags until the room is ready. The view is fabulous, and you can go for a great walk along the beach. Beware, bar and food prices are *very* high--pick up some bottled water in the Marche in the morning. And take your time--service is rather slow in this place.

Yes, the Radisson does store your bags and yes, prices in the restaurant and bar are very high. We paid $26.80 each for a cheeseburger with fries!

Yes, the Radisson does store your bags and yes, prices in the restaurant and bar are very high. We paid $26.80 each for a cheeseburger with fries!

A complimentary lunch time buffet used to be included with the day room when disembarking the PG........is this gone now too?? Say it isn't so.

Pat

Hi Pat, I'm not sure about the complimentary lunch with the dayroom. We did the free bus tour and a buffet lunch at the Paul Gauguin Museum was included with that. We stayed at the Radisson three days post-cruise and our first night there was when we paid for the most expensive hamburger we've ever eaten! And I eat regularly in NYC!

There was no free lunch in June, but then they let you stay on the ship now until 1 p.m., and they serve you a buffet lunch before you disembark.

Thanks Wendy! I think I would much prefer to have the buffet lunch on the ship then at the Le Meridien as was done in the past. That's only because I stayed pre-cruise at the Le Meridien for 3 days and I know that some of that buffet lunch that was served to the cruise ship pax was what we had on the previous night's gala Polynesian revue buffet. If we hadn't of stayed there then we would be none the wiser. Not very nice serving day old left overs.

P

If you're going to stay at the Radisson, please know it's not close to anything. It's a very nice hotel with a lovely beach and a great pool but if you want to go back into town it's a long taxi ride.

They do have a free shuttle too but the times are limited. Just leaves the hotel twice a day and returns twice a day. We worked around that and used them and it worked out fine (although we had a bit of a wait for the return shuttle one day). A taxi is about $25 if I remember correctly. It's definitely not near anything.