Cruise vs. Land Vacation

My fiance and I are very interested in going on the Paul Gauguin for our honeymoon in 2011. Recently we have also been considering doing the whole vacation on land. Does anyone have any feedback regarding the pros and cons of cruise vs. land. If we stayed on land we would spend our whole vacation in an overwater bungalow. Just from doing some preliminary pricing it looks like the cost would approximately be the same for either cruise or land (because we would stay in a balcony stateroom on the cruise). Also, if we did go on the cruise we would most likely do a 3 night pre-cruise stay (1 night Tahiti, 2 nights Moorea in overwater bungalow). For those of you who have done both, which did you prefer?

I haven't done just land. I've done the PG 4 times, for a total of 42 nights.

We did do a 4-day pre-cruise on our first trip, to Manihi in the Tuomotus. This was really dreamy, lovely out-of-the-way place.

If I were you, I'd do the combo cruise, pre-cruise stay. Moorea is perfect for that, I love Moorea. Or Huahine if you can swing it, or Taha'a. (I don't recommend Bora Bora, too touristy and expensive.)

If you do decide to do land-only, think about splitting your time between two islands, so you can see two different places.

If you can afford the OWB go for it, but beach bungalows can be great too--we had one on Manihi and it was the best room I've ever had, facing the rising sun and the trade winds, amazing.

Whatever you decide, have a great time, wonderful place for a honeymoon.

I wholeheartedly vote for the cruise!! We have done both and I would not do a FP land only vacation again.

I loved that the ship moved so we visited not one island, but many islands! Personally, I really enjoyed seeing many different places. Your plan of both land and PG is the best of both worlds!

For your expense, have you factored in the cost of food and beverages? Food in FP is very expensive, and frankly we found the food and service on the ship to be far better than what we received on land.

La Pallette was wonderful in the evening with music and dancing under the stars, and the Piano Bar was one of my favorite spots for a before dinner cocktail. You can join others if you feel like chatting, or you can get a table just for the two of you if you prefer. It was nice to walk up to a bar and order whatever I wanted without the consideration of settling the bill before I headed to dinner. There is no nickle and diming here.

Entertainment on the ship is also included. We fully enjoyed the evening shows, Polynesian dancing and reviews, music, and the crew show. There are lectures available on most days with fascinating hosts. There are also craft activities if you are interested during the day.

In addition, the vantage point from the ship looking onto the islands was fantastic. We didn't realize just how gorgeous these tropical islands were until we saw them from the water. You don't get this vantage point from the land only vacation.

All in all, we found the PG to be a wonderful value providing transportation, comfortable accommodations, awesome scenery (islands and ocean views), good to great food, any beverage you desire, informative lectures, enjoyable entertainment, and a nice social scene with people from all walks of life. We found the PG to be very romantic, even my non-romantic husband felt it and we had the time of our lives. I think the PG is a perfect honeymoon destination providing as much or as little activity as you desire. Nothing beats a glass of champagne in hand as you are leaning on the pool deck railing watching any one of these gorgeous tropical islands fade into the sunset after you have had a funfilled day of snorkeling, jet skiing, safari touring, shopping or just plain lounging on a Motu. I say hands down... PG!!!:D

Now... Bring me that horizon!

We will be on our 5th cruise with the PG. It is an outstanding value for FP.

Does anyone have any thoughts on the aft cabins on pg cruises?

We are doing a cruise/land combination to celebrate my husband's 50th birthday in June. His boss's boss (who is Finnish and not inclined to superlatives) said that the PG cruise was the best vacation experience he has had anywhere ever. We decided to spend two nights precruise at the very modestly priced and well reviewed (Fodors, Frommers,Lonely Planet, TripAdvisor) Fare Suisse in Pape'ete, then are spending 4 nights in an over the water bungalow in Bora Bora after. I am sorry now that we are not going to Moorea and a bit worried after hearing Wendy the Wanderer's and some others' thoughts about Bora Bora, but I think it is too late for us to change islands (we are booked and paid through a travel agent with my husband's job, which is paying for part of our trip). I've heard great things about the Hilton on Moorea.

Happy honeymoon!

Don't worry too much, enjoy Bora Bora, it's lovely. The lagoon is spectacular, great for all water activities. It's not that touristy compared to the places we're used to, just compared to some of FP. Make sure to take a 4x4 trip while you're there.

Ellie,

I would encourage you to try to take the PG. We have done a precruise everytime we have done the PG because we like to recuperate and relax before boarding the PG. The land resorts are beautiful, but the service and food are not so hot, in comparison to the PG. I guess everyone has to try an Over the Water bungalow once in their life, but the beach bungalows have their own advantages. They tried to put us in an OWB on our second visit to Le Meridien on Bora Bora but we insisted on a beach bungalow.

Everyone probably has their own preferences, based on the current PG offerings I guess i would do the precruise on Taha'aa and then the cruise. The Bora Bora resorts are more expensive, I think, and busier probably. Bora Bora is a special place but you do stay there for two days on the regular 7 day itinerary, same with Moorea.

I can't comment on Huahine never been there.

I would not spend time in or around Papeete, the other islands are so much nicer and more quiet.

Thank you SO much for all of your replies!! I think that we are going to do the PG cruise and pre-cruise stay for our honeymoon!!!

We are thinking of doing 1 night in Tahiti, 2 nights in Moorea (in an overwater bungalow :p), and then a 10-night PG cruise. With this itinerary, the whole honeymoon will be 13 nights.

Do you think we should splurge and do an extra night post-cruise as well to make the whole trip 14 nights??? I don't know if it is worth it because we will be getting the day pass from PG for the Raddison because the flight won't be leaving until the evening, so I don't know if we should pay the extra money to stay an extra night. Also, I have read that it is better to do a pre-cruise stay because the service at the land hotels does not compare at all to the service on the PG. We would love to add an extra night to our pre-cruise stay; however, we can't because we are already going to be leaving the morning after our wedding. So I don't know what we should do. What do you think - what would you do???

Thank you again for all of your input!!! I greatly appreciate your help!! :)

While it would be nice to extend your honeymoon an extra day, I would think that after your cruise, the resorts would be a letdown. And you typically get a half day or so at the Radisson anyway.

The pre-cruise is worthwhile if for no other reason that you can get on the ship rested rather than like a zombie. I am sure after all the buildup to your wedding, you will need a couple of recovery days. It will REALLY help you enjoy your cruise to the fullest.

Moorea is one of my favorite stops, I think you will enjoy it.

My wife and I are going on our fifth 'honeymoon' on the PG this summer.

While it would be nice to extend your honeymoon an extra day, I would think that after your cruise, the resorts would be a letdown. And you typically get a half day or so at the Radisson anyway.

 

The pre-cruise is worthwhile if for no other reason that you can get on the ship rested rather than like a zombie. I am sure after all the buildup to your wedding, you will need a couple of recovery days. It will REALLY help you enjoy your cruise to the fullest.

 

Moorea is one of my favorite stops, I think you will enjoy it.

 

My wife and I are going on our fifth 'honeymoon' on the PG this summer.

Nicely said!! I agree that I would not spend the extra $ for a post night or two. It will indeed be a let down. We actually left the cruise the night it arrived in Papeete and didn't even do the day room. We literally flew in the day of (drove right to the ship), and flew out (drove right back to the airport). Leaving the ship and going back to real life is such a shock to the system! :D

As we arrived so late, we were indeed very tired the next day. We still got up early because we didn't want to miss anything. I think it took 2 or so days to really feel good again. (Is that age setting in??!)

Mtndiver is right, after the wedding you are going to be pretty beat. You are headed to the perfect place to rest up! Congratulations, you will have a wonderful time!

CMstraf, I think you will be fine in Bora Bora. It is a beautiful island! You can just rest up, rent a car, rent a bike, shop, dine, snorkel, etc. etc. etc. I did hear that Bloody Mary's for dinner is much better than for lunch if that is on your list...

I think you will enjoy your time in your Tahiti accommodations as well. Again, I would get a car and get out and see the island if you that fits into your plans. I always love exploring new islands, and when you have more than a day you have time to really look closely and try new things. We can't wait to hear about your trip when you get back! :)

I second the recommendation about Bloody Mary's. Skip lunch and go for dinner. Our lunch was disappointing and didn't have the vibe which is so fun at dinner.

I can't comment on the land portion. I've never stayed anywhere but the Radisson day room. We met some honeymooners aboard who stayed 5 nights post cruise at Sofitel BB and were thrilled with the way their honeymoon went.

Congratulations on your pending marriage. What a wonderful place to start a life together regardless of where you fit your cruise in!

Ellie 424

What about spending your money on flying first class or business instead of doing a postcruise night? I don't know where in the States you are flying from, but everyone is right, you WILL be tired after your wedding and flying business or first class, though a lot more expensive, makes a huge difference. We religiously save miles to upgrade when we can (which we can't with our upcoming trip). You will arrive more refreshed, return more refreshed and if you can do it you won't be sorry.

Also, what about timing your flight so that you arrive in the morning and then can spend three nights precruise in Moorea, instead of dividing it between Tahiti and Moorea? You will have more down time, be in what everyone says is a magical place and if you wanted to see something of the market in Papeete, go before you board the PG for your cruise.

Going back to DH's and my trip--should we have Bloody Mary's on our list? I made us dinner reservations at the Villa Mahana for the day we fly to Bora Bora--DH's 50th birthday. We have the breakfast buffet included in our package and I thought the rest of the time we would try to eat as inexpensively as possible--pizzas, lunch or supper picnics on the deck of our bungalow etc.

I'm also trying to decide whether to pack light (two carry-ons and a bullet (hard covered duffel) bag for books, sunblock, toiletries etc, all of which we will check and two daypacks to carry on the plane) or go for broke and bring food, wine and inflatables with us. Thoughts?

I am SO excited- we have never done anything like this before ever!