Cruise review of 12/3 10 day by a new cruiser to PG

As someone who likes to do a tremendous amount of research and plan in advance for cruises, I find cruise critic to be a tremendous help and felt that I needed to post a review about my PG cruise in return.

First as a means of background, I have been on over 30 cruises. Most of them have been more family oriented cruises and our preferred cruise line for those cruises have been Royal and Celebrity. I have also taken many cruises on other lines geared more to adults, and have been on many different cruise lines both larger and smaller. For instance the larger lines include Royal, Celebrity, Princess, Carnival, Norwegian, and Holland America. The smaller lines include Crystal, Radisson, Regent, and Silver Seas. So I like to think I am an experienced cruiser and can be fairly objective, though I realize every review will have a lot of personal opinion. I must also say as a matter of full disclosure that I love cruising, and with the exception of my one carnival cruise, I have loved every cruise I have been on.

Turning to my PG cruise, overall, we really enjoyed it. THere were some huge positives, and some negatives which I will outline here. If I were to try to sum it up, I would say it is a very small ship that has the feel of more of a private yacht with incredible service, good food, very nice passengers. The feel is more country club casual as it should be in the south pacific. You are just required to wear long pants and a polo at dinner for men, and while that bothered some who wanted to wear shorts in the tropics and not pack long pants, I didn't have any issue with that. THe ship itself is in good shape. No, it doesn't have rich woods or the "wow" factor of the some of the newer ships from some of the adult oriented mid sized ships, but it was clean and nice. I didn't have any issues with the ship on our cruise, nor hear any from fellow passengers, such as air conditioning which I heard reported on this site repeatedly so it appears they have resolved this. I would also like to add I understand everything is a matter of personal opinion, but I was very surprised of the number of service related complaints I read on this site and elsewhere as I have to say if there is one thing I found beyond reproach it would be the service levels on this ship which in my opinion were as good as if not better than all of the luxury cruise lines I've been on. I am going to break this review down to a few separate ones as I wrote one long one and then it got lost, and before I lose my mind writing all and seeing it disappear again, I will break it up!

First, let me outline what I saw as the major positives and the major negatives of the cruise.

Positives:

1) The PG ship and crew simply know the South Pacific and everything is well organized, well thought out, and has a lot of little positives that are hard to convey. They have been in this neck of the woods for years, and it shows.

2) The service. In one word...fantastic. From the wait staff, to the steward and butler, I can't say enough. The entire ship was immaculate, as was our room, and the service in the dining rooms was impeccable. THe service levels was as good as if not better than any other luxury line I have been on. The staff made a point to get to know your name, were the friendliest I have encountered on any cruise, and just provided excellent service. The cruise staff, called the Gauguins, were very friendly and charming as well providing a lot of the on board entertainment. Apparently, alot of the staff have been with the ship for many years, which is a major reason people like to return.

3) Fellow passengers. Just a great group of people. Very nice and friendly. Yes, some of them are downright "cultish" in their love of PG and that shows in their having been on 10+ PG cruises. They know what they like, though I must say I was surprised how many were on very few other cruises and just love French Polynesia and want to come back to "paradise" which I understand, though personally I prefer to see other parts of the world.

4) Their private motus. PG has two...one on bora bora, and one on Ta'ha which are both beautiful and really help set them apart from the other cruise lines that travel this part of the world. They are essentially private islands. On the one in Ta'ha you spend an entire day and they have a bbq lunch, kayaking and paddle boarding is available, just a nice relaxing day. French Polynesia is one of the most beautiful places in the world, and IMHO, the private motus were the most spectactular so their having 2 motus included was very nice.

5) The ship is made to do this route with a flat bottom boat, and goes some places and ports others cant. To be honest, this I was told more than know firsthand. I did see other ships in ports with us but in reviewing itineraries with others it does appear this is true somewhat.

6) Private yacht feel. This was a bit of a negative as well as a positive, see the negatives below, but it was a huge positive to have a small walk to get to wherever you wanted to go. The entire ship had a different feel than any other ship I've been on, including ones of comparable size

7) Food. Yes I put this one last on purpose. The food was very good. I would say on par with other luxury cruise lines. THey had a main dining room and 2 specialty restaurants which for a ship this size tells you their focus on the culinary. They did recycle alot of the foods(eg...3 different kinds of fishes just done differently all the time, the same chicken with rice dish with different sauces every night), but it was very good. The breakfast buffet was smaller and had the same items all of the time, but they were good for the most part. THis one, of course, is extremely subjective. We did do a galley tour, which I've done on other ships, and were given champagne and hors d'oeuvres as we toured their small galley which was nice. Also have to add I did think this was an all inclusive cruise. The two "specialty restaurants" were both no charge. Alcohol was included, and only if you wanted real premium alcohols or after dinner liquors was there any kind of an upcharge. We had no additional charges for alcohol our entire cruise. The entire bill was just spa appointments and internet charges.

The negatives:

1) The entertainment and activities. I've been on a silver seas ship which was the same size as this one and some other smaller ships. By far and away, this ship had the least amount of entertainment and activities. If you enjoy seeing different entertainers, a reasonable casino, any kinds of activities from trivia to cooking classes, none of that is on this ship. Were there "shows"? Sure..there were some polynesian shows that all blended to me. Some nights they had nothing...one they had a 30 year old movie playing in the grand salon(no joke). They had the worst lounge lizard pianist I remember seeing on all the ships I've been on, a band who you could hear counting beats and looking at sheet music and a lead singer who was reading the songs words off of an ipad. Their one guest entertainer was someone a group of people travel to see, a jimmy buffett type. I won't comment on him as not my style of music to hear for an hour, but those who like that music seemed to like him. THose who didn't, didn't. The shows were very poorly attended, except for the crews talent show which I did enjoy as well. But if I'm to be honest, it was like seeing your kids in a talent show at high school. You know them and all of your childs friends and that's what makes it great. Same was true here, but since you did get to know the crew on such a personal level, it was fun and gives you an example of the small yacht feel.

Outside of Les Gauguines making crafts there were virtually no ship planned activities. Basically your nights consisted of a good dinner, maybe an after dinner drink or show(most passengers did neither)and you had a dvd player and they had a large collection of movies to borrow and watch in your room until you fell asleep. THis is one big change from other cruise ships you need to know up front and be ready for. If this sounds great to you, as I know it does to many, you will love this cruise. If you are antsy reading it, you need to think about it. Also have to add that the gym was the smallest and most cramped I've seen on any cruise with no views, the 2 table casino was laughable(though they did have blackjack tournaments that people seemed to attend at 6 30 every night) and the "piano bar" brought new meaning to the word tight.

2) Motion on the ship. If you are someone very prone to sea sickness, this may not be the ship for you. Because the boat has a flat bottom to get in and out of all of the ports with the boat is very susceptible to motion. I have never been on a cruise and felt the boat as much in my life as I did here. Neither my spouse nor I are prone to any form of motion sickness thank god, but it was annoying. The cruise before ours they had to miss two ports which I was told is not an infrequent occurrence on this ship. ALot of people using "the patch" or other things to help with sea sickness

3) The coffee and times to get food. I know the first part sounds funny, but I find it incredible that they have one kind of coffee on the whole ship and everyone including long time cruisers and the crew think it tastes terrible. How is that possible in this day and age with most ships including very small ones having a separate place with many different coffees? Also the ship had no separate place to go and get food any time like all others I can remember, and their times for meals were odd For instance, breakfast ended every day at 9 30 am even on sea days and lunch was at 12. If you wanted something in between, you had to order room service. Speaking of which, room service was amazing. The fastest and best food I remember having of all the ships I've been on, so there is that counter balance. But it is a very limited menu and sometimes you just want something small and quick. No option for that here

As you can see, the positives far outweigh the negatives though I have to say the first two negatives were very major ones for me. French Polynesia is one of the most beautiful places in the world to go, and Paul Gauguin does a great job of giving you an authentic feel of the islands in a very pampered and friendly environment

Part 3 to follow

Some thoughts on the cabin:

We were booked in a cabin "B" but were upgraded to an "A" suite. Travelling during off season, the ship was only about 60% full, but frankly I can't imagine there are ever any issues with lines or crowds even when full.

The cabin itself was beautiful. Tremendous amount of storage, wide room, perfect for a longer cruise. Very comfortable room, bedding, spacious. I saw their "regular" sized rooms and they looked like normal luxury cruise rooms with ample storage. I would give my room grade an "A"

The bathroom, on the other hand, was a solid "C". It was on the smaller side, especially for a room our size. There was a tub/shower combo that was tight. With the ships movement, be prepared to grab on to the well placed handle so you don't fall out of the shower as we both almost did a few times. Bath products were very nice and L'Occitane, and storage in the bathroom was excellent which was nice as i find many others to have virtually nothing. Water pressure in shower, a pet peeve of mine, was not very good I'm afraid.

The balcony was long and thin with a small table and two chairs on it. You could not fit loungers as it was very narrow.

Our stateroom attendant was among the nicest and best I have ever had. The room was spotless every day. She learned our likes and dislikes and catered to them without being told. A+.

Our butler made sure we had fresh fruit every day and delivered canapes every afternoon. We took the laundry plan, which for $129 and unlimited laundry for a 10 day cruise, I cannot recommend highly enough(you have to book this in advance so don't forget). He picked up in the morning and delivered clothes back in the afternoon clean and pressed. Yes, there was a lot of pampering on this cruise. He couldn't do enough for us, and we were saying no thank you a lot

Excellent, thank you very much. With someone whose cruising experience is as broad as yours, your opinions are most appreciated.

Our excursions:

I did a lot of research on this site and on trip advisor and have to say we enjoyed all of our excursions. Here is what we did:

Huahine: Marc's Motu Picnic. We did the 6 hour day that included a tour of the island which included seeing some historic items(nothing to speak of really if you're well traveled), a vanilla farm, feeding ancient eels(VERY cool), and boat ride with lunch on your own private motu. A very nice day.

Bora Bora. We chose Bora Bora Photo Lagoon. It was a private tour, and very pricey but the advantage is we got 480 pics of ourselves around the entire island of Bora Bora. Very nice. Didn't do the sting rays or sharks though which we did separately but other than that this was a great excursion. The second day we did jet skis around the island with Matira which was very good though as others have said it was more a fun day on jet skis then sight seeing trip due to speed you are going and how fast the entire trip is(2 hours). PG's private motu here is also something you have to spend a few hours on.

Rangiroa. We are not divers, and didn't want to do the drift snorkel(read too many horror stories and saw someone get back on board after with cuts on them from the coral). Only here 5 hours, so really a wasted day. Walked around a bit, but was very hot. Side note..."ports" in all of these islands except the big two are pretty non existent. Huanine was one tented shop and nothing around for miles, Rangiroa and Fakarava were literally nothing

Fakarava. We did Ato's Blue Lagoon tour. Of all of our excursions, this was our favorite. We were on the tour with 2 other couples, both of whom had been on PG 10+ times, and both agreed this was the prettiest place in French Polynesia. Why? It's a one hour boat ride out to a private island where the water is so shallow in parts it's 6 inches for hundreds of feet, a private lagoon for swimming, and lunch. The ship has a half day excursion, but Ato's was only $95 and included a delicious lunch. The only reason not to take this excursion is if you are prone to sea sickness as it is a 1 hour trip each way with a snorkel stop on the way in each direction. It looked like paradise found when you got there.

Taha. Their private motu. We spent the day there. Very nice. I had read to do that, but met some who took excursions for half an day and then the motu and liked them as well

Moorea. Did ATV Moorea there as I had read alot about it. Loved it. We did the longer tour. Great atv's, great scenery, just great. Spent the second day at a hotel as a day guest, was nice. Don't know that we would have done that one again hindsight being 20/20 as we did the extension at the Intercontinental Thallaso(beautiful hotel, you won't believe what you pay for food there and everywhere on island)

Alot of excursions are personal preferences of course. For us the motus with the shallow waters and beautiful clear blue were highlights every where

In conclusion, we really liked our cruise. Would we take this cruise ship to other parts of the world? No, because of the motion issues and the lack of entertainment/activities. But for french polynesia it was an incredible cruise. The private yacht feel of the boat was very nice and I really can't say enough about the friendliness of the crew or your fellow passengers. The "regulars" on PG cruises are simply put a nice group of people. The service levels were exceptional and yes I definitely felt pampered. The "gauguines" gave an authentic south pacific feel to the entire cruise and they were beautiful people inside and out. When we come back to the south pacific again in the future, PG will be on the top of our list of considerations.

PS...I was asked by a friend if I would take a cruise or just go to a hotel when going to French Polynesia as we did both. Now I am VERY biased towards cruising but I would definitely say a cruise. Why? PG has overnights in Bora Bora and Moorea, the two most popular islands so you get a real feel for both of those(plus no motion those two days which was great lol). But they also go to more remote islands like Huahine and Fakarava, two beautiful locations that let you see more unspoiled locations that were incredible so for me that would be reason enough. But frankly when you combine the cost differentials....hotels are definitely a lot more(especially the food, look out) and there is even less in the form of activities and entertainment there! So I would definitely recommend a cruise to french polynesia, a place I think every one needs to visit at least once and PG definitely is the most experienced cruise line for that location and it shows.

PPS---If you have any questions feel free to ask and I will check back here and answer if I can.

Thanks for your review. Really enjoyed it.

You are correct that the PG has a cultish following....me included so I am always very pleased when a newbie's report on the PG totally agrees with my own.

I like to say that the PG is more than a ship for some of us ...it's a state of mind.

Yes, there are some PG lovers who are just drawn to the PG year after year. However there are many like ourselves who also travel the world but are drawn back to the PG time and time again. That's why we call it the FP flu.

Happy travels!

We are one of those who are drawn back to the PG having cruised many times with them and have their October 2015 New Caledonia cruise booked.

I would say you were spot on with your review. However, you can request food that is not on the room service menu having done that when I was indisposed. You can even ask for the dinner menu and order your meal to your cabin if you wish.

The crew and their friendliness draw us back over and over. Yes, there are other places in the world to visit but there is ONLY ONE Paul Gauguin.

Thank You: For your review.very good We will visit next month . just a tad curious of the average age of the passengers, and a tour / tours ,best bet...........Thanks...S-stuff-55

The average age would be hard to say as it will differ cruise to cruise. Generally there are a fair number of people in their 50s and 60s with some young couples and honeymooners.

With respect to tours what is your itinerary? Do you enjoy water or land based activities?

I agree with Emdee's answer. I apologize I didn't include that in my initial response, as that was one of my top questions before going on this cruise. Again, having been on many cruises, you have to know going in that when you go on a "luxury cruise ship" which PG definitely is(despite some comments saying differently, the amount of pampering you get on this ship is luxury I believe) you are going to have an older group of people for a few reasons. The first of which is price point, and the second of which is often these are longer cruises, both of which are difficult for younger people still working full time. On our ship, we saw mostly 60's(firstly) and 50's, with some younger honeymooners, and some much older as well(more older than younger to be honest). But I think a more important point is these were active people. I was on a Celebrity cruise once of mostly older people and I swear 50% of the boat had some form of assisted walking(wheel chairs, walkers and canes). I know that figure sounds ridiculous and exaggerated, but we literally didn't take an elevator the entire time. It was a panama canal cruise. Conversely, I was on a Crystal cruise that had the same age dynamics of PG, and similar type of people(of the cruises I've been on, Crystal and PG had similar age and more importantly very active people with limited assisted walking). I think that is an important component...as it's not your age it's your state of mind and activity and you will find the PG has passengers that are very active. When we were in a port(I think Bora Bora) a Regent ship came in, and lets politely say it took them quite some time to load and unload the tenders due the huge number of assisted walking individuals coming off of the tenders and that gives the ship a very different feel IMO. No offense to those who need assisted walking...but when the ship has a large percentage it does change the dynamics. As for excursions, I posted what we did in my previous posts and my thoughts(still raving about Ato's Blue Lagoon btw). I think Emdee or other more frequent cruisers who have probably done a variety of excursions would be better suited to answer this. We are not divers, but if you are, I am told Rangiroa and Fakarava are two of the best places in the world.

One other thing....I saw some posts speak of the day rooms at the Intercontinental in Papeete and having to wait for one. I freaked out when I read that as we were on an early morning flight and my travel agent assured me that if you book all through PG you get a room asap, no waits. I am happy to report that was the case. We got a room right away. That said, if you are debating about where to extend your trip, let me say DO NOT DO IT IN PAPEETE. If you have ever been to Hawaii, you know what they say about not staying in Oahu. The same is true of Papeete. It is the least expensive island by a mile and I realize budgetary concerns could come into play, but I'd strongly recommend against it if you can afford it. The "city" of papeete to walk around is a huge disappointment(mostly for locals), and the resorts do not compare to those on the other islands.

I also did a trip extension at the Intercontinental Thallaso in Bora Bora. Beautiful resort. Only one other couple extended from our ship which was curious. Bora Bora is VERY expensive, but incredibly beautiful and staying in an over the water hut with mountain views is a phenomenal experience. Speaking of ages, if you are a younger honeymooner and want to be with more of the same, this resort had that dynamic. Though it also had younger families as well with occasional screaming children so bear that in mind. We are in our early 50s and while we were clearly on the younger side of the PG cruise, we were some of the old timers at this resort. Restaurant service was good, otherwise it didn't compare to PG service wise. Food was better on PG too, but you probably could have guessed that. Speaking to other travelers, the Four Seasons and St. Regis are clearly nicer, but also WAY more money too(twice as much at least)

I also should add I agree with Cruise Dreamer and didn't mention that you can order the dinner menu off of room service as well as make requests. But to me, that is very different then being able to go somewhere and get food right away, something every other cruise ship has available. The PG regulars will argue this is nicer, you get fresher food, done the way you like it, and not something sitting on a shelf for hours, so maybe it was just a change from what I'm used to. But the horrible coffee and no other options was a shocker that wasn't overcome.

Any other questions, let me know.

I enjoyed your comprehensive review! Glad that your trip went well! Thanks for sharing!

Thanks for taking the time to post your detailed review as it is much appreciated. Thrilled you had such a wonderful trip

Also enjoyed reading your review and revisiting the lovely locations in my mind. Thanks for taking the time. I agree about the coffee-we substitute cappuccinos and manage to get by:)

Thanks for your excellent review. Going last week of January . Will be a ew experience . Looking very much to see the scenery and of course the food. Now the excursions are on the "to-do-list"...Thanks S-stuff-55

Did the seven night 3 years ago and can't wait to get back. The crew is amazing. First day we sat with new friends who had been on 2 years before and a waiter came up and called him by name and gave him a bottle of hot sauce (he put it on everything last cruise). Was invited to the captains table one night which was a first and most enjoyable. Ours friends are having their 30year anniversary next year so will be booking with them. A must trip.

The average age would be hard to say as it will differ cruise to cruise. Generally there are a fair number of people in their 50s and 60s with some young couples and honeymooners.

 

With respect to tours what is your itinerary? Do you enjoy water or land based activities?

Jan 24 - Would like a tour mostly water but land as well , probably morning tours to enjoy ship and amenities in afternoonn...any suggestions , well accepted ...We are between 55 and 60 , relativley good shape.......Thanks S-stuff-55

Thanks for your nice review.

Jan 24 - Would like a tour mostly water but land as well , probably morning tours to enjoy ship and amenities in afternoonn...any suggestions , well accepted ...We are between 55 and 60 , relativley good shape.......Thanks S-stuff-55

We will be on the Jan 24 sailing to Cook & Society Islands. First time with PG also. Arriving at the IC the morning of Jan 22. Will you be staying there?

Hello: No. In LA Jan 23 .. Will leave LA Afternoon of Jan 24 th. , Board ship 10: 00 ish . I'm sure we will have a cocktail together sometime during the cruise. S-stuff-55