Tikiintahiti

3 - 5 weeks isn't out of the norm. I've set stuff out many times and it usually is within that window frame.

We know you want to apologized for pointing a finger a tad early, right? :rolleyes:

Thanks for the information. I am looking at doing a solo cruise to Tahiti in 2015 and it has been good to see all the different takes on the two lines. I am still debating but from price Windstar appears to be ahead. But still need to figure out what i am going to do.

 

Amy

Go check prices again, PG is typically about 15% less and the bar tab plus the gratuities are inclusive ;)

I never said that PG was better than Windstar...for you. All I know is that in 8 sailings over 13 years, the staff and crew of the PG have not let me down. They are like family to me and to many of us on this board. There is no point in arguing that your family is better than mine...I will always disagree.

 

On a lighter note...I lost 5 Tommy Bahama shirts last sailing. Of course the difference is that I accidentally put the laundry bag they were in out with the trash. I have pictures of myself wearing them on the PG too! :p

Did the crew intentionally make the trash container look like a hamper? I mean they probably wanted those shirts ........ :D

BTW, I'm sure your family is better then mine :eek:

Thank you so much for your reply, much appreciated. :-)

Anytime ;)

I have just booked a cruise for 2016 (I know it is a long way off) and I really really wanted to do Patricks 3/4 day lagoon tour with lunch as I have done it before and just loved it but I have noticed that my ship arrives at 7:00am but leaves at 2:00pm. This seems a waste of a day for me but does anyone have any ideas on what I can do? I was thinking if the 3/4 day lagoon tour is out of the question I could go to Bloody Marys for a bit but am then at a lost. Any ideas would be great!

 

Chez

Tiki to the rescue ............

Reserve with Christopher. 4 hour tour 8 - 12

http://www.reefdiscovery.pf/us/index.html - Very personal, will hold your hand. Fast sleek covered boats, good snorkel locations, no BBQ.

Best tours & things to do on Bora Bora

http://idx-images.cisdata.net/acnt/images/708/AR408708/file_manager/Best_tours_&_things_to_do_on_Bora_Bora.pdf

Thanks Tiki for the moving image and for helping us all to remember what this weekend is really about.

 

My 9 year old son was at Riverside National at 7am on Saturday placing many of these flags with his Cub Scout troop.

 

Most importantly, THANK YOU Tiki for your service.

What a great thing for your son to experience. It truly is a moving experience, it makes you think what things are really important in life, and what sacrifice truly is. It's the things like this that will mold him, he will remember this the rest of his life and I wouldn't be surprised if he encouraged his son someday to do the same thing.

I often pickup the check for soldiers at restaurants. When my kids were young they would watch what I did, then they would ask why I did it. It gave me the opportunity to share life lessons with my children as they grew up. Once they were on to what I was doing they would peek quickly around a restaurant when we entered, they wanted to help pick out the soldier to receive the blessing. Truly something that touched my heart.

BTW, when we left Riverside National Cemetery yesterday my BH ask, "how do you think they get all those tiny flags out on thousands of grave sites? I said I bet they bring in service groups as they need a huge group who can do it quickly .......

I've stayed at the IC Tahiti well over 6 times, have always received a room when I got there though I've heard stories from others who were not so lucky so plan accordingly. If you chose not to pre-book the room for the prior night do know that the IC has small rooms at no charge so you can shower and change clothes ........

Thank you for your help. I would imagine there are phones at the ferry either in Papeete or where we dock in Moorea to call for a taxi?

I would call from the PPT airport, just let them know which ferry you will be on. The local Polynesians are very friendly, just ask one to call you a taxi on their cell phone. Just make sure you have the phone numbers with you.

Just so you two 'critique' experts know, Tiki served during Vietnam. My draft number was 11, so I enlisted in the Navy, than after the Navy I enlisted in the Army. I was visiting my stepfathers grave while taking the picture, he served in Korea. I thought it was a nice touch to incorporate a photo challenge into something much more than a humorist 'forced perspective' that so many others will do on this challenge. The rose is not the subject, look again at the description ;)

Very sad when someone places up a picture to remind people of this weekend that some need to find some fault in sharing the 'picture', very sad. Take it for what it is, a reminder of the importance of this weekend. BTW, Memorial Day is about the deceased vets, primarily about those you gave their lives in action, Veterans Day is about the rest of us who served, dead or alive ;)

I saw no better way to embrace the meaning of today than viewing fellow soldiers lay out a picnic next to a grave site of a fallen friend, or loved ones visiting the grave site of a deceased relative, or a picture of thousand tiny flags of deceased vets.

Thank you for your sacrifice of relatives, alive and deceased, and yes you mentioned important things to do for our vets ......... but don't shoot the messenger of the actual meaning of today ....

But have you sailed Windstar to be able to compare? If not, how can you possibly say one was better than the other?

You keep changing the 'rules' Duckie ..........

First you complain and you know better than 98% of other happy cruisers, right .......

Then you say yours is more accurate because no other PG regular has been on the PG lately, sure .......

Then you say your more accurate simply because no one else has been on the 2 cruise lines, wrong again .......

Why not just come out and say your the only qualified person to comment on the PG?

Your sounding like a person that has nothing better to do than argue, and you like it, very sad. Nobody has stated your expectations were not meant but you seem to be going out of your way to malign what the vast majority here know isn't the norm for this wonderful ship.

I wondered if anyone could suggest ideas for a Sunday in Tahiti please? I had planned to do a tour with Patrick but we were late booking as we were waiting to see if our friends were coming along with us...they've unfortunately had to cancel their cruise, and Patrick's tours are now full.

I'm wondering about hiring a car and driving ourselves (is there car hire on Sundays?) or any other ideas would be most welcome.

We also have a day in Bora Bora and are considering a day pass to a hotel where we could snorkel, use the pool etc. Has anyone any recommendations please and thank you. :)

Most things are closed up on Sundays. A good choice is to go to church. The singing in their native tongue is beautiful. If you rent a car and they are available, remember, most things are closed but you still could circle the island and enjoy the views.

On Bora Bora some of the hotels offer day use for a fee. The Hilton is the easiest to use as the pickup location for their boat shuttle is the same location as the tender drop off location. Figure about $100 USD PP but that will include lunch/drink. They have a nice resort, good snorkeling around rooms 318-325. Nice pool with hammocks tied between palm trees over looking the reef in the distance.

Took this picture a few years ago during day use. Notice the edge of the pool, the hammock and the distant breaking reef ........ beautiful

The Le Moana IC also has day use for about the same price which gives you a lunch/drink credit.

Having been to Moorea about 10 times I know .......

Moorea Taxi Service (689) 56.18.10 / 56.18.39,

Pero taxi service (689) 56.10.18

Justine taxi service (689) 77.48.26

All will pickup at the ferry dock, airport or hotel.

Figure about $30 - $40 USD from the ferry to the Hilton from 6 am - 6 pm, price doubles at night. Usually they hang at the airport but will gladly pickup at the ferry if you call.

FYI, the price of the bus service has gone up to around $5 - $6 bucks USD PP, one way, anywhere on the island.

arriving at ppt airport around 6;30 a.m after clear customs taxi to pier for ferry to Moorea. When we dock, will there be taxis to go to Hilton?

There are 3 ways to go to the Hilton ........

1. Taxi, but there are not a lot of them on Moorea

2. By bus ....... the bus is about 3 bucks each, you grab the bus out front at the ferry terminal. Tell the driver where you want to be dropped off.

3. Shuttle - http://www.toreanui.com or http://www.albert-transport.net/p3_gb.asp

Thanks for all the feedback, it is very helpful! Are the SilverSeas cruises still very formal? The reason we enjoy Windstar is "no jackets required". Perhaps SilverSeas has changed or perhaps it is different in the Pacific Islands?

Remember the PG is country club causal .......... Tony Bahama style for dinner : )

Our intinerary is as follows:

Papeete

Huahine, Society Islands

Taha (motu mahana)

Bora Bora

Bora Bora

Moorea

Papeete

 

Our flight to Papeete is overnight and arrives early morning.

Our departure from Papeete back to LAX leaves at 11PM.

 

Thanks for your help and recommendations. For some reason I am having a problem visualizing the area. Is Papeete more of an industrial type/business area - or is it also considered a resort area?

So you could have 2 nights and lets say 2 1/2 days on Moorea prior to boarding the PG. However, you will have one day back on Moorea during the cruise.

Moorea is beautiful and deserves more than a day of your attention if at all possible. I wouldn't worry about flying directly to Moorea as your room might not be ready that early. Frankly if this is your first trip to FP the ferry ride over to Moorea in the early morning is breathtaking. Though it can be a bit trickier I would take a cab to the dry terminal after clearing customs and take the ferry across to Moorea.

When you leave Moorea for your cruise take the ferry back, the ferry terminal is next door to the PG mooring location ............ very easy. No need to hurry leaving Moorea, you can't board until 3pm, so checking out around 1pm and taking a 2 - 3 pm ferry acroos is perfect.

This week's photo challenge on another forum I belong to is called, "forced perspective". As this is Memorial weekend/week I thought, “how could I give recognition to the importance of this Holiday but at the same time stay within the geist of the challenge rules.” I figured most people would go for the humorist photo, thus I wanted to go where others would not. I thought how we give significance to a single red rose, how special it is. But in comparison it is dwarfed by the enormous sacrifice of our departed veterans. So a single red rose, bigger than life catches your attention but quickly we are moved by the thousands of tiny American flags that go on forever. And to think this is at one National cemetery of which there are hundreds, sobering. Remember our departed vets this week, they deserve it. It is very humbling to see the thousands of tiny American flags, to witness loved ones visiting, to watch fellow soldiers come together and have a picnic at the tiny headstone of a fallen friend, sobering. I used my Sony RX10 for this picture which was taken today at the Riverside National Cemetery, my step father is buried there, a good man. I got on my belly next to a grave site and focused on a red rose someone had left, I was within 2 feet of the rose to make it 'BIG'. I used manual settings, focused manually, I hardly could keep from weeping, sobering.

My suggestion would be the 14 night Marquesas, Tuamotus & Society Islands on the Paul Gauguin.

You get a bit of everything.

The Society Islands which have 3 of the more frequented islands of Tahiti, Moorea and Bora Bora but also 2 islands off the beaten trek, Huahine and Tahaa (Motu Mahana).

An Atoll: Fakarava - not much population, off the bean trek, great snorkeling and diving.

The Marquesas - Fatu Hva, Hiva Oa, Tahuata & Nuku Hiva ........ all off the beaten trek, heck, cannibalism was still going one only a 100 years ago. Not many people, great hiking and vistas.

November 21, 2015 ;)

We will be there for two nights before the cruise leaves on Saturday. Then we it returns the following Saturday, our flight doesn't depart until almost midnight I believe, so we need something for the day.

 

How long is the fast catamaran? Is Moorea an option I should be looking into for a stay - or is Papeete better. I don't want to spend hours messing around getting to a hotel, as we would have flown overnight and will be tired.

 

Thanks for your responses!

Here is the big question. What time does your flight arrive into Papeete? If it's the evening then you can't get over to Moorea that night, you would be forced to stay on Tahiti. In that case it would be just best to stay 2 nights on Tahiti prior to your cruise.

If your flight arrives early morning or lets say before 2:00 pm to can stay on Moorea for 2 nights, then it's something to consider, but for only one night I'd tell you to pass, your cruise will more likely have a day or 2 on Moorea ....

Have not been to the area before. Flying in two days early before a PG 7 day cruise.

 

I have tried to read through the threads - a bit confused on geography We are on Air Tahiti Nui and fly into Papeete - where should we get a hotel? Which city?

 

Are Papeete and Moorea close by? How do you get from one to the other? I see comments on IC for both cities - but unsure how we would get from one city to the other.

 

I was also curious - seems like alot of negative posts overall about the ships and the area - people keep saying they were disappointed - I am starting to think I made a mistake - I thought this was to be the cruise of all cruises due to the beautiful area. I am a little scared now - but can't back out of our October cruise.

 

Thanks for any advice on an area and a hotel. Not on a budget this time!

Is that 2 days or 2 nights?

Don't worry ........... you will love the PG

I love reading multiple reviews of the same sailing. One person loves it, the other hates it. One says best food ever, the other calls it garbage!

 

 

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You would almost think some posters have an agenda ........

"They wouldn't even discuss it and pretty much all but claimed I was lying--even after I showed them the photo of me wearing the pants at the Captains Reception and going item by item through my entire cabin with the Housekeeping Manager to prove the items weren't there. They were even quite reluctant to give me a claim form, telling me it would be a long wait and hoping I would just go away."

Hummmmmmmm ......... that is a hard one to swallow. Can't imagine anyone on the PG saying "telling me it would be a long wait and hoping I would just go away."

As I always say, you eliminate the top 10% and the bottom 10% of reviews, then look closely at the 80% in the middle. If you see someone who has been on multiple times then take special notice, you can pretty much take those reviews to the bank.

There are several posters on the PG forum that fit that bill, many who have cruised on the PG 6 or more times and have also cruise on competitor lines ........ much one can glean from those seasoned pros.

BTW, I don't include myself in the group, my forte is knowing the islands, 18 trips to FP but only 4 have been on a cruise but if you got a question on the islands, ask me .......

After the rough start things appear to be going well. I was on her last December, everything was perfect, no complaints. The crew has really come together. Though she isn't a spring chicken she is very nice inside. The casualness was warm and hospitable, the lounge/bar the heart beat of the ship .......... loved it!

I've requested for things directly from PG in the past, have never been solicited by travel companies afterwards.

Frankly I perplexed, why would PG share that info when they themselves do direct bookings? Doesn't make sense, maybe you mentioned the PG on some other internet page and thus high jacked your info to others, it happens all the time on the internet now days from any sort of search you do, even here on CC your being watched, just sayin' .......... I know I wouldn't give away info on a possible direct sale .......... you make more money

There have been many more people who have cruised Windstar than the PG. I'm sure that Windstar has more than enough previous customers who won't bother to check prices to fill those cabins for the foreseeable future. Frankly had Windstar been taking bookings when we booked the PG, we wouldn't have looked at the PG.

 

Don't get me wrong, I didn't dislike the PG, but I found the experience far better on Windstar, and would gladly pay the small upcharge for it. Until you have sailed both ships,you wouldn't understand.

 

PS--the loyalty discount isn't worth $4K. If your bar tab is over $3000 in a week, well, unless you are drinking multiple bottles of Champagne and higher end wines a day, I'm not sure how you are spending $400 a day on booze.

Again 'Duckie' you don't know everything. I'm holding a one time 20% loyalty discount certificate I received about 2 weeks ago. That makes that $3,995 December 13 cruise only $3,196 inclusive (including gratuities & bar tab) from LAX for me ;)

As I've mentioned several times the number is only about 15% plus gratuities & bar tab for someone who has not been on either, still a very large number, probably over $2,000 for a couple, no small change ............ well for us who aren't part of the 1% ............ he he

I've been following this thread out of curiosity - mainly because Tahiti just isn't in the cards for us anytime soon with us caring for three elderly parents - too far and too much time away.

 

However, the $4,000 difference in price caught my eye. So, playing the devil's advocate, I decided to do a little research on the pricing. Not taking ANY previous cruiser discounts one may get, I approached it as if I were a first time cruiser on both lines with pricing available as of today's date. This is what I found:

 

The only months that both PG and Wind Spirit are in Tahiti at the same time with 7 night itineraries are Sept., Oct. & Nov. Then I found the lowest & highest pricing for each line during those months for the most inexpensive category cabin:

 

PG

Lowest - 3,995

Highest - 4,995

 

Windstar

Lowest - 2,799+1,999 Air & Hotel+72 Svc. Charge=$4,870 ($875 more than PG)

Highest - 2,999+1,999 Air & Hotel+72 Svc. Charge=$5,070 or ($85 more than PG)

 

Of course, while Windstar's pricing includes soft drinks & water, it does not include bar drinks, so for anyone making a decision they would have to factor it in.

 

Bottom line - Yes, Windstar is a little more expensive, but certainly not by $4,000 ($2,000 per person).

 

I did notice that in December, PG's lowest pricing jumps up to 5,195 for its holiday weeks. And, Windstar has some pricing in June and July at $2,399.

 

I guess the best advice is to do your homework and figure out which line has the value for the price that will make you happy. Of course, if you check out my recent cruise history, you can probably figure out which line I would choose (especially because I would get to factor in my Yacht Club discounts);)

If you read carefully I said $4,000 for us, as newbies for Windstar verses getting a loyalty discount for the PG. Add in the gratuities and bar tab and yes it's about $4,000 for us. Some one who has not been on either I stated the difference was about 15% plus the gratuities & bar tab, I was very accurate in my statement ;)

I used the fall/winter months as that is when we usually go every year.

The point I was making is cruise lines if they want to snag loyal customers from other lines need to accommodate the loyalty issue. Wouldn't it be interesting if one of the mentioned cruise lines offered to match the loyalty discount of the other, you know, to get a loyal customer from a competitor to try them. If I could take Windstar for the same price as PG I would strongly consider trying them but for $4000 I'll pass.

If I go on the PG December 13, 2014 7 night cruise my price is $3,196 inclusive from LAX, includes gratuities and bar tab .............

On Windstar my price as a newbie, figuring the lowest fare this year, the price inclusive from LAX would be $4,798 plus gratuities and bar tab ....

There could be a few minor differences on pricing because the over night accommodations/day rooms but it isn't going to add up to much.

That is a difference for us of $3,204 plus gratuities and bar tab, a sum of around $4,000 ........... just sayin'

I am amused by the people who haven't sailed both who think they are qualified to respond to the OP's question. Four out of five who have sailed on both agree that Windstar is superior or even far superior to the Paul Gauguin. One seems neutral on which was better. It seems that answers the OP's question pretty clearly.

 

Many of us who prefer Windstar are also regulars in the PG board, and I suspect that if the same question was asked over there, the answers would be the same. I don't think there are more than one, maybe two who have actually sailed both who prefer the PG?

 

PS--The OP never asked which was cheaper, or indicated that cost was in any way a factor in their decision.

Well aren't we a 'touchy' one .......

Never tried to compare other than price, that is a constant not an opinion, people's opinions are just that, opinions which can fluctuate based on each persons vantage point.

I'm sure if the question was asked on PG forum the loyalist would be just as supportive.

Keep it real, no one has said anything negative about your beloved cruise line, just that if they want newbies from other good cruise lines they must do better on the price, maybe $4000+ does mean much to you but it sure does for many ;)

Have a good day