Tahitianbigkahuna

Interesting thread .... As a Paul Gauguin regular the bar has been set pretty high. However ... After reading almost every post in this thread the majority of them is summed up like this IMO. Are you going for the destination or is the ship the destination? As a PG regular I tell people that ask that I love the ship for the destination, the crew and the eats ... in that order. PG does well in all these categories. I picked Azamara as I felt it too was destination extensive. When you look at the big ships (Azamara is not a big ship company) often people are there for what the ship offers on-board, not the destination. Mega ships are like small cities and everything that is offered in one. Not my cup of tea ... Personally I can't see myself on a ship any larger than an R4 or similar class. I will experience 6 more PG cruises over the next 2 years as well as Azamara Pursuit in the Med and a Celebrity ship in in the Pacific. Will be interesting to see how Azamara compares. I I take groups on all my cruises I needed to move beyond just French Polynesia, thus the Med offering and the other destination in the Pacific. I'm turning 68 and I have my bucket list ... thus I'll still focus on the South Pacific but do at least one cruise outside of that destination. In 2025 I'm considering a small Silver Seas ship for my group ... my expectations are high for Silver Sea.

You often can find a beach/garden (with lagoon view) at the Sofitel within your budget 😉

FYI ... several interesting places to see/visit on Tahiti ... very few take the time to enjoy what Tahiti has to offer.

Frankly for one or two days I would stay on Tahiti or Moorea .... not worth the time/effort/expense to go to other outer islands. The atolls are nice but I wouldn't go for one or 2 days. Just my 2 cents worth. I've been to FP 30 times, going on #13 on the PG ... again, just my 2 cents worth

I would go to Moorea .... easy to get to ... easy to return as the ferry terminal on Tahiti is next door to the ship 😉 I've stayed at all the major resorts on Moorea and our favorites are the Hilton and the Sofitel.

Now six cruises in Polynesia over the next two years. Five on the Paul Gauguin and one on a Regent ship. Purchased air this last week for two of the cruises for the fall of 2023. Was able to book two R/T tickets from the west coast to Papeete on a major carrier for under $1400 total ... two for under $1400

Hi Jazz ... already have my excursions booked, hotels booked and the flights booked. I've been gleaning on Azamara pages for some time ... helped me make some choices. I do have a group with me ... hopefully I made good picks 😁 I was on R3 & R4 many years ago in FP

Looking forward to the AzAmazing meet up (sisters) in October 2023 (Slovenia) . Looks like a great night they have planned and yes it is likely for marketing purposes but so what ... I think it will be fun. I'm a Paul Gauguin regular ... first time on Azamara.

95% of the time the ship anchors in Opunohu Bay and stays there until it leaves for Tahiti. Taxis are usually available id you wait until the the people leave for the morning excursions. You actually can walk to the Coco Beach transfer location, it's only about a mile but take water.

Currently your good to go

Bora Bora for the top view ... Mount Otemanu and the multi hued lagoon are best scene by helicopter.

Do you have a SD card reader adapter with a ipad connecter on the other end?

Avis has changed their policy a few times over the years ... They used to have the cars at the tender drop off ... then they stopped and simply picked you up in a van and transported you to the head office across from the ferry terminal ... that wasted an hour plus you had to return it to the same location, then wait until enough returns came back that they would transport everyone back to the tender location. I've been told that they may have started taking the cars to the tender location ... this may depend on the location as Cook's Bay is much closer than Oponupo Bay to transport cars. There is free parking in Oponupo Bay but not over night as it used to be. Best to contact the local Avis and ask these questions as everything seems to be fluid.

I'm a wedding photographer and have also shot professionally for a cruise line. I have Sony A7iii's and considerable prime expensive lenses. When shooting professionally for a cruise line I use my A7iii's and primes ... but when it's just a fun cruise the Better Half and I both carry Sony RX10IV's ... incredible bridge camera with a hunk of a lens built by Zeiss that is a 24-600 equivalent lens. Has a built-in flash if I need light and takes very nice 4K video. I shoot in RAW of course and edit in Lightroom when I return though I can load to my iPad for a quick social media upload. For fun I take my RX10IV, GoPro 10 and my DJI Air2s ... I do license myself (drone) for the countries I visit .... primarily EU countries. So to conclude it really depends on the purpose of the trip on what I take ... Drone GoPro 10 RX10IV

Glad you were able to obtain what you wanted ... was just stating what the official 'breakfast' room service states on the daily handout 😉

Carrefours will have the best selection and price. There is one within walking distance from the IC Tahiti and one across the street from the Hilton Tahiti.

I second the car rental

No longer possible

Personally I've found that the French Captains have been nice. May not be as outgoing as Captains prior but never less nice and helpful ....

The kids did not come on-board this last week. No ladies came on-board this last week but they did have nice flowers leis for everyone already made ... this may be a temporary thing 😉

No .... but things my be different now

There are typically 3 passes ... First one is relatively easy. The next two more coral and a need to be able to turn 90 degrees. I've taken several times and have had no problems accept twice when I got scraped. The reason both times was because I was toward the rear of the 'line' and people in front of me stopped to take pictures, thus everyone was immediately in need of stopping quickly. I was in deeper water and could not easily stop and thus got scraped. Vendor stacks people to close together IMO. To avoid make sure your toward the front of the line.

It was this last week 😉

Last time we went the time was earlier ... I believe it was something like 10 AM - 3:00 PM But everything is in flux it maybe the time has changed.

Should not be a problem to bring flowers aboard .... The 'Mamas' for the leis is hit a miss. We had them on-board in July but was told they were not on-board a week ago.