SWFLAOK

Based on our experience with 3 PG cruises, if you book your air through PG, they will wait for your flight. It you are flying on your own then you are on your own. If you're late,  how would they  even know that, and since you avoided them for air transport, why should they care?  If PG offered airfare from SFO to PPT for your cruise, and it was on the same flight you chose, and there are passengers who paid PG for airfare on that flight, then you will be OK if the flight arrives late.  When I'm paying a significant amount of money for a vacation, I never take a chance that I might miss the ship. 

On 11/8/2019 at 11:59 AM, twinklles said:

We never do formal night.  You can go to any Michelin 3* without a tie (and most without even a jacket).  Why do I want to put on a costume that is uncomfortable.  I do bring a jacket and wear it most nights.

 

This picture of our entire luggage for an 11 night cruise and 5 day post cruise might help to clarify why we don't like formal night.  (Would be the same amount of luggage if it was a 100 night cruise.)

We avoid formal night, but 2 backpacks are absolutely not happening for us. I can easily pack a week's worth of clothes for myself in a carry-on. My husband needs a backpack that size just to carry his laptop, and other mostly electronic things important to him, along with a change of underwear and a raincoat (which I insist he include). I don't know how anyone could pack for an extended period of time on a luxury cruise in a backpack.

Earlier today, I saw a picture from a hotel room where the person cleaning the room found the guest's underwear being boiled in the electric tea kettle. I have often used the electric kettle or the coffee maker in our room. I also have cleaned it thoroughly before using it, and now I feel vindicated.

One last question I have is where do you put the jacket in your backpack? Maybe you roll it up and then have it pressed,  and after that have laundered at least once if your wearing it most (or all) nights?

I really don't think you can go wrong by taking any of the extended Paul Gauguin cruises. The islands close to Tahiti are great destinations. If you enjoy those, the islands visited on the cruises longer than 7 nights are great destinations that you should enjoy as well, and with fewer tourists. We always try to be onboard the Paul Gauguin as long as possible.

Many years ago, we took our first trip to French Polynesia. We spent a week on Bora Bora at the Sofitel, and a week in Moorea, at what is now the IC. At the IC, we attempted to sign up for a fishing trip. The boat held 6 passengers, and was full. We put our name on the wait list, but no one cancelled. At happy hour that evening, we met the people who had gone out. The water was very rough, it was very hot, a few were very seasick, and the captain mentioned that he hadn't caught any fish in weeks. After a few hours, the guests suggested giving up and returning to the resort. The captain said that there was still 6 hours to go, and he had a new place he wanted to try. They went there and tried it, and still no bites. At that point, they asked to go back to the resort. The captain refused. They offered him money to take them back immediately, and he refused. They thought about tossing him overboard and taking the boat back themselves, but they didn't think they could get the boat back to the resort.  We told them we were sorry to hear about their ordeal, were relieved that we had not made it onboard. It sounded like a terrible experience, but we did have the boating experience to get the boat back to the resort. Who knows what have happened?

But we haven't heard any great experiences with private fishing charters, and I wouldn't feel comfortable letting my kids go out with the charter boats we've seen in French Polynesia.

3 hours ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

The Cook's itinerary has more sea time I believe.  I disgree about Rarotonga, we had a very agreeable day there; must say we missed Aitutaki completely because of weather (which event is very common apparently.)

 

If you are into water, snorkeling or diving in a big way, the Tuamotus are wonderful.  But apart from that, the islands are flat atolls with no scenery per se.

 

A difficult decision it would be, for me.  I'd love one more chance to see Aitutaki. My favourite itin is still the Marquesas.

I agree that it's a difficult decision.

Aitutaki is a tough port to get to, and often it's not possible to enter. In December 2 years ago, we tendered in huge swells. The ship holds station outside of the small protected port, and needs to move to protect the tender as it approaches and leaves the ship. Heading into the port, it was rough, but on the way back, waves came totally over the tender. Once we reached the platform, it felt exhilarating, since we made it. The first time to Aitutaki, we went on the One Foot Beach excursion. We found it too long and too crowded, on a slow boat. We just returned to Aitutaki this September, and we had a much easier entry to the port. Seeing the same tender Captain as on our previous 2 PG cruises (including the biggest swells we've ever encountered during tendering when in the Marquesas) made me feel quite confident. We took the drive around the island since we hadn't seen that before. We enjoyed it since we hadn't seen much of the island previously. Others on the drive found it too hot and humid, but it was only in the low 80's and much cooler than Florida in September.

We've been to Fakarava on our Marquesas cruise. There's really nothing there. There's a small beach, snorkeling and diving. If you bring cash with you to shore,  you can take a taxi tour and see everything, and learn about life on the island in an hour. We did the taxi tour, and enjoyed it, and then did the ship's snorkeling excursion where the number of sharks made me uncomfortable.

We enjoyed our excursion on Rarotonga  much more than Aitutaki on our Cook Islands cruise. But at the end of the trip, we needed a few New Zealand dollars for 2 beers and didn't have them.

We haven't stopped at Rangiroa and probably never will. If it's like Fakarava, we know what will be there.

We really enjoyed our Marquesas trip in February 2017, but our recent Papeete to Fiji cruise was also wonderful as well.

14 hours ago, kjbacon said:

With quite a few cruises under my belt, I can assuredly say that I have never been approached by a spa person person and I thoroughly enjoy a spa. What happened to you and on what line?
 

You might enjoy a spa service if you give it a try, good way to find your zen. Next week, we are going to a destination spa and wellness resort in the northern Poconos for a couple days. Can’t wait!

With 10 cruises under our belt, we have had one hard sell and soft sells. The hard sell was on Holland America, and we were once and done with that cruise line for more reasons than that.

People enjoy different things. That's OK with me, and I hope it's OK with you. I don't like to be massaged, even by my spouse, and having a stranger do that is just creepy. I don't have the patience to sit through other treatments. I find my zen swimming laps in our condo's pool at first light.

We've never done any spa services on a cruise and never will. We consider it a waste of space. We find it annoying that we're approached by spa people trying to get us to buy their services. We also never go to spas when we're not cruising. Is there anyone else like us, or do most people on cruises use the spa on a regular basis?

We've never stayed at the Sofitel so we can't comment on the food. If it's the former Meridien, it's a lot further from the airport than the IC. At 5PM, the IC has happy hour in the lower bar, the food available depends on the night of the week. They have a nice pizza on some nights but not others (like the show nights). There's an upstairs bar with casual food selections at that time every night.

We've never had access to the ATN lounge at PPT, but having access to Business Class lounges elsewhere, I wouldn't eat dinner before heading to the airport.

I would never wait to board the PG that late in the day on embarkation. Why not take the earlier ferry so you can board in the late afternoon, and take part in the mandatory safety drill at 5:30 (you'll need to make up for it at a least convenient time since it's mandatory on all cruise ships). You'll have a chance to unpack, and enjoy a relaxed dinner in port.

And most importantly, as others have mentioned, you won't have to worry about the last ferry of the day being cancelled. There's nothing worse than missing your cruise because you wanted to spend 2 extra hours at a hotel that is on an island that you will be visiting again on your cruise. You will miss much more trying to catch up with your ship if you don't board on the first day.

I never order ribeye steak or prime rib. Even after being cooked and served in a restaurant, the leftovers the next day when cold are solid fat. My husband likes ribeyes and sometimes orders them when we go out for dinner. He usually brings home a big piece for a sandwich the next day. Once cold, it's hard to find anything other than fat on a ribeye. Luckily, there's no reason to keep the leftovers from a steak weighing more than a pound at Prime 7.

I've thought of ordering the lobster medium rare, but I suspect it will come out translucent which is too rare for me. I've had some luck with lamb chops being cooked to my liking, so I'll be trying those again if they're available.

On 11/3/2019 at 7:40 PM, jpalbny said:

The flights were great. They raided the cellars for some really old vintages including a 1999 sparkling wine, and a few old Riesling vintages from the early 2000s as well as an old Cab Franc. Was great to compare and contrast. 

Hermann the German?  We took many trips to that winery years ago with sibs. We always stayed at a B and B with a winery overlooking one of the smaller Finger Lakes. It was a great time with family and friends. We probably drank that same vintage years ago. I am not normally a Cabernet Franc fan,  but when in the Finger Lakes, it's challenging to find a red that you can drink on it's own rather than something to wash down pizza and pasta.

20 minutes ago, kjbacon said:

This made me laugh. A child could eat 2 lobsters! 

A child could eat 2 chicken lobsters, and that's not what they should be serving at Prime 7. I don't want to encourage Regent to serve undersized Maine Lobster onboard the ship so I was once and done. And mine was not only undersized, but overcooked.

Your itinerary shows that you arrive in Lautoka at 5:30 AM, so you should be able to disembark by 7 with no problem (and even at 6 AM if the ship docks on time). 

A few days prior to the end of our recent cruise, we received paperwork to fill out for disembarkation. That's when you tell PG when you want to leave the ship, and where you are going. They will tell you when they expect you to leave the ship, and where you will be taken.You will have enough time to make sure you agree.

We just did the Papeete to Lautoka cruise in September. We enjoyed our 3rd cruise on Paul Gauguin. We'll be boarding on the day you disembark in April. We'll be doing the trip to Bali before the PG goes to drydock for it's refurbishment, and turnover to Ponant cruise line.

It's cheaper, and available the whole day, so it sounds like Sofitel is the way to go for you. It's hard to find day rooms in Papeete unless you book them through PG. It's actually hard to find day rooms in places like Los Angeles as well. We often need a day room going to or coming from the South Pacific and Florida, and unfortunately we can't book rooms in LA through PG.

15 hours ago, Hambagahle said:

On every Regent cruise we have taken there have been porters at the dock who take suitcases, put them into big bins and then get them to the ship.  These are local port staff, not RSSC crew and they expect tips.  But tip or no they are there to take your bags which then re-appear in your suite some hours later.  You do not have to bring your own luggage on board, just  your carry on - though you can give them that too if it is properly tagged and there are no valuables/breakables in it.

  

I thought this discussion about boarding was referring to carry ons, and what you do with them on embarkation.

We have always done transfers from the airport to the ship through Regent. Our luggage has already been put on board by Regent. We've never met any local port staff doing that so we haven't tipped them. We always carry our valuables and meds with us, and take them on the ship with us in our carry on bags. We keep those with us while going to the pool grill for lunch and drinks while we wait for our cabin to be ready.

Here's what our cruise documents say:

"The evening dress code is Elegant Casual, and Formal Optional. The number of Formal Optional nights per cruise is dependent upon the length of the cruise, as follows:

• Cruises of fourteen nights or less will be Elegant Casual for the duration
• Cruises of fifteen nights or more will have two Formal Optional nights

Elegant Casual: Skirt, or slacks (no jeans) with a blouse or sweater, pant suit or dress for ladies; slacks (no jeans) and collared shirt for gentlemen. Sport jackets are optional.

Formal Optional: While guests are welcome to dress each evening as per the Elegant Casual dress code, during Formal Optional evenings, guests may opt for a more formal choice of clothing including gowns and cocktail dresses for ladies; tuxedos, dinner jackets or dark suit with tie for gentlemen."

And it's more likely that men will wear a jacket on Formal Optional nights, but it is optional. Would we feel out of place with casual attire in the evening (shorts, tank tops, ball caps, t-shirts, flip flops); yes, we would. Would we not be allowed entry to restaurants; it depends.We've seen some allowed, and some sent back to change. We don't want to be those sent back to change.

We're booked on Splendor in 2021.

From what I've read previously, she's very much into preventing illnesses from spreading onboard which is something I respect.

We were on a cruise where the captain made it a point to shake hands with everyone onboard for a "block party" early in the cruise. I thought that was a very bad idea. A few days later, our cruise from Fort Lauderdale had plenty of people with the flu. We had immediately returned to our cabin and washed our hands, and luckily weren't among those who became ill. 

Captain Serena seems to discourage hand shaking to prevent cruisers who have just boarded from spreading anything to the rest of the passengers. I'm in total agreement with that. We're looking forward to meeting her, with no need to shake hands. I think she's a smart and competent Captain.

2 hours ago, ClefsDor said:

Thanks for the interesting comparison. It's good to see that Regent's extra charge excursions are so well priced which makes sense given that most excursions are inclusive and if you choose one that isn't you're still being compensated.

We've found the same to be true. We had only one excursion that we had to pay for that disappointed us on Regent. They gave us an OBC for our next cruise. I compare prices for tours on Trip Advisor, and the Regent tours that are comparable are always cheaper, and often free.

13 hours ago, ScotsLady said:

Thank you for this, you sound very like me!We are doing 11 nights next October for my 60th  birthday, we are coming from Scotland so a big trip.

At moment waiting to book our flights to Tahiti from LAX with Air Tahiti.We want to go Business Class but I am very surprised at how much they cost, much more expensive than similar distances from UK. 

We have booked 3 nights pre cruise in Hilton Moorea. Is it worth hiring a car in Moorea and if so what do you recommend seeing? Also did you eat in the hotel or eat out?

post cruise we are just going to do a day room at the IC and fly back overnight as we will be headed to San Diego for a few days before we go home.

Any trips that PG did you can recommend? We have quite a bit of OBC but usually we would book private tours.

Thanks

 

Irene

 

We upgraded to premium economy on Air Tahiti Nui on our September flight from the included price from LAX to PPT. We paid 800 per person to upgrade one way. We were allowed to check-in early at LAX in the short line, but didn't have access to the business lounge. We didn't have long to wait and have a nice place we have found to hang out for a drink in the past. We had early boarding (right after business), and had 2 roomy seats together, with no unwanted 3rd, and room for our carry-ons. It was worth the upgrade to us and we didn't need business class since it was an afternoon flight and we didn't sleep. We didn't do an upgrade on the way back since it was from Fiji, and we were able to get good seats at the front of economy with a 2-4-2 seating on Air Fiji.

On 10/31/2019 at 10:22 AM, rcandkc said:

I’ve done 10 or 11 cruises with Regent and didn’t know that. Great info. 

I've never noticed any bag drop-off on Regent. We normally only have one carry-on roller, and our personal items so we would not leave them anyway. I only remember having a place to drop bags before disembarking if you leave your cabin before breakfast. It was definitely not the casino on Mariner or Voyager. I'm sure it was the theater. I'll look for a drop-off next month when we embark on Voyager, but we'll still keep our hand luggage with us onboard until we have access to our cabin. It's just what we do.

If you look at your cruise contract, you will find that you are responsible for knowing what you need for the cruise when it comes to passport requirements and visas. You will also read that you need to have all of the visas for the ports you're visiting. It doesn't matter if you plan to get off the ship or not. And it's your responsibility, not the cruise line.

17 minutes ago, cityguy300 said:

I definitely don't want to show up on boarding day and be told I should have filled out some form or brought along some extra photos that were never mentioned in any prior correspondence.  I'm hopeful if there is anything like that needed, it can be resolved quickly at the terminal -- this must be a very common thing among their passengers.

Immigration requirements are not a common thing that can be quickly resolved at the terminal. And those of us who have spoken to our TA, who checked with our cruise line, and have done some investigation on our own to determine what we need for our cruise do not appreciate being held up by someone who shows up without doing this, and expects to have their immigration problem resolved quickly when getting on the ship. This thread had nothing to do with visa requirements until you inserted it at post #11. It was about docking locations before that.

On 9/16/2019 at 3:31 PM, cityguy300 said:

I also wanted to ask anyone who sailed to Vietnam in the past year, if Silversea absolutely handles the visa requirement for all passengers on board?  I assume it's a non-issue for my group anyway because we're taking their excursions each day (to blow through the OBC); I just don't want to be blindsided when we set sail and find out it was expected we should have gotten them ourselves beforehand!

So don't be blindsided. You are responsible for your immigration requirements. Between our TA and Silversea, they handled our Brazilian visa for our cruise last November. There was a fee, and we needed to work with the agency that they connected us with. The fee was more than 25 dollars, and it can't be paid for with OBC's since you need it before you board the ship.

On 10/30/2019 at 7:09 PM, lovestx said:

And the small band (why can't I remember the name?!?) was excellent with a relatively new vocalist who is AMAZING.  We followed them around

It was the Sound Wave Band. And we followed them around as well. What a great voice. We really enjoyed them. They asked us to put in a good word for them with PG before we left the ship since the Ponant rep who came aboard was not encouraging about them staying in the future. We mentioned them on our disembarkation survey. I hope they are still there for our Fiji to Bali cruise in April.

I may have mentioned using Verizon on our last cruise. We paid for the PG internet access for the entire trip. It worked well in Papeete, Bora Bora, Moorea and Taha'a. But once we headed West, it didn't work as well when we reached Tonga and Fiji. We were able to use our Verizon service for 10 dollars, and we did this because the PG Internet service did not work. In the past, when it hasn't worked, we've let them know and they've credited us. We haven't been able to get a refund from PG when no internet service was available.

On 10/30/2019 at 6:23 PM, JMARINER said:

Just use your ATM card and any local bank or in the airport and get the local currency. The local bank ATM's usually offer the best exchange rates. Try not to use a non bank branded local ATM as they often add higher fees.  If you do business with any of the bigger banks or  stock brokerage firms like Fidelity, they can set you up with a "fee free" ATM card.  You can usually with draw as little as $20.

 

J

 

 

We just finished a Paul Gauguin cruise from Papeete to Fiji. There were no ATMs in Aitutaki, Tonga or our first stop in Fiji, Savu Savu. There were supposed to be currency exchangers on board, but after standing in line waiting for them, they ended up only setting up near the dock,  again with a long line, and weren't available to those of us heading out for excursions since our ship provided transportation wouldn't wait for us.

On 10/31/2019 at 10:52 AM, briar14 said:

We just got Euros in small denominations from our local AAA office. You order what you need and are notified when they arrive at the office. Turnaround this time was about 24 hours. An option if  convenient.

We're not AAA members, so we would need to join, and it looks like you need to get their Mastercard as well. We're not interested in doing that.

1 hour ago, taxare said:

I use my bank which happens to have a good foreign currency department that has reasonable exchange rates (not as good as credit card or ATM) when I will be in countries where I am not sure I will have easy access to an ATM.

Since you're from SW Florida, as I am, I'm wondering which bank you use that has good foreign currency exchange. We had a hard time finding Euros earlier this year in Fort Myers. The exchange rate wasn't good at the only bank near us, and they mostly had large bills, which don't work when you need them to pay for a public toilet in Europe.