gilliansp

We stayed at the Sofitel Kia resort and it was fab. We splashed out on an overwater bungalow to have the once in a lifetime experience. To be honest, having been there, the garden bungalows and the beach bungalows are just as lovely and much cheaper, They have a beautiful private beach area and offer an extensive amount of water activities, where you will find varieties of fish, all sizes, swimming everywhere. The hotel complex is a little run down but the staff make up for it. However, I think this is  general in the Polynesia at the moment as they are trying to recover from financial hardship due to a long  COVID lockdown. The resort is conveniently located for easy access to the port. We were only there for a couple of days and didn't feel the need to rent a car, but if I had been there for longer we would have needed one to explore the island properly. If renting a car I would advise doing so well in advance as cars are limited on the island.

On 12/30/2023 at 5:10 PM, Tahitianbigkahuna said:

 

If your arrival is around 6AM you should be fine to get the 9AM ferry

Thats great, thank you.

7 hours ago, roberts2005 said:

Is it necessary to pre purchase ferry tickets?  Will be traveling end of March.

Not necessary to pre-book. We are going to buy them at the port as I'm unsure of how long it will take from flight arrival to reaching the port. Although hoping to make the ferry deoarture around 9am.

Many thanks!

Advice please. We will be arriving in Papeete at 6 am if the  flight is on time and be staying 2 nights in Moorea pre-cruise. So we will be goung straight to the ferry tereminal from the airport. Is it better to pre-book the ferry and if so is it an open ticket for any ferry? How long should it take for us to get through customs, collect luggage and make our way to the port. So hard to judge these things. 

Grateful for any tips!

Thanks, finally went for the Sofitel. 

Arriving 3 days before cruise and looking at hotels with overwater bungalows. Undecided between Sofitel and Manava Beach Resort. Anyone stayed at these resorts?

16 hours ago, makai 7 said:

Keep checking the Regent site for additional slots in tours..  you can also ask your TA to contact RSSC if there are specific tours that you want to reserve or get waitlisted.  There is also Mike Moore on the Regent board- he has been really helpful with issues in the past.

 

we saw few or no tours offered at the tender piers in July.  Don’t rely on this as an option.

Thanks for the advice. We are already waitlisted for some tours but there are others where they have actually already closed the waitlist.

On 7/30/2023 at 6:05 PM, makai 7 said:

Our experience with using USD is an exchange rate of $1 =100 XPF.  Not great, but convenient.

 

as a humorous aside, we had old XPF from 15 years ago- and learned that it was no longer valid currency.

Will take local currency with! Hang onto the out of date currency - one day it may be worth something!

11 hours ago, Tahitianbigkahuna said:

gilliansp

 

Huahine - good island for cultural stuff

Moorea - all about the interior

Bora Bora - all about the lagoon

Raiatea - another good cultural island

Fakarava - only 800 people live here so the infrastructure is limited. The Blur Lagoon area is serene and so beautiful

Rangiroa - Don't miss the 'Aquarium'  ... some of the best snorkeling in FP

Nuku Hiva - you want to get yourself up to the Hatihue/Anaho area 😉

This info is so helpful. How easy is it to rent a car on arrival  on the smaller islands or is this a stupid question! If we don't have a tour arranged beforehand to the Blue lagooon area will there be vendors on shore for this? Do you know if cash or card is the better payment method for purchases on these smaller islands? I am really abusing your knowlwdge here but very appreciative.

8 minutes ago, makai 7 said:

https://ladyinblue-moorea.business.site
 

we used Viatour to book a Bora Bora 4wd tour.  It was okay, not great.  I think the viatour site was used by quite a few people on our cruise to book tours.

Thanks so much, good idea.

25 minutes ago, makai 7 said:

If you are interested in a private tour of Moorea, we just did one last week with Spirou the Blue Lady.  She was fun, informative and you can tailor the tour to your interests.

Thanks so much. Can you forward me her contact details.Did you do any private excursions on the other islands.

13 minutes ago, Tahitianbigkahuna said:

 

Your on the one after us ....

 

The problem is most of the good private excursions have already been booked ... all of my private excursions are pretty full. I would suggest going to your roll call (if there is one) and see if others are requesting more people to fill their private excursions. Most private vendors require a minimum so checking your roll call is a good way to go. 

Doesn't sound very hopeful! We only booked last week, had no idea this would be so difficult to arrange.

12 minutes ago, Tahitianbigkahuna said:

Which date? Your obviously on the Navigator

Good guess! Cruise starts Febuary 7th.

Have booked a seemingly fab cruise for next February visiting Tahiti, Moorea, Fakarava, Nuku Hua, Rangiroa, Bora Bora and Raiatea with all excursions included. The problem we now have is that all the ships excursions are already boooked up!! An issue I am arguing with the cruise line. Advice needed for doing it on our own in these ports. Although we love nature we are not experienced snorkelers but are open to suggestions. We are a reasonably fit couple in our mid-60's and this is one of my husbands bucket trip trips. Many thanks!!!

On 8/24/2022 at 2:35 PM, CruiserBruce said:

Its 72 hours before you board the ship that will take you to a Canadian port. In our case, as we sailed from Copenhagen to Boston with two stops in Canada, it was 16 days before we docked in Canada when we submitted the final info (we created our ArriveCan account about a week before that).

Thank you! I was totally confused. All clear now.

A little confused about when to submit our Arrive Can info. We are cruising from Seward to Vancouver so at which point in the cruise do we need to submit the AirCan info, as I rerad it's 72 hours before arrival into Canada, which I assume means Canadian waters,

Thanks! But happy with the Radisson choice.

11 hours ago, martincath said:

I think this is one of those situations where an airport does make more sense than downtown - even if flights are on time, many downtown attractions might be closed by the time you get through immigration, to hotel, drop bags, and head out. If money is no object, the convenience of the only hotel at the airport itself (Fairmont) might be of interest to you - you can ride SkyTrain for free on Sea Island, which means you can zip between the McArthur Glen outlet mall and the airport for shopping if you're early enough to have shops still open; dining at the mall is similarly casual to the airport but without the price hikes!

 

For a simple 'comfy bed for the night, dining nearby' there are several hotel options with shuttles, so if you collect/want to use points then Holiday Inn (and Express), Hampton Inn, Days Inn, LaQuinta, Ramada, Marriott, Four Points, Radisson are all on the table. For the best overall shop/dine/reasonable price combo, the Radisson is probably the winner - right across from the Aberdeen and Yaohan malls (pretend you're in Hong Kong) and with the Continental centre just another block away; Aberdeen SkyTrain station is also right there, so if you are full of beans on arrival and want to head downtown it's a good option.

 

If your overnight is Fri/Sat/Sun, the Night Market might be a great combo of shopping, eating, and general 'keep me awake until a civilized local bedtime to help get over jetlag' attraction. It's pretty much nextdoor to the River Rock casino hotel - and also Bridgeport Station if you're in a hotel on the Canada Line (if not, try asking if the hotel shuttle will drop you off/come get you again).

Thanks so much for this great info. Booked the Radisson, figured it made sense if we had the energy to go out for a walk instead of paying the extra for the airport convenience.

Just had our flights to Anchorage changed which now gives us an overnight stopover in Vancouver. Arriving 5.15 pm, hopefully, and departing 12 noon next day. Debating whether to stay near the airport or downtown Vancouver, though doubt we will get to see to much in the short time we will have coupled with jetlag. Hotel suggestions near the airport with walking distance to shops, restaurants would be helpful. Thank you!

2 hours ago, Northern Aurora said:

You should pack a water proof (not water resistant) outer layer.  You should expect to have gloves and a head covering.  I don't pack a wool scarf but pack a "buff" (this is the name of the company -- google for a photo).  I don't pack wool sweaters but will have both a light weight (often referred to a "micro" fleece in the US) and a heavier fleece too; these can be layered for more warmth.  And depending on your activity level water proof walking shoes are a must, at least for us.

Thanks so much, very helpful.

4 hours ago, ABQrobin said:

Take clothes you can layer.  It can be 70s and sunny, or 50s and rainy, etc.  Always take rain jacket and hat and gloves, regardless.  When the ship is moving, it is really chilly outdoors on deck, so be prepared.

Thanks so much! Really helpful.

I am a little confused about what weather to expect in September, first 3 weeks. I am prepared for the rain but can't figure out whether we need heavy jumpers, scarf and gloves or not. 

We are doing our own land tour as it gives you more flexibility and you get to see more. We had no problems reserving hotels, car etc, but having said that we did reserve everything 12 months in advance.

7 minutes ago, Tooncamp said:

Anyone tried this luggage service to their hotel pre cruise? I’m wondering what happens if my luggage gets there a day before we arrive? 

This is what I am going to do. Just waiting for confirmation from the hotel then I will book.