FlightMedic555

We were on the PG for our 8th time this past July. We are trying Windstar in July of this year. Returning guests notice little things. No flowers in the rooms. No fruit in the rooms. No petit fours after dinner, only the same poor cookies every night. At the repeaters cocktail party the captain was expected but did not even have the courtesy to show up. New cruisers are offered OBC and a credit which rivals my discount although I have been on the ship 8 times. The PG fare has gone up and air is now no longer included. I am paying $2800 per person all in on the Windstar for one of the newer midship window cabins. 277 sq feet on the Windstar vs 200 on the PG. While I love the crew on the PG I have my doubts that the price difference is worth it i realize PG is all inclusive but we don’t drink. Even if we added in the all inclusive rate of $89 per person per night on the Windstar we would still be saving about $1-1.5k per person on Windstar. After my last cruise I sent a lengthy email to PG expressing my concerns. They acknowledged receipt but never contacted me I hope the Windstar is fantastic

January is the rainy season for both. A number of years ago I did a cruise from Australia to Tahiti in January. We had to divert for two cyclones. When we finally made it to Tahiti the weather was great. If you have other options for time of year to travel I would stay away from the South Pacific from around Nov/Dec to March, just like I would be very cautious in going to the Caribbean during hurricane season.

When you look on line the conversion rate you see is the bank rate that you may not be able to obtain. The best rate that we saw was from the ATM at the PPT airport. That rate was about 1000 cfp (or xpf) = about $9.15 USD. You do need to add in any ATM fees that you may have. The rate at the staffed currency exchange window was about 10% worse and there was an $8 fee per transaction with a limit of $500 USD per transaction.

Tea time every day from 3:30 - 4:30. Finger sandwiches, fruit, ice cream, etc. Taxi from airport, or Intercontinental, or Hilton to the cruise pier is about $25 USD plus or minus a few dollars. Simple from all as they line up at the airport and the hotel concierge will call for one. They will accept USD or local XPF. If USD they convert 1000 XPF = $10 USD. The Hilton is very nice, clean and modern. The Intercontinental has a much more Polynesian feel, I think better food and better pools. There is a mall across the street from the Hilton with a large supermarket.

I did see ebike tours up to Belevedere this past July. They were part of a group. Not sure if you can rent independently.

He is renowned for his work in Moorea. I doubt it is private. http://www.drmichaelpoole.com/

Lots of info here. It is recommended that you use legitimate reef safe sunscreen to obviously preserve the coral. I wear a long sleeve rash guard (and sometimes pants as well). Minimizing the amount of skin exposed to the sun reduces the areas that need any sunscreen. https://www.tropicalsnorkeling.com/best-snorkeling-sunscreen/

Fare Suisse is a nice pension in Papeete. The owner provides no cost transport from the airport to the pension and then free transport, when you need it, to the ferry or cruise. It is very simple and clean, but really no amenities. It is about a 4 minute walk to the waterfront and then another 10 minutes to the market. It is also about 2 blocks from a large supermarket.

I suggest you bring your own mask and snorkel and borrow their fins. That way you will know that the mask fits. Some also prefer the full face snorkel. We will be on the Star Breeze in July.

No ATM machines are in that area

I would be comfortable in taking a ferry at 9am or later. You just need to look a the schedule to see your options.

There is an ATM at the airport with a good rate. The staffed currency exchange booth is about 10% less. Taxis take cash. They will take USD at 1000 Xpf = $10 USD. The ferry is next to the cruise dock. An easy 2 minute walk. No reservations are needed. About $30 round trip and they accept credit cards.

We will be on our first Windstar cruise in July. We have been on the Paul Gauguin 8 times. From the East Coast 7 days is way too short. We always add on pre and post resort stays. I would choose what resort interests you the most as Windstar does not include all as options. We like a day or three pre cruise to get over the jet lag. This time we will have 2 nights at the Hilton precruise and the. 4 at the Hi,ton on Moorea post cruise and finally 2 at the IC on Tahiti after that. The last 2 nights are due to award flight availability. Generally the cruise packages are very pricey vs doing it yourself. Making hotel reservations and taking taxis is very easy in Tahiti. I find tons of differences between each island. We don’t think it is repetitive.

They bring the kayaks to the motu at Taha's and you simply ask for one. Never a long wait. They may have them available from the platform at a couple of other stops. On Rangiora sign up for the ships Aquarium snorkel. It sells out quickly, is very good, and there are very few if any other options to book privately. On Fakarava look to coordinate a private excursion with Ato (fakaravaexplorer@hotmail.com). He does look for you to get a group together. This is a great snorkel excursion with lunch on a motu. On Huahine book with huahinenautique.com for a great snorkel, also with a lunch on a motu. On Bora Bora we love Pure Snorkeling with Reef Discovery. This is now available as a ship's excursion as well. On Taha'a you can do the ships drift snorkel which is very good but you do lose about 1-2 hours at their motu of you decide on that. Hope t his helps.

Yes. OBC credits can be used for excursions. Laundry package usually has to be purchased before the cruise so I’m not sure if you can use OBC. You can use the credit for laundry sent out while on board or to purchase the laundry package, if they will allow the purchase

For a deck 4 cabin we usually receive between $600 and $800 for the 10 or 11 night cruise.

They generally respond well to emails but you then need to reconfirm when you get to Moorea. If you contact them when you arrive you should not have an issue getting in that day or the next. It is our favorite place to eat.

I'm not sure where you received the ferry info but there is not a 30 minute ferry to Bora Bora. From the main island of Tahiti there is a 30 minute ferry to Moorea. It is a quick boat ride from Raiatea to Taha'a.

Trying on options is clearly the best option. You can also look at www.tropicalsnorkeling.com. They have some extensive reviews of equipment but they tend to focus on the higher quality/price items.

Both the Intercontinental and the Hilton advertise day passes but many posts indicate they are hard to actually reserve. You would need to contact the hotel directly. You could also ask that if you came for breakfast could you then use the pool area.

Don't look on Viator. They use local companies and simply make the reservation for you and potentially increase the price. Look at Tripadvisor.com and review the options on each island. You can then book directly with the tour operator.

Look at Marc's tour run by Huahine Nautique

Instead of a dayroom you can book a room yourself for the night, for around $400. Check in early. The room won’t be ready but you can leave your luggage and enjoy the pool and relax. Room should be ready by noon. You can nap, shower, etc. and far less expensive than arranging this though the ship. Taxi to the hotel will be about $25 for the IC, a little less for the Hilton

In July we flew United to SFO and the on to Newark. We were in business class (you do get off the plane first) and had a 4 hour layover in SFO. We would have made a 2 hour connection but only by 15 minutes. Our luggage did come out first and immigration was fast, as was customs. Unfortunately we were able to quickly leave our bags just outside customs for the next flight but we were outside of security. We had to go through security again which took about 40 minutes. So............2 hours is really tight. I would try and avoid that if possible.

We have been on PG 8 times and now have a Windstar Cruise in July of 2024. I personally would not be concerned with the deposit issue. Suggest you use a Travel Agent as many can provided some added on board credit and/or a post cruise rebate. We love the PG but chose the Windstar for a few reasons. Windstar had a very good price for their 7 night trip for July. For the two of us it was $5400 which is about half of the PG fare. I know we have to add in gratuities and we will not get free internet or laundry. PG is all inclusive and includes drinks but since we don't drink alcohol that does not matter to us. On Windstar I believe it would be $89 per person per day to include all this or about another $1400 for the two of us. The Windstar rate is would still be a good savings for us. In February Windstar is relocating the Star Breeze, a motor yacht, to Tahiti. This ship appears to be pretty similar to the PG. It looks like it may have a few more dining options and is also about 300 passengers. The deck 4 cabins on PG are 200 square feet. On Windstar the similar cabin is 270 which is a significant difference. We don't spend a lot of time in the cabin but a little more space would be welcome. Our last cruise (this past July) on the PG was very good. The crew is spectacular. I did find that some things have changed from prior sailings that most first time passengers would not miss. That being said minor things like flowers in the cabin, fruit bowls in the cabin, the captain showing up at the repeaters cruise (he did not) were some of the things that we missed but are not crucial. I did send a message to PG with an in depth review of my concerns and they acknowledged receipt but nothing more. So........we are anticipating that Windstar will be spectacular as the PG has been. If the price was the same I would probably flip a coin. You probably can't go wrong with either..