texasstar

In Moorea, we booked and ATV trip with Albert's. It was so much fun. We drove up to Belvedere, on small winding roads, through streams. Our guide was fantastic. You can rent an ATV or SSV, which is just like driving a small jeep.

In Bora Bora, we booked a 3/4 day trip with Patricks. It was an outrigger trip which included swimming with black fin sharks, stingrays, snorkeling in 2 more locations, then swimming in beautiful shallow water, then finishing with a traditional picnic on a private island. Both trips were fantastic. You can book them online and don't have to pay until you arrive.

The ship offers 2 motu picnics, one on Taha'a (which they don't mention in their information and one on Bora Bora. We had so much fun on Tahaa. They take their water toys over, the bar, and prepare a wonderful BBQ. Our Bora Bora event was done on ship because of very heavy rain. I am sure it would be a delight on the motu also. Both are included.

We were tendered in and it took about 10 minutes. I think it was near Fare, but I am not positive. I would call Windstar and ask them just to sure.

Alberts ATV trip was a highlight of our trip. You get to see the island with a little excitement thrown in!

I would recommend that you fly Air France if possible. The Air Tahiti Nui flight over was grueling because it was one of their older planes and the seats are very small. I am very small person and it was very uncomfortable. A friend flew on Air France and had a pleasant experience.

We just returned from a wonderful trip on the Wind Spirit. Even though the weather did not cooperate, (cloudy and rainy part of most days) it did not hamper the fun we had. This was our second Windstar cruise, and it lived up to our expectations. The staff was lovely, always smiling and going out of their way to cater to you. The food was exceptional, the couple entertaining in the lounge were very talented, and we enjoyed all of the passengers. We booked most of our excursions privately, but those that did go on the ships excursions were very happy with them. The private motu event on Tahaa was a highlight. They take you to the island; have all the water toys there for your use, beach chairs are available, and a lovely bar-b-que was served. The private motu event on Bora Bora was cancelled because it was raining very hard, but they moved it to the dining room.

The islands are beautiful, the water is clear and torquise, the tropical fish are plentiful.

Can't wait to book my next Windstar trip!

Just returned from the 7 day tour. I only booked one of the ships tours and booked it the day before it was held. There were a few excursions in the evening talks that the cruise director mentioned were sold out the day before. There were several that were cancelled because of lack of participation.

I did book an SSV tour with Albert's on Moorea that was a blast. There were only 4 couples on the tour and we went to the highest point on island on very narrow roads and through streams. The guide was fantastic. I booked it before we left on line. You do not have to pay until you arrive, and they will pick you up at the dock.

We also booked an outrigger tour with Patrick's on Bora Bora. We swam with the stingrays, black-fin sharks, snorkeled, had a traditional Polynesian meal on a private island. Our guide played the ukelele and sang while steering the boat. It was truly an experience.

I think if there is an excursion that you really want to do on the ship, I would book it ahead just to make sure you were able to do it.

AlbanyWA, Thank you so much for replying and for the information. We have pre-booked tours on Moorea and Bora Bora, but were hoping we could" wing it" as you have on the other islands. When you booked tours on the dock, did they take credit cards or do we need to have cash?

AlbanyWA, would you please share the excursion information you did on your own in the islands? (If that is permissible)

Thanks

Cry5allis, Are you on the May 6 cruise? I hope so, Australians are so much fun!

Favorite experience to far...the deck barbecue in the caldera at Santorini. What a beautiful experience. That may change though as we will be cruising in Tahiti in one month!

Pax2

Had you been on a jetski prior to this trip? This sounds like so much fun, but would a "neophyte" be ok on this excursion?

They give you a card that is for driving across the border in to Mexico or Canada. For flying, you only need to put your "trusted traveler" number in the place where it is requested when making your plane reservations, then you will get TSA precheck on your boarding pass when it is printed. For re-entry in the USA, you go to the global entry line, pass your passport across the screen and place your fingerprint on the screen and away you go.

Thanks for your glowing report! We leave in about 6 weeks and are so happy to hear you had such a wonderful time. Can you please be more specific about the shore excursions? Did you do the ones offered by the ship or schedule some on your own? Which ones did you do on each island? On the snorkeling trips, were life belts offered if you wanted one? Thanks so much for taking the time to respond.

I have booked one for Bora Bora with Patricks (lagoon and lunch tour). It is expensive, but less than the similar one the ship is offering. His tour gets rave reviews. We are going on the May 6 cruise. If your cruise is that week, it might be possible to join us and that would lower the cost.

I have also booked an ATV tour on Moorea with Albert Transport.

Most of the tours will not take you if you are on a cruise, because the cruise lines use them.

Hope this helps.

Rocksmix,

Please post a review when you return. The latest review is from Oct. We head to Tahiti in May, and are anxiously awaiting reviews! Thanks

Thank you all for your replies.

Does anyone know if you can get Delta miles on Air Tahiti Nui?

Thank you.

I have been to Les Baux and Carrieres de Lumieres, but not with Viking. They are both something you should see. Carrieres de Lumieres is an old quarry that highlights different impressionist artists through a light and sound show shown on the expansive quarry walls. It is an amazing experience.

Rick Steve's Provence book is great for this area. We were there last fall and really enjoyed the hill towns of the Luberon area. We stayed south of Gordes at La Ferme de Huppe. It is a lovely place. The market on Sunday at L'Isle sur la Sorgue is one of the areas best. It is fun to walk around and look at the amazing stalls of fruit, vegetables, cheeses, flowers etc. Definitely see the Pont du Gard. Fodors forums also have great information on this area. Happy travels.

Scuba Diver

We are sailing on the May 6 cruise. When are you cruising?

Please post a review of your trip when you get a chance. We travel in May and would love to hear from recent cruisers.

Thanks

We have booked Patrick's lagoon tour in Bora Bora. It gets rave reviews on Cruise critic, (PG) site and also Trip Advisor. It is expensive, but a little less than the one Windstar is offering. It is a private trip, so see you can find someone to share the trip with so the cost will not be so high. Google Patrick's lagoon tour and it will bring up his website. He doesn't list prices, so send him an email and he will repy to you. Be sure and tell him you are on Windstar. He can't take PG cruisers because they use him as their source.

Check the Paul Gauguin line on this site. They are a larger ship and their traveler's seem to offer more information. Go to the search area and search shore excursions under the particular island you are interested in.

Good luck!

We also like AmaWaterways very much. We cruised the Danube in 2014 in early June and were so impressed that we booked the Rhone trip for 2015. We went 3 days early to Budapest and saw most of the sites. If you do this one, make sure you book a tour of the parliament building before you go. It is amazing. We were to glad we did see the city prior to the cruise because the ship's pre-cruise tour was mostly spent in traffic trying to get around Budapest. We loved the small towns we visited along the Danube.

We spent a week prior to the Rhone trip touring the Luberon and Cote Du Rhone areas by car. The Rhone cruise was also very enjoyable. The tour guides were outstanding. We were on the Rhone in early October, and it was cold and rainy. I would try to do this in June or September if you can. Remember to book early as these destinations sell out about a year in advance.

Happy travels.

Thank you for your reply. I was able to make contact by email with them and secured a room. (after being told by phone that they did not do this.)

You might try ginger tablets and gum that you can get from the health food store. I have had success with that.