OnWeGo

I’ll be renting a car from Avis on our 2nd day inMoorea. I had told them to pick us up at 8:00 but now I will definitely reachout to them to make it 9:00. Has the ship been anchoring in Opunohu bay? Iunderstand it is about a 5-10 minute ride to Intercontinental (Avis) from dockif ship is in Opunohu bay. How long is tender ride to the dock?

I'm really enjoying your review and videos!! We set sail on Sept. 16th for our first trip on Paul Gauguin and our first time to Tahiti and Society Islands so your comments and videos are much appreciated!!

Thanks to the help from the experts on this forum, I have most of my activities planned for our Sept. 16 cruise. But I do have a couple of questions to help me finalize our plans.

We are interested in the Coral Garden Drift Snorkeling in Taha’a. It notes the tour is only recommended for experienced snorkelers that are extremely comfortable in the water. I would consider us to be somewhere between novice and experienced snorkelers having done some snorkeling on past cruises. But we are extremely comfortable in the water and are good swimmers. For those who have done this trip, would we be OK to take this tour?

We would also like to do a sunset cruise either on Bora Bora or Moorea. Any thoughts/opinions to help us decide?

Thanks!

We will be in Moorea in Sept and have just reserved an automatic car through Avis. We sent an email to "reservations @ avispacificar.pf".

Picture of your backyard?? :) Your pictures are spectacular! They certainly are making me very excited for our first trip to the Society Islands!! Really enjoying this post.

Update since my initial question… Unique Tours did come back to me and say they could take 4 pieces of reasonably sized luggage if the ship did not transfer our luggage. They also said they would drop us off at our hotel after the tour. I contacted Paul Gauguin and was told that once we put our luggage out the night before, we will not see it again until we get to the day hotel. So it looks like we are good to go for this tour!

We are considering booking a tour through Unique Tours. They offer an East Coast half day tour where they will pick us up at dock at 9:00 am and we are expected to return around 1:00 pm. What time are all passengers expected to be off the ship? Trying to see if we could leave our luggage on ship while we do this tour. If not, is there a place where we can store luggage? Will we still make the PG transfer to the day hotel if we get back to ship around 1:00 pm?

Thanks!

I obviously did something wrong when I tried to post a "Quote"! I hit the quote button and that's what popped up.

Thanks for the info on the tender. That's probably what we'll do have our Jet Ski tour on Day 2 of Bora Bora!

WE found that very few people were off the ship in the evening at Bora Bora and Moorea. On Bora Bora you can go to the PG motu after your jet ski.

 

 

Does PG offer a tender to the Motu or do we have to sign up for a tour to get there?

Having never been and so excited for our first trip in September, I'm going to reallly enjoy this post! I hope you get lots of responses!!

Thank you for the tips on Pearls! I will add these to my notes. Since it looks like we will be renting a car in Moorea (thanks to the advice I got here) we will be able to check out both places.

In a previous post on this thread drift snorkeling in Taha'a was mentioned. I read about this excursion on PG website and they say it is only recommended for strong experienced snorkelers. A couple of us in our group are pretty strong swimmers but not too experienced at snorkeling (only have done on various cruise excursions). Has anyone else done this? Is this something one should not consider unless they are a very seasoned snorkeler and strong swimmer? Didn’t know if they are being overly cautious…. It does look amazing from Tahitianbigkahuna's picture!

We just confirmed our air with Paul Gauguin. They originally had us arriving at night (9:45 pm) so we paid the $100 air deviation fee so we could arrive in the morning (5:00 am). We are staying for one night in an OWB in Tahiti and we did not want to arrive so late that we could not enjoy a full day there. I also noticed that flights were about $300 lower if we were to do on our own but as Tahitianbigkahuna said we would have to pay for our day hotel and transfers. I was quoted $190 pp for day hotel if we did air on our own. Between that and the transfer, there isn’t too much of a savings. We also booked our OWB on our own and saved a ton of money doing so!

Tahitianbigkahuna - your picture of Tahaa resort is beautiful!

I see that there are two possibilities of where we could dock in Moorea. Will Avis meet us at dock and take us to get our car? I see on their website they have pickup/drop off at Vaiare Ferry Dock. I take it we should purchase the SCDW Insurance?

This is why I love doing my reasearch on this site! So much great advice! All sound great!

I'm now thinking we should consider getting a car on Moorea. But do so on first day so we don't have a huge time constraint on getting back to ship.

I'm assuming we will need to have an international license? How much would we be looking at cost wise for a day rental? Are there plenty of rental company options.

Afternoon on motu in Bora Bora sounds perfect!

Just booked our first PG cruise! It will be the 7 day Tahiti & Society Islands in Sept. 2017. Naturally I have turned to this forum to research and get ideas and help. I'm working on lining up our excursions and plan to do most independently. We do not want to rent a car and explore on our own. We are a group of 4 active adults (50's). Here is what we planned so far (but flexible to consider other ideas!):

Huahine - We have booked Mark's Combo Tour

Taha'a - Looks like the popular thing to do is head over to Motu Mahana and the beach BBQ.

Bora Bora - Have 2 full days here. First day we're thinking about the lagoon, snorkeling and 4X4 tour with Maohi Nui. Day 2 we will do the 2 hr. jet ski tour in the morning with Moana Adventure.

Moorea - Another 2 days here as well. First day we plan to do the ATV Moorea Tour.

Questions:

Any thoughts on what we can do for the afternoon on Bora Bora after jet ski tour (we'll be done around noon). Would this island be a good place for some souvenir shopping? Do most people go on shore the evening we are in Bora Bora? Has anyone done the sunset cruise offered by PG?

Same questions for Moorea. We'll have time in the afternoon on the first day and nothing planned yet for 2nd day. Any suggestions? Would Moorea be a better place to shop? Should we consider going on shore the evening we are there?

Where are the best places to look for souvenirs such as black pearls, Tifaifai quilts and of course the must have t-shirts!

I know...lots of questions but would welcome any thoughts, suggestions and advice! Thanks!

We do not consider ourselves being big drinkers. We do typically drink more on vacation because we are on vacation. In the past we bought the wine packages and would also purchase a few cocktails during the day. But since they did away with the wine packages and the ridiculous price increase in drinks we are now looking at the drink packages. And the only reason we are looking at the drink packages is because we have a $250.00 ship board credit which will help lower our out of pocket cost.

The premium package will go from $57.82 pp per day (gratuities included) to $39.96 pp per day (based on 7 day purchase and the price listed as of this moment). It won’t take a lot of drinking to get to $39.96 each day. But I do have a couple questions.

The cocktails we enjoy would be Pina Colada, mudslide, or mojitos. Are these the $12.00 or $14.00 cocktails? This package includes cocktails up to $12.00. Want to see if we’ll be adding another $2.00 to our bill for each drink.

Bottles of wine are discounted 20% - I presume we can bring a glass of wine to the MDR and/or order by the glass from the MDR, correct? Package includes glasses of wine up to $12.00. Would prefer to order by the glass rather than pay $25+ for a bottle of wine.

The cruise industry is getting more like the airline industry. It won’t be long before we’re only allowed to bring one piece of luggage for free and there’ll be a charge for pool towel rental.

I recently returned from the Viking’s “Cities of Light” trip from Paris to Prague. We booked this trip in Feb. 2013. From the time I booked until departure I spent quite a bit of time on this site reading and asking questions which helped me a lot as I prepared for this trip. So I wanted to give my review in case it can help others.

This was my first river trip so I have no comparisons to other cruise lines. I thought Viking did an outstanding job. I loved cruising down the rivers and being so close to land to be able to see the beautiful scenery. It really was breathtaking. I have never seen so many vineyards as I did while cruising down the Mosell and Maine rivers.

We were a group of 4 (3 sisters and a girlfriend) ages from 46-61. We were on the younger side of the “age scale” for passengers. This is not a negative statement only making reference to the age group. In fact most looked and acted much younger than their age! We made some great friends and enjoyed their company throughout the trip.

As people have mentioned the dress code is casual. Many people changed clothes for dinner but many stayed as they were. At the Captain’s farewell dinner, most men were wearing slacks or Dockers and a nice shirt (Polo or button down) and women were in nice slacks (long and Capri) and nice casual type top. There were a couple in Maxi dresses (still pretty casual but nice) and there were a few that didn’t change at all.

Ship and Crew – We were on Viking Odin in a Veranda room with a balcony. The balcony worked out nice on the days when the sun deck was closed because we were going under very low bridges (mostly on the Main River). We were able to sit out and enjoy the scenery. When we first arrived to the ship we were greeted with a moist towel and a drink as we boarded. What a great first impression! We were quickly escorted to our room and our luggage was brought within minutes. The state rooms are compact and nicely laid out. There is plenty of space for clothing and “stuff”, as well as outlets for charging the variety of devices people travel with these days.

Radim was our program director and I can’t rave enough about what a great job he did. He is knowledgeable, entertaining, great sense of humor and easy on the eyes for us women! ;) I have to say, every crew member we encountered was happy, engaging and wanted nothing more than to make sure you were happy and satisfied. They really made you feel special!

We thought the food was very good. There were several selections each night plus the standard selections that are available every night (chicken, steak and vegetarian). The wine was also good and was poured very freely. I don’t think our glass was ever less than half full (or half empty J). They always topped off our glass so we could take it with us to the lounge for the evening entertainment. Each night they served a different red and white wine. If you didn’t care for this you could order the house wine (no cost) or a glass from the wine list (at a cost).

In the evenings there was a piano player and dancing. We did have some local people come on board as well. One evening we had a glass blower who was very entertaining! Another evening was a Mozart concert by two local musicians, and one evening was folk dancers.

Shore Excursions – Very organized and well done. The local guides they used were excellent. They offered a “Leisurely” option for those who did not want to do as much walking. We were given about 90 minutes of free time in each stop for shopping, wandering or having a drink at a local pub or sidewalk café. Upon returning, the crew was there to greet us with some sort of beverage or ice cream. We took all included excursions and took one optional tour which was the “Romantic Road Tour”. I highly recommend this tour. It is about a 40 minute drive through quaint villages and once you arrive in Ruddenshine, it was like walking in to a fairy tale village. This was probably our favorite place we visited. I wish we could have spent more time there.

Summary – Will I take another river cruise? Yes! Will it be with Viking? Most definitely! As all of you know, these trips aren’t cheap! But when I think of how we were treated, the food and wine provided, the quality of the excursions we thought it was good value. I am used to ocean cruises where you pay for every beverage (including water), pay to eat at the better restaurants, pay the high priced shore excursions all while you are “just” one of 3,000+ passengers. Hmm, do I sound like a converted “cruiser”? You bet!

Our cruise with Viking is next June but have not received the email you mention. Have you paid your trip in full? Our final payment not due for a few more weeks so wondering if we need to have trip paid in full to receive email?? I hope so!

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Bill’s Bride,

Of course I have more questions!

This will be our (four “youngish” ladies – 3 sisters and a girlfriend ;)) first river cruise and the first visit to all our stops we are so looking forward to it!

We had a choice of extending our Paris or Prague time by one day (unfortunately we are all still working and have limited time off) and we chose Prague. Right or wrong our thought being we are more likely to return to Paris than Prague. With limited time in Paris we were wondering if we were going to do the city tour offered by Viking or to head out on our own to explore. But you gave us a very good idea to take the offered tour and go as far as Notre Dame. I have been checking out the various walking tours as we have done them in other places we have visited and have loved them. We want to see some of the major sites but also experience the city – strolling through the Latin Quarter or Les Halles or the Tuileries and as you did find neat café’s to have a glass of wine. With so little time we will only see the “tip of the iceberg”.

Thanks for the information on walking distance from boat to town. For some reason I thought each stop was walking distance into town. Did Viking offer any shuttle service into town? But then as you said, we will likely be exhausted most evenings from our days of touring!

Speaking of tours, I’ve read on this forum that some cruise lines will split groups up and provide a group for more active walkers and groups for the less active walkers. Was that the case with your cruise?

Nice to hear that we have a little time in each stop to wander, have a glass of wine or do a little shopping. What were your favorite places for souvenir shopping?

How was the evening entertainment? I’ve read they will have people come on board and there is also a piano bar??

What optional tours were offered in Prague? How long was the bus ride from the dock to Prague? Any tips on exploring, eating or drinking in Prague? :)

Thanks for sharing your insights!

Finally a review from the Cities of Lights trip! I was happy to read how much you enjoyed your trip. We are doing same cruise (Paris to Prague) next June. I do have a few questions...how did you like your hotel in Paris? Was it pretty centrally located? During your cruise did you have any stops where you had the opportunity to take a walk in town after dinner? If so which ports? Did you do any other optional tours other than Rothenburg?

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Mark - the T&C state the $500 pp deposit and 90 day balance due but states that promotions may have different payment terms. The current promotion which expires today states-

 

2014 EARLY BOOKING DISCOUNT: On all sail dates the discount is per stateroom based on double occupancy. Single supplement savings are off applicable rates. The 2-for-1 cruise and international air discount are considered a single offer. International air does not have to be purchased to get cruise offer. Must request offer EBD at time of booking. Must book and pay in full by May 31, 2013. Offer expires May 31, 2013.

We are booked for a June 2014 trip and final payment is due Dec. 5th. I asked our TA why so soon and she said that Viking requires this on their promotional specials. Our special is the "2 for 1" which is a sales gimic that has been discussed on this forum. While I don't like the idea of them holding our money for six months, I'm trying to look on the bright side. The trip will be long paid for and it will almost seem like a free trip (I know that stretching it!).