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PG Air Question


laurelguy

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Until there's a board for the "new" PG I guess I have to post here. Does anyone know if you can grab that late night flight on ATN on the last night of the cruise when the ship docks back in PPT..past experience tells me the ship gets in early evening. Then, instead of having to hang out all day and night, you could check out and head to the airport. Just asking to see if anyone has done it. Air France has a 7:30 AM flight which one could do. Thanks.:cool:

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Yes it's frequently done since, as you remember, the PG gets back to Papeete fairly early before dinner.

 

But I have never felt that spending Saturday there is "hanging around", but rather "another day in paradise". Especially with the air package which may or may not still include a dayroom at the Radisson and Saturday morning until lunch on the ship. So the only real reason to do it is if you are running low on vacation days or just have to get back to the office. (IMHO)

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Until there's a board for the "new" PG I guess I have to post here. Does anyone know if you can grab that late night flight on ATN on the last night of the cruise when the ship docks back in PPT..past experience tells me the ship gets in early evening. Then, instead of having to hang out all day and night, you could check out and head to the airport. Just asking to see if anyone has done it. Air France has a 7:30 AM flight which one could do. Thanks.:cool:

 

Friends of ours did it last summer. Paid a deviation fee and even had dinner onboard that night in Papeete before heading to the airport for an 11PM flight to LAX. They even had a shuttle from the ship to that flight.

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There's the rub. Under Regent's policy, you paid a "deviation" fee for disembarking and flying home Friday night if your air transport had been arranged by Regent in connection with the cruise. The last time we investigated, it was about $200 per person. Our opinion of Saturday was the same as yours, but it wasn't worth $400 to avoid hanging out.

 

I've no knowledge of whether PG Cruises will maintain this policy. Anyone else know?

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Glad to hear some of you folks have left early that way. Most of us know the old Regent way with airfare part of the package, but noooo! The new PG people make you do all the air arrangements on your own. Yup. So leaving that night before requires no deviation fee, etc. You buy your own! Again, many of us are waiting for the reviews to come in on the new PG cruise experience. I'm booked for next August on the 11-night Cook Islands cruise. For us alumni who loves Polynesia I'm hoping there are few changes. I've read here many of the staff have jumped ship and gone on other Regent ships. Stay tuned.:cool:

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Page 42 of the PGCruises.com brochure deals with the Air / Sea program. It is available for download on line and reads, in part:

 

"STANDARD AIR/SEA PROGRAM

Pre-cruise: Afternoon flight departure from Los Angeles. Evening



arrival in Papeete. Transfer to pier for embarkation.

Post-cruise: Brunch on board Paul Gauguin. Tahiti tour departures



from the pier. Hotel afternoon accommodations. Late

evening flight departure to Los Angeles."

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And page 43 reads in part:

 

"AIR CONCIERGE DESK

We offer our Guests the opportunity to speak to an Air/Sea representative when making changes to their flight itineraries and/or travel dates.



This service is available on all deposited bookings for a $100 per person fee per call, plus any applicable service charges and/or supplier fees.

Please note that fee does not apply when requesting a standard upgrade to First or Business Class."

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Sorry guys..(and gals)..did not mean to say the new PG had no air desk. They do but according to my TA there are no inclusive deals or even add-ons for biz or first class. We had to build a round-trip air ourselves. Glad to see though that there are ways to spend the last day (brunch etc)...for me though I'd rather fly out and have a day to recover at the other end. Thanks everyone. Hope to see many of you aboard.:cool:

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I am not sure where the information about not having air packages came from. We are booked on the July 11 night cruise and we considered the PG air vs doing it on our own. The air from LAX was running $1200 and then when I checked again it had gone up to $1500. PG offered the air package for $1200 which includes transfers to/from the airport as well as the day room on the day of departure at the hotel. I could not beat this myself. They wanted $2000 if I wanted them to coordinate the air from the east coast where I am flying from. I will instead book the NY to LAX on my own and use their air program for the LAX to PPT.

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Well if you booked a trip that includes air, then I doubt that would change now. Lucky you, that's a big saving!

 

We upgraded to Business Class last December (for the LAX-PPT leg) and it made a big difference, although ATN Biz is nothing to write home about. I had hoped that if we booked with PGcruises in future they might offer the same type of thing. Oh well, we'll see what the future brings.

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As with many things, lots of different info coming from the PG Reservations folks. One day I called and they had no cabins in the price range I wanted. The next day there were a ton. They are slowly getting their act together. Which is understandable. And yes, they can certainly book the economy air, but with Regent there was a set price for add-ons to Biz Class. Also found out if you booked before Dec. 18th there were all sorts of deals for 2010. Even air fare. But not now. Would love to know how heavy bookings are for the year ahead. And not to worry anyone. If your cruise/air is set, they won't demand more. In fact, if cruise fares go down you apparently get the new lower fare before final payment. Anyone else chomping on the bit to get onboard. :cool:

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As with many things, lots of different info coming from the PG Reservations folks. One day I called and they had no cabins in the price range I wanted. The next day there were a ton. They are slowly getting their act together. Which is understandable. And yes, they can certainly book the economy air, but with Regent there was a set price for add-ons to Biz Class. Also found out if you booked before Dec. 18th there were all sorts of deals for 2010. Even air fare. But not now. Would love to know how heavy bookings are for the year ahead. And not to worry anyone. If your cruise/air is set, they won't demand more. In fact, if cruise fares go down you apparently get the new lower fare before final payment. Anyone else chomping on the bit to get onboard. :cool:

 

I booked my return trip for June 2010, within weeks of coming off my first trip on PG (July 2009), so I was an early bird with my booking and got a very Regent-esque package IMO and about the same cost as my 2009 voyage.

 

I spoke with my TA just two weeks ago to make my final payment (not due yet, I'm just early) and asked her to make sure I haven't missed any perks or price reductions. She got back to me saying there isn't a drop and in fact, the fare went up.

 

I just checked the PGC site and don't even see where economy air is even included for June 2010 sailings, but I'm also not reading fine print.

 

***My first and business class days are over since I no longer travel for work and was allowed to accrue miles. I'm envious of those of you who get to fly in that class on that haul. Tahitian waves from economy!

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Just wanted to point out that as far as I know, Air Tahiti Nui has not eliminated the possibility of purchasing first class upgrades at the airport. Obviously, it depends on if there are seats available. We travelled this way twice - paid $800 to upgrade each way. The cost seems to change somewhat - I seem to remember it was $750 the first time. Anyway, that is always a possibility. I checked with the airline frequently to ensure that there were 1st seats still available, and made sure we were first in line when the ticket gate opened.

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I really hope that PG cruises implements the 2-for-1 airfare and/or free roundtrip airfare from LAX to Papeete that Regent had. It seemed like a great savings and I was hoping my fiance and I would be able to take advantage of that deal for our honeymoon in 2011. Oh well...I guess time will tell........ :cool:

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We did our own flight arrangements. We'd considered flying Air Tahiti Nui, but are spending 3 nights in Moorea for a pre-cruise stay, and with the Air TN air schedule, we'd have had to spend one night in Papeete due to the plane's arrival time (too late to take the ferry to Moorea), and we did not want to stay in Papeete. So...we booked with Air France, which was considerably less money than Air TN, but the flight times are grim - after a 7.5 hr layover at LAX, we leave for Papeete at 10:00 pm (it's an overnight flight), and arrive in Papeete at 4:45 am (local time). We'll be bedraggled and exhausted I'm sure, but then we'll get the first morning ferry to Moorea, which is at 7:30. Even though it will be tiring, I'm sure we'll perk up once we reach paradise :-) I've been reading some awesome reviews for the Hilton Moorea (formerly Sheraton) and am really glad we chose this resort, even over the Sofitel Moorea, which is highly rated as well. Fifteen days and counting. Yippee!!! I'm longing to read a recent PG ship review (since the change over) and promise to write a very detailed one when we return.

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We did our own flight arrangements. We'd considered flying Air Tahiti Nui, but are spending 3 nights in Moorea for a pre-cruise stay, and with the Air TN air schedule, we'd have had to spend one night in Papeete due to the plane's arrival time (too late to take the ferry to Moorea), and we did not want to stay in Papeete. So...we booked with Air France, which was considerably less money than Air TN, but the flight times are grim - after a 7.5 hr layover at LAX, we leave for Papeete at 10:00 pm (it's an overnight flight), and arrive in Papeete at 4:45 am (local time). We'll be bedraggled and exhausted I'm sure, but then we'll get the first morning ferry to Moorea, which is at 7:30. Even though it will be tiring, I'm sure we'll perk up once we reach paradise :-) I've been reading some awesome reviews for the Hilton Moorea (formerly Sheraton) and am really glad we chose this resort, even over the Sofitel Moorea, which is highly rated as well. Fifteen days and counting. Yippee!!! I'm longing to read a recent PG ship review (since the change over) and promise to write a very detailed one when we return.

 

I look forward to your review. I spent a whole day snorkleing at the Hilton Moorea last summer and loved it. I was at another Moorea hotel first and it wasn't as nice. I've heard about that early arrival on AF at 5 AM. It's likely more tiring than it sounds. With all those morning fresh baguettes being ready to devour near the ferry dock, I'd be thrilled! Have a great time!

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We also booked that early arrival on AF, but it's the day the ship departs. Trying to figure out what to do to pass the time until we can board. Enjoy your cruise (how can you not, this ship is a blast) and hope to read your review when you return. I'll post one as well, but hope that someone is going before us (3/6)!! :D

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