What to do with luggage in Papeete?

[Little Nat]

We are going on the Oct. 13th trip (alone, if the PG Roll-call is accurate) and are doing the 3 day pre-cruise stay in Moorea. As far as I know, we arrive in Tahiti very early morning, someone meets us & helps us get to Moorea. Day of cruise we check out and get transported to Papeete to meet the ship, and when we disembark we are taken to a day-room to wait for our late evening flight.

 

I would love to walk around Papeete, somewhere in our 3 days we are in & out of there. Is there a place to store luggage? Or will PG store it for us? Just can't imagine checking out the town market, with a rolling suitcase & backpack!

 

Thanks for any info. I've gathered quite a bit of great tidbits from you all so far! Can't believe we leave in 7 days!

[FlightMedic555]

Sounds like on your day of arrival you are going directly to the ferry so there is no opportunity to do anything more. Your ferry departs and arrives from the pier adjacent to where the PG is, probably less than 50 yards away. When you get back from Moorea you can bring your bags to the ship, check in, and get off the ship to explore if you want. IMHO I would not do this as exploring the ship, etc. is usually done.

 

When you return after your cruise you will dock in Tahiti at about 7:00 pm and not disembark until the next day. You can get off that evening to walk around if you want, but again, they have a nice show that evening that you may not want to miss. If you do get off the ship the food trucks (roulettes sp?) are set up right next to the pier.

 

Presuming your air was part of your cruise package on the last morning you will have the option of a no charge bus tour on Tahiti (Hall museum, black sand beach to get out and look at but no time to swim and a nice waterfall) or you can go by bus directly to the hotel for your day room. Which ever you choose will depart at about noon from the ship. You have plenty of time that morning to get off the ship and visit the market that is a 5 minute walk away. The market takes about an hour in total to explore. There is really nothing else in the vacinity of the pier to explore. After the market you return to the ship for an early lunch and then leave for either the tour or the hotel.

 

We did the tour the first time and direct to the hotel the second. They used the Radisson as the hotel and I believe they have or are shifting over to the IC. At the Radisson we arrived at about 3:00 pm after the tour and had to be out of our room by 6:00 pm with a 7:30 departure to the airport. This left virtually no time to use the room except for a quick shower or nap. Once out of the room at 6:00 pm there is nothing to do other than visit the very, very, highly priced restaurant (free wifi though in the lobby area). The second time we did not do the tour but went to the hotel and arrived by about 12:30. We went directly to the pool and grabbed a couple of nice chairs in the shade (take some drinks with you from the ship in your carry on so you can have them poolside at no charge). We found this more relaxing that the tour. IMHO I would not recommend the tour.

 

If they have switched to the IC it is possible that the timing may also have been altered.

[Emdee]

People are now being put in the Rad/the IC and the Meridien and sometimes they change the hotel at the last minute.

 

Yes the IC meals are expensive by north american standards but not by international standards. In addition the food is excellent and the quantity is quite large. Sharing a club is quite nice and you can eat something at the airport or on the plane.

[Little Nat]

Our paperwork says we will have a day room at the Radisson. Good to know about the hotel vs. tour. I was thinking about doing the tour, since we'll have had lots of beach/pool time on the ship, but after reading your response I think doing the market in the morning, then lunch & the hotel sounds like a better choice. Our flight is at 11:15pm...do you think we'll have to leave the hotel at 7:30? Sounds like quite a wait at the airport!

 

Thanks for your responses!

[Tikiintahiti]

This year we have rented a car from a place only a few blocks from the ship dock. We will have an early breakfast and then I'll head over and grab the car. I'll bring it back to the ship parking area. We'll load up the car and a nd away we'll go. Enjoy the island and do whatever. We'll stop by the day room hotel and grab a shower then get out of there by 6 pm and head over to the roulottes. Eat dinner, relax and then fill up the car with gas and head over to the airport to srop off the car and checkin.

[ALB0711]

Tiki - We are also renting a car for our departure day - based on advice from you from an earlier post. We are doing our own air though and don't have a day room. A shower after a day driving around the island will be nice before boarding the plane. Any suggestions for a place to shower if we don't have the day room? Can we buy pool passes or something like that for the day at one of the hotels?

 

Thanks

 

Allen

[Escriteur]

As others have suggested, the morning of departure day is a great time to check out the market in Papeete. They collect your check-in luggage the evening before, and I believe you have to be out of your room by 9am. We met our friends for breakfast around 7am, checked in our carry-on luggage in the Grand Salon, then walked over to the market area. We killed an hour or two there and picked up some souvenirs, then returned to the ship. We relaxed in the Grand Salon, then headed to lunch around 11:30am. Our shuttle for the tour/Radisson day room departed around 12:15.

 

I actually found the mini Tahiti tour worthwhile, and would recommend it for first-time visitors. You visit the James Norman Hall Museum (former home of the "Mutiny on the Bounty" author); then drive to see the Teara o Tahiti lighthouse, Cook memorial, and black sand beach at Point Venus; and then head to Faarumai to view the impressive Vaimahuta waterfall. (I don't think I'd do the tour again the next time we cruise, but it's a nice option for first-timers.)

 

After our tour, we arrived at the Radisson around 3pm, and I think we had to be out of the room around 7pm. I don't think the shuttle buses arrived until after 8pm; it might have been closer to 8:30. We had time to grab a shower and a quick nap, and I wrote out a few postcards and picked up stamps from the hotel's gift shop. Since the Radisson offers free Wi-Fi, I went online and uploaded some photos while we were relaxing in the lobby.

 

Even though there were long lines at the airport, we had plenty of time to check in and get through security/customs. There's a quick-service restaurant/bar across from the duty-free shop if you want to pick up something to eat/drink. (We didn't bother getting dinner at the hotel, since we had a big lunch on the ship.) The one thing that did take a while was waiting in line to get our TVA (value-added tax) paperwork stamped and returned. If you spend more than a couple hundred dollars on jewelry in a retail store (doesn't apply to dockside/motu vendors), you need to be sure to get the paperwork stamped and mailed back; otherwise, your credit card could be charged the tax if the paperwork isn't returned.

 

Anyway, hopefully this info is of some help when planning how to spend your final day in Tahiti!

[Tikiintahiti]

I'm a bad boy ...........

 

I've been known to go hop into the pool at the Tahiti IC then use their showers to rinse off and then change into something clean. :cool:

[ALB0711]

Bad is good.... I like your style!

[Little Nat]

We just got changed to the Sofitel Tahiti, instead of the Radisson. Seems close to the airport, so maybe we won't have to leave as early. Anyone know this hotel?

[markser]

Sometimes it doesn't pay to ask. When we checked into the IC for our dayroom about 1:30 pm (we skipped the tour), the desk clerk didn't mention when we had to check out and I deliberately did not ask. I then looked at the paperwork I was given and nothing mentioned check out. We kept our room until 8:45 PM, when we had to go catch our shuttle.

However, as I mentioned in another post, the desk staff at the IC didn't seem to know anything about anything regarding arrangements with PG. At the other hotels, an earlier checkout time might be emphasized and enforced.

[Emdee]

Take bugspray - Avalong was bitten here recently.

[Tikiintahiti]

use: www.buggspray.com

 

Get the vanilla with 25% deet. Great stuff, it works and you smeel like .......... French Polynesia

[Little Nat]

I've been reading great things about that spray, but I don't have time to get it in the mail before we leave! I'll have to rely on the regular stuff I have. I have a few different things including bracelets, lotions, spray and wipes so hopefully something will work!

 

Now I'm just looking at the weather, and of course it has been beautiful and now it's saying 60% rain. But rain in paradise is still paradise!