What to do on a tahitian cruise?

[TropicalLulu]

Hi,

 

So, we are going on the Tahitian Princess at the end of this month for the first time. I'm wondering what ports are best for shopping, snorkeling, or if there are any 'must do's' at any of the ports. Our itinerary is for French Polynesia and the Cook Islands.

 

Thanks a bunch!!

 

Sun Princess (02)

Caribbean Princess (04)

[cruiserforlife]

The only absolute "must-do" is to take me along...:rolleyes:

[MichTraveler]

I'm booked for March 2006 and it looks like too many great choices at every port. The Pacific Islands "Ports of Call" thread has some excellent details for each of the ports: http://boards1.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=104

[laurieb]

I'll second what cruiserforlife said! there are some great websites with lots of info on FP, http://www.thetahititraveler.com and http://www.tahitiexplorer.com are two of my favorites. We love to snorkel and found the best islands for that were Huahine, Bora Bora, Raiaetea( from a boat) and Moorea(from shore and a boat). Whatever you do, have a great time!

[Tahitian Princess]

Another great way to test those beautiful waters out, is going on Wave Runners in Bora Bora. There are so many terrific reviews on CC about Tahiti and Princess Cruises. You will get many ideas and helpful hints.

Another fun excursion is in Huahine, snorkeling and motu picnic with Marc at Huahine Natique. It's a 6 hour excursion, you're picked up at the dock in a Polynesian decorated boat, then you go around Huahine, stop to go snorkeling and end up at a motu where you will dine on picnic tables in the water and serenaded by Tahitian singers. If you're interested email Marc, as soon as possible. He books up quick and may already be booked up for your date. You never know, I have friends that are on the cruise now, and they emailed him a few days before they left home, and he had room for them.

If I remember from last summer, it was $80.00 per person. I don't think you will be disappointed doing this excursion.

[sunprincess]

Moorea is my ultimate favorite ;) We did an island tour & went to a resort for a swim.

 

Bora Bora has good shopping. Also great beaches. Snorkling is good.

 

Papetee is the most city like of the ports. Busy downtown. Shopping. Nice resorts to visit.

 

Sorry I did not get to do the cruise you are doing visiting more islands. We started out in Hawaii.

Have a great cruise :)

[yancycruiser]

Your cruise is on my must to do list. Have a great cruise!!

[TropicalLulu]

Thank you everyone for your advice. If you have anything else to share about where to get great deals or how to book excursions on our own, please feel free to share!

 

 

Thanks again,

[llund]

We were there on the Paul Gaugin, before Princess started sailing there. At that time Princess just purchased the Rennaissance ships.

MOOREA: We loved Moorea, but we also stayed there 3 days before our cruise. We rented a car for the day and drove the island. Go up to the Belvedere lookout, where you have a beautiful view. There is also a pineapple plantation to visit. Since we stayed at the Beachcomber for the 3 days prior, we had a chance to swim with the Dolphins. The cruise lines also offer this excursion.

 

BORA BORA: In Bora Bora, we were there overnight on the ship. One day we took a jeep ride with Tupuna Safari 4X4. It was great and we were able to see so much more than a regular bus around the island. We also visited the WWII american bunkers an cannons on the island, which you can only go to by jeep. The next day, we snorkled with the sharks and stingrays. The sharks were scary but an experience we will never forget!

 

RAIATEA: Don't know if Princess goes here, but it is the scared island. We did a tour through the ship which took us to the interior of the island (we stood inside an actual volcano) and then to a spot where the sacrafices were made. We boarded a small boat which took us around the water's edge.

 

I can go on about the Tahitian Islands. They are beautiful and we plan to take the Tahitian princess someday.

[jbond]

Hi,

 

So, we are going on the Tahitian Princess at the end of this month for the first time. I'm wondering what ports are best for shopping, snorkeling, or if there are any 'must do's' at any of the ports. Our itinerary is for French Polynesia and the Cook Islands.

 

Thanks a bunch!!

 

Sun Princess (02)

Caribbean Princess (04)

I have a review/photo album of our Tahitian Princess cruise posted at http://community.webshots.com/user/jbond105/2 under Tahitian Princess 1 & 2. I wasn't overwhelmed by the ship, but the islands were awesome. You can see what we did day by day. All our tours were set up with private individuals prior to our cruise, with the exception of the 4X4 in Bora Bora. If you have any questions, I'd be haappy to try and help. Wish we were going with you, the itinerarary is to die for.

[chasetf]

Hi,So, we are going on the Tahitian Princess at the end of this month for the first time. I'm wondering what ports are best for shopping, snorkeling, or if there are any 'must do's' at any of the ports. Our itinerary is for French Polynesia and the Cook Islands.

 

If you like to snorkel, you are going to the right place. We did a back to back in Feb. On Moorea and Bora Bora we did pickup tours off the pier. There were plenty of opportunties. On both islands we did a four-five hour boat tours that included swimming with the rays / snorkeling / shark chumming / stopping at a motu / circumnavigating the island. Each tour was $50 each and we had on one ten people and the other six.

 

The other times we were on Moorea and Bora Bora we did pickup land tours from the pier. That way we could go all the way around the island at our pace, seeing what we wanted to see. There were four of us so we could get our own van and driver.

 

On our Cook trip we went not able to make Rarotonga because of a cyclone. We went to Rangiroa instead, which was on tap for our Marquesas trip the second ten days. So we saw it twice.

 

At Raiatea we took a ship tour to Tahaa for a drift coral canyon snorkel trip. Found out we could have done that off the dock as well. We also took the ship land tour which included the volcano and holy places.

 

Huahine we did a ship water picnic. It was ok, no shopping there, not much else to see or do.

 

There is some shopping on Bora Bora. Very little on the other islands Moorea, Raiatea, and Huahine. Papeete has the most shopping. We are not shoppers so cannot say what the bargains are. I kept hearing that black pearls were more expensive on shore than back home or on the ship.