Review: Tahitian Princess 6-13-05 Part III

[RNay]

Saturday was at sea. Everyone had to go to the Tahitian Lounge, over a 3 1/2 hour period, for Immigration Inspection. This was due to returning from the Cook Islands. This involved bringing your airline tickets, passport receipt and immigration form and they give you back your passport, which they took at embarkation. We got there a little earlier than our stated time, and there was no one else there. There was a great napkin folding and culinary demonstration. They were hilarious and very well attended. Sit in the front if you want to sample the food. They only give out a few. There was a galley tour following this, though we had a massage seminar to go to instead. We've seen the galleys on other ships and I assume it's similar, though smaller. I recommend the massage workshop ($49 per couple with a large bottle of oil to take home) if you would like your partner to improve their massage technique ;)

 

Later in the afternoon I went to the Club Bar and ordered caviar and vodka to be sent up to our room this evening, to coincide with the champagne already being sent.

 

There was an event this afternoon that I had not seen before - they auctioned off one of the actual navigational charts used on this voyage. A neat idea. Signed by the Captain and the crew. I was curious how much this would go for. They had it right before the Jackpot Bingo session, so there were a lot of people there. The chart went for $490 and the CD said it usually goes for between $400 and $500.

 

The champagne, strawberries, caviar and vodka arrived right on time. However, they didn't send any utensils to use with the caviar. All of the "traditional accompaniments" were there, but nothing to eat them with. There were an adequate supply of crackers, though there could have been more. I ended up salvaging a wooden drink stirer(?) from my drink of the day and that did okay. The strawberries were HUGE, much bigger than another tray I had seen being delivered to another stateroom, and they were dipped in both white and dark chocolate, to look like little tuxedos. Delicious!

 

There were only a couple of tables occupied in our section at dinner tonight, so the service was pretty good. The headwaiters were cooking pasta and you could smell the garlic across the room.

 

We went to see the show this evening, "Ports of Call". I don't want to sound overly critical of these entertainers, and I understand that they are extremely limited by their small venue, but this particular show was awful. I felt that they were simply singing the brochures to us. We looked at each other after the first song, then ducked out at the next break. We were sitting in the rear of the Cabaret Lounge. This confirmed my thoughts of not seeing any of the other singing/dancing shows.

 

Sunday was a scenic cruise past Tahaa (about an hour) then on to Raiatea. Another beautiful sunrise. After docking, we went ashore and found a tour - the Faaroa River Tour for $20-25 pp. This was a giant outrigger canoe (I think that's what you would call it, though it had an outboard motor on it) and there were about a dozen of us. Diane and Andy and their girls got the same tour, so if I have any of this incorrect Diane, please let us know! Our guide was terrific. She told us a lot about life on the island. They took us to a pearl farm, though it is Sunday (and Father's Day) and most places are closed. They called ahead and got permission to come out. When we got there and she was explaining it to us, one of the owners did come out and helped explain. He cracked open an oyster to show us the inner workings. The lady came out and opened the small pearl shop. I thought the prices were very reasonable and my husband was lucky that I didn't bring the credit card! The people we have encountered, on every island, are so friendly and helpful, even with the language barriers.

 

We cruised up the Faaroa River, the only navigable river in FP, then on to a motu to snorkel and swim. The water was fantastic. Shallow, with lots of little coral formations and fish. As I understand it, most of this coral is dead, but I did see plenty of fish to satisfy myself.

 

There is a small craft market just off the ship area and I bought a beautiful bedcover, which will remind me of Tahiti every day. I exchanged a small amount of money at the Purser's Desk just for souvenir purposes.

 

This evening was our Moto Otefaro Feast and Polynesian Show excursion. As I have mentioned earlier, I would advise everyone to avoid this particular one unless you don't mind large crowds. I was not aware that this tour seemed to have no limit! There were actually two tours, one for 5:00 and one for 5:30. I had thought we were probably going to two different motus, but no. Our 5:00 group needed two boats. We were taken out to the motu and given a nice talk on the local flora, confirming what we had heard earlier from our other guide. We were then shown to the stage area, with boxes to sit on. Our guide disappeared and we waited for what seemed like 45 min or an hour. I gave up wearing my watch for most of vacation. I was contemplating faking an emergency so that I would be taken back to the ship!! When our guide came back, she had the second tour with her. :mad: Apparently, that's what we were waiting for. She then told us to come over and watch them uncover the earth oven and see the food being taken out. THEN we could watch the show. The show was good. The children are very talented. There was a large open air building set up with long tables and chairs for the buffet. Two more dancers came out, girls a little bit older, and then we were escorted back to the ship. This whole tour took three hours.

 

We spent the night docked at Raiatea. We always sleep with our balcony door open, but this evening we were warned against that because of mosquitos. At 6:00 am we sailed for Bora Bora. The ship seemed to move so slowly that I wasn't sure we were moving sometimes. By noon we were anchored off Bora Bora. When this ship anchors off the islands, they only use one anchor, so the ship drifts back and forth. This provides ever changing views! We still have not seen any dolphins, which I was really counting on. The crew says if there are any to be seen they are usually coming into or out of Bora Bora or Moorea.

 

We had the Introductory Scuba excursion today, booked through Princess. This outing was incredible! It was our first time and the crew was fantastic. We had I think ten couples on our boat. They outfitted us with wetsuits and other snorkels and masks, if you didn't already have them. They explained everything very clearly (for being French) and repeated themselves often. One instructor accompanied one couple on the dive. They held on to you the entire time, watching your air and doing any adjustments that were needed. We went down 25-30 feet. They only took four couples at a time, so the rest of us snorkeled until it was our turn. This gave me a chance to get used to the black tipped sharks in the water! :eek: The butterfly fish swarmed us when we were on our way back up and I thought they might swim into my mask! This ranks as the best excursion we have ever done.

 

We went to the Karaoke. A very small crowd, but people who could really sing! The cruise staff is very funny and entertaining always.

 

We overnighted in Bora Bora. When we went ashore the next day, there were masses of brightly colored children. It was their last day of school and they were putting on some kind of demonstrations. A beautiful sight. We took a taxi to Matira Beach. My husband barged ahead, so we ended up paying WAY too much. There is a Le Truck that will take you to Matira Beach and Bloody Mary's for $3 pp each way. There isn't much shopping down there, but my husband was after a tattoo. We found a well known artist by the name of Fati. We highly recommend him. This man is an amazing artist. He has a small shop with drawings, sculptures and wall hangings. He does all the art. He does traditional Marquesan tattoos next door in his kitchen. Be aware that after a tattoo, you cannot expose it to saltwater (so no more snorkeling for us!) or excessive sunlight. Wait until the end of your cruise if you want to get one. We knew about this, but wanted this artist to do it. We then walked over to the beach. This is a stunning lagoon. Bright blue, clear water, sandy bottom. I walked out about 50-75 feet and still just up to my waist. The water was very refreshing in the heat.

 

We caught the Le Truck and stopped at Bloody Mary's. It was only about 11:30-12:00, so not busy at all. We had the requisite Bloody Mary - very good, spicy - bought our shirts and got the Le Truck back to the ship. It showered just after we got back to the ship, but it didn't seem to last all that long. This caused a beautiful rainbow in front of the island.

 

This was our second formal night. That means lobster in the diningroom and the Baked Alaska parade. We had pulled anchor, heading for Moorea. Another rough and rocky ride. I dressed and had my hair done, we went down for portraits and then up to the Captain's Circle party. This was probably my mistake. The Tahitian Lounge is on Deck 10 at the front of the ship. Just as I was leaving there to go down to dinner, the seasickness overcame me. I feel fine after being sick, but I knew better than to try to eat anything. I sent my husband down to dinner and I went to bed. He brought me two lobster tails and it was tempting. :(

[Stranger1]

Was the name of the tour group that did the Faaroa river tour called Faaroa tours? I found about 6 different excursion groups on the web, but liked what I read about yours. Thanks in advance,

 

Mike.

[RNay]

Mike,

 

The name at the top of the board in the building onshore was Faaroa River Tours. I don't know if they are online or not. You should have no trouble finding them when you get off the ship. Our tour left at 9:30 am and returned about 12:30 pm. There were several other tours in the building - shark feeding, swimming with rays, etc. This was perfect for us as we had a limited time with an afternoon excursion already booked.

 

Renee

[Stranger1]

Renee, thanks again for the info. One more question. For the Faaroa river tour, and any other tour that you booked off of the ship, did you pay with dollars or did you have them converted before getting off the ship. Thanks, mike.

[RNay]

Mike,

 

We paid for EVERYTHING with dollars. I only converted a very small amount onboard the ship, just for souvenir purposes.

 

Renee

[Stranger1]

Renee, Thanks again. Sounds like that's one less thing I'll have to worry about. 273 more days...yee ha!