Detailed Review: Marina Tahiti to Lima, March 2019

[VisionaryJax]

 I was inspired by Hoopster’s  Great review of a similar itinerary on Marina, so I will attempt my own review, over the next several days. We are on the cruise right now!

 

Let me start at the beginning: this is a 20th anniversary “trip of a lifetime“ for my husband and me, and we wanted to see French Polynesia and do everything as first class as we could afford. This meant business class Airfare for such a long flights from our home in Houston to Tahiti, and then home from Lima. We did not think we could afford this airfare, which is several times over what you would pay for coach, and still get a suite on board marina.  However, our travel broker suggested we apply for the chase bank ultimate rewards credit card, which would generate bonus travel points, at that time, of 75,000 when you spent $5000 on the card in the first three months. 

 

 My husband and I each applied for the card separately, and then we paid for the cruise on the card, so that we each immediately got all those bonus points which are usable in United airlines frequent flyer program. You are able to share the points, so this, in addition to some United frequent-flier miles we already had, allowed us to purchase our business class airfare for the most expensive of the flights, using all points.

 

 The cruise was to depart on Saturday, March 2, but we knew we wanted to spend at least two or three nights in an overwater bungalow on Tahiti. The problem was, united at that time could only get you to Tahiti in one day if you went on Tuesday or Thursday. We ended up needing to stay four nights in the overwater bungalow; or at least, four nights on Tahiti as we had to fly either on Tuesday or Thursday  and wanted enough time to see  Papeete, enjoy our bungalow,  and do a wedding Vow renewal service there on the water.

 

We found the overwater  Bungalows s at the Intercontinental Hotel on Papeete  to be very pricey! I ended up purchasing them on Expedia for a decently discounted price, but still really more than we wanted to spend, and found that we could only book three nights in the overwater bungalow as they showed on the fourth night, which would be Friday night before our cruise departure, the Bungalows were all completely booked, and we would have to move. We went ahead and booked three nights, and then separately booked one night in a Gardenview room.

 

Next I wanted to book our wedding Vow renewal service.

 

The wedding coordinator at the Intercontinental Hotel, where we would be staying on Papeete, Quoted me a price of about $1700 for a renewal service. I told her we could not do anything like that, and would be happy with something very simple.  She told me she would try to get the price lower, perhaps by booking fewer dancers and musicians. I had no idea she was talking about having dancers and music! We weren’t bringing any guests; it was only going to be my husband and me. She got back with me that we could do our wedding Vow renewal service at sunset on the small island in the lagoon beside the Lotus restaurant for $350. This would not include a videographer Or photographer, but she said she would be attending, and she would use our phone to shoot video.

 

We booked this for Thursday the 28th. We figured we would arrive late on Tuesday night, and have Wednesday to look about the hotel on the island, and then on Thursday I would make a scuba dive with top dive there at the hotel and in the afternoon we would do our Vow renewal.

 

It all came off like clockwork,  except that our flight from San Francisco to Tahiti was delayed for three hours, so we ended up arriving to the airport in Tahiti at about 1130 at night; for us from Houston, this was 3:30 AM. It was a long day! We were so tired by this time, we did not stop to change any money at the airport. However I understand that this is the most convenient place to change your US dollars for XPF currency; we did not, but as our time in Tahiti was mostly at the Intercontinental  and then we are visiting only three other French Polynesian islands on the cruise, we have not had a great need for French Polynesian currency.

 

The Intercontinental overwater bungalow was very sweet and charming with a thatched roof, very modern appointments, a gorgeous Mural on the bedroom wall, a terrific bathroom with the soaker tub as well as a separate shower; no complaints at all about the Bungalo, except that our particular one, number 507, was a long walk from the hotel lobby, bars, restaurant, and Water sports and activities. My husband has a disability, and after all that time  on the airplane, he was fairly well stove up.  

 

Also, the reef around the Intercontinental is not very healthy for snorkeling; the coral heads are busted up, probably from the construction of the overwater bungalows, and there is not an abundance of fish ; They have an area called the lagoonarium  where they have some fish a little bit hemmed in by stones across the mouth of the lagoon, and there you can see the Moorish Idol and the state fish of Hawaii,  Humuhumunukunukapuaa, which as someone who has scuba dived in the Caribbean and Mexico, I was delighted to see these new fish to me. But in all the snorkeling there was not great.

 

I did one scuba dive with the business called top dive there at the hotel, and the water is delightful and clear, and they took us to the dive called White Valley, which is known for sharks. And we saw sharks! Lots of Blacktip reef sharks, and one big lemon shark. But otherwise, again, the reef was not fantastic to look at, and there were not a wide variety of other fish. Still, I was very happy to be diving in these warm and clear waters. 

 

 Yes, I will get to the cruise quickly, but let me end this first post with a note about our wedding Vow renewal Service… At 5:15 in the afternoon on that Thursday, a Tahitian prince and princess arrived at our door, with the Tahitian master of ceremonies, Eva, who would be translating for the Tahitian minister who would be doing our service. They brought us traditional costumes to wear if we liked, but we had brought her own clothes. The Tahitian prince lead the way to the little island, which they call a  Motu, blowing on a conch shell to sound our coming. We crossed a bridge which had been covered with palm fronds, to a little green Island, where there were a couple of ukulele players and the Tahitian priest as well as a pair of lovely bamboo chairs set up like thrones for a king and queen.

 

The ceremony included traditional Tahitian blessings, dancing by the Tahitian princess and two other young women, a lot of singing, and a whole audience  of people watching from the lagoon and the shore. It was amazing; I can’t imagine what all might’ve been included had we gone for the more deluxe package!

 

I should say, we had met Linda and Bruce from this forum on our flight from San Francisco; they would also be at the Intercontinental, so we invited them to come to the service. And they did! It was so delightful to have new friends in attendance with us.

 

I will add some photos from the ceremony that day. And tomorrow I will begin the actual cruise review.

 

I would say, if you want to stay on Tahiti a few days before your cruise, perhaps take the ferry over to  Moorea  which is said to be a more tranquil  and beautiful island, perhaps rhan Papeete, Which I think might have been better for us. I cannot complain about the service we had though, and I did love our Bungalow.

 

If I can upload them, there are photos of the ceremony and then one photo of us on the balcony of our overwater bungalow

Edited March 6, 2019 by VisionaryJax

[Petoonya]

Ia orana!

So nice to hear that you've had a great beginning of your trip! Love the wedding photos- you're husband's attire is a hoot. And you saw your first lemon shark, and hopefully more upcoming in Bora Bora. Was supposed to be on this cruise so will be watching your posts closely. Eager to hear about what you decided to do on Fakarava.

Good wishes.

[pinotlover]

A comment on diving and snorkeling inside the barrier reefs in French Polynesia, even out side the reefs. Where do you think all those fish in the markets , in restaurants, or that people are eating in their homes are coming from?? They are constantly fishing for edible fish! Only thing legate the juveniles! This is not only true for FP but through out most of the world. Snorkeling and diving has changed dramatically in the past 20 years! Hopefully, for my grandkids, juvenile fish will still be left to be seen in another 20 years! No assurances. Walk the fish markets in Lisbon and loads of fish below allowable catches can be seen! They’re Eating the seed corn!

[Petoonya]

25 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

A comment on diving and snorkeling inside the barrier reefs in French Polynesia, even out side the reefs. Where do you think all those fish in the markets , in restaurants, or that people are eating in their homes are coming from?? They are constantly fishing for edible fish! Only thing legate the juveniles! This is not only true for FP but through out most of the world. Snorkeling and diving has changed dramatically in the past 20 years! Hopefully, for my grandkids, juvenile fish will still be left to be seen in another 20 years! No assurances. Walk the fish markets in Lisbon and loads of fish below allowable catches can be seen! They’re Eating the seed corn!

So true about overfishing- we see the terrible impact here on the Oregon coast in the last 20 years. Just as bad as overfishing is the coral destruction from warming oceans, pollution and acidifying water.

But we're back to Visionary Jax's wonderful Papeete-Lima story. Know that your husband is disabled and you are somewhat limited in what you can do but hope you're able to get back into the water some before you leave FP for Pitcairn and Easter Island. Have a Big O cocktail for me!

 

Edited March 6, 2019 by Petoonya

[VisionaryJax]

Thanks y’all! Totally makes sense about over fishing. More on our departure tomorrow. Thanks for reading.

Edited March 6, 2019 by VisionaryJax

[Paulchili]

Glad you discovered the beauty of flying business for “free”.

I am enjoying reading about your experiences and looking forward to reading more.

[VisionaryJax]

Day 1 Papeete 

 

checkout was a bit of a zoo at the InterContinentalTahiti on Saturday morning! We called for the luggage trolley 3 times but it didn’t come until my husband walked up to the lobby to request it again...

 

i won’t complain though because...they didn’t make us move out of the over water bungalow for our last night! That was lovely. Also nice at that hotel: the Marquesas dance show on Wednesday night and the Polynesian dance show on Friday night. Both featured amazing performances, well worth seeing.

 

because we’d sprung for a suite, we had early boarding Saturday: 11 am. My husband likes to be early, so we arrived at the terminal around 10 am... this reminds me, the Intercontinental had arranged private transport for us from the airport to the hotel, and from the hotel to the cruise ship terminal. It was about $60 for the two of us, which is more than you would pay for a cab, but they were right on time and had plenty of room for our luggage etc. My husband tends to worry about things, and so the security of having our own private car was worth it to him. And me. 

 

 It was very simple to board marina, there was no confusion, and we were directed to the lounge where check-in was scheduled to begin at 11 AM. We were far from the first people there, and we were surprised, and happy, when they announced that because they were ready to begin check in, they would commence early and invited people in our class of suite to check in right then.  It was also a lovely surprise to find our room was ready. So by about 1030, we were already in the cabin.

 

We had chosen the Oceana suite,  and it is far and away the best cruise  ship cabin I’ve ever been in. Granted, we haven’t cruised in about 15 years, when our kids were much younger, and we were always doing a family trip, so economy was often a priority, and we had never even had a cabin with a balcony before. I will attempt to upload pictures of this suite … It’s so roomy. 

 

 We have a bedroom with a very comfortable and spacious bed and a lovely en suite bathroom with double sinks, a shower, and a Jacuzzi bathtub. There’s also a wet bar outfitted with all kinds of glassware – – and our suite came with six bottles of liquor or wine plus a bottle of champagne To celebrate departure. You get to choose which liquor and wine you want to make up the six bottles.

 

There’s another bathroom near the entryway, a media room, and a sitting room with a sofa and two chairs plus a coffee table where I am working on a jigsaw puzzle. I figured with our many days at sea, we should be able to put this thing together. I will certainly attempt to upload a photo of it if we finish it.

 

 On our first day we roamed around the ship and checked out all the bars and restaurants, the library and other common areas. I will refer you to Hoopsters review for all those descriptions and photos; he did a great job with all that.  I will say that I love the artwork all around the ship, and the way our room is decorated. It is classic but also chic, and the artwork is beautiful and also playful. I never even thought about that sort of thing on Carnival or princess cruise, but Oceana seems to be a different kind of line. 

 

 Our bags arrived while we were out roaming around, so we were able to unpack. And it was so exciting to be able to stow all of the bags in our walk-in closet and not have them sitting around the room and not be looking for space for them under the bed as we had always done on previous cruises. I don’t know if we’ll ever be able to cruise again without a suite!

 

This cabin also comes with a butler. He is delightful  and available anytime. This kind of service is quite something – – he brings canapés every day at 5 PM, and delivers newspapers in the morning… He brings ice and anything else you are asking for. it’s fabulous.

 

 Our first evening aboard we had made reservations for Polo Grill. This is the steakhouse on our ship. With the Oceana suite, another benefit was guaranteed reservations for two nights at each of the four specialty restaurants. My husband had been looking forward to Polo grill because he is a carnivore. He ordered  Surf and turf, and the lobster was very good, but he found the steak to be over done and not very flavorful. I will say that he makes a good steak himself, so it is hard to impress him with steak. I had the crabcake appetizer as my entrée, and I thought that was very good. I also had Keylime pie for dessert, and it was quite tasty.

 

Our ship did not leave until late at night because Oceana  had arranged a late flight from LA for its passengers, and I think they did not even land at the airport until around 10 PM. I know that I was fast asleep when the boat finally left  Papeete.

 

It had been an eye-opening and delightful first day aboard.

 

Photos are of the inside of our cabin, a little bit of the artwork around the ship, and my key lime pie. I hope they will upload; part of our package with the suite is free standard Internet, but it is not very speedy.

[Paulchili]

What a way to treat yourself with the Oceania Suite - enjoy!

Remember that you can dine ensuite from any of the specialties if you are feeling "lazy" and want to relax and dine in your bathrobes and still have a great meal.

[delee78]

Oh my goodness!!!!  So excited to follow along!!!

 

I haven't been on Oceania forum for a bit, but something told me to check it out this morning.  What a great surprise! 

 

I get to relive some great memories.  Enjoy every moment.  Especially that Oceania Suite!  My favorite location on the entire ship. 

 

I agree with your comments on the IC Tahiti.  I loved the bungalow and the service, but the overall tropical, water experience could not compare.  But, it looks like you have Bora Bora coming up, so everything is about to change in that area .  I can't wait to hear your experience - are you diving?  

[floridatravelersforlife]

We did this same itinerary, same suite on the same ship three years ago.  Look forward to your comments as the trip progresses.

[VisionaryJax]

19 hours ago, Paulchili said:

What a way to treat yourself with the Oceania Suite - enjoy!

Remember that you can dine ensuite from any of the specialties if you are feeling "lazy" and want to relax and dine in your bathrobes and still have a great meal.

Thanks!

14 hours ago, delee78 said:

Oh my goodness!!!!  So excited to follow along!!!

 

I haven't been on Oceania forum for a bit, but something told me to check it out this morning.  What a great surprise! 

 

I get to relive some great memories.  Enjoy every moment.  Especially that Oceania Suite!  My favorite location on the entire ship. 

Thanks! I am uploading from my phone—if you get a chance, Delee, will you comment with a link to Hoopster’s review? Thank you.

12 hours ago, floridatravelersforlife said:

We did this same itinerary, same suite on the same ship three years ago.  Look forward to your comments as the trip progresses.

Oh wow! That must have been fabulous!

 

ok on to Raiatea

 

easy disembarkation at Raiatea, our first stop; the ship docks here so it was perfect for my husband to walk off with little difficulty.

 

We followed the advice of others on this forum and reserved a private tour with excursion blue and Captain Bruno. It was a little bit of a hike to his boat which sits behind the Shell station, for my husband particularly, walking with a cane. It’s probably half a block?

then snorkeling with reef sharks! It was terrific to be a close with these beautiful fish. I must apologize for not having any photos! I had brought a housing for my iPhone and thought that it would work for snorkeling. It’s like a clear plastic pouch with clips at one end to keep the water out, and when you are on the surface it is quite easy to manipulate your iPhone camera... but once underwater it didn’t work at all! My photos were all bad, if they took at all!

 

My husband found it too hard to climb the ladder back onto boat so he skipped the next drift snorkel; just as well, it wasn’t really a coral garden...more like a series of coral patches or coral heads. There was a nice variety of fish, but the driving current meant you couldn’t stop long to admire them. However the water was warm and clear and it felt great.

 

Next we visited a vanilla farm and a pearl farm. I loved hearing about how they grow and harvest the pearls; it was fascinating.

 

Our tour included lunch at a seaside barbecue which was tasty fish and chicken with local side dishes. It was very pleasant.

 

My husband decided to try the last snorkel stop, but it turned out we had to wade to the beach and then walk this bumpy path to get to a place where you got into the water and then drifted back to the boat, except it was quite shallow with coral heads below. And the current was ripping. We saw a poor, older, slightly overweight woman from another tour struggling to make it, and calling for help – – but of course, I was on this rugged path with my disabled husband, and I couldn’t help her!

Thankfully the dive guide from her boat was there to assist her, but he had to help her struggle to her feet and shuffle out of the water up to where we were. This convinced us to turn back and go back to the boat.

 

If you don’t have an elderly relative or someone with mobility issues, I can recommend Excursion Bleu. The crew was very helpful and the water was fine.

 

Back aboard our ship we cleaned up and had dinner at the terrace cafe; it was casual and tasty. Like Hoopster, we’re finding Terrace Cafe a favorite and reliable for a good meal, especially when you’re tired at the end of the day.

 

Tomorrow I will update you on Bora Bora.

 

photos are Raiatea as the ship arrived—bad shark photos—and the pearl I bought at the pearl farm!

[pinotlover]

Last month we likewise did this tour with Captain Bruno. Really enjoyable day and highly recommended.

 

As a point of reference to the OP’s comments. The walk from the ship to “ behind the Shell Station “ is less than 100 yards! Few of us would rate that as “ a bit away”. Different definitions for different people, just a little perspective for those contemplating this shore tour in the future. When we returned, and most of all the other boats were gone, we unloaded right adjacent to the ship. 

[RJB]

11 hours ago, VisionaryJax said:

Thanks!

Thanks! I am uploading from my phone—if you get a chance, Delee, will you comment with a link to Hoopster’s review? Thank you.

Oh wow! That must have been fabulous!

 

ok on to Raiatea

 

easy disembarkation at Raiatea, our first stop; the ship docks here so it was perfect for my husband to walk off with little difficulty.

 

We followed the advice of others on this forum and reserved a private tour with excursion blue and Captain Bruno. It was a little bit of a hike to his boat which sits behind the Shell station, for my husband particularly, walking with a cane. It’s probably half a block?

then snorkeling with reef sharks! It was terrific to be a close with these beautiful fish. I must apologize for not having any photos! I had brought a housing for my iPhone and thought that it would work for snorkeling. It’s like a clear plastic pouch with clips at one end to keep the water out, and when you are on the surface it is quite easy to manipulate your iPhone camera... but once underwater it didn’t work at all! My photos were all bad, if they took at all!

 

My husband found it too hard to climb the ladder back onto boat so he skipped the next drift snorkel; just as well, it wasn’t really a coral garden...more like a series of coral patches or coral heads. There was a nice variety of fish, but the driving current meant you couldn’t stop long to admire them. However the water was warm and clear and it felt great.

 

Next we visited a vanilla farm and a pearl farm. I loved hearing about how they grow and harvest the pearls; it was fascinating.

 

Our tour included lunch at a seaside barbecue which was tasty fish and chicken with local side dishes. It was very pleasant.

 

My husband decided to try the last snorkel stop, but it turned out we had to wade to the beach and then walk this bumpy path to get to a place where you got into the water and then drifted back to the boat, except it was quite shallow with coral heads below. And the current was ripping. We saw a poor, older, slightly overweight woman from another tour struggling to make it, and calling for help – – but of course, I was on this rugged path with my disabled husband, and I couldn’t help her!

Thankfully the dive guide from her boat was there to assist her, but he had to help her struggle to her feet and shuffle out of the water up to where we were. This convinced us to turn back and go back to the boat.

 

If you don’t have an elderly relative or someone with mobility issues, I can recommend Excursion Bleu. The crew was very helpful and the water was fine.

 

Back aboard our ship we cleaned up and had dinner at the terrace cafe; it was casual and tasty. Like Hoopster, we’re finding Terrace Cafe a favorite and reliable for a good meal, especially when you’re tired at the end of the day.

 

Tomorrow I will update you on Bora Bora.

 

photos are Raiatea as the ship arrived—bad shark photos—and the pearl I bought at the pearl farm!

Nice pictures.  Brings back great memories from 2 years ago when we did most of the south pacific and FP.    Keep on posting.  Thanks

[delee78]

Hi there!

 

Here you go!

 

 

I also did Bruno's tour.  We had a blast.  You can see our photos in Hoopster's review, but very similar!  Can't WAIT to hear about Bora Bora.  That was one of the highlights of the trip for me. 

[floridatravelersforlife]

We also did Brunos tour back when  Those sharks look familiar. Ha Ha. When my DW saw those sharks she literally flew out of the water.

[VisionaryJax]

11 hours ago, pinotlover said:

As a point of reference to the OP’s comments. The walk from the ship to “ behind the Shell Station “ is less than 100 yards! Few of us would rate that as “ a bit away”. Different definitions for different people, just a little perspective for those contemplating this shore tour in the future. When we returned, and most of all the other boats were gone, we unloaded right adjacent to the ship. 

Agreed! It was far for my disabled husband but an easy walk for me—also Bruno and crew were terrific helping my husband off and on the boat. And they say in their email confirmation, they will wait for their customers.

 

My man was knackered though and chose not to do our Bora Bora snorkel tour—which it was very fun! I am uploading through my phone with the standard internet so I doubt I can do a video, but if I could it would be Yani singing and playing ukulele on the way to the dive site. It was delightful.

 

Bora Bora is stunning to behold... arrival was simply Breath-taking. I fear I may use that word a lot!

 

oh before we move on, thank you Delee, for the link to Hoopster’s review. He does a great job, so if you want restaurant reviews and photos of the ship and destinations that are good quality, please check his review!

 

ok Bora-Bora day one: 3/4-day snorkel tour and lunch with Maohi Nui. Everyone said to do Patrick’s tour, but he was booked up. This tour by his same company was great. The dive guides were Tino and Yani. They provided music along the way and were great fun. I loved the colorful outrigger boat, too, which was not too crowded; we could all be under the canopy.

 

The boats could hold 12 passengers, and I think there were eight or so on this tour. Our first snorkel stop was in water about 20 feet deep, and we could swim with the sharks. There were lots of reef sharks, and maybe a couple of larger specimens. It was delightful to see them so close up. But there was no reef to speak of. Just remarkably clear deep water for snorkelers.

The second snorkel stop Was in much shallower water, and again no reef to speak of, just sandy bottom with occasional coral heads, to visit with the stingrays. It was not as organized as stingray city in Grand Cayman, and the fish were not acting like thugs the way the stingrays at stingray city do, but it was basically the same idea, with the dive guides bringing a large ray to the surface so people could Pet it, and lots of big rays swimming around your feet. I suppose in that way it was more like sandbar than stingray city if you’ve done this in the Caymans. It was a nice way to see and interact with stingrays.

I believe we then had a third snorkel stop at what they called the coral gardens, but again, it was not a reef structure like you might see in Grand Cayman or Bonaire. There were several different patches of coral in water about 10 feet deep, with some of the little coral heads coming up near the surface. There were a variety of nice fish, but very little that I had not seen before. I did see the Moorish idols, which was lovely, and the Humu Humu fish. Plus they have those clams, which can grow quite large, and the lips of which are different colors; very vivid blue and purple and green. Those are pretty.

This final snorkel stop was followed by lunch on a private beach, lunch was suckling pig that had been baking in the ground for several hours, along with fish on the grill, and Polynesian specialties such as bananas in coconut milk and bread fruit. It was Served on banana leaves as plates, and very quaint, delicious And enjoyable.

After lunch, one of the young women who had served the lunch then did Polynesian dancing for us, and the musical Dive guide did fire dancing. It was a nice lunch and an entertaining afternoon. We were back to the Marina around 2 PM, after having left at 9:30.

I have no complaints about the tour; I would rather have been scuba diving, and I would rather have seen a healthy and vibrant reef with some more remarkable fish. I cannot complain about the sharks and the stingrays, as those were quite a sight to see and so close up.

 

The island itself is remarkable looking. You just can’t help staring at the water and the very distinctive mountains. it’s gorgeous . I can hardly believe I am here!

 

back on board it was Polynesian night at the Terrace cafe buffet, and the food was very tasty: meat patties, a kind of chicken pot pie, a salad of rice and pineapple with chicken, plus desserts that included coconut flan, and papaya flan, and coconut bread. All delicious!

 

ok the photos should be Bora Bora, maybe a shot from snorkeling—but again my camera-in-a-bag doesn’t work for squat! And our dive guides. Fab day on Bora-Bora !

[DeeniEncinitas]

So enjoying your wonderful cruise!!

First off How is your beautiful dog doing? I remember when you first started your blog the concerns you had. 

We did the cruise on the Windstar and also made the same comments as you with the reefs, not many coral reefs but a lot of lemon sharks.

Thank you for taking the time to write about your adventures!

We live in San Diego, and will board on The Eurodam HAL Saturday doing a RT Hawaii and Tahiti. Be on Riviera next March TA to the Med.

Again, Thank you

Denise😊

[RachelG]

Enjoying your posts.  Your husband's "tux" is so cute.  We have stayed in the overwater bungalows in the Intercontinental, and I have to agree.  They are lovely and quiet, but it is a very long walk to everything else.  I think we were in the furthest one out.  And I too was disappointed in the fish.

[VisionaryJax]

9 hours ago, DeeniEncinitas said:

So enjoying your wonderful cruise!!

First off How is your beautiful dog doing? I remember when you first started your blog the concerns you had. 

We did the cruise on the Windstar and also made the same comments as you with the reefs, not many coral reefs but a lot of lemon sharks.

Thank you for taking the time to write about your adventures!

We live in San Diego, and will board on The Eurodam HAL Saturday doing a RT Hawaii and Tahiti. Be on Riviera next March TA to the Med.

Again, Thank you

Denise😊

Oh my goodness! You will have such a great time!!! I am so envious of folks wh cruise all the time! 

 

Thanks for asking about Barney. He’s had trouble healing from an infection where he had his I V but his babysitter and vet are watching him and treating him, so I feel pretty confident he’s going to be ok.

8 hours ago, RachelG said:

Enjoying your posts.  Your husband's "tux" is so cute.  We have stayed in the overwater bungalows in the Intercontinental, and I have to agree.  They are lovely and quiet, but it is a very long walk to everything else.  I think we were in the furthest one out.  And I too was disappointed in the fish.

Thank you! He got a kick out of his casual wedding clothes!

 

ok, second day on Bora Bora...

Day 7 Tuesday, March 5

we chose Oceania’s le truck tour.  It was an open air bus that took us on the 20 mile road around the entire island. There was a narrator who told us a lot of interesting things about the island as we went around, and we stopped at the restaurant/bar called bloody Mary’s which is apparently famous from the movie South Pacific. We also stopped at a place they make Pareos, and it was cool to see how they dye them in such beautiful patterns.

 

the tour was $99 per person, but we had some ship board credit, so that seemed all right, and I was glad we went so that my husband could get a nice overview of the island, As he had spent yesterday on board the ship.

The scenery is simply amazing here. The aqua blue shallow water, the amazing greenery of the island and the imposing mountain peaks that rise above it all, also quite green… It’s simply breathtaking.

 

We were back on board for a late lunch at Waves, which was tasty—I had a grilled panini with tomato and mozzarella; it hit the spot. Waves serves lunch until 4 and you dine al fresco; it’s nice.

Tonight was our reservation at the French restaurant Jacque, and I thought the food was quite delicious. I had lobster gnocchi as an appetizer and then fillet for my entrée, and crêpe Suzette for dessert. It was all delightful.

 

We haven’t cruised a lot, but so far this is the best cruise food we’ve had.

 

The photos are Marina and Wind Spirit at Bora Bora, Mt Otemanu on Bora-Bora, a little Tahitian fellow I saw on Le Truck tour and petroglyphs on some ancient ceremonial stones that we learned about on the tour—I can’t recall how they were called, but I do remember the turtle was a symbol of power and blessing for the ancient Tahitians.

[floridatravelersforlife]

Gosh, your description of the atolls and the ship bring back vivid memories.  I  am starting to think this was one of top three cruises we ever took. Please continue

[VisionaryJax]

20 hours ago, floridatravelersforlife said:

Gosh, your description of the atolls and the ship bring back vivid memories.  I  am starting to think this was one of top three cruises we ever took. Please continue

I wouldn’t be surprised! So far it is #1 in my book.

 

next we had a day at sea on the way to Fakarava. I think we were worn out from Bora-Bora and didn’t do much that day! Our suite is sort of a sanctuary, and my husband loves the media room with a huge selection of movies (plus he had only French-language tv on Papeete!), we love being in the room or on the balcony. I did get my jigsaw puzzle going—the housekeeping staff adds a few pieces each day— I will include a photo of it as Of today (which as I write we are already halfway through our cruise! It is going so fast!).

 

The ship does offer activities: trivia contest, putting contest, bean bag toss, bingo—it’s sll stuff old folks can do, and we did each of those except bingo. It’s fun, most passengers who play seem to be good natured and supportive of each other with only a few who are in it to win it dammit! (Sorry if that’s how you play! It just looks kind of funny to more laidback folks; no offense.)

 

we dined at Polo Grill. I found it delicious: I had the Trilogy of Sliders: Kobe beef, lobster remoulade...and I can’t remember the third! They were excellent sliders, all. I think my husband enjoyed his prime rib more than the steak he had the first time we tried Polo. 

 

Tomorrow i I will add my Fakarava review: it was the best of times, it was the worst of times...

 

thanks for reading along!

[Petoonya]

Just did a 17 day on Wind Spirit in December. Your narrative and pictures make me yearn to be back.

[VisionaryJax]

8 hours ago, Petoonya said:

Just did a 17 day on Wind Spirit in December. Your narrative and pictures make me yearn to be back.

We saw it here...how does it compare to Oceania? I wish you were here; it’s been lovely.

 

our next stop was Fakarava.

 

Thursday, March 7

Fakarava kicked my ass!

 

My husband wasn’t up to bouncing on a boat (or tender) and  told me to go on the all day snorkel tour by myself as he would feel bad if I missed out on his behalf, and he was not up to making the tour. We had booked with Ato Lissant, along with several folks from this forum.

 

ato actually rented an extra boat for the day, but several couples didn’t show, and we had to wait about 45 minutes on the dock while Ato tried to fill his second boat with walk-ons.  I don’t blame him, but I feel like he should try to figure a way to collect deposits, to discourage people from not showing up, and also so he has some money from the missed trip. I had emailed him the day before about my husband’s not making it, and he was very gracious about it. 

The first four hours of the tour were awesome. The boat took us to a little shallow reef in the middle of the caldera with two sharks swimming around and more fish really than I have seen since we began this journey. It was lovely, and the water was clear, and warm. It was delightful.  Sadly the boat anchored up by tossing their anchor onto a coral head! This would be completely unacceptable on Bonaire or in the Cayman Islands. I think French Polynesia has to get serious about preserving the reef. 

Our next snorkel stop did not have as many fish or coral, but again it was just nice to be in the water. Then our boat took us to the blue Lagoon, which was just gorgeous. It’s a shallow, wide Lagoon, with dozens of yards of water so shallow you could wade through it as you went to the beach. Which we did on our way to where our lunch would be served seaside.

 

We sat on the beach as our dive guides grilled fish and set out a feast with sausages and chicken and rice and salad and coconut bread. Everything was just delicious. They broke open coconuts so we could drink the coconut milk, and also provided juice and water and beer. It was a lovely and relaxing lunch and then a refreshing dip in the beautiful blue Lagoon.

We got on our boat to head toward the next snorkel stop which would also be at a shallow beach. Our captain Ato told us that the snorkel stop which was planned for the next stop was inaccessible because the wind was bad, and the water was getting rough, so we went to the sheltered spot, but there was not much reef or sea life here; I did see a good sized shark, but the visibility was not great for snorkeling. I actually got out before many of the others and just sat on the beach enjoying the beautiful scenery.

We got back in our boats to head toward the next stop which was to be, according to Ato, like an aquarium where we could see big sharks. But he wasn’t kidding about the wind kicking up and the water being rough — I was toward the front of the boat, which was quite crowded. The website had said we would be in groups of 6 to 8 people, but there were 14 passengers on this boat, and there was no way for me to get under the canopy or to a seat toward the back. Thus I was at the front of the boat as it rose and fell over the bumpy waves, and it actually became quite painful each time the front of the boat reared up and then smacked down back on the water.

I was thankful my husband wasn’t there because it would have been excruciating for him; it was bad enough for me. I wedged myself up against the woman who was seated behind me, because she was seated on a life vest, so I could share that and it provided something of a cushion, but it really wasn’t enough, and I was extremely uncomfortable, and sometimes in pain from being slammed down on the boat so often.

The final stop, the aquarium, was just captain Ato feeding the sharks, which came quite close to the boat, so they could actually be seen and photographed. He and his deck hand even tried to grab the sharks by their fins and haul them out of the water for people to photograph. I found this whole thing to be just silly.  And probably dangerous in the long run as sharks come to associate food with humans reaching down for them? But everyone else seemed awed by it, and I must admit I was already quite uncomfortable and ready to be back on board the ship. I was not looking forward to the bumpy ride back to the dock, and that may have colored my view of the stop.

Ato offered to take us to one more snorkel stop on a nearby beach, but thankfully everyone said they were ready to return to the dock. I think even the people who were seated closer to the back of the boat were  tired of being bumped around the way we were. I talked to friends later  Who had been seated near the back, and the gentleman said he had back problems, and that it was very painful for him, too. I can honestly say this tour kicked my ass!

I was happy to arrive back to the dock and get on the tender and be back to board our ship. I will say, the first four hours of the tour were delightful.  And it’s very possible the wind had done a reversal and surprised everyone, causing all that bumping us on the ride back. I would not hesitate to recommend Ato’s tour, But be sure to secure yourself a seat in the back of the boat just in case.

 

 I apologize again for my lack of snorkeling photos! My camera in a bag just simply doesn’t work. I will give you a couple of photos of the beautiful beach and lunch setting. It was simply breathtaking. Like a postcard. I am so glad I got to see it. 

 

[Petoonya]

8 hours ago, Petoonya said:

Just did a 17 day on Wind Spirit in December. Your narrative and pictures make me yearn to be back.

"We saw it here...how does it compare to Oceania? I wish you were here; it’s been lovely."

 

 

Hi there.....looks like it's just been idyllic- even Ato's tour despite the setbacks. The Blue Lagoon was worth it all eh?

 

To everyone else....we were originally booked on this cruise and I'm the one who encouraged everyone to book with Ato because of his amazing reputation. But we switched to Windstar, the 17 day in December. Had done O's Tahiti 18 months ago. Gotta say while we were crazy about O's Tahiti, Wind Spirit really is breathtaking, and being so close to the water with those sails is pretty darn magnificent. We felt truly immersed in FP on Wind Spirit more so than O. Only 148 passengers but no suites the likes of yours VJ, on Marina. One suite and it's spare! It's also for fairly fit people as no elevators and geared heavily towards water sports. We are snorkelers and water people period, and there was opportunity everyday on Wind Spirit. Husband missed a big gym like O's and some of the larger ship niceties of O. But we'd both do WS tomorrow if possible. Going with Regatta FP in 2020. Dining and service is outstanding on O as we all know, yet we felt on WS it's outstanding and then some.

 

Loving your reports. Yeah, I wish I was there too!

[floridatravelersforlife]

Sorry to hear about your misadventure on Fakarava.  We had a fabulous time with Ato 3 years ago. Lots of sea life and smooth sailing. In fact we had an abundance of sea life for all of our stops, so maybe there is a difference in time of year since our cruise was end of April.   We've been to the Caribbean and the Great Barrier Reef and our best snorkle was the FP Atolls.   Hope the rest of your journey is fabulous.

 

Weather changes quickly in FP.  In Boa Bora we hired a boat and driver.  We  made a bunch of snorkle stops while we circumnavigated the  main island.  The last 3 miles were rough as a storm built up and as we "came around the corner" we hit 4 ft seas.   Our boat was a 18 ft skiff!

 

Hope your Pitcairn Island stop and Easter Island stop are successful.