Pacific Princess to Homeport in Papeete

[Heartfelttraveler]

This is a little bit of old news from the beginning of May, but the Pacific Princess will homeport for five weeks in October and November 2020.

Their itinerary if very well priced compared to the other cruise lines that are doing 7, 10, and 14 day itineraries from Papeete to Papeete.

 

[Petoonya]

There is one Pacific Princess itinerary that really caught my eye. Would book if we didn't already have something else planned. Papeete to Fort Lauderdale 25 days, with stops at Moorea, BB, Pitcairn Island (cruising by), Easter Island, Pisco Peru, overnite Lima, Ecuador and through the canal. And the prices start at only $3289.  It's an old Renaissance ship, same as the R Oceania ships at only 680 passengers if anyone is interested. It's a wow to me. As Heartfelttraveler said all of the P. Princess Tahiti itineraries are nicely priced.

Nancy

Edited May 28, 2019 by Petoonya

[FlightMedic555]

If you want to experience French Polynesia the Papeete to Florida trip is not great.  Mostly sea days and very little of French Polynesia.  While pricier, the Paul Gauguin, is the best way to cruise the region.

 

 

[Petoonya]

No sorry- Wind Spirit is the way to do FP. Different strokes. 🙂

Have done FP 6 times now and the idea of spending several days there pre-cruise and then the balance of the cruise slowly making the trip up the west side of So America and through the canal interests me. There is only one day at Easter Island so the chance of seeing it are pretty slim but the rest of the cruise sounds wonderful.

[Tahitianbigkahuna]

People forget that calling Papeete 'home' for 5 weeks is IMO laughable. Only a few ships really can call Papeete 'home' and the Princess line doesn't have any ships that meet that criteria   ….. IMO.

 

As I've taken two Princess cruises on their prior R4 ships (Tahitian Princess and the Ocean Princess) in French Polynesia I know what I'm talking about. I'll take a smaller ship and one with a more Polynesian experience any day even if it cost more. Being in Polynesia doesn't make the ship 'Polynesian' in feel ….. nuff said.

Edited May 28, 2019 by Tahitianbigkahuna

[Petoonya]

Kahuna, the OP said homeport but probably meant short term visit 😉 I've also done the Oceania R ships a few times in FP,  and Wind Spirit three times, once the 17 day and twice the 10 day. And even the scuttled Wind Song too. Agree with you there's just no comparison visiting FP in an R ship with 680 passengers, vs. immersion on Wind Spirit with 148 passengers or PG with 332 & Papeete as homeport.

 

But if WS or PG squeezed my budget, Pacific Princess is a nice alternative. The 10 day does Huahine, Raiatea, Rangiroa, Moorea and BB. IMO (and embarrassed to say this) the floating shopping malls like Celebrity Silhouette, HA Maasdam, NCL Jewel and the like, are out of place and look obscene in FP. Sorry to offend anyone but massive ships overwhelm these tiny pristine islands. No way can a cruiser get a taste of FP- and poor residents to boot. Please don't anyone kick me- again it's just an opinion.

 

You're an expert Kahuna, and most likely just wish you could share the real Tahiti in the way that it was meant to be relished. But I'm grateful to Heartfelttraveler sharing news of a very nice wallet pleasing compromise.

[Tahitianbigkahuna]

Interestingly the few times we did Princess in an R4 ship there really wasn't much of a price difference compared lets say to PG when you catch one of their sales. Princess at least when we went nickeled and dimed you to death. Go to the bar, $$, go to a specialty restaurant, $$, want a bottle of water to take ashore, $$, tipping, $$. Add it all up as we did and there was little difference compared to PG which is all-inclusive. The Polynesian experience on the PG is worth the few hundred dollars of difference and much more. This was our experience, maybe it has changed …. after two Princess R4 experiences in FP we tried PG and never looked back. Now half the crew are our friends and know our names, we are like honorary 'crew members' 🙂

Edited May 30, 2019 by Tahitianbigkahuna

[Petoonya]

I dunno. PG and WS give a more authentic experience (and PG does Tahaa and Fakarava my favs). But if it were a choice between not going and going I'd grab Princess. Princess is $1999 for 10 days for the same time period as PG is $4795. I know people who could never swing PG but could do that price point on Princess. $2800 is a lot of cash to make up even if PG is all inclusive.

[Tahitianbigkahuna]

On ‎5‎/‎31‎/‎2019 at 8:54 AM, Petoonya said:

I dunno. PG and WS give a more authentic experience (and PG does Tahaa and Fakarava my favs). But if it were a choice between not going and going I'd grab Princess. Princess is $1999 for 10 days for the same time period as PG is $4795. I know people who could never swing PG but could do that price point on Princess. $2800 is a lot of cash to make up even if PG is all inclusive.

Ah …… not exactly apples to apples  …..

 

The $1999 is for an interior room, no taxes added, no tips, no bar tab, no specialty restaurants  …..add everything up and the price difference is about half of what you mention. Yes still a big amount but I'll gladly pay an extra $1400 to have the PG experience 😉

[Petoonya]

1 hour ago, Tahitianbigkahuna said:

I'll gladly pay an extra $1400 to have the PG experience 😉

The point is that maybe you'd gladly pay but some don't have the extra $ to shell out. PG and WS are a more upscale and ultimate experience for sure but not everyone has the means to pay for it. A young relative of mine and his intended are booking the Princess cruise for $3800 total with gratuities and $400 SBC complete. It's just right for them, because they don't drink, are fiscally conservative and doubtful that they'll spend more than their excursions.  Not ideal for you and me but a consideration for many. There are cruises for every pocketbook. Not everyone can afford the top ticket.

Edited June 3, 2019 by Petoonya

[Tahitianbigkahuna]

27 minutes ago, Petoonya said:

The point is that maybe you'd gladly pay but some don't have the extra $ to shell out. PG and WS are a more upscale and ultimate experience for sure but not everyone has the means to pay for it. A young relative of mine and his intended are booking the Princess cruise for $3800 total with gratuities and $400 SBC complete. It's just right for them, because they don't drink, are fiscally conservative and doubtful that they'll spend more than their excursions.  Not ideal for you and me but a consideration for many. There are cruises for every pocketbook. Not everyone can afford the top ticket.

I don't disagree …. I guess we morphed the original thought which was larger ships than an R4 really don't belong in FP  … IMO.

 

BTW, how can we afford going every year for the last 20 years? Oh yeah, the old saying, "you know where a person's heart is but where they spend their time, energy and money."

 

We both drive Hondas, heck my BH's Honda is 14 years old. We seldom go out to dinner. We don't fly business class. We are financially conservative. We make under $75K combined but some how we manage to go to paradise in style every year. We think the same way and agree 99% of the time 😉

Edited June 3, 2019 by Tahitianbigkahuna

[Petoonya]

47 minutes ago, Tahitianbigkahuna said:

I don't disagree …. I guess we morphed the original thought which was larger ships than an R4 really don't belong in FP  … IMO.

 

BTW, how can we afford going every year for the last 20 years? Oh yeah, the old saying, "you know where a person's heart is but where they spend their time, energy and money."

 

We both drive Hondas, heck my BH's Honda is 14 years old. We seldom go out to dinner. We don't fly business class. We are financially conservative. We make under $75K combined but some how we manage to go to paradise in style every year. We think the same way and agree 99% of the time 😉

Maybe that's why you are the Kahuna and the rest of us aren't. Best wishes to you.