Tendering in Rarotonga

[beauty1492]

Tendering in Rarotonga Here is the question - how often does Tahitian Princess cancel the tenders for Rarotonga.

 

We be sailing on the April 19, 2006 Tahitian Princess cruise and are debating renting a scoot car for the day to get around the island as we will be in Rarotonga on Sunday and the bus schedule is unreliable.

 

The problem is that the rental company wants full payment in advance which is approximately $100. They have informed us there are no refunds.

 

Thanks for any input.

 

Beauty1492

[chipsahoy]

We were on the Dec 20th sailing and got in. People were saying that they hadn't gotten into Raratonga in quite awhile. I don't think I would pay in advance if there are no refunds. I'm sure you will be able to find something since you tender into town (very close) anyway.

[Oregonian]

Like Chipsahoy, we sailed in September and got in to Rarotonga ... but the three cruises before us failed. I wouldn't pay anything non-refundable there.

[chasetf]

We sailed in Feb 05. There was a tropical storm in the Cook Islands :eek: , so our captain announce we were heading the other way. He took us to Rangiroa instead and then back on our regular itinerary. Crew was happy with the announcement because they said Rangiroa is a prettier island.

 

We were on a B2B, so got to see Rangiroa again on the Marquesas Island trip which was our second leg on the B2B. :D

[aadaneboy]

We were there in Sept (on the Sept 21 sailing) and had no problems, although the weather was on and off rain for most of the afternoon and the seas were a bit rougher returning than going to shore.

 

I do recall one of the crew members stating that they had a rough go of it several sailings prior to ours.

[Spikesgirl]

We went in Jan '04 right on the heels of a typhoon and were still able to tender in to Rarotonga - and had a great time of it. However, that seems to be the port that is most likely to be canceled due to weather. It would be a shame if you missed it because we had a wonderful time while there and it was the place to shop because the USD was so strong against the NZD. I would take a chance with it because it really is a great little island.

 

Happy Sails,

 

Charlie

[laurieb]

we have been on the cook islands itin twice and have yet to see Rarotonga. we're hoping that #3 will be a charm.

[Bsan1221]

we have been on the cook islands itin twice and have yet to see Rarotonga. we're hoping that #3 will be a charm.

 

 

If Rarontonga is cancelled what other island do they take you to?

[cruisernurse]

Betty, usually if they can't get in they are at sea an extra day.

Nancy

[ladybugcruises]

I was on the 2-18-06 TP. We were not able to tender in Rarotonga. The crew members had said that they hadn't tendered there since 12-24-05. We just had 3 days at sea. We did get to Raiatea a little early and we had more time in Bora Bora. So, if you do plan an excursion off-ship, make sure it's refundable. I still had a great time even without this stop. It's such a beautiful place. Have a great time!!

[ycruises4fun]

do you get any credit for missing a port?

[SarahQ]

It seems that they very often can't tender in Rarotonga, from what I've read since our cruise in Nov 2004 - as you've probably guessed, no luck for us either, and it was the port we were most looking forward to!

 

I definitely wouldn't book anything non-refundable, just in case. Always good to check with the tour operator/vendor in advance and find out what they will do in the event you miss the island.

 

On our cruise, as others have stated, we simply had an extra day at sea (which I found horrible, because I was *very* seasick and the ship's shops quickly ran out of meds...also too cheap to pay $100 for the shot - wouldn't make that mistake again).

 

No credit given from Princess...while I was disappointed, I certainly understand that the cruise line cannot control the weather and must make decisions with passenger safety in mind.

[ladybugcruises]

Princess only gave the money back if someone booked an excursion thru them. The excursions planned off the ship were not as likely to give the mony back. Some just said you have credit for the next time that you are here, hmmm, not sure when that will be for me:rolleyes: !! I loved the cruise and would go back. I just like to see new things, so it will be a while before I am back! Hopefully, you will be able to tender there. Good luck!

[Bsan1221]

Am just curious if they know that sometimes they cannot tender into Rarotonga then why not substitute it w/ another island?

[land lover]

Because people like sea days..

 

We made it on our Aug. 22nd cruise..but everyone was called back to the ship around 1pm when the weather suddenly took a turn for the worst. So be on one of the first tenders and plan to stay on the island all day.....because people who went pack to the ship for lunch lost out, a few had rented cars which they parked near the dock while having lunch on the ship and a crew member took the keys back for them. They had staff from the ship walking the beach and town and buses to bring passenagers back to the dock. We came back from the beach and after being dropped at the dock just walked back into town many passenagers in town new nothing of the captains request so we just hung out there. The tenders were only used to get people back to the ship, all afternoon tours were cancelled...we were on the last tender at around 4pm and let me tell you it was one wild ride......the ship did leave about a 1/2 hour early.

[beauty1492]

So If you just rent a car and scoot around how would you know to return to the ship early?

[land lover]

You wouldn't,that is why we stayed out, because we knew the ship wouldn't leave until the designated time because of those people that they could not track down. But, the ship wanted to get as many people back on board as soon as possible........ we were told they were announcing on the ship that once everyone was back on board the ship would leave.. there were only like 20 of us on the last tender. We were picking out a pearl the last hour so the people in the shop knew the status of the ship and they gave us a ride back to the dock so we felt comfortable cutting it close.

When we got back to the dock, the staff member told me we were waitng for two more they arrived and the tender left....

 

We have been on tenders with rough rides before and let me tell you people do panic.....when we were in Newport, Maine,we sat out in the ocean for over 40 minutes, rocking and rolling and people were frighten and getting sea sick...............on this tender from Rorotonga we banged into the ship dock so hard that my head banged on the side Ouch! , so liability is a factor for the cruise lines.....the more people back on the ship the safer you are, also it takes along time to tender in rough seas..... a tip from me when you are in rough seas on a tender with few people sit in the middle and hold on:)

[ycruises4fun]

Has anyone been able to get to Rarotonga?

[cruisernurse]

We have and had a wonderful day. Cheaper prices and great internet service too. Hopefully we can get back in on our cruise in April.

[sunsetme]

captbill is on TP now ( a back to back). they got there last cruise, not sure about the present cruise( 3/10).

[ladybugcruises]

Has anyone been able to get to Rarotonga?

 

Unless the cruise that is going right now. the ship has not been able to tender in 2006, yet. As previously posted, I was on the 2-18-06 TP. We were not able to tender there. The crew had told us that the last time TP had tendered there was 12-24-05. I haven't heard anything about the latest trip there, so hopefully they were able to stop.

[captbill]

Has anyone been able to get to Rarotonga?

 

We are presently aboard the Tahitian Princess, cruising back-2-back "Cook Island itineraries" on the 2/28 and 3/10 sailings. We have successfully tendered on to Rarotonga on both cruises, and enjoyed our 2nd visit to this beautiful island just yesterday. The 2/28 cruise marked the first time since December that Tahitian Princess passengers were able to make it to Rarotonga. Making the landing two cruises in a row was something of a coup!

 

Unfortunately, missing the port of Rarotonga is a very real possibility on this itinerary. We feel blessed to have made it on both cruises, but many others have been less fortunate. My only advice would be to refrain from pre-arranging anything involving a non-refundable deposit or fee on Rarotonga.

[Bsan1221]

Because people like sea days..

 

.

 

 

Rarotonga was cancelled on the 4/19 sailing because of very bad weather due to a cyclone coming off the coast of Australia and we couldn't tender in because of the waters. Everyone understood that they had to cancel the port. We figured we weren't getting into Rarotonga because we had very rough seas the first two sea days. But I never heard anyone say they liked the extra sea day. Of course, that is most likely due to the fact that we didn't have sunny weather , very rough seas and the pool had to be closed down.

[sunsetme]

we made it to rarotonga and had a great day!

[laurieb]

we have missed it both times we have gone. maybe we will make it in '08. I wish they would change the itinerary and just stay in the society islands the entire time, like the PG does. I am sure they like the sea days because of increased onboard spending, but I PROMISE I would spend just as much without the sea days...