Leave ship early in Papeete?

[banjineer]

Upcoming Honolulu to Papeete cruise.  The Spirit is supposed to arrive in Papeete at 8 PM and

then overnight to disembark the next morning.   Is it possible to get off the ship right after it

arrives at 8 PM?  

[Traveling Fools]

Two conditions have to be met:

 

1.  All government entry protocols have to completed and the ship cleared for disembarking passengers.

2.  The ship must grant permission for an early disembarkation. 

 

I think most international airlines flying to the states depart at night.  If you are planning on booking one of those flights, consider booking transportation from the pier to the airport before the ship arrives at Papeete.  Depending on the number of crew and passengers disembarking, plus time of day/night catching a cab at the pier can be a real goat rope! 

 

Also, FYI,

 

1) The departing airlines do not open their ticket counters until around 7:30/8:00 PM and there will be a throng of passengers waiting on the open, wide sidewalk in front of the ticket counters waiting for them to open. 

 

2)  If it is raining you are sure to get wet; either walking from your cab/uber to the check-in counter or, because they have no jet ways at the airport, from the terminal to the aircraft.  They will give you umbrellas to use from the terminal to the aircraft, but will collect them before you begin walking up the aircraft passenger loading stairs....been there done that! 

[banjineer]

Thank you - really useful info for our 1st time in Tahiti.    

 

Pushing this back to the top - anyone on the recent (September) Hawaii to Tahiti cruises with info on how disembarkation was handled?  Do we have to wait until the next morning to get off the ship?  Or can we get off at 8 PM when the ship docks in Tahiti?  Thanks...

[LouChamp]

On 10/16/2023 at 5:09 PM, Traveling Fools said:

Two conditions have to be met:

 

1.  All government entry protocols have to completed and the ship cleared for disembarking passengers.

2.  The ship must grant permission for an early disembarkation. 

 

I think most international airlines flying to the states depart at night.  If you are planning on booking one of those flights, consider booking transportation from the pier to the airport before the ship arrives at Papeete.  Depending on the number of crew and passengers disembarking, plus time of day/night catching a cab at the pier can be a real goat rope! 

 

Also, FYI,

 

1) The departing airlines do not open their ticket counters until around 7:30/8:00 PM and there will be a throng of passengers waiting on the open, wide sidewalk in front of the ticket counters waiting for them to open. 

 

2)  If it is raining you are sure to get wet; either walking from your cab/uber to the check-in counter or, because they have no jet ways at the airport, from the terminal to the aircraft.  They will give you umbrellas to use from the terminal to the aircraft, but will collect them before you begin walking up the aircraft passenger loading stairs....been there done that! 

Aloha. This post summarizes some of the issues. We have been to Tahiti several times and have stayed post cruise for a few days. Not sure of your reasoning to disembark early but even if you were able to, with the flight schedules would you even be able to make your flight? Most ships have at times allowed passengers to remain on board even while new passengers embark although you would have to vacate your stateroom. Perhaps you can get a day room which some hotels offer because there is a bit of a logistical issue regarding timing.  You may be able to get off the ship that evening, get to the airport, miss your flight and then have a real issue. As I post regularly, I like to travel as stress free as possible which is why we fly out a few days early and fly home a few days after.  After a delightful vacation to Hawaii and Tahiti, why stress yourself? Just my opinion. Keep us posted!

[SimplyAlbert]

We wanted to leave the ship early in Hawaii (spending a week on Kauai post-cruise) rather than continue on to Honolulu that night and fly back to Kauai.  We're US citizens, so no customs to clear.  We were told no by NCL.  Not possible. Only way we could have done it was if we had an emergency and we would have to prove it.

[Traveling Fools]

10 hours ago, banjineer said:

Do we have to wait until the next morning to get off the ship?  Or can we get off at 8 PM when the ship docks in Tahiti?

 

Dude, The answer isn't going to change.

5 hours ago, LouChamp said:

Not sure of your reasoning to disembark early but even if you were able to, with the flight schedules would you even be able to make your flight?

 

This factor is also something to consider.

[banjineer]

Thanks to all the responses.  I thought I would update with our experience in case anyone else is thinking about early departure in Papeete.  And the short answer is YES, you can leave the ship early in French Polynesia if you want to...

 

This was a Honolulu to Papeete cruise on the Spirit.   The ship's last stops were the island of Moorea and Tahiti.   We were at Moorea on Monday 11/13 until 5 pm.  Then the ship sailed the 20 miles or so to Papeete, Tahiti arriving at about 7:30 PM on the same day (11/13). 

 

Most guests stayed on board overnight and departed on 11/14 in the morning.  We wanted to leave the ship on 11/13 right after it arrived in Papeete.   And the answer is YES, it can be done and was done by multiple people.

 

French Polynesian Customs was on the ship and interviewed everyone on board in person on the sea days between Hawaii and French Polynesia.  So there were no Customs or Border Patrol to clear at any of the piers in Raiatea, Moorea, or Tahiti.  Just walked off and on the ship showing our cabin keycards (but also take photo ids like a passport just in case).

 

We were told we could leave the ship permanently at any of the French Polynesian islands just by letting the Concierge (or Guest Services) know to close out our ship account.  In fact, some people left the ship in Moorea.   And others, like us, left the ship in Tahiti the night before official debarkation.  Just had the ship close our account and simply walked off the ship with our luggage.  No Customs, no fanfare - just left the ship.

 

We were told there would be taxis at the Papeete pier that evening - but there were no taxis.  We had to walk a few blocks with our luggage and ask some folks in order to find a nearby taxi stand.  Or we could have called a taxi service (as others did).

 

Hope this helps others wanting to do the same in French Polynesia.  As a side note, this was a very nice cruise which we enjoyed very much.

[dexddd]

14 hours ago, banjineer said:

Thanks to all the responses.  I thought I would update with our experience in case anyone else is thinking about early departure in Papeete.  And the short answer is YES, you can leave the ship early in French Polynesia if you want to...

 

This was a Honolulu to Papeete cruise on the Spirit.   The ship's last stops were the island of Moorea and Tahiti.   We were at Moorea on Monday 11/13 until 5 pm.  Then the ship sailed the 20 miles or so to Papeete, Tahiti arriving at about 7:30 PM on the same day (11/13). 

 

Most guests stayed on board overnight and departed on 11/14 in the morning.  We wanted to leave the ship on 11/13 right after it arrived in Papeete.   And the answer is YES, it can be done and was done by multiple people.

 

French Polynesian Customs was on the ship and interviewed everyone on board in person on the sea days between Hawaii and French Polynesia.  So there were no Customs or Border Patrol to clear at any of the piers in Raiatea, Moorea, or Tahiti.  Just walked off and on the ship showing our cabin keycards (but also take photo ids like a passport just in case).

 

We were told we could leave the ship permanently at any of the French Polynesian islands just by letting the Concierge (or Guest Services) know to close out our ship account.  In fact, some people left the ship in Moorea.   And others, like us, left the ship in Tahiti the night before official debarkation.  Just had the ship close our account and simply walked off the ship with our luggage.  No Customs, no fanfare - just left the ship.

 

We were told there would be taxis at the Papeete pier that evening - but there were no taxis.  We had to walk a few blocks with our luggage and ask some folks in order to find a nearby taxi stand.  Or we could have called a taxi service (as others did).

 

Hope this helps others wanting to do the same in French Polynesia.  As a side note, this was a very nice cruise which we enjoyed very much.

Thanks for the update.  We've only done Paul Gauguin there and they arrive early evening with next morning disembark but there trips are usually all around FP.

 

We did have to request taxi ahead of time.

 

Is there airport still pretty much open air?

[banjineer]

Yes the Papeete airport is still open air and jammed to more than capacity when the late evening flights are going out.  The lounge upstairs is a nice respite area (clean, quiet, free food, drinks, and AC) if one is flying business class or otherwise eligible.