Home...from TP cruise. Any questions?

[dog]

This post is from my home! I am so glad to be here at last. Everything went extremely well for us. Reading this board was the best help anyone could get.

Upgraded to business class ATN on trip there. It was worth it! Could not get upgrade(sold out), nor exit seat, nor bulkhead seat for return ATN flight even though we were first in the line ( agent told us we were too short to sit there; first he said he didn't have any exit/bulkhead seats and then said he had to save them for tall people with long legs!!!!)! But it worked out that we both had an empty seat beside us without the expense. Infact, several people from rows 40 to the back had 2 seats each, when we were told it was a full plane at check in. :confused:

 

My favourites were the lagoons in Huahine and Raitea/Tahaa...in those outrigger canoes!

 

 

And we loved our Princess mini suite.

 

Le Meridien Tahiti was nice...but they do not have enough lounge chairs for hotel guests and they rent them out to locals and others, especially a problem on Sundays.

 

I would recommend to others to make the effort to stay in Moorea pre and post instead of on Tahiti.

 

We needed some local currency on arrival...so I'd say get a little...exchange at LAX was the most costly.

 

Flowers at Le Marche...the best bargain in French Polynesia.

 

Pearls in the ship's giftshop were better priced by far from island shops were I compared, and I was in most of them. (Atleast for what I was looking at.)

 

Le Belvedere Restaurant in Tahiti was awesome!

 

I highly recommend Marc's excursion on Huahine ( our favourite ) and a close second was Bruno's excursion on Raitea/Tahaa....everything was delivered as advertised.

 

Hope others from our roll call post a few thoughts. J

[budaman]

Hey Dog, glad you had a great time! Our time is getting shorter, which is good cause I'm driving everyone around me nuts with the countdown:D

 

One question right now......when doing the 'scenic cruising' leaving Raiatea on the way to Bora Bora, do you cruise around Tahaa inside the lagoon and if so, which direction, clockwise or counter? Was thinking that might be a good morning for the Ultimate Balcony Breakfast.

 

Ok, one more....any pics coming?

 

Mike

 

http://www.homepage.mac.com/csealove/

[dog]

Hey Dog, glad you had a great time! Our time is getting shorter, which is good cause I'm driving everyone around me nuts with the countdown:D

 

One question right now......when doing the 'scenic cruising' leaving Raiatea on the way to Bora Bora, do you cruise around Tahaa inside the lagoon and if so, which direction, clockwise or counter? Was thinking that might be a good morning for the Ultimate Balcony Breakfast.

 

Ok, one more....any pics coming?

 

Mike

 

www.homepage.mac.com/csealove/

 

Mike,

I really didn't pay attention to direction, but what we did was order room service just like we did 3 other mornings for breakfast.

We ate on our balcony without the added $25 charge.

You can write additional food items on your regular room service menu. My husband ordered eggs one morning along with toast. It was really nice being up early for the view every morning. J.

[budaman]

Thanks Dog.....was just wondering which side of the ship the island was on. We'll be port side of the ship and was hoping to be able to watch the scenery go by while dining on the balcony:)

 

Mike

 

www.homepage.mac.com/csealove/

[DANofNORTH]

Thanks for answering our questions;

 

1 - LAX, did you have to pick up your baggage and go through the full security marathone and how did that go?

 

2 - What made Marc's excursion a little better than Bruno's (Personality?)

 

3 - What type of pearls/jewelry were you looking for? I plan on buying a 30th anniversary gift for MDW on this cruise.

 

4 - How was the rocking of the ship? We are not prone to sea sickness but we have never been on this small of a ship.

 

Thanks, we hope that our cruise goes as well as yours.

 

Phyllis & Dan

[gvre]

Mike,

I think the port side well be toward the island as we sail off to Bora Bora. Though both sides will see parts of the island.

Hey aren't you going on the TP with our group??;)

 

Richard

[dog]

Thanks for answering our questions;

 

1 - LAX, did you have to pick up your baggage and go through the full security marathone and how did that go? On the way there we went to security just inside door to terminal and they screen bags and walk you & bags to ATN counter...you stand in line to check in and they bring your bags to weigh in..you don't touch checked bags after security. They put them in a fenced in area until you are up to check in counter.

On return we ALL had to claim own baggage and go on our way either to hotel or to next flight. I went to hotel so no more security until I took AC home the next afternoon.

AC home the next day...shuttle dropped us off at T2 right infront of AC check in....go check in and then the security for baggage is right beside the check in counter and the bags go through there. You proceed a few steps to the security line up and go up stairs/escalator to the screening for you and hand luggage. New restrictions are now in place so check into these. And then you go to gate after this. Just ask someone there. It was really easy!

 

2 - What made Marc's excursion a little better than Bruno's (Personality?) We did the 4x4 & motu picnic. I think we really enjoyed Marc's staff...Monty & Marinara (sp?) the fellow that operated the canoe, in particular. They were all fun! The food was barbeque fish & chicken, salads etc. done right before us...was great! Very relaxing day. I really enjoyed the ride in the outrigger canoe back to the dock. I would suggest doing the canoe all day instead of the land part if you are going on Bruno's as well. Because I thought Bruno's excursion gave us an excellent look at a vanilla farm and pearl farm. Bruno's meal was good but it was battered fish, salad, coconut bread, rice. So the only thing you would miss on the land portion of Marc's is seeing the sacred eels. IMO

 

3 - What type of pearls/jewelry were you looking for? I plan on buying a 30th anniversary gift for MDW on this cruise. Pearls...set jewelry...earrings, necklaces, bracelets. I would say compare with the ship's giftshop before buying on the islands. The prices are all over the place. Be aware there are Tahitian Pearls, fresh water pearls and Majorica pearls. Nikki does a pearl talk and it will later be on tv. Worth watching it.

 

4 - How was the rocking of the ship? We are not prone to sea sickness but we have never been on this small of a ship. I didn't get bothered by it, but the days travelling to and from Rarotonga were windy and a bit rough for some. Patches and bracelets are sold onboard.

 

Thanks, we hope that our cruise goes as well as yours. I always go with a positive attitude, don't sweat the small stuff, and I hope you have the best time of your life! :)

 

Phyllis & Dan

I must post more as it won't let me post as is. J.

[budaman]

Hey Richard.....just the second group:D Some of us couldn't schedule a B/B.

 

This also reminds me, been trying to get confirm from Princess, that Neil Chandler will still be CD when we go. On the Grand, if you ran into him & gave him the 'W" sign(in reference to his Wakey Wakey Show) before he acknowledged you, he would give you a drink coupon....does he still do this?

 

Mike

 

www.homepage.mac.com/csealove/

[dog]

Chris Nicol was the CD on the TP on our Sept. sailing. He was awesome! Lots of energy!

[winnyd]

Yes Dog I've a question for you . I've just purchased a Lonely Planet Guide & it says that all the Le Trucks have gone to Truck heaven& a few shipped to the other Islands.Yet all the posts still mention them.So are they still running & can you get one from the Airport to Sofitel Beach hotel or do I have to buy the Taxi Roy

[dog]

are still running and I did see one at the airport...but not sure exactly where it was going and how many stops along the way.

People took them from the Intercontinental into the roulettes and back, that I know of and others found they were full when they waited for them between the airport and downtown Papeete. I would take a taxi or get a rental car. We picked up a rental car at the airport and dropped it off in town before the cruise.

Some of the resorts have a shuttle into town. Le Meridien had one for a small charge.

 

My Jan Prince Tahiti book also says Le Trucks are being phased out and replaced with bigger busses which we also saw.

[alirat]

Hi Dog

 

Your advice is very helpful, thanks. My question is about Sunday, as we will be staying in Papeete on Sunday before boarding on Monday. It looks like a lot of things are closed and even the ferry to Moorea doesn't run as frequently. Is it possible to rent a car on a Sunday? Should we consider ordering one ahead of time? I'd really like to make the most or our stay on Tahiti and see as much as we can.

[dog]

Hertz, Avis, Europcar are all at the airport and also have downtown locations to return the car to (not far from the ship). I would pre book it for a better price and take the written confirmation with you. In a couple of places down there where I had reserved the car the rental person tried to give us something else for more money...and we ended up having to take it...what we booked they didn't have. So this was with Hertz at the airport and with Europcar in Bora Bora. We had our confirmation with us but it didn't seem to matter...paid about $20 more for the vehicle they gave us.

Times open may vary so check into this when booking. Hertz was the farthest from the ship but they will drive you there - pre cruise and pick you up from the ship if renting after the cruise.

Having the car allowed us to see the island, avoid taxi fares airport to hotel and to ship, go to the grocery store and roulettes for dinner, so it was worth it to us.

[Southwest]

Thanks for fielding some questions. I'm packing and leaving soon, is it chilly on the ship in the restaurant/theatre/lounges? Just trying to decide if I need to bring a sweater and some slacks or if I can get by with short sleeves and skirts. Also, we have a balcony, is it ever cold sitting out there? On the way to Roratonga in particular? Thank you.

[dog]

Actually,

one evening on the ship I felt cold and had a long sleeve top that I wore.

It was very windy on the balcony re: to and from Rarotonga and we found it cool at times. Some people did not go in the water in Rarotonga as it was cooler than French Polynesia.

Now that being said, we had beautiful weather and it was mostly in the 80's F.

It doesn't hurt to take 1 sweater.

[winnyd]

See you reccomend Pre Booking even though it cost you more when you got there! I'm having difficulty trying to pre book one Ive tried numourous search engines & all I can get is a Hertz rental .It;s a Hyundi Manual & that's all there is available . Also it comes with limited mileage only ,at 50 cents /KM How many klicks could I expect to cover in 3 days ? Base price is good Cdn $37. 50 by expedia . ca.Could it be that it's Easter time ?

[dog]

What islands are you looking at for car rentals?

We went with Hertz at the airport (hassle with woman working there re: our written confirmation price, but it all worked out re: mileage used) returned to downtown location ( farther from the ship) than others such as Avis, but Hertz provided ride to and from pier.

We rented from Hertz in Papeete after cruise and no problem with booked price. Next time I'd probably go with a different agency than Hertz on Tahiti.

Albert's Moorea was excellent and they were right at end of pier.

Bora Bora Europcar...would only give us a pricier car, so we took it ( extra $20).

I booked all online.

When is your cruise?

[lhbsurf]

Thanks for fielding some questions. I'm packing and leaving soon, is it chilly on the ship in the restaurant/theatre/lounges? Just trying to decide if I need to bring a sweater and some slacks or if I can get by with short sleeves and skirts. Also, we have a balcony, is it ever cold sitting out there? On the way to Roratonga in particular? Thank you.

 

Definitely take a sweater - I froze to death in the dining room. I bought a wrap on the ship and took it everywhere. Outside it was hot - inside, freezing!!

[WeBeGone]

LAURA - leaving Nov 15 for b2b on Tahitian with pre stay at Intercontinental. Just wanted to say hi and thanks for all the info.

[lhbsurf]

Hi Rita! I'm sure you all will have a MARVELOUS time - as you can tell, I loved it. I would like to hear what you think of the Marquesas - we may do that next time.

 

We booked another cruise with you on the 'net - me, my sister and my mother are going on Legend in January.

 

I've been on several ships and like them all - but I think if I had to pick a favorite, it would be the Tahitian Princess. It's amazing how you get to know people better on a smaller ship. I guess the 10 day itinerary helps also.

 

Have a great time!!!

[herbshopgirl]

Hi Everyone,

We justed booked the Pacific Princess 11 day cruise between Tahiti and Honolulu. The TP was sold out of the rooms we wanted.

 

We were planning on arriving into Papeete at least one day early to enjoy the island. Any recommendations on where to stay and what to see?

 

Do you recommend the princess tours or private tours on each of the islands?

 

Any words of advice are greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

Susan

Grand Princess - Oct 06

Pacific Princess - Oct 07

[dog]

We stayed at Le Meridien and it was nice. I know several others who stayed at the Intercontinental and really liked it there, as well. They are all quite pricey.

We booked both Princess tours, and independent tours and rented cars.

I liked the two independent tours the best: Marc's Motu Picnic 4x4 tour and Bruno's all day tour where you travel by outrigger canoe around the island of Tahaa and visit a pearl farm, vanilla farm, and snorkle at the coral gardens.

Since we had to tender in Bora Bora and didn't arrive there until noon we chose to do a catamaran with Princess. It was cancelled so we did the Princess Lagoon Glass Bottom boat...it was a very brief excursion but we enjoyed it.

And the other Princess excursion we chose, again because the TP doesn't always get to Rarotonga, was the glass bottom boat, snorkle and lunch tour. It was fun, but was only for a 1/2 day.

Read through other strands on this forum and you will learn lots about the possibilities. J.

[winnyd]

Back again ! We are scheduled to arrive Airport 5th april 5.40 am.We board on the 6th.would like to rent a vehicle from 5th-7th April .That last day !Is there parking close to the ship for the car for the night?Thanks

[herbshopgirl]

Hi Dog,

Thanks for the reply. I can't imagine planning a cruise without this web site. We just got back from the Grand in the Med and because of the great advice on this web site we had an incredible time.

Take care,

Susan

[herbshopgirl]

I forgot to ask, how do I get in touch with Marc and Bruno?

Thank you,

Susan