Excurision Questions

[gangof 5]

As we start to plan our excurisions I thought I might get some current info from all of the seasond PG cruisers. If you have any thoughts on other excurisions not mentions please feel free to add those too. We are on the 10 day Society Island and Tuamotus cruise.

 

Jungle Hike up to the Waterfalls on Raiatea

 

They make this sound very difficult. We hike but don't scale rocks any one done this?

 

 

It comes down to which snorkle trips and islands tours are not to be missed. We want to do it all and choosing is difficult.

 

Thanks

[goblue57]

We are on the same trip -- PG 7-5-08 -- and have been trying to get info on NON Regent shore excursions -- such as lagoon sail and snorkel trips -- but so far have had no response. I have ordered a book on line -- Tahiti -- by open road -- that apparantly has a ton of info on available shore excursions, costs, availability of money exchange etc. I like being as informed as I can -- before sailing

[NC&KY]

My wife and I will be on the July 16 cruise, and I'm wondering about the Coral Garden Drift Snorkeling excursion. We're both almost 58 with a good bit of snorkeling experience (Florida Keys, Out Islands in the Bahamas, Hawaii) but none for probably 15-20 years. We regularly exercise, we're in good shape, we'll be doing several of the hikes on the islands. The excursion description, however, ominously says "This snorkeling tour is only appropriate for experienced snorkelers, and guests should be be extremely comfortable in the water as snorkeling is done over very shallow water." The shallow water warning is not a concern (plenty of that in the Bahamas), but has anyone done this drift snorkeling who might be in a similar situation to us? I'd really like to do this, but I don't want to get in over our heads. I'd like for someone to either say we should stick to more sedate snorkeling excursions or that this warning is for non-swimmers who are under 8 or over 80 years old and we should be fine. Thanks.

[mcavanaugh]

To all those devoted snorkelers out there....Please don't worry. It is our experience that none of the offered tours (from Regent) are anything to be worried about if you enjoy the sport and are comfortable in the water. The drift snorkles are great if you can handle getting our of a boat and back in up a ladder. If there are any specific questions, I'd be glad to comment but will be away until Friday to answer them. Maxine

[Texed]

My wife and I will be on the July 16 cruise, and I'm wondering about the Coral Garden Drift Snorkeling excursion. Thanks.

 

We have done the Coral Garden Drift Snorkel, and it is wonderful. We have snorkeled quite a bit, but my wife doesn't like all the snorkeling, but she loved the Coral Garden. So, I think you should go for it.

By the way, we are on the same cruise, and we have a roll call going. Please join us on the thread, and we can get to know folks on our sailing. :)

[Friscorays]

Cruising Librarian's review of the Jungle hike:

 

"At Raitea, we took the Jungle Hike, and it was a killer excursion. It was really strenuous, but a great payoff at the end when you reach the water fall! The path was really treacherous, muddy and slippery and with tree vines and obstacles. Hauling my sorry butt up a ridge on a rope with footholds only is not something I usually do. I think the whole group (maybe 12-15 of us ) felt a real sense of accomplishment at getting up and down that mountain."

[Leejnd4]

Gangof5: I didn't do the jungle hike excursion myself, but I can say this: if you are in good enough shape to be able to hike, I'm confident you can do this hike. Keep in mind that many people who go on cruises are senior citizens with mobility issues - the verbiage describing the difficulty is to dissuade folks with such issues from taking this excursion. But I doubt that it involves any need for rock-climbing skills, or they wouldn't get enough pax to take it. If you can hike, you can do this excursion.

 

NC & KY - I also wouldn't worry about any snorkel trips. They just want to dissuade folks who can't swim well, and might have difficulty getting on and off a boat, from doing it. If you are in reasonably good shape and can swim, you'll be fine.

 

As for other don't-miss excursions, I'd like to throw the Bora Bora off-road adventure into the ring. We LOVED that excursion! It takes you into on some pretty hairy dirt paths, and was truly a wild ride...while giving you a great opportunity to see some of the beauty of the island.

 

Goblue57 - a comment on your efforts to find "non-Regent" excursions: I'm one of those cruisers who rarely takes the ship-sponsored excursions, preferring to find private tours. On most cruises that I've been on, you can find way better tours for far less money going with local tour guides - and sometimes they are the exact same tours offered by the ship, but with smaller groups and without paying the hefty cruise line surcharge. However, this is one cruise on which I didn't do any private tours. First of all, because so many of the port stops are rather remote and not heavily touristed, there really weren't too many non-Regent options. Second, I found Regent's excursions to be reasonably priced and well-run. On such a small ship, in such tiny islands, you are not going to find the big tour bus convoys, so all excursions we did were small groups going to interesting places, with no one else there but us PG'ers.

 

The one tour I would steer you AWAY from is the Vineyard tour on Rangiroa. I didn't do it myself - I was out scuba diving - but my Mom did, and she said it was a total waste. I heard this from almost everyone on that excursions.

 

Editing to add: Just read Friscoray's post above mine - sounds like it might be a bit tougher than I would have expected! Great description - and good to know what you may face if you take it. Now I wish I'd done it!

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I'll second the Bora Bora off-road trip. I think it's important to get on to land once or twice during the cruise to see the land and the people. And it's really fun and interesting, with great views and history about WWII.

[shorton]

Just double checking...You can sign up for excursions 120 days out, correct? But is that only after you have paid your bill in full?

 

We are on the 14-day cruise on 9-26 so just starting to gather info on excursions. This is a great thread for us. Thanks.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Final payment is about 3 months out. But at 120 days you go into a penalty period, and at around the same time excursions become available.

[Friscorays]

Zitdoc's jungle hike review:

 

"The jungle hike in Raitea was alot of fun but the warning that this is a physical excursion was an understatement. We were traversing very steep terain with climbing ropes. "

[goblue57]

LeeAnne,

 

Many thanks for the insight on shore excursions and especially on the Vineyard tour. As for the Jungle hike - the last time I did that it was courtesy of Uncle Sam in Viet Nam -- pass,pass,pass.

[RachelG]

We did the jungle hike last year. We are very experienced hikers and have done some rock climbing and did fine. However, there were a bunch of people on this hike who should not have done it. There are two sections where you have to use ropes to climb up and then back down. There are footholds in the rocks which were pretty challenging for me because I am short. You will get muddy. My husband and another guy who had been an Army ranger ended up helping the majority of the people back down as there were only 2 guides and one was a very petite woman. A couple of girls were really terrified. I would say of the twenty or so people who went on the hike, only about half should have attempted it. Almost everyone, including me, was covered in mud. We had good hiking shoes with traction, and they were definitely needed.

Would I do it again?--definitely. But I suspect that at least 1/2 of the group that went would not. And I was pretty sore the next day.

 

The trail of the ancients hike is really easy but interesting.

 

The off road trip on Bora Bora is really good.

 

I don't snorkle or scuba, but my husband and son really enjoyed both.

[Leejnd4]

We did the jungle hike last year. We are very experienced hikers and have done some rock climbing and did fine. However, there were a bunch of people on this hike who should not have done it. There are two sections where you have to use ropes to climb up and then back down. There are footholds in the rocks which were pretty challenging for me because I am short. You will get muddy. My husband and another guy who had been an Army ranger ended up helping the majority of the people back down as there were only 2 guides and one was a very petite woman. A couple of girls were really terrified. I would say of the twenty or so people who went on the hike, only about half should have attempted it. Almost everyone, including me, was covered in mud. We had good hiking shoes with traction, and they were definitely needed.

Would I do it again?--definitely. But I suspect that at least 1/2 of the group that went would not. And I was pretty sore the next day.

 

The trail of the ancients hike is really easy but interesting.

 

The off road trip on Bora Bora is really good.

 

I don't snorkle or scuba, but my husband and son really enjoyed both.

Wow, I must admit I'm surprised! It's unusual to find a cruise line willing to offer such challenging shore excursions - the vast majority are geared for the average cruiser, and the ones that state they are "strenuous" would usually only be inappropriate for people with some form of mobility issues. Personally I think it's great - but I think perhaps they need to do a better job of vetting the participants, and be willing to tell people "no" if it would be too strenuous for them.

 

I'm glad someone with direct knowledge came in here and set everyone straight!

[RachelG]

The website and the shore excursion brochure both give significant warnings about the jungle hike.

I agree--most ship excursion hikes I have gone on haven't been difficult at all, and anyone without mobility issues would be able to do them. This was totally different. My husband was frustrated because there were so many people there who really didn't have the experience to do this type of hike. It would have been more fun if the group had just been experienced hikers and/or rock climbers because we could have moved at a faster pace on some areas (there was a lot of waiting around at the places where you had to use ropes as the guides wouldn't let anyone go ahead.)

[ORV]

I really want to do the Bora Bora off road excursion but there is also a great looking glass bottom boat tour there. Has anyone done this Glass Bottom boat tour? It doesn't look like your standard glass bottom boat.

 

I've thought about doing both as one is in the AM and the other in the PM but one is 4 hours and the other is 3 hours. We're in port 8 hours and it looks like this would be cutting it close.

 

Anyone with experience doing both?

 

We're not really snorkelers so I thought the GBB tour would be a good chance to see some underwater things.

[gangof 5]

Thank you all for the great information. Especially Friscorays and RachelG for your information. I agree with LeeAnn that the warnings are usually overstated and that was the purpose of the post to get an answer from someone who had done the hike. I do think we will pass on this excursion. I know I would be one of the terrified ones.

[ORV]

Oops, I confused Moorea with Bora Bora, nevermind.

[egret]

On Moorea in February we did the Hike to the Three Coconut, that's right Coconut. There used to be three but now there is just one. We started at the Belvedere and hiked about 7 K to the top of the ridge bisecting the island. It was muddy and a work out. Bug spray is a must and when the guide offers a walking stick, take it!

The guide was good and talked alot about the way of life on the islands and the various cultural subjects he was familiar with while we were panting at the rest stops. This was probably a little less demanding than the hike to the falls on Raitea, but still not for the unsure afoot.

[NC&KY]

Excellent advice. We're doing the drift snorkeling. Thank you very much for the very prompt and sage advice.

 

Texed, we are relatively new to cruising, having been on two prior cruises. We went 4 years ago to Alaska (7 days) and last year for 12 days to Italy, Greece, and Turkey; both cruises with Celebrity, so we're upgrading cruise lines with this cruise. My wife a dean of a dental college in the United States and I'm a VP and corporate lawyer with a water and sewer utility corporation. New to Kentucky, though; I spent my first 48 years in North Carolina.

[zooks]

Does anyone know if there is biking available anywhere throughout the various ports on the PG 11 day cruise? If yes, has anyone gone on a bike tour - or... are there any places to rent bikes and explore for a few hours?

[dmac73]

We are on the July 5th trip and are interested in the following excursions. Any feedback would be appreciated.

 

Rangiroa - Snorkeling Rangiroa's Aquarium

 

Bora Bora - Waverunner & ATV Adventure

(this is very expensive so we're wondering just how good it is)

 

Moorea - Capture Moorea Photo Adventure

[Texed]

Texed, we are relatively new to cruising, having been on two prior cruises. We went 4 years ago to Alaska (7 days) and last year for 12 days to Italy, Greece, and Turkey; both cruises with Celebrity, so we're upgrading cruise lines with this cruise. My wife a dean of a dental college in the United States and I'm a VP and corporate lawyer with a water and sewer utility corporation. New to Kentucky, though; I spent my first 48 years in North Carolina.

 

So nice to hear from and about you. Did you find the July 16, 2008 roll call I started. Please come join us, and we can learn more about you and the cruise. :)

[Leejnd4]

We are on the July 5th trip and are interested in the following excursions. Any feedback would be appreciated.

 

Rangiroa - Snorkeling Rangiroa's Aquarium

 

Bora Bora - Waverunner & ATV Adventure

(this is very expensive so we're wondering just how good it is)

 

Moorea - Capture Moorea Photo Adventure

 

Hopefully someone else will come in here and talk about the Waverunner on Bora Bora excursion. I didn't do it, as I was out scuba diving, but if I HADN'T gone diving this is the excursion I would have done, and I wish I could have done both. I've heard from a number of sources that this is one of the most fun things you can do on this entire cruise, and that it's TOTALLY worth it. But you're hearing it second-hand from me, so I hope somebody else who's actually done it will come in here and confirm this. (I'd tell you to do a search on this forum to see what others have said about it, but the search function is kinda hosed on this board.)

[ORV]

While I'm sure it's fun I'd say part of the draw is the waverunner itself. I live in a lake region and good friends that we spend time with at the lake have 3 or 4 nice new waverunners and we can ride them whenever. I'm sure it's different in FP but that's a lot of money to ride a waverunner. I guess if you're a city person and don't do that type of activity very often then it might be different. That's my take on it.