South Pacific Aranui 3-new reviews?

[JunPOA]

Here is a link to our video, QuickTime is required:

 

http://gallery.mac.com/nateg#100336/aranui-20movie&bgcolor=black

doctor smudge - TY so much for that wonderful video. Isee you did on it a Mac it seems. What kind of camera did you use for your video clips? Trying to keep our luggae to aminimum - trying carry-ons only beleive itor not - did 2 week cruise to the Mediterraen with carryone only. Did you bring your iphone or ipad?

1. Wondering whether we'll need to take the Sony handycam or use the limited time video function on the Canon D10 underwater/land digital - opinions?
   
2. Ideas/ suggestions on gifts to bring the kids? Thinking something fun, educational yet practical? Like maybe cartoon kids toothbrushes v. educational hand held games, sugarless gum , defintely not candy!
   

In advance thank you all for your suggestions.:)

Leah

[1quilter]

I just returned Sunday. The ship is comfortable, the shore excursions are interesting but logistics need some work. Being a mixed passenger/cargo ship makes for interesting landings. The landings are small villages. MOst of the beaches were black sand or rocky so snorkeling was limited.There are several hikes which I passed on since the weather is very hot and humid The crew is friendly and helpful. The majority of the passengers were French, then Aussies and Kiwis. There were 12 Americans, out of 159 passengers. The Marquesan culture is disappearing so go while there are still traditional handcrafters and performers. Contact me @ bizmompb@gmail.com for more details.

 

 

Hi

Can't seem to locate any recent feedback or links to feedback from travelors who have recently sailed with the freighter Aranui 3 - any takers on this topic?

 

Many Thanks!:)

[Jiminkcmo]

Another thank you to DoctorSmudge for the fine video of the trip.

 

Sorry Leah, but I don't have a detailed report as I don't keep any kind of journal.

 

And don't waste any time looking for any left over scotch in "G" as I made sure it was all used up. <G>

 

Also, no photos as I learned years ago that I was taking too much time figuring out where and what to take a picture of, where the sun was at the time, etc. etc. and I missed seeing where I was and looking all around me.

 

I even gave away all my camera equipment.

 

However, as I mentioned before, this is a great trip for adventurous people who can forgo the fru-fru of the mass marketed cruise ship and really have a different trip.

 

If you are staying in Papeete, don't miss going to the roulottes for dinner one evening. It is a "happening."

 

Papeete is a very safe city and I walked all over the downtown area, both day and night, and never felt it to be any problem.

 

The food on the ship was good, not great.

 

For breakfast, be sure to ask any of the waiters for any egg dishes, like scrambled or omlettes. They will fix it in the kitchen for you.

 

The ship "store" and Doctor have very limited hours. They are posted so make sure you check them out in advance.

 

I would do this trip again but am busy looking for other unique trips to add to my bucket list and take.

 

For all who are planning to take this trip, you will enjoy every minute of it.

 

Jim

[DoctorSmudge]

doctor smudge - TY so much for that wonderful video. Isee you did on it a Mac it seems. What kind of camera did you use for your video clips? Trying to keep our luggae to aminimum - trying carry-ons only beleive itor not - did 2 week cruise to the Mediterraen with carryone only. Did you bring your iphone or ipad?

1. Wondering whether we'll need to take the Sony handycam or use the limited time video function on the Canon D10 underwater/land digital - opinions?
   
2. Ideas/ suggestions on gifts to bring the kids? Thinking something fun, educational yet practical? Like maybe cartoon kids toothbrushes v. educational hand held games, sugarless gum , defintely not candy!
   

In advance thank you all for your suggestions.:)

Leah

 

Leah,

 

I hope I got you in time. I am actually DoctorSmudge's husband who did the video. It was all done with an iPhone and iMovie.

 

No sugar or candy for gifts. The good doctor got little toy telescopes and other stuff like that to give to the kids, and they loved them.

[DoctorSmudge]

Hi All & a Warm welcome back to Jim!:)

 

Can't beleive how time is creeping up on us - just 9 weeks to go until our Aranui 3 Voyage! Jim - you made me laugh about the discomfort of lack of access to news updates during your trip - I can identify with that - I am a news junkie. Guess your answer to who is still our president was answered.:rolleyes: NOvemerber 2012 will tell...

 

Anyway - so Jim, have you posted a detailed review anywhere yet, photos ?

 

So question to those who have already experienced Aranui:

1. Would you do it again ?
   
2. Did anyone do the add on package for trolling fishing while on board and if so how'd that go?
   

 

I ask because we did Galapagos a few years ago in the month of December and I'd do Galapagos again to discover the differences in the wild life and fauna that different seasons bring.

 

PS Shall I check Cabin "G" for left over Scotch ? :D

Thank you!

 

Stay in touch!

Leah & the Doc

 

 

Our friend Larry did the fishing and caught a 25 lb tuna! The kitchen folks cut it up for sushi for us.

 

DoctorSmudge and her husband Nate would definitely do it again!

[DoctorSmudge]

Leah,

 

I hope I got you in time. I am actually DoctorSmudge's husband who did the video. It was all done with an iPhone and iMovie.

 

No sugar or candy for gifts. The good doctor got little toy telescopes and other stuff like that to give to the kids, and they loved them.

 

Actually a lot of the still pics came from a little camera. All the video except for one came from the iPhone, and it is much better than the video from the camera.

[jegk1]

We had a wonderful experience abroad this freighter back in '03 on its second voyage. War had broken out the day before this trip, so only 70 of the orininally booked 200 passengers boarded! Probably 50% were American. There was exceptional friendliness between all passengers of all nationalities at all times. There was never pushing or shoving. These were all well-traveled passangers who shared wonderful ideas about their travels. We have toured extensively all 50 states, 75 countries, and all 7 continents, and this was one of the most exciting and adventurous trips we have made! We have met many new friends amid our travels and have recommended this exciting freighter cruise to many people who all have experienced the same thrills we did everyday at every port. It is not a luxurious cruise, and not meant for anyone not adventurous and interested in other cultures and unique experiences. Four of our newest American friends we met in Turkey 2 years ago, just did this freighter cruise in July and enjoyed the exact same experiences we did and just loved the trip. Anyone interested in any info I might have, please feel free to email me jegk1@comcast.net and I will be most happy to share!:)

[waverley7]

Has anyone done the Aranui 3 in the last few months???

 

I can't find their prices......

[Bleu Azur]

Hello jegk1,

 

I am curious to know why , in all your sailing, you have not tried the Windspirit or Windstar ?

 

I loved it - its size,its ability to anchor close to small islands, its diversified crew and clientele. All in an informal matter .......and the actual sailing!

 

i am looking at going on Aranui 111 in 2013 and wondered if the experience might be similar .

 

Love to hear from you Bleu azur

[jegk1]

My brother-in-law has a 40' sailboat which we have sailed in extensively! Actually I'd prefer a river or ocean cruise!

[Bleu Azur]

Thanks for the info - Lucky you on the 40ft !

 

So, would you consider the Aranui again and how does it satisfy a sailor ?

Is the noise of the cargo disturbing , are the gaz fumes heavier than usual ? Are the Marqueses beaches mostly black sand ? Are they beautiful to swim and snorkle? I know the advertising is all positive ...but nothing is better than from the mouth of a real customer.

 

Thanks for your time and generosity in answering my questions. Bleu Azur

[jegk1]

Please email me directly for these questions at jegk1@comcast.net! Thanks!

[HappilyRetiredToo]

Wife and I are looking for at a 2013 trip. She has wanted to go to Tahiti since she was a young girl...ummm.... 10 years ago???.... lol.

 

This summer we will be celebrating our 40th anniv. and that sounds like a great trip.

 

We *HAVE** done trips from VERY nice (Just back from Oceania Rivera to the western Carib) to sleeping in student dorms in Warsaw and Krakow.

 

We would be MOST interested in the class just above dorms, though. And a 3-4 day stay on Tahiti on one end or the other. Perhaps 2 & 2. Or even 3 & 3.

 

Re the frogs and the krauts, I figger set those two groups to fighting each other. Seems to be a "tradition" of theirs.

[DataPrincess]

I have enjoyed reading all the information in this thread - thank you!

 

We had looked into taking a trip on Aranui before we went to French Polynesia the first time, 3 years ago. When I could not find a way to book online, I contacted a TA, and she talked me out of it saying, among other things, "Imagine the smell of diesel fuel in all public spaces."

 

I can deal with things not being luxurious, I can even deal with smells, but I have to admit to a concern with the combination of potentially rough seas and odors...

 

For those who have been on Aranui, did you notice unpleasant odors?

 

Patti

[suncityjim]

Princess:

 

I have traveled on the Aranui and never smelled diesel fuel all over the ship.

 

The Aranui cruises are not booked through regular travel agents and I believe only through the company home office or through "TRAVLTIPS" in Queens, New York where I booked my cruise.

 

I would guess the travel agent you contacted had never even heard of the Aranui and just wanted to steer you to a cruise that would pay the travel agent a commission.

 

The Aranui is a wonderful experience unlike any other cruise.

 

As the saying goes, try it you'll like it.

 

Jim aka jiminkcmo

Edited May 31, 2013 by suncityjim

[captainmcd]

I am not sure why a travel agent would steer someone away from the Aranui 3, but I had a similar reaction when I tried to book this wonderful trip. I had read about it here on CruiseCritic, and called CPTM (the onwers) who said I needed to book with a travel agent, and gave me the number of one (a cruise specialist) who told me that comparing the Aranui to a cruise was like comparing a motel 6 to a 5 star hotel. Since CPTM does pay a travel agent comission, I suppose that many agents think that it is safest to steer all clients to luxury products where they are less likely to get complaints. As far as the diesel smell, that is totally unfounded. All modern ships burn diesel fuel, but usually bunker C, and if you really wanted to smell it you would need to visit the engine room or climb up on the funnel. I never smelled a whif of diesel fumes on our voyage.

[diane.in.ny]

My husband and I are sailing the Aranui 3 in the fall. We booked through our regular cruise agent who had no problems dealing with CPTM.

 

As I read these posts, it is obvious the Aranui 3 is not for everyone. We have sailed everything from suites on Holland America to a 16 pax boat in the Galapagos and a 25 pax boat on the Amazon. It all depends on what you want to see and experience.

 

Sometimes to get to some of these far away and interesting places you have to look at the destination versus the accommodations. As long as the room and ship is clean and the food edible, I'm OK

[suncityjim]

Diane:

 

I know you are going to have a great time and I expect to see your comments on the trip on here when you return.

 

Jim

[diane.in.ny]

Diane:

 

I know you are going to have a great time and I expect to see your comments on the trip on here when you return.

 

Jim

 

Thanks Jim. We are really looking forward to it.

 

Yes, I'll definitely update Aranui 3 information here on cruise critic but I'll probably end up doing a more thorough review on my travel blog ... travel snippets and more. If interested, that is where I posted details about our Amazon cruise.

[diane.in.ny]

Diane:

 

I know you are going to have a great time and I expect to see your comments on the trip on here when you return.

 

Jim

 

Jim

 

My husband and I were wondering about bringing things for the children like frisbees, books (in French?), party favors ... stuff like that. Did anyone do that on your sailing? Your opinion please

 

Thanks, Diane

[suncityjim]

Diane:

 

I don't recall seeing anyone doing that but then again I wasn't watching for it.

 

I personally did not do that and you won't have kids mobbing all around you like can be seen in some countries.

 

Don't make it a high priority.

 

Jim

[konanoff]

Greetings: I'm signing up for the 4/26/2014 Aranui sailing. My DW of 40 years is a woos and is passing on this one so hello dorm room. This will be my 4th trip to Tahiti; I retired from Oregon and we moved to our condo in Kona, HI. 4 years ago but its nice to change rocks every now and then.

Only 1 flight from Honolulu to Papeete each week so need a few

days pre and post Aranui cruise. Flying over to Maupiti pre cruise (have always wanted to see - similar to Bora Bora but not well known and smaller.) Signed up to stay @ a place called Maupiti Residence @ ~ 90 euro per night. Someone in an earlier post asked about Huahini - we spent some time there also several years ago, staying in a pension and very laid back/had a great time.

Bora Bora has a drop dead beautiful lagoon but the prices to stay there as of last report were frankly staggering so have not done a land based there.

Princess has a 10 day cruise of the Tahitian Islands we have done twice (very nice/good pricing for Tahiti) when they don't sell out and have to cut prices - they also have an 11 night cruise every now and then between the Tahitian Islands and the Hawaiian islands. Its kind of a long, 5 day crossing though between the island groups; in our case (2 years ago) it was rough so they had to drain the pool to stop the sloshing, etc.).

I Will be staying at ye ole Fare Suisse in Papeete for 3 separate nights between flights/maupiti/waiting for flight back home in Beni's dorm room; reasonable 50 euro/night with breakfast. We stayed in a regular room 3 years ago and it was great, especially with the free transportation from airport to pension and from pension to dock, etc. This is a small place so probably is often booked unless you book far in advance. Have never been a big fan of horribly pricy Papeete hotels!

Except for circle island tour not much to do/see on the main island of Tahiti in my opinion. Its an easy hop over to Moorea, a drop dead beautiful place with better beaches. 2 years ago we stayed @ Hotel Kaveka for 4 nights in a partial OV garden bungalow w/ breakfast and dinner at a negotiated price for the 2 of us of around $900 US total. Not inexpensive on my budget but a great deal for Tahiti. We spent our 25th anniversary at the Moorea Sofitel - great property with a bungalow 5 yards? from the edge of the lagoon but even though I'm fairly laid back I found the staff to be intentionally rude - guess they did not like me asking them to remove all the pricy drinks from the "refrigerator" so I could keep our ham cold (yeah - we brought a frigging ham with us to save $ on food - worked out fine but could not stand ham again for at least 6 months afterwords. Only so many ways to fix the stuff in a microwave.

I'm looking forward to posts on/about the Arunia 3 as this is something I have wanted to do for many years. Love soft adventure - have trekked in Nepal Himalaya on 3, 2 week+ treks (Everest Base Camp, Annapurna Sanctuary, etc. but the knees complain more each time.

[twin123185]

A friend of mine sailed this ship a few years ago and had a blast. I have seen his pics and vids and looks great. I have been to FP on other ships and one day would like to try this ship.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[JunPOA]

Jim

 

My husband and I were wondering about bringing things for the children like frisbees, books (in French?), party favors ... stuff like that. Did anyone do that on your sailing? Your opinion please

 

Thanks, Diane

 

Hi Diane, sorry for delayed reply, have not been on this thread for a while.

In response o a few of your questions.

The discussion surrounding bringing "gift" trinkets etc fo rthe local children was also discussed and responded on TA forum, I have copied the thread here.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g294341-i8480-k4941107-Aranui_3-Marquesas_Islands.html#36929144

 

Diane, We have tons of photos from that trip - none of the cabin though, if you let me know what specifically you'd like photos of I will send you a link to your contact.

 

We were in the same balcony cabin as "Jim", balcony "G" both the cabin, bathroom, and balcony were very spacious and kept meticulously clean by our cabin attendant.

We traveled Thanksgiving 2011 celebrating our anniversary and a Tahitian style American Thanksgiving holiday onboard, they did a great job at turkey and all the fixings! :) We did NOT experience rough seas at all.

 

Have an enjoyable voyage Diane.

 

We have just returned last week from a Bering Sea expedition of the Aleutian Islands and Providenjia Siberia, Russia having crossed the Arctic Circle so just catching up.

 

Off topic but .... have announced my formal retirement form Federal service its effective Jan. 2014 just in time for the potential welcoming 4 grand-babies in a 12 month period, its been feast or famine for our family. LOL

Couldn't have planned my retirement any better had I tried :)

First was born July 5th, next this one mid Sept., another Jan. 2014 and baby daughter is in the "trying" process.:D

Best to Jim and Doc!

Leah

[diane.in.ny]

Off topic but .... have announced my formal retirement form Federal service its effective Jan. 2014 just in time for the potential welcoming 4 grand-babies in a 12 month period, its been feast or famine for our family. LOL

Couldn't have planned my retirement any better had I tried :)

First was born July 5th, next this one mid Sept., another Jan. 2014 and baby daughter is in the "trying" process.:D

Best to Jim and Doc!

Leah

 

Congratulations on all the here and upcoming grandbabies. Very exciting for you, I'm sure

 

Thanks also for info regarding gifts. Based on what I've read, I did realize it would not be appropriate ... unlike the box of school supplies I brought for an Amazon cruise that turned out being enough for the whole school. :)

 

Our trip is coming up soon and I am really looking forward to it.

 

Diane