Disembark Papeete.... info Please!!!!!

Our cruise ends in Papeete at 5:00 a.m. There is an Air France flight at 8:00 a.m.. Oceania will not book any flights prior to 9:00 a.m. We are purchasing our own air.

Does anyone remember what the earliest time to disembark is? If we dock at 5:00 and are off by 6:00, it should be a breeze. Otherwise we are stuck with Oceania's charter.

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Our cruise ends in Papeete at 5:00 a.m. There is an Air France flight at 8:00 a.m.. Oceania will not book any flights prior to 9:00 a.m. We are purchasing our own air.

Does anyone remember what the earliest time to disembark is? If we dock at 5:00 and are off by 6:00, it should be a breeze. Otherwise we are stuck with Oceania's charter.

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The problem with questions about getting swiftly off of the ship at the end of a cruise is that the cruise line has no real control.

Government Authorities must clear the ship before ANYONE MOVES, and there is absolutely no worse feeling in the World than watching your precious pre-flight cushion tick away while some irresponsible so and so is being paged endlessly.

Realistically consider what your options would be if you miss your flight before deciding if those risks are something which you are prepared to accept.

I have learned from a bad experience to NEVER book before at least 3 hrs.after disembark time. Have missed a flight ONCE due to not taking this advice,so never again.Too much stress.

I have one getting in at 9am and took next day flight since none convenient before.Rather have extra day and not feel rushed,just know what I feel best with.Hope that helps.

I have 3 hours and 25 minutes from arriving in Papeete until the flight. I'm wondering if anyone has been on the Papeete-Papeete itinerary and if so, what time was disembarkation? I live in Chicago and I am a United million miler (not that miles do me any good here unless I fly to Auckland). I miss flights all the time but with United's hub at O'hare, it's no big deal. I realize that is not the case here!!!!!!!! I realize that I have no other flight options that day hence the question!!!!!! If Oceania has the ship cleared when they arrive at 5:00 a.m., the flight will work even if it takes a long time to clear as we would have 3.5 hours and the airport is only 15 min. away. I am just not sure if the authorities in FP operate at 5:00 a.m., if not, we cannot possibly make the flight. We have cruised all over the world and normally, when you arrive, the ship is boarded immediately. Does anyone who has been on this itinerary know if this is the case in FP? Oceania is of no help. They just say that they will not book flights until 9:00.

I can't imaging that I am the first person to attempting to take the AF flight there is only one other flight option the day of disembarkation.

I would strongly suggest you stay overnight at the international and fly out the following day. That being said make sure Air France has a flight out that next day.

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No flight the next day, its the following day. I couldn't feel too sorry for myself if I have to stay in FP an extra two days but I should get back to work..... or maybe just retire.... We are already 5 days precruise on Bora Bora. My TA is checking air deviations. Maybe we could fly premium economy there on AF and my husband could fly business back on the evening ATN flight. I'll see what O comes back with.

I would, however, appreciate the opinion of someone who has sailed on this itinerary.

I have 2 times once on marina and last January LA to Papeete

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Take into consideration that every cruise is different! Just because someone, at some time in the past, managed to make an 8 am flight, that is no reason to assume that it will happen for you. Different government officials, different passenger makeup and paperwork, different land crews tying up the ship, on and on.

EXCELLENT!!!! Do you remember what time the ship cleared? I will book the ATN evening flight if I can't make the morning AF. It would be nice to stay another day but it is a Sun and I would like to be back in the office on Mon.

Also, in the event that we book ATN, do you remember how long you were permitted to remain on the ship. I believe the ATN flight is at 11:00 p.m. and I have heard that Papeete basically is closed on Sunday. If we have to disembark early, I'll book a hotel room for Sunday night and stay at the hotel until we have to leave for the airport.

You must leave ship by 9 am. Have your TA call O about

Options in Papeete. They offered a day room I do not know how much ,Also a stay in a hotel lobby but I heard a lot of complaints about that.

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Find out exact details about arrival and disembarkation time from your TA. For instance, the Feb.3/18 PPT-PPT trip says disembarkation 8 a.m. So know your own cruise.

The airport is a fairly short trip from the cruise port. But when you get to the airport it's usually very chaotic, with long check-in lineups--not a pleasant experience under the best of circumstances. If you do it, make sure you have a cab pre-arranged.

Since AF doesn't fly every day, you have to choose your poison. Take the risk, or book a hotel on Tahiti for a night or two.

The airport is a fairly short trip from the cruise port. But when you get to the airport it's usually very chaotic, with long check-in lineups--not a pleasant experience under the best of circumstances.

Yes, chaotic with long lines. An outside airport, too, so hot waiting in those lines. Limited food choices, and food on Air Tahiti Nui was only so-so. Be prepared, although I would hope Air France might be a little better, at least in terms of food.

Well, we took that AF flight, but I believe we got in the night before...I am sure of it. We took our own luggage off in the morning EARLY and we had a car waiting. We didn't have any problem at the airport since ALL OF THE FLIGHT CREW DECIDED TO STRIKE, just before the flight. They finally found a skeleton crew and only took the people who booked themselves, not through O. They took those people to a hotel, but late in the day they found a charter flight to put them on. What a mess.

In Tahiti you can expect anything. When we got to the airport that morning it had yet to open.

Gosh...other times we have taken the late flight. It is a complete drag to be all day waiting for the night flight, but I seriously think you would be safer.

Just my opinion.

As a previous poster has noted, it is not only when you get off of the ship, it is also when the airport decides to begin checking passengers in. We did a segment of the RTW in April 2016 from Sydney to Papeete. Wanting to avoid a stressful situation with a morning flight, we took the only other real choice which was 11 PM on Air Tahiti Nui.

Disembarking the ship was uneventful, but we took the reasonably priced day package from Oceania which transported us to the Tahitian Pearl Hotel---a lovely place. Our checked luggage was taken to the airport by Oceania. At the hotel we were in a ballroom/banquet room with some soft drinks and water, but little else. No discernible AC in the room, no TV, etc. Some played cards, others read, and so on.

Another passenger and I decided to look around the hotel since it had some nice shopping and dining opportunities. One shop was also a booking center for day tours. We booked a five hour around-the-island tour for a mere $53 USD and were picked up at about 12:45 by an air-conditioned bus at the hotel. We had a guide and had a very nice tour completely around the island mapped out in a circle for us. Stops were made at the high interest attractions (not a lot of those) with ample restroom and snack opportunities. We got back to the hotel around 6 PM and were taken to the airport at 8 PM by Oceania provided transportation.

It goes downhill from here. The line at the airport was crazy long outside. We retrieved our checked luggage and got into line. The airport when we were there officially did not 'open' until a specified time since the front checkin desks were not staffed. Most flights were tmed for 10:30 to 11:55 PM departure. For almost two hours we were in line with no visible staff around. No special treatment of anyone and no priority---the captain of Insignia was in line well behind us. He was at the end of his contract and leaving the ship in Papeete.

We had paid Oceania to have a seamless transfer of our luggage from Papeete to LAX to Pittsburgh on American Airlines, but Air Tahiti Nui refused to honor that. We were told either pay an addl $50pp or they would only check our bags to LAX where we had to pick them up and check them again with American. Other passengers had other stories with luggage fees and supposed 'overages', some as high as $100/bag.

Once we got inside the building there was truly nowhere to sit and it was hot, hot, hot. Do a couple of searches on this board and everything that you read is true regarding that airport. We felt that, perhaps, some people were exaggerating, but believe it! Luckily at that point we were only 55 minutes from flight time.

We will not ever knowingly plan to fly into/out of Papeete simply because of that airport experience. We arrived in LAX safely and that is the only good thing I can say about flying out of PPT.

Getting off of the ship in a timely manner and getting to the airport seems to be the OP's concern. It is what happens when you get there that was horrible for us.

LOL, My story above is only one horror story about Tahiti. You have to really want to be in for it to do it again! We have done if four or five times and I am always amazed at how horrible it is!

Thank you for your experience. I checked into the air deviation and the flights O came back with are the ATN lax to PPT a few days prior to the cruise as requested. The return must be the 11:59 O charter as there is no scheduled flight at that time. I hoped to at least be on the scheduled ATN flight at 11:20. I would be stuck in the middle of the chaos that everyone agrees is a nightmare.

Several posters across the boards have had similar airport experiences for the evening flights on days that the ATN flight and the charter are going out at the same time. The morning flights don't seem as bad. AF comes in $600 cheaper pp than the O credit plus deviation fee, but I have to get to LAX which would cost appx $300 or I could use miles. Premium economy is not much more than the O fares. It is a big decision. I may go with AF at 8:25 and book a hotel as a back up. The airport opens at 6:00 and immigration opens at 7:00 so I should not have an issue if I disembark at 6:00. That gives the ship a full hour to clear.

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Thank you for your experience. I checked into the air deviation and the flights O came back with are the ATN lax to PPT a few days prior to the cruise as requested. The return must be the 11:59 O charter as there is no scheduled flight at that time. I hoped to at least be on the scheduled ATN flight at 11:20. I would be stuck in the middle of the chaos that everyone agrees is a nightmare.

 

Several posters across the boards have had similar airport experiences for the evening flights on days that the ATN flight and the charter are going out at the same time. The morning flights don't seem as bad. AF comes in $600 cheaper pp than the O credit plus deviation fee, but I have to get to LAX which would cost appx $300 or I could use miles. Premium economy is not much more than the O fares. It is a big decision. I may go with AF at 8:25 and book a hotel as a back up. The airport opens at 6:00 and immigration opens at 7:00 so I should not have an issue if I disembark at 6:00. That gives the ship a full hour to clear.

 

 

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FYI, once you pay the deviation fee you can deviate in either one of the directions or both directions. So if you deviate to go in early, you can also change the return date without another deviation charge and stay another day or two and get a scheduled flight rather than the O charter.

Just because the ship docks at 5:00 a.m. does not mean that you can disembark. We have been to Tahiti multiple times and IMO, the airport is one of the worst in the world. We would not, under any circumstances, book an outgoing flight for 8:00 a.m. We have stood in line to check in for over 2 hours (in the sun and the airport isn't air conditioned either).

Last year we finished our cruise in Papeete at that time and checked into a hotel, as we had missed a flight on our airline. As I remember we were off the boat by about 7.30. I think there was a slight delay docking. I would not risk it.

It was a fantastic cruise!!