rgastin

Having just been to Rangiroa and taking an excursion with Yannick, I can tell you who NOT to use.

This is the first time I've ever written a review of a place, so I hope this tells you how awful this experience was!

I had a written confirmation from Yannick with the day, time and price of the tour of the Aquarium. When we got there he was leaving without us, shouted to us that we needed to come back in two hours. I asked him if he needed to write our names down for the next tour and he said he would remember me. We were back early and found again that he didn't have us on the tour. When I showed him the email confirmation he shouted that "he didn't care what he had said, this is the price now! Ignore what I wrote!" He increased the price of the tour considerable, refused to take US dollars even though the quote was in US dollars, and refused to honor what he had quoted. He had to kick other people off the tour to accommodate us because he had indeed forgotten us again.

It takes 5 minutes to get to the aquarium. There are many boats going there constantly. Do not use Yannick. His boat has no ladder and is very difficult to get into. Once you need to get from the water into the boat he and another person yank you up by your arms into the boat. He didn't provide any kind of instruction (very strange for a dive shop owner), and when I was talking to another couple later they told me that he misidentified every single fish they saw. They have been traveling the world for 2 years and have the highest level of scuba diving licensing you can get. They know their stuff!

This was one of many things we witnessed that day at his shop. Every single person we saw was angry and had their own story. One couple said he took them way out to see some dolphins (they did not ask for this, they just wanted to snorkel in the aquarium) and they got terribly sea sick. On the ship a couple hours later they were still suffering. We did not see or talk to one person who was satisfied with their experience that day.

There are plenty of options at this island, chose wisely. Go to the dive shop next to Yannick, I heard very good things from people about that tour operator. Yannick is the worst kind of business owner you can encounter. He ruined our whole day for us.

Since I found out about this tour on these boards and I had questions before I went I want to give my input now that I've returned from Fakarava.

It's hard to find a tour operator on this island, but if you're lucky enough to stop here use Ato Lissant. We took his tour on April 9th, 2015.

You will meet on the dock and he will take you snorkeling 2 different places. You will stop on the way to the motu and stop on the way back (which we didn't get to do - will explain). The trip to the motu takes approximately 40 minutes. It was very smooth and easy. It is a partially covered boat so put sun screen on!! Yes, you will get burned in that time period.

The motu is incredible. I don't want to spoil it but I'll tell you a bit about. You anchor a bit of a walk away from it and walk through the water on white sand. It's shallow, no worries. You will have time to just enjoy the water and scenery before lunch. To say it is Paradise is an understatement. Our jaws dropped at the beauty of this place!!

Lunch is prepared for you and served on a table and chairs they bring with them. Fresh fish kebobs, rice, salad, coconut bread and much more, all beyond delicious. For a treat at the end they cut open coconuts and provide you with straws to drink the juice. Then they will fashion a "spoon" with their machete from the outside of the coconut so you can scoop out the soft flesh inside. A perfect ending to your lunch!!

We would normally then be taken to the prized North Pass to snorkel but as we were all getting back into the boats after lunch it was discovered one of the tourists was missing. Search parties were organized, and finally after a couple of hours searching the rest of us were packed back up and taken back to the ship to report this man missing. One of Ato's helpers stayed behind with the wife and friends, all the food was left along with drinks, bug spray, etc. Once dropping us off Ato took a boat load of friends and co-workers back to the island to continue searching.

Ato was very professional and solicitous during this whole fiasco. The man had "wandered" off after lunch, failing to even tell his wife that he left, into the jungle. We heard later that he had done something similar on an excursion a couple days before. The stupidity and thoughtlessness of this man was off the charts. Once he was located about 2 miles down the island and brought safely back to the ship he showed zero remorse for all he had put each one of us through; thinking he had had a heart attack or been hit and knocked unconscious by a falling coconut ... you name it, we thought of all the horrors of what could have happened. Say nothing of the hours we searched for him imagining the worst. He never once apologized to anyone, and was in fact very angry at everyone because we were upset by the experience. He caused us to miss the prime snorkeling spot and cut our tour short by 3 hours. None of that would have mattered if he had indeed been injured or ill. Much, much more could be said about this person and what happened during the following days, but he doesn't deserve that much space!

Even with all the unnecessary drama caused by an inconsiderate person, this was my favorite island and excursion! Take this if you get the chance. Ato did an awesome job and we had a fantastic time. Even though I wish we could have snorkeled at the North Pass it was still worth the shortened tour.

Do NOT wander into the jungle. It is a jungle! Stay on the beach like a sane person. There is no need to do anything more than luxuriate in the crystal clear water, blue skies and snorkel, eat, swim, and just enjoy Paradise.

We all paid Ato the full fee for the day even though the tour was cut short. It was not his fault a tourist did something incredibly stupid.

The tour was suppose to be from 8:30 - 4:00 pm. The cost was $105.00 or 9,000 xpf. You can reach Ato at fakaravaexplorer@hotmail.com or http://www.fakarav-divelodge.com

My wife and I returned last month from the French Polynesia cruise on Marina that ended (for us) in Lima. We participated in the artist loft classes. When we got on-board, one of our wanderings around the ship led us to the Artist Loft area. There were clipboards out on the table for folks to sign up for the classes. On this particular cruise, there were at least 8 separate classes, all doing the same art project.

We worked with glass plates and created an image on the back using paint and various drip and dab and other techniques. Part 2 was to apply a background color. For part 3, we applied a sealer.

It was fun but the classes were very large (all 8 sessions were full with at least 20+ people in each class) and I thought they were pretty short. But I enjoyed it and would love to do it again when we're next on this ship.

Ron

Has anyone recently taken a taxi from the Callao port in Lima directly to the airport?

If so, what was the cost and were you able to pay in US Dollars or use a credit card? If not, where did you get soles? I've read that there isn't an ATM at the pier.

Any help would be appreciated

If you pose this question on the Ports of Call ...South Pacific boards you will be able to get an accurate answer.

Happy Friday Cruise Critic community! :)

 

rgastin - we only show one guest's profile/Oceania Club number at a time. If you go to the Edit Profile page and change the name and date of birth to your husband, you will then see his information.

 

pb_lot - please send me an email with your IP address and we will investigate for you. I can be reached at mmoore@prestigecruiseholdings.com.

 

Hambagahle - glad we got your situation taken care of. I will certainly pass along your thanks to the team!

 

auntla - another user has reported an issue with that version of Safari as well, so we will attempt to resolve that. Happy that you found a way around it and that we're doing a better job than someone else. :)

Mike, many thanks for your quick reply!

Mike,

My account shows our upcoming cruise and both my husbands and my names, but it only lists me in the profile and my Oceania Club number. It doesn't allow me to update his profile or see it at all.

My favorite drink by the pool is a virgin Pina Colada..YUM!! (no charge)

Jancruz1

Oh, I never knew this! Exciting, virgin drinks all around Tahiti ...

Great review, I thought this was very balanced and fair!

Do you happen to remember how much the 7 bottles of wine package was? Was it a mix of different types of wines or could you chose which ones you wanted?

Wine is sold in Supermarkets in Tahiti so I would just ask your taxi driver to stop at the supermarket on the way from the airport to the ship. There is a supermarket on the way. I'm not sure what it's hours are but you can just stop by as its right on the main road.

 

You can definitely find cheap wine... I think I mentioned that I found a bottle of sparkling wine for about $8. Having said that, Princess wine prices are fairly reasonable, especially after you factor in the $15 corkage fee for consuming your own wine in the dining room. IMHO, It's generally only worth bringing cheap wine on to consume in your room, or something special (and thus likely expensive) to consume in the MDR. Otherwise, just buy on board.

Thanks!

I'm on Oceania and their wine prices are NOT reasonable and if you take a bottle to the table the corkage fee is $25.

Here's to hoping I get there before the supermarket closes.

OK, guess I need to buy fins! More luggage, yay! ha ha I do have the shoes already. I was really hoping the operators would have fins, too bad.

Thanks for all the tips on bug spray. I am going to take it very seriously, the news is not good on the epidemic.

Yes, I know a lot of cruises will take it away, but we're on Oceania and they allow people to bring it on board.

You mentioned that we needed to bring our own fins. Do they not provide them? I have all the rest of my snorkel gear but was not planning on bringing any fins, will this be a problem for independent tours?

We will be coming in April, can't wait!

We will be doing a FP cruise in April. I am wondering if anyone has purchased wine prior to getting on their ship. We will boarding in Papeete and will be visiting Moorea, Bora Bora, Rangiroa, Raitea, Fakarava and Easter Island.

We don't want to carry wine on the plane with us for weight reasons as well as space but would like to buy some on land if possible.

Does anyone have any experience doing this and if so, where? What price range would they be?

Thank you so much for such a great review!

We will be coming in April, our flight will get into Papette at 7:50 pm, so I'm guessing we won't get to the ship until almost 9 pm.

I am wondering if there are any stores on any of these islands that we could buy some good but inexpensive bottles of wine. I'm wondering if anything would still be open in Papette as the ship is leaving that evening. If not on Papette do you have any knowledge of any other stores on the other islands?

Do you happen to know if any wine would be cheaper than we can buy on the ship even?

In April just gone, I went on a Rannui snorkelling tour for the day and can thoroughly recommend it. It was exceptional and a real highlight of our cruise. It was $120 US for about 6 hours of snorkelling in 4 different sites: the coral garden, stingray area, shark area and deeper sea snorkelling. Plus we took a boat ride around the whole island and then finished with a barbeque lunch on their private idyllic island. It is a family owned business with only 20 on the boat. Fantastic!

I have emailed them twice and not heard back from them yet (2 plus weeks now), was that your experience? I'd love to use them but if I can't get in touch with them I can't.

The usual trip is about 1 hour. But Ato will sometimes stop on the way there for snorkelling in a coral garden. On the way back he can take you outside the atoll to see some pretty large fish. Even from my vantage point over the side of the boat they were impressive.

Of course on windy days with bad weather a small boat will take longer and you have to allot the time. I usually plan the return with at least 1 - 1.5 hours to spare just in case of this.

 

March April May can be windy months so hope you are not going in those months. Mind you there was a real hurricane one time we were in Bora Bora and all boats were asked to come into the lagoon for shelter. It was in July so anything can happen with nature.

Oops, we're going in April. Hopefully we'll be lucky and it won't be such a tough ride!

I have been to the Fakarava Blue Lagoon and it was AMAZING. Though, as a warning, the waves were quite high and it was a LONG and miserable ride back (almost 2 hours). We were all soaked, cold, and glad to get off the boat. So, just beware that you cannot control the weather! :) I would go back in a heartbeat though, even with the miserable ride.

Wow, it's even longer to the Fakarava one? Was that because of the weather do you think?

I was really hoping it was a much shorter trip there than the Rangiroa one which is an hour and a half each way.

Thanks Emdee. Yes, I am on the Oceania Marina and it was suggested I come on this forum to talk to you.

Glad to know if we pick the Fakarava one I won't be disappointed.

Many thanks

Hi Emdee,

Tiki suggested I ask you this question.

We will be on a cruise and will stop at both Rangiroa and Fakarava. We are interested in doing a Blue Lagoon tour but have read multiple posts that the boat ride from Rangiroa is 1 1/2 hrs long of very choppy waters that cause very sore butts for days afterwards.

My question is: is the one in Rangiroa so much better that it is worth going to that one over the Fakarava one?

How do they stack up against each other and if you could chose one which would you do? And is the one in Fakarava a shorter, easier ride?

Thanks in advance for your expertise!

Paul Gauguin cruise ship

Thanks!

Thanks everyone.

What is the PG forum?

Have you been to both of them? Are they pretty equal do you think?

This may be a stupid question, but are there more than one "Blue Lagoons" around Tahiti?

I have read that the excursion to the Blue Lagoon in Rangiroa is a really bumpy ride to get to it and people have sore butts for days afterwards. Also that it is 1 1/2 hrs each way to get there.

In my research I see that there is an excursion for the Blue Lagoon in Fakarava as well. Is this to a different place or is it the one that we would be going to from Rangiroa?

If it is the same place, would the trip from Fakarava to the Blue Lagoon be an easier trip and a shorter time to get there?

Thanks

Does anyone have a way to reach Paul Pownell on Easter Island? I've read really good reviews of his tour and would be interested in booking him.

I have only been able to find him through a lodge's website that offers tours. I am sure there has to be a way to book him directly.

Thank you in advance of any help.