tomden2us

My wife and I, plus 2 other couples rented a sailboat, captain, and cook a number of years ago during the first of November. We only encountered rough seas during the trip to Bora Bora. I would think that if we went on to the outer islands, we would have also had rough seas. November is the beginning of the rainy season. We are booked on the October 7 sailing because of this.

Been on the 11 day cruise also. Beach bbq on private motu is on the first day and perfectly scheduled. We did the snorkel with the sea rays the first morning after arrival in Bora Bora, had lunch, napped by the pool where we docked in the most scenic part of the lagoon, then later got ready for the bbq. I recall it being more close to 5 p.m. but I could be wrong. EXCELLENT food! The Tahitian band took a ride with us on the last tender and played the entire way back to the boat. Awesome sunset photos on the motu. Next day, just took a tour around Bora Bora with a stop at Bloody Marys. Bought t-shirts at Marys and handmade sarongs from one other stop. Enjoyed the natural beauty. We were shown the only public beach on the island and it looked o.k., nothing extraordinary. Looked for artwork after the tour but really didn't find anything. Not a whole lot to do on the island since the main town is kind of small. Most visitors fly in and are promptly whisked away from the airport to their respective over-water hotels to relax. We left promptly at 3 p.m. the second day. Spent just the right amount of time there. Windstar was the only way to visit to Bora Bora in my opinion. We saw SO much of the island on land and water. Enjoy!

Glad to hear that Bloody Mary's is still there. My wife and I were there a number of years ago, and really enjoyed it. We will be back on a WS sailing either Oct or Nov 2018.

I have booked both ways, but just recently found that if you go through a large reputable agency, you can get on-board credits, a bottle or two of wine, and one or more special dinings. The last cruise I booked was directly through the cruise line while on board another trip. I gave my current travel agent as my agent. When I found that the agent was giving me nothing in return, I cancel her and went back to a booking without an agent. The agent then started negotiating for me to keep her listed. That is when I found she was getting $1200 from the cruise line for my booking, when I had done all the work. I listed another agency which is giving me a total of $800 on-board credit for handling the booking. The price of the cruise did not change.

Your post is very interesting. I am planning a Tahiti trip aboard the Windstar Spirit during either Oct or Nov 2018. This will be my first with Windstar. In light of your post, would you recommend the Paul Gauguin instead? The price difference is not much. My wife and I have sailed the islands on a rented sailboat, but not on a cruise ship. I believe that the Gauguin caters to French/European clientele more that American, is this true of the Winstar?

Thanks to everyone. If I had read a little farther on the Princess site, I' d seen the part that says that all the excess luggage will be left at the hotel in Lima.

My wife and I will be taking a Princess cruise from Chile to LA during March 2018. We have the Machu Picchu Explorer pre-cruise package. With a lot of movement during this time, it appears that it will be very hard to take all of the luggage needed for a long cruise with us on the pre-cruise portion. Does anyone know how we should pack, and what to do with the extra luggage not needed for the pre-cruise?

I usually do my own booking, but for the last 3 cruises I've used a TA. These cruises aren't short ones, either 15 to 19 days so far, with another booked for Mar 18 for 22 days. On the lst of the 3 cruises, we received a speciality dining from the TA, the 2d a bowl of fruit, and on the last a give away bottle of wine. The TA is telling me that on my next one, which is a cruise/tour, there are no incentives. But if I dropped the tour part, there would be free gratuities plus help with air if EZ air is used. I was contacted by another TA whom I've not dealt with before, telling me that he can get an additional $800 in OBC. Just wish I could fine someone who has worked with the new TA for a reference.

Same for us. We get no actual perks of any kind but our TA saved our butts big time on our last cruise. She moved heaven and earth to make something specific happen for us and it was awesome.

 

OP, just so you know we are not permitted to mention or direct each other to specific travel agencies/agents. You can certainly shop around in your home town or online for one who meets your needs. :)

I was just about to submit a question concerning the reliability of a certain travel agency/agent. According to your post this is not allowed. Do you have any idea how to check with other cruisers to find this information?