skitrips

Sorry. I did not mean to open up a discussion on the merits/lack thereof re WS Tahiti cruises. And yes there are additional taxes on all advertised WS Tahiti pricing. And yes there are additional gratuities on all WS Tahiti cruises. And yes there aren't OTW bungalow cabins on the Wind Spirit. And yes at this price air fare from LAX is not included.

But on the other hand, the price is not WS' advertised $3,999-$4,999/pp (plus all the add ons) either!

So I went back to the WS web site to do a bit more research. And I found the 3/8/2017 cruise being advertised for $2,499/pp. But unlike the $1,899/pp price I wrote of, the $2,499/pp price INCLUDES air fare from LAX (an approximate $1,500/pp value), airport transfers (at least a $30/pp value), a first night's hotel room in PPT and a last night's "day" room in PPT (at least a $250/pp value). IMO this is an incredible price even if the cruise "it isn't what it used to be." Or "it's the rainy season in the South Pacific." Or whatever other "clarification" one wants to offer.

In fact it's such an incredible value I believe it to be a mistake! So before someone wakes up and understands what is really being advertised on the WS web site, I would be keeping my mouth shut and making a confirmed reservation if I hadn't already gone on this cruise.

But I guess that's me. If it ends up being you, please post in the future that you were able to take advantage of this incredible price.

Hello All -

Received an e-mail announcing one of those Windstar 7 on 7 sales in Tahiti for those that may be interested. March 15 departure. Must be booked by January 17.

I think this is the lowest price I've seen advertised for this cruise in the last six or more months.

So to those who may be interested, good luck. :)

To those who think there never are usable air fare sales to/from Tahiti, listen up. One of those "special" sales has just been announced!

1. LAX/PPT - $898/pp for a stay of up to 10 days/9 nights on Air Tahiti Nui. Travel 12/3-17/2017, and 12/28/2017-2/8/2018. Must be ticketed by 11/12/2017.

The regular fare is about $1,500, and this is the fare pre-loaded into a Windstar all inclusive package. So IMO this is a pretty good fare. And this gives you enough time to book an extended stay (beyond the 7 nights which are part of the Windstar all inclusive price) in Tahiti.

Just for giggles I went to the Windstar web site to see if there are any discounted Tahiti cruises being offered. Low and behold I found January 11, 2018 at $1,999/pp instead of $2,499/pp or $2,699/pp for other cruise only/"sale" dates.

2. But even better, Air Tahiti Nui is offering LAX/AKL flights with a free stopover in PPT - $998/pp for a stay of up to 30 days on Air Tahiti Nui. Travel 12/31/2017-4/29/2018. Must be ticketed by 11/12/2017. Now you can book a stay in PPT of greater than 10 days which gives you the flexibility to do a longer 10 or 11 day Windstar Tahiti cruise, or a 7 day cruise with enough time for you to incorporate an extended stay on Moorea or Bora Bora, or a Paul Gauguin cruise. A lot of flexibility and you're going to love New Zealand!

Now according to the fine print, this fare to AKL is permitted on code share flights operated by Air Tahiti Nui. And what does that mean? You may be able to incorporate the fare into travel from a more distant location to/from LAX aboard American, Qantas, Air New Zealand, Air France, etc., use frequent flyer miles and have your baggage checked through all the way to AKL or PPT. No guarantees, but I would certainly inquire of those carriers if I were going to book this travel.

And again, if you plan your free stopover around Windstar's January 11, 2018 cruise, voila!

In my experience, these fares typically only surface one or twice a year. You might see them again in the relatively near term future (next January?) but they likely will have a plethora of conditions (like a maximum of 5 days in PPT, or an additional fee for a PPT stopover) which will make the flight onerous. And FWIW, these fares are about $100/pp more than they were a year ago so there is a chance they could be lower in another month or two. But I doubt it and if you sit around waiting for the fare to drop another $100, you will likely miss out and you will definitely miss out on a discounted Windstar cruise.

To those out there who are interested, my recommendation is you book the 4 P.M. (rather than 11 P.M. or midnight) flight from LAX/PPT. This way you arrive in PPT at a more civilized 9:30 P.M. rather than 5:30 A.M. with a 2 P.M. hotel check in. I think this flight is only offered 3 days a week so do your homework.

And for those of you really interested, Air New Zealand offers a code share flight with Air Tahiti Nui once a week from AKL/PPT that gets you into PPT in a very civilized mid-afternoon (I think). I would definitely reach out to Air New Zealand to see if they will match the fare and allow you to fly back from AKL on Air New Zealand. Also, you might be able to earn partner frequent flyer mileage (something you won't on Air Tahiti Nui proper).

So there you go. The 7 day Windstar Tahiti cruise including air fare aboard the same carrier Windstar uses for $2,800/pp. And this way you can tailor an extended stay for no additional charge; something Windstar won't let you do!

And if you want a relatively cheap first night's hotel (***) stay in the heart of PPT, within short walkinig distance of the pier where you will board your Windstar cruise (meaning you won't have to pay for a second set of transfers), with free airport transfers upon your arrival (a $30 or greater value), let me know.

Hope this helps one or more of you!

Hello All,

 

I have cruised on the major lines before (RCI,Carnival,Disney) and my fiance and I are considering a Windstar for our honeymoon but I am a little hesitant due to the great itineraries and what seems like a great romantic option. I am just not sure what there is to do on the ship. What is the pool like? Are there planned activities? Etc. I see a lot of posts about food but I am curious about what activities there are on-board.

 

Thanks, Sam

First of all, congrats to you and your bride. You didn't share your age(s). Generally, I think you will find an older crowd on this cruise. But we will be as young at heart as you and your bride! Regardless, I cannot imagine you are considering a honeymoon cruise for its on ship activities. Or hanging out at the pool with a bunch of singles. Or pre-planned group activities. If I am incorrect, just stop reading now.

But if I am correct, this will be a perfect, once in a lifetime excursion for you and your bride to experience. The cruise will be like nothing you have ever experienced before with your traditional larger cruise lines. And isn't this exactly what you're looking for?

First of all, it's Tahiti. Who hasn't dreamed of a trip of a lifetime to Tahiti? And if that includes you and your bride to be, you then have only two cruise options; Windstar or Paul Gaugin (Paul Gaugin will have twice the number of passengers, on a larger ship, and I think the price will be higher than on Windstar). With Windstar, you're going to have all the privacy you will crave for. Only 142 guests, maximum. And roughly 100 staff whose purpose for being is to cater to your every need. Room service every day or night? Just ask, and for no charge. An intimate outdoor "Candles" dinner one night on the ship's deck with no more than 20+ other guests? No charge. A day on a private, remote motu (island) with no more than 140 other guests. Check (if you cannot find somewhere on an island to be alone with your bride, there's something very wrong)! Another day on another private motu in Bora Bora with a private Tahitian dancing troup performing just for you. Check again! Free use of snorkel equipment, paddle boards, kayaks, wave boards or just laying on floating pads on the surface of a lagoon behind the ship. Check again! No reservations required for breakfast or dinner, and no waiting for a table - even for just two if that be your choice. No reservations to take a tender into port on your time. It's all about you.

There's really nothing else like it and I suspect that once you and your wife complete the cruise, you will never, never go back to a cruise on one of the major lines (RCI, Carnival, Disney).

My recommendation is that rather than taking an all inclusive package (air, hotel, transfers, the cruise) through Windstar, only book the cruise. Purchase the air separately (after all, Windstar has priced $1,500/person just for the air portion into their all inclusive price and you should be able to find air transportation on your own for less). And then incorporate an extension (or pre-cruise excursion) in Moorea and/or Bora Bora. Since you will have already paid for air transportation to Tahiti, why not take advantage of these two wonderful islands which are just waiting for you? Especially since it will be your honeymoon, my recommendation is that you stay at the Sofitel on Moorea, and either (depending upon how much more you want to spend) the Intercontinental Thalasso, St. Regis or Four Seasons on Bora Bora. Each is a very, very intimate resort with its own beautiful, private beaches. Even though these are all pricey options, most of these hotels offer a buy three nights and get the fourth night free option. And if you can afford one of those picture post card over the water ("OTW") bungalows at one or more of these hotels, it just doesn't get any more romantic...ANYWHERE, ANYTIME. Make sure you get a travel agent who has been to Tahiti several times and can recommend all the ins and outs on the road to paradise.

So in conclusion, I really don't understand your hesitancy. This will be your trip of a lifetime to your destination of a lifetime with hopefully your partner of a lifetime. Now how can you put a price on this? Good luck, and please let us know what you decide.

Like most of you, we were concerned with internet access for our September 14, 2017 "Dreams of Tahiti" cruise. Because of past warnings, we did not sign up for internet access through W/S. And I am glad we didn't.

We spoke to several passengers who did and they were uniform in their criticism. After two days of frustration, one couple we spoke to actually asked for and received a full refund.

With that said, where and how does one get internet access? And for free? Here I will share our real world experience.

Papeete: Very little problem here. Most restaurants/hotels offer free wi-fi access (look for the signs). Not as quick and reliable as home, but it is acceptable. And it's free (or free with a drink, meal or hotel stay).

Moorea: Our tender dropped us off at Cook's Bay. From there the "village" of Maharepa is about a 10 minute walk to the left of your drop off. There you will find a couple of cafes that offer free wi-fi access; Mo's and Carmalina's. On the way to Maharepa you will pass by the Moorea Beach Cafe aka MBC. They too offer free wi-fi (but it's a pricey little spot).

Raiatea: Here our ship actually docked on shore. And immediately across from us was the Cubana Cafe. Again, free wi-fi access.

Motu Mahaea: Forget about it. It's a motu!

Bora Bora: The ship's tender drops you off next to the Visitors Information Center. Walk inside and get 30 minutes (but who's counting?) of free wi-fi access. Like most tourists we visited Bloody Mary's (in retrospect a waste). Although they offer free wi-fi access, it is very, very poor quality. Almost not worth the effort nor the $10/person round trip taxi ride.

Huahine: The ship's tender drops you off across from an internet cafe. Although this cafe charges for internet access, you're going to discover that the Yacht Club restaurant a bit down the road on the way to the public beach charges $5 per hour even if you purchase a meal! Moreover, the Yacht Club's wi-fi access is pretty crappy. So I'd choose the internet cafe instead.

We took the Aremeti Ferry after our cruise to Moorea (the ferry building is one birth over from the W/S), and on our 45 minute excursion to/from Moorea, free wi-fi access was offered.

So now you have your week long primer of where and when to plan your almost free internet access. Hope this helps!

Vlaurend is correct. The Wind Spirit docks at just 2 of the 6 ports on the Dreams of Tahiti cruise: Papeete and Raiatea. It drops anchor in the lagoons at the other 4 islands. But a word of caution. On our September 14, 2017 cruise our ship did not tender to Taha'a. Rather, we were tendered to an equidistant motu (Mahaea) opposite to Taha'a. Youcannot get over to Taha'a via the ship's assistance unless you're pushy and askto hitch a ride (on a space available basis) on one of their island excursions.If you're successful, you will have to both leave/return on the excursions'time table, and you will be left on your own for the 3-1/2 hours or so in between.

Dandee2 is also correct. In Moorea the Wind Spirit can use either Cook's Bay or Oponuhu Bay (they're adjacent to one another). On our cruise we tendered from Cook's Bay.

Megastacey's concerns about booking an excursion in Bora Bora with a 9 A.M. pick-up are really of no concern. On our cruisethe tenders to Viatape began at 8 A.M. and because of the short distance involved,cycled every 10 minutes or so.

Vlaurend's comment that the Paul Gauguin would be in Moorea at the same time as the Wind Spirit was not the case on our cruise. Rather, the PG was generally a day behind us. So we actually never saw the PG until our second day on Bora Bora.

Let me offer another tip. It can rain during your cruise. This happened on our excursion to motu Mahaea as well as the evening of our on deck BBQ. We were told that on the cruise two weeks before ours it rained during the ENTIRE cruise. Perhaps this was when Imonaboat123 went on his/her cruise (because we did not experience "rocky" tender rides)? So I recommend bringing a light weight wind breaker with a hood. It doesn't weigh anything, essentially takes up no extra packing space, and will be a life saver in the rain. When we adorned our wind breakers during our motu picnic "storm," a fellow passenger (jokingly) offered my wife $500 for her wind breaker.

Hope these observations help.

Hello all -

Just finished our 7 day Wind Surf cruise and are now in Moorea on our own for three nights.

Several past threads have asked questions about car rentals, their relatively high cost, bringing a Papeete rental car on the ferry to Moorea, etc. So I thought I would share our real world experience hoping it helps one or more of you.

Since we extended our stay in Tahiti we needed ground transportation in Papeete, Moorea and back to the airport. Thought the pricing was prohibitive in Moorea so we did a car rental in Papeete and took the car on the Aremeti 2 ferry to Moorea (and back).

First the price [with Hertz (you cannot book this with any other carrier)]. 9,204 FCPs without collision damage waiver (we used our enhanced credit card) and no mileage allotment for a four day rental. Mileage is an additional .45 FCPs/km. But Moorea isn't large so the mileage surcharge won't be outrageous (I hope). That's under $22 U.S./day compared to the competition at $85-$90 U.S./day.

Next is the ferry cost for both you and the vehicle to/from Moorea. 8,660 FCPs for the vehicle (if you have a small vehicle under 3.65m), round trip. The fare/person (Armeti 2) is an additional 3,000 FCP round trip. However if you purchase a Passport Gourmande card [from Avis (at 11,100 FCP)], the cost of the vehicle transport drops to 7,970 FCPs, and the cost of the per person transport drops to 1,900 FCPs. And you get various discounts with the card at restaurants/activities/hotels too boot!

Next is the location of the ferry. It is the next birth over from where your Windstar cruise departs/returns. Very, very close walking distance.

Next is the timing. You need to be OFF the ship no later than 8:45 A.M. on your return to Papeete. Hertz will pick you up at the pier and transport you to their city office (don't make a booking out of the airport since you're paying extra for mileage). The distance of the city office is about 1km from the ferry. There is an 11:00 A.M. departure to Moorea so if you get your car rental at anytime up until about 10:00 A.M., you will have more than sufficient time to drive the 1km to the ferry building (Armeti wants you there with your vehicle by 10:30 A.M.) to catch the 11:00 A.M. ferry.

If you're doing your trip to Moorea before your Windstar Cruise, although the cruise leaves at 6:00 P.M., you can begin boarding as early as 1:00 P.M. (and not the 12 noon we thought beforehand). Most people had boarded our cruise by 3:00 P.M.

Depending upon your return to Tahiti, there are several return ferry crossings from Moorea. So if you return from Moorea on the 1:45 P.M. ferry, you'll have plenty of time to drop off the vehicle and get a shuttle back to the port.

The Ferry - very modern, a very smooth ride, and a 45 minute "cruise" in each direction. And there's free internet on the ferry to boot (cafeteria style food as well if you're interested)!

Purchasing your Armeti ferry tickets. You can do this ahead of your cruise with Windstar. We did ours the morning of our departure so no pressure on your precise date of your ferry to Moorea.

Conclusion - very doable and compared to multiple conventional rentals at $90 U.S./day, quite a bit less. And when you return to the airport to catch your flight home, simply drop the car off at the airport so you don't have to pay pricey transfers.

So that's it. Like I said, I hope this info helps. Will post some more info about our cruise that may answer some of your other questions as time permits. Best to all.

As a matter of curiosity through an online travel agent that is quite large I searched all of the Windstar Tahiti 7 day cruises from next week thru the end of the year. The August and Sept 7 ones are sold out and all others for just the cruise were nowhere near 1799 but around $2500 and up with only the Dec14 one being $2000. Nothing beyond January was discounted also. Interesting.

 

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You need to be patient Dwight1. You're talking about a cruise which takes place a year from now. What you've booked is 100% refundable for up to six months from now! So you're holding all the cards. If what I suggest doesn't materialize, then you pay full retail and get to go when you want to go. But what you see today in pricing is absolutely meaningless because so much is going to change between now and a year from now. We can't even imagine the kinds of things which may change because world events can have an impact we cannot predict. Rest assured, I didn't simply pull my $2,799/pp targeted all inclusive price "out of my hat."

You will essentially NEVER see a fare war to Tahiti because essentially no one services that routing from the mainland U.S. except Air Tahiti Nui ("AT"), and they're not going to negotiate with themselves. So if you're looking for a lower air fare, you need to get creative or wait for AT to offer its version of a "sale" which typically has so many restrictions (like a maximum 5 night stay) that it's worthless.

So what is "creative" air? In my mind it's Los Angeles ("LAX")/Auckland, New Zealand ("AKL") with a free stopover in Tahiti ("PPT") [it could be similar travel to Fiji or China or Australia or wherever, as long as it includes the free stopover in PPT]. It's the old "hidden city" technique. You don't really want to go to AKL or Fiji or China or wherever. But the price for air to AKL or Fiji or China is lower than the price for air to PPT notwithstanding you deplane in PPT on your way. The problem is that if you never continue onto AKL or Fiji or China or wherever, your return reservation will be cancelled by the airlines. So you actually need to continue onto wherever which as I have attempted to explain, is not such a bad thing.

Unlike PPT, the routing from the U.S. mainland/AKL is serviced by UAL, ANZ, Qantas, UAL and probably a half a dozen or more other carriers. In other words, there's "competition." And where there's competition there will be air fare sales. And where there are fare sales, the competition (in this case AT) will typically match the fare because they don't want to lose market share.

This is why AT offers competitive LAX/AKL fares with free or low cost stopovers in PPT. However, the problem has been that traditionally AT places what I label "artificial" limitations on your stopover in PPT. So you need to wait for the "correct" type of sale. A sale which may never come.

My wife and I waited for over a year for one of these "correct" sales. And when it materialized last January, we reacted. The price was under $900/person, permitted travel for up to three months, and allowed for a virtually unlimited stopover in PPT. Plenty of time for a cruise, excursion to Bora Bora, or whatever.

And now there is a similar sale in effect. The price is a bit higher ($1,048/pp), and permitted travel is for up to "only" 45 days. But you can get three nights worth free lodging in PPT which is worth something.

So please don't tell me my targeted $1,000/pp air fare is unreasonable just because you don't see it today on Kayak, Orbitz or wherever.

Let's talk about Windstar pricing. If you study that pricing over a long period of time, you will see that the "regular" price for the 7 day cruise, without all the add ons (including air), starts at $2,999/pp (double occupancy) for the lowest price "B" category cabin. As the cruise date gets closer to departure, Windstar must "release" unsold air space on AT. That's when you start seeing "cruise only" pricing which is what you now see for August-September, 2017 departures.

But if you're flexible, you likely can find "cruise only" pricing well in advance of departure. You see this because Windstar wants to offer something akin to a "loss leader." An advertised price that's so low, we unsuspecting members of the public will "act" emotionally and purchase. So Windstar discounts the price of its cruise only, throws away all the "add ons" (like air), and offers a low "teaser" price. And the price turns out to be $1,799/pp (or in a perfect storm, I have seen it as low as $1,599/pp). This happened several months ago. A "flash sale" was announced that I know some on this board were actually able to book (including us). For us it ended up costing $1,999/pp because none of the category "B" cabins were available (we had to "upgrade" to category "BX").

So please don't tell me my targeted $1,799/pp cruise only price is unattainable.

Now maybe your travel times aren't that flexible so you can sit back and conform to the sale dates the airlines and Windstar elect to offer. Or maybe you cannot devote a couple of additional days of travel to continue onto to AKL. Or maybe you absolutely don't want to go to AKL. Or maybe you don't want the stress (or excitement) of playing AT's/Windstar's pricing "games."

But if you're looking for a good price and have the flexibility I suggest, I guarantee you that sometime within the next year you will be able to do what I suggest. In fact, you can do it right now if you're willing to travel between November of this year and May of next (with some black out dates in between). And if not, don't worry. Come next December or Jannuary, you will see a very similar offering for travel next August-September.

Just like KathiB "worked" the frequent flyer allotment game with American Airlines so she could secure the frequent flyer seats she/her husband coveted, you can do the same with AT and Windstar. You just need to be diligent, flexible and ready to pounce on an opportunity whenever it surfaces. And to help you, I suggest you sign up for e-mail alerts from both AT and Windstar.

Hope these thoughts were helpful and some on this board are able to take advantage of the strategies I suggest.

Thanks for the info. I have a reservation for the 8/2/18 cruise and paid only deposit which I can cancel. I have emailed Windstar about the high hotel costs. I may change and book myself separately if I see the airfare come down in a month or two and the explanation for the hotel charges are not good or changed.

 

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Glad to hear your price with Windstar is NOT "locked in."

IMO, there's no need to stay at a fancy hotel the night of your arrival. You will be recovering from a long trip and just need a clean place to spend the night. And because of the very, very high costs in PPT, you want to eliminate add on transfers and breakfasts if you can avoid them. You might want to consider the Tahiti Airport Hotel. You can walk there (uphill) from PPT, and the price ($90+/night) includes continental breakfasts for two. Or consider the B&B suggested by KathiB. Or try the Sarah Nui Hotel which is located within short walking distance of the pier where your Windstar cruise will depart. About $100/night, and they will pick you up at the airport on your arrival so free transfers. Then the next morning you will be able to walk to the business district, do some shopping, and find breakfast at something less than high hotel prices. You can keep your luggage at the hotel and later in the afternoon, take your short walk to the pier. Don't have a suggestion for a "day room" on your return, but maybe you can work something out with the Sarah Nui given their clienteles will not be arriving until the 9:20 P.M. Air Tahiti Nui flight?

Just checked the flights on Kayak for my July/August dates for Windstar for the flights thru provide/ the 4:25pm to Tahiti and 11:30pm back to LA and price is now $2153 vs package price $1550. Some difference.

 

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IMO you're going about it backwards Dwight1. The most critical portion of the package, at least price wise, is the cost of air. You can always book the cruise only portion later on and by and large, but for flash sales, the price really doesn't appreciably change until the cruise gets close to being sold out. It's too early for you to be purchasing air transportation for travel a year from now if you expect to purchase it as a result of a "sale." Now if you were traveling prior to May 31, 2018, given the sale fare to/from AKL with a free stopover in PPT I wrote about yesterday, I would say purchase your air transportation. If you lock yourself into an overpriced cruise this far in advance, you will limit your ability to take advantage of a future air fare sale because then your dates of travel will be cast in concrete and you will lose your flexibility. So looking at what the cost of air is today, locked into those dates of travel, IMO is pretty much meaningless.

If you have the flexibility, change your travel dates to conform to the cost of air. For instance, if you can travel mid May instead of August, grab seats at the current sales fare. If you can't travel in May, can you travel in Sep. of next year instead of Aug? Or October? If so, wait for another air fare sale (there will be several), grab the lowest priced seats which which allow you to take advantage of a Windstar cruise, then wait for a Windstar flash sale where the price of the cruise is reduced (you can sign up with Windstar for e-mail alerts, and you can monitor pricing by checking *************.com).

Your targeted price for the cost of air, again IMO, should be $1,000/person or less. Your targeted price for the cost of the cruise alone (assuming 7 nights), again IMO, should be $1,799/person (this is for a base price, category B cabin). Add the two numbers together and you're looking at a $2,799/person cost for air transportation plus the cruise. You can worry about first/last night's ground accommodations/transfers later (there will be plenty of time). And given you DON'T want to be arriving in PPT at midnight, try booking the 4:00 P.M.+/- flight from LAX that arrives in PPT at 9:20 P.M. or so.

Or if you don't want the stress, pay the $4,299-$4,599/pp all inclusive price Windstar is currently offering and don't concern yourself with pricing. And good luck.

I'm with you Dwight1. Leaving tomorrow (8/22) for Los Angeles and boarding Windstar Spirit on 8/24 for 7 day cruise. We took the air/hotel package because: A. don't have all the air miles, free hotel points that many have achieved. I spent my whole career in scrubs in an emergency room and not traveling all over on business. B. I did spend a lot of time on scheduling private excursions but let my TA set up the cruise and just took some OBC and everything was handled for me because even in retirement, I am still very busy doing hospice client care.

Will you please share your "private excursions" and how they worked out? We're booked on your cruise in bit less than a month and have booked no excursions. Thanks in advance.

That is a great price. I am happy to report that yesterday we were lucky to get our 2 seats with miles on the return flight from Papeete to LAX. So now we have confirmed bookings of 2 round trip economy (ah well) flights to and from Tahiti for our Windstar cruise next July. Total cost for 2 tickets about $120. I have already made hotel reservations in Papeete for 2 days when we first arrive, then 3 nights on Moorea. Then we have our 11 day cruise followed by 3 nights on Bora Bora and 2 final nights in Papeete. So excited for this trip to Paradise! Thank you all for the various tips I have picked up already.

Good job KathiB! You were very fortunate to secure frequent flyer seats, especially for the dates you were looking for!

Update -

Received an e-mail today from Air Tahiti Nui re: a new air sale. And this one IS worthy of consideration by all because according to the fine print, there is no artificial time limitation imposed on your stay in Tahiti. So here are the particulars:

LAX/AKL - $1,048/pp. Up to TWO free stopovers in PPT (conceivably one in each direction to/from AKL). Dates of travel - November 18, 2017 - May 31, 2018 (still not good enough for KathiB, but we're getting closer). Three nights of free accommodations in PPT (this is a good deal). First morning free breakfast in PPT (this is a good deal). Length of stay - minimum 7 days, maximum 45 days. Maximum stay in PPT - conceivably, 40+/- days (this is a good deal).

This is the fare my wife and I booked nearly nine months ago with the exception we didn't get three nights of free accommodations in PPT thrown in for free [but we didn't pay $1,048/pp either (our fare was less)].

I definitely like the free stopover in PPT (actually, conceivably two of them). I like the three free nights of accommodations in PPT (you definitely need at least one, and could do two nights in one direction, and a one in reverse - or vice versa). This makes up somewhat for the generally crappy arrival/departure times to/from PPT. I like the virtually unlimited stopover time in Tahiti. This gives you plenty of time for a 10-21 day Tahiti cruise, or an extended excursion to BOB. I like the continuation travel to AKL. If you haven't been to New Zealand, you really should. AKL is a wonderful city and from there it's easy to travel to New Zealand's South Island where you can visit Christchurch, Queenstown and world renowned wine country - Marlborough. There's just so much to see and do, the Kiwis speak English, they're refined and the currency exchange rate still favors the U.S. And at this price (I also like the price) you're basically getting a decent round trip fare to AKL with Tahiti thrown in for free! The only negative, and I really don't consider it much of a negative, is that you don't accrue frequent flyer mileage credit by taking advantage of this promotional fare.

If we weren't already traveling to Tahiti next month, I would definitely be taking advantage of this fare because IMO it really doesn't get much better! So for all of you out there on the fence, it's time to get off!

Thank you Dandee. I agree with you that sometimes it's better to pay for air transportation, rather than to use frequent flyer miles. Depending upon what it cost KathiB and her husband in AAdvantage miles, I cannot form an opinion insofar as her situation is concerned. And besides, she and her husband are not traveling until a year from now so this fare does her no good. But it is emblematic of the fact there WILL be future air fare sales.

Just in case anyone else is reading, after I made my post I read the "fine print." Maximum stay is 10 days, 9 nights. Although that may be just right for a week long Windstar cruise, it's NOT long enough for a 10 day cruise. And it may not be long enough if you want to spend more than 9 nights in Tahiti. And it may not be long enough if you can't get the days of travel you require to in order to take advantage of a Tahiti cruise.

What I am getting at is that most of the Air Tahiti Nui sales I have seen in the last four years are intentionally structured to limit your flexibility. That means booking some ground package with them or their travel partners. Kind of like the free stopover in PPT for up to a maximum of 5 days so you can't go to Bora Bora. Or the quick getaway that includes 3 nights in PPT where Air Tahiti allegedly "throws in for free."

Very, very rarely are you offered the option to stay or stopover in PPT for any extended length of time so you can actually do what you want to do. That is unless you pay full fare. Very calculated.

Notwithstanding, hopefully others on this Board will be able to take advantage of the sale fare and slip in a Windstar cruise.

To those of you traveling/thinking of traveling to Tahiti to take a Windstar Tahiti cruise,

who don't think Air Tahiti Nui fares ever go on sale,

think again.

I just received notice Air Tahiti Nui has dropped its round trip fares from/to LAX/PPT to $998 for travel from October 4, 2017 to January 31, 2018. I understand this doesn't help KathiB, however, maybe it will help someone else?

So when you purchase an all inclusive cruise package from Windstar and you're trying to determine the fair value of the air fare component which is included, now you know what number to plug in; $1,000.

Hope this helps someone(s) out there!

Albert Rental Car on MOZ (https://www.albert-transport.net/location_vehicule_moorea_us.php) for three days = 24K XPF ($240). Cannot tell from the web site if this price includes taxes/other fees or any mileage allotment. Maybe Dandee can tell us? Anyway, for comparison sake, Avis is $255 before discounts (but with unlimited kms) if you sign up for e-mail communications. So Albert does not appear to be some big deal. 1 day PPT rental w/Hertz = 9K XPF ($90) [because I am going to make a comparison, I am only figuring a one day versus 2 day rental in PPT].

4 day PPT rental (can't tell you the rate for 5 days because we've only actually booked 4) w/Hertz (there's an office in the business district so you can pick up there and drop off at the airport) = 104K XPF ($104) with no mileage allotment. Add'l kms = $0.49/km. Round trip cost of ferry (http://www.aremiti.net/fare) from/to PPT/MOZ = 8.66K XPF ($86) if 4.65M< (don't know how this translates in the real world). This gives you/we use of a vehicle on both islands and for an add'l day (versus a MOZ only rental) at about $190 plus mileage. Can't tell you about Tahiti, but as long as you don't circle MOZ (half the island is desolate), your mileage use should be relatively minimal.

And I think you may be able to get a bit lower price booking on Priceline (check it out).

When we booked the basic cost of the car rental was $94 because the exchange rate was 1K XPF = $0.91. Now apparently the rate has risen to 1K XPF = $0.987. Who knows what it will be in a year but I don't think you can lock in the rate now in dollars (but I could be wrong).

Don't know if any of this helps but it should give you something to work off of.

And maybe Dandee can share his/her MOZ rental rate and how he/she did the booking?

Thanks KathiB -

The reason I asked where you are flying from is because with most frequent flyer seats, air transportation from/to your airport of departure IS included in the mileage redemption amount. By booking with Air Tahiti Nui it isn't (you must travel from/to LAX). So here's a recommendation. American Airlines (AA) offers a code share flight with Air Tahiti Nui whereas the flight is operated by Air Tahiti Nui. Although I can't see flights for next July, I can for next June. And it turns out Air Tahiti Nui's flight #7 which leaves LAX at 4:25 P.M. is the same flight as AA's #7173. Instead of booking frequent flyer seats on AA's "partner" airline (Air Tahiti Nui), have you investigated whether you can book them on one of AA's code share flight? If you can, you might be able to get the flights from/to the Bay Area/LAX thrown in for free. It's worth a try and it can save you at least a couple of hundred dollars and probably more.

My wife/I are flying on Air Tahiti Nui to PPT in mid-September. We originate from RNO. Thus like you we had to purchase flights from/to RNO/LAX. We started watching AA's web site for frequent flyer seats and were able to pick up a couple at only 7,500 AAdvantage miles/seat. I would imagine the same "reduced" mileage redemption amount is available from/to the Bay Area if you cannot book with AA direct for its flight #7173. So if I were you, I would be booking seats with AAdvantage miles right now from/to the Bay Area/LAX if you can't book AA #7173, and you can get them at 7,500 AAdvantage miles/seat.

Here's another alternative. The flights to/from LAX are very cheap right now. Although it's too early for you to purchase a seat, as you get closer to departure, I suspect the pricing is going to be similar to what it is right now. How cheap? How about less than $54/person one way? This is what we have booked (on SWA) for our return flight from/to LAX/RNO.

Here's another recommendation. I don't know if you've actually booked your PPT accommodations yet, but we're staying at the Hotel Sarah Nui. Why? First of all, it is within short walking distance to the pier from where the Wind Star as well as the ferry to/from MOZ/PPT departs. Thus no expensive transfers. Second, the cost is a little over $100/night which is cheap by PPT standards. Third, the hotel INCLUDES free transfers from PPT (but not the other way around). You are going to discover prices are very expensive in Tahiti and I suspect a cab ride from the airport to your hotel (as well as from your hotel to the pier) is going to cost you over $30/each! Finally, the hotel is located very close to the business center. This means you can easily walk to food, shopping and public transportation, whatever all of that translates to, before/after your cruise.

Good luck, and let us know how things work out with American.

Just got off the phone with American Airlines. We were able to get 2 seats from Los Angeles to Papeete on Air Tahiti Nui with our miles! So we have our flights to Tahiti and on Aug. 20 I will start calling for our return flights. I feel very relieved!

Congrats! Did you get economy or business class? Did you get the 4:00 P.M. flight? If not you're going to arrive in PPT very late at night and if you don't have hotel transfers confirmed, it's going to be pretty pricey and you will arrive exhausted.

BTW, where are you originating your travel from (it's not LAX is it?). Are you looking for frequent flyer seats from/to that originating point/LAX? And if so were you able to grap seats to LAX to connect to your Air Tahiti Nui flight?

So I have a question for you. What happens if you cannot find frequent flyer seats for your return flight to LAX? My experience is that the one way fares to/from PPT are not half the round trip fares (they're more). And since you're sitting on one way seats that aren't refundable without paying a fee, you may not have that many options.

With that said, if you're very flexible, you'll probably be successful in finding frequent flyer seats for the return. But let me give you some suggestions if you run into problems. Air New Zealand used to have one flight/week from/to PPT/LAX but I wasn't able to find it based upon a cursory search. And I think Hawaiian Airlines has at least one flight a week with a pretty long layover in HNL. Then there's Air France. I think they offer a flight a week which is code shared with Air Tahiti Nui and/or Delta.

Good luck and please let us know how your quest for frequent flyer seats turns out.

Very, very tough to get award travel on ATN using AAdvantage miles (we were lucky to find space a couple of years ago). But your travel dates need to be extremely flexible and it sounds like yours are not. Your flight from/to PPT/BOB will be on another, very pricey ($400+/person) non-jet carrier (Air Tahiti). You won't be able to use your AAdvantage miles. The flight will be packed (especially the very popular last one of the day), and if you're flying back to LAX you will have a long, long late night layover at the PPT airport. The price of air from/to PPT WILL change if you have the flexibility (which it sounds like you won't). But your task will be to find a sale fare that allows you to stay in Tahiti for more than 5 nights. Most of the time the sale will amount to a five day turn around with 3 nights of free PPT lodging. We booked a sale fare from/to LAX/AKL (where there's competition) with a free stopover in PPT for up to 30 days, at $900/person. Much lower than typical LAX/PPT fares. But this fare is rare. Car rentals on MOZ are very expensive. You can rent a car w/Hertz in PPT at a relatively low daily rate with no mileage allotment and then take it on the ferry to MOZ. MOZ is small so you're likely not going to rack up a lot of costly add on miles. And when everything is said and done, you'll have a rental car for quite a number of days on two islands. Something to check out. In addition, check out Passport Gourmand (do a google search). Discounts at restaurants, hotels, car rentals and Tahiti shows primarily offered to Tahiti residents. But the discount card is available for sale in PPT and if you're going to a number of restaurants, the savings may be worth it. Good luck.

Hey thanks for the posts Dandee. You state you rented a car in Moorea. Was that from Avis or someone else, was it for the full three days of your Moorea stay, and if you don't mind sharing, what was the cost?

Hi Zat -

We've stayed at the Sofitel and enjoyed it very much. We're returning to Moorea after our W/S cruise in Sep. and like you wanted to book an OTW bungalow. But the pricing is outrageously high (over $1K/night - as high or even higher than some of the OTW bungalows on Bora Bora). Cannot tell you about the Hilton other than it appears to be similarly priced to the Sofitel, and it is much farther away from the ferry dock than the Sofitel (which translates into more expensive hotel transfers). We did some research and found that the OTW bungalows at the Manava Beach Resort (formerly the Pearl Beach Resort) are about half as pricey as those at the Sofitel, get good reviews on Trip Advisor (especially the premium OTW bungalows which look out to sea), and appear to be similar to those at the Sofitel (even if they're not, at the end of the day they're over the water and looking out to sea). And when we checked on pricing, we discovered a big difference between Orbitz/Expedia/Trivago/etc. and Agoda.com. So we made a non-refundable (because the price of our W/S cruise is non-refundable) booking with Agoda.com. For pricing (you can use this for comparison purposes) we ended up paying about $530/night including VAT/other taxes (but for the nightly city tax everyone adds on) for a premium OTW bungalow. The negative (for us) is the cost of breakfast which is included in the nightly rate at the Sofitel - about $40/person/night (breakfast does not appear to be included at the Hilton unless you pay more) but not at the Manava. But since the Manava is conveniently located to many more dining options than is the Sofitel, we're hoping we'll have options once we arrive. If anyone else out there has been to the Pearl or Manava and can make some breakfast recommendations, we would appreciate them. Don't know if this helps you but you might want to take a look at the Manava.

Let's go back to the topic (i.e., pricing). When surfer-girl first posted her thread, W/S had just published a "flash sale" for its Sep. 14, 2017 seven day Tahiti cruise starting at $1,799/person for the cruise only w/o air or the first night's lodging. I wondered at the time why an all inclusive (air/first night's lodging) price was not offered given air was part of W/S' other dates' all inclusive pricing, but for whatever the reason (maybe discounted bulk air was not available to W/S from Air Tahit Nui?), it was not offered.

So I have been monitoring pricing and today I learned that the price for this cruise has "crept" up to $4,599/person for the cruise only; at least on the W/S web site. This tells me that the only cabins available for this cruise must be the upgraded owners' ones. It also tells me that there likely won't be lower priced future flash sales closer to departure (but of course, what do I know?).

Then I went to the Vacations-to-go web site and learned that this cruise is "sold out."

I then took a look at all of the other 2017 dates' pricing for this cruise on the W/S site and learned the lowest price is now $2,499/pp (although Vacations-to-go is offering the Nov. 9 and Nov. 16 Tahiti cruises at $1,879/pp for the cruise only). The lowest pricing for the cruise including air and first night's lodging (Sep. 7, 2017) is now $4,099/pp.

So what's the point? If surfer_girl's (or my for that matter) travel dates were restricted to mid-Sep. of this year, then we were fortunate to book when we did. Had we not booked when we did and were waiting for massive price drops closer to departure [like June 8 (see below)], we might be very disappointed. After all, pricing for W/S's June 8, 2017 departure (a scant three days from now) for the cruise only is still priced higher at $2,499.

Or maybe my conclusions are totally out to lunch and it just doesn't matter? In any event, I'm feeling pretty good about our Sep. 14 departure as I am sure surfer-girl is as well.

Hi Surfer_Girl (is there surfing in NJ?)

If you're a surfer girl, have you thought about an excursion to Teahupo'o the morning of the 14th? That's the home of the 30+ foot waves Laird Hamilton first surfed with the help of a jet ski entry. You might find it interesting.

I can't recommend any of the excursions you're considering as we haven't taken any (although we have been to Tahiti before). However since your proposed excursions seem to be snorkeling heavy and your husband has problems snorkeling, might he/you be interested in an ATV, jet ski tours, or a combination of the two? A guide and no more than four client vehicles.

I have been in communication with Matira Jet Tours and they've offered me some pretty attractive pricing [38,000 XPF (about $340) for both tours for two persons sharing a single ATV and jet ski]. Matira has gotten some pretty impressive reviews on Trip Advisor (https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g311415-d3668165-Reviews-Matira_Jet_Tour-Bora_Bora_Society_Islands.html) if you want to check them out. And they have availability on Sep. 18 (our arrival date in Bora Bora).

We're considering the Anapa Pearl Farm Tour on Raiatea, and the Vallee de la Vanille Tour on Taha'A. Also want to make it to Bloody Mary's in Vaitipe one day for drinks. My wife is a big fan of snorkeling, so we'll probably end up doing one or two excursions involving snorkeling. I'm planning on a good amount of time on Tahiti's incredible beaches. We're planning on 4 days at the Moorea la Ora Beach Sofitel Hotel after the cruise.

If anyone out there has recommendations regarding any of these, we would appreciate hearing! Thanks in advance. :D

Taking a Windstar Tahiti cruise in September. Itinerary departure time is listed as 6 P.M. Since we will already be in PPT, does anyone know what time boarding commences? In other words, can one board for lunch commencing sometime after noon? Thanks in advance for any advice.

Hello All -

Taking a Windstar Tahiti cruise in September. Itinerary departure time is listed as 6 P.M. Since we will already be in PPT, does anyone know what time boarding commences? In other words, can one board for lunch commencing sometime after noon? Thanks in advance for any advice.:)