Dbld777

We thought they were beautiful, although this was our first trip to FP and only have Caribbean islands to compare to FP. We liked Bora Bora the best and highly recommend https://boraborah2o.com/ . Aimee and David provided the best snorkeling excursion of the trip. We did the 7 day RT from Papeete on the Star Breeze. Hopefully Petoonya and TBK will respond with their thoughts on the reefs current status as compared to past years.

We were worried about the drift snorkel at Taha'a and thus some of our group bought a full body suit, although light weight, was cumbersome to put on and take off. I purchased these leg spray guards and felt pretty protected for lower leg scrapes/cuts when combined with a good pair of soled water shoes.I purchased them from Bart's Water Sports catalog, about $15 each.

And the crux of the problem remains that there is no real time management of table inventory in their "system". On our latest cruise, they were still using paper copies of the table layout in the DR along with what is described above, DR staff(not DR managers) trying to figure out where they have a staffed table available. Until they get a real table inventory and waitstaff management system, both passengers and staff will likely remain highly frustrated with this DMW offering. The technology is available.

We stayed three nights pre-cruise at the Sofitel and loved it. If you are a morning person and love sunrises, this is the place for you. All three mornings were stunning for us. Request one of the bungalows in the line closest to the Sofitel beach and main building on the beach. You'll then have an unobstructed view of the sunrise over the island of Tahiti. They were hair on the back of the neck raising sunrises for us.

What time did you eat that you were able to get the same table every night?

The app allows you to choose the same time and dining room every evening, you are not guaranteed to get the same table and waitstaff though. Some DRO's are making it happen if you request same waitstaff and table. Others are reported to be telling people that it can't be done(see post 1383 above). Most of those who want TD really like having the same waitstaff every evening, who get to know your preferences, etc.

That's the other aspect that's frustrating about DMW. You don't know what you're going to get until you get on the ship. Even dining rooms on the same ship reported to be implementing it differently. Grrrrrrr.

You might consider an island tour with Fabrice of Tahiti Eden Tours. We had had a great circle tour of the island with lunch at Teahupoo. https://www.tahitiedentours.com/

We were just there in March and snorkeled on all three. We would rank them: 1) Bora Bora 2) Raiatea 3) Moorea Our best snorkeling and best excursion overall was with H2O Bora Bora. Best snorkeling, best tour guide/host, best boat, and best day of the trip. https://boraborah2o.com/ We owe a world of thanks to Petoonya who gave great guidance and I'm sure she will add some more thoughts, based on her extensive FP snorkeling experience.

Another provider to consider, we had a great snorkel tour with H2O Bora Bora, as recommended by Petoonya. David was a fantastic host and Aimee handled all communications and reservations efficiently. We felt it was the best excursion/tour of our visit and cruise in FP. We felt the drift snorkel here at BB was even better than the drift snorkel at Taha'a. We also saw huge rays directly below us. https://boraborah2o.com/

Thank you for all of the great info and tips. We are on the same itinerary in late Sept. We have reserved two ebikes at Bar Harbor for touring the carriage roads. Can you provide a little bit more detail on where you rode to and how long it took you? Did you follow the National Park Service map or some other recommended route? Other watch outs for using the ebikes on the carriage roads? Thank you.

We flew Cleveland to SFO the day before our SFO to PPT flight on United(back in March). We just stayed at the SFO Hilton which is right on the airport grounds. The airport tram has a stop at the Hilton so super easy to claim your luggage and then take the tram to the hotel. We just chilled at the Hilton although depending on your arrival time at SFO you could certainly sightsee a bit. We just didn't want any more exposure to Covid before we got on the flight to Tahiti. After a leisurely breakfast at the hotel you can catch the tram and get to the airport well ahead of time for an early check in. Consider upgrading to the Premium Plus seats if you are flying United. Well worth it from our perspective. We arrived Tahiti about 6:30 PM and then stayed at the newly renovated Tahiti Hilton for 2 nights. Very nice hotel, great pool and great view of Moorea. We then stayed at the Sofitel Moorea in an OWB for 3 nights before getting back on the ferry to head back to Tahiti and board the Star Breeze. The sunrises on Moorea from the OWB were incredible! Would be glad to give you more info on the excursions and other details of our trip if you are interested. It was an outstanding trip for us! You'll love it there. Sunrise from the deck of our OWB at Sofitel Moorea"

We had a great all day tour with Fabrice from Tahiti Eden Tours. He is a gracious host who knows the history and culture of the island very well. We did our tour on the day we disembarked since our flight was later that night. He stored our luggage while we toured and then dropped us off at the airport. https://www.tahitiedentours.com/

If you are interested in island tours, on Tahiti(Papeete) I would highly recommend Fabrice and Tahiti Eden Tours. https://www.tahitiedentours.com/ We thoroughly enjoyed our day with Fabrice. Very prompt, knowledgeable and accommodating host with great knowledge of the island and it's history. On Moorea, we booked an island tour with Spirou, the "Lady in Blue" https://www.facebook.com/MADAMEBLEU2/. There are certainly more adventurous things to do, like on Moorea we booked an ATV(Quad) tour that takes you around the island and up to Belvedere Lookout and Magic Mountain. You need to be comfortable driving an ATV on public roads and trails.

Yes! Especially if it may be your only visit to Alaska, Glacier Bay is a must!