aerobee

Pearl Beach Resort has beautiful gardens. We swam and snorkeled from the OWB--the water is lovely but somewhat shallow. Their coral beds may need another ten years to develop but the fish were nice.

Leaving Bora Bora was super easy. They assigned us to an 11:00am boat for our 12:00 noon flight to Moorea. I was nervous but they were right—20 minutes on the water, 10 minutes to check bags, and 20 minutes to wait for the boarding call.

We arranged an excursion with Lagoon Service which provided pick up and return at the hotel pier. Theirs is the itinerary everybody takes with one or another agency: stop one to look at fish, stop two to stand among stingrays in knee deep water, and stop three to snorkel in deep ocean outside the reef where black tip sharks crowd to get fish pieces thrown to them by the guide.

The tour concluded with a tasty lunch on the beach and a coconut demonstration.

The food at Pearl Beach was good enough. Buffet breakfast had the usual omelets, pancakes, pastries and so forth. Lunch for us was usually a beer and a snack, and dinner was tasty fish burgers from the bar menu (we didn’t want the big dinner buffet and we weren’t interested in their sushi specialty restaurant). Dinner the third night was their Polynesian show—excellent performers, disappointing food, and a big price.

Bora Bora Pearl Beach Resort

We collected our bags in Papeete and re-checked them on Air Tahiti’s 7:45am nonstop 50 minute flight to Bora Bora, proceeding by boat from Bora Bora airport to Bora Bora Pearl Beach, located on the same fairly large motu (island) as PG’s Bora Bora beach, separated by a good amount of jungle.

Arriving early in the morning to start our three nights at Bora Bora Pearl Beach Resort we paid for buffet breakfast at a special waiting-for-the-room rate. The three subsequent mornings’ breakfasts were included with the room. We stayed in an over water bungalow, Otemanu mountain view. It was beautiful and a great way to experience Bora Bora. We stayed on the Pearl Beach Resort motu the entire time. The PG was in Bora Bora and we could see it across the lagoon.

We are just back from the May 26, 2018 11-night Cook Islands and Society Islands cruise, with air travel and land accommodations that we arranged ourselves: three nights in Bora Bora and three nights in Moorea pre-cruise and two nights in Tahiti post-cruise. We’ve been home only since the weekend and already it all seems like a dream.

This was our first time on the PG, and our prior cruise experience is limited to a long-ago cruise between NYC and Bermuda, and a 2013 Holland America Alaska cruise from Anchorage to Vancouver.

Los Angeles

We flew from Hartford to LAX and took an over-priced taxi to L.A. Grand Hotel Downtown, walking distance to The Broad Museum which we had reserved for Saturday morning (free tickets issued on-line starting the first of each month for the following month). L.A. Grand had a comfortable vibe and we got a good price via Groupon. Saturday morning we walked to Central Market and joined the hipster crowd at Eggslut for breakfast, and we were at the museum by 10:00. The Broad holds one couple’s spectacular late 20th to 21st century art collection,very well presented.

Back at the hotel we reclaimed our bags and returned to LAX via Uber for half the taxi price, well in time for Air France’s 11:55pm take-off.We surprised ourselves by sleeping almost the entire flight, legs stretched out in our economy-class exit row seats. The other surprise and not a good one was the food service—a modest breakfast served after takeoff and a mini-breakfast served before landing.

A few odd vibrations, maybe a bit of motion but the aft cabins for us are the only way to go...larger room and balcony, loved the walk in shower w/o the tub and the serenity of seeing everything as you go, just not one side while in your room....la palette is one level up and right above you for early morning coffee food and sunrise ...we never heard the music or were bothered ....see you back in 2020 with an aft cabin

I totally agree with the above. We just got home this weekend from 11 nights in Cabin 767. Trip report coming soon.

Meanwhile, here's Cabin 767 and a couple of views from its balcony.

Our upcoming trip is to Society and Cook Islands.

We'll be taking Terevau for the short run from Moorea to Tahiti at 3:00 to board the PG on Saturday May 26, so I've been looking at the Terevau website. Currently it says,

"Annulation voyages Raromatai:

Les voyages prévus pour les ISLV les vendredi 18, dimanche 20 et samedi 26 mai sont annulés, compte tenu des conditions météo. Renseignement aux guichets ou au 89.48.88.88"

which translates to

"Raromatai travel cancellation:

Travel scheduled for ISLV on Friday 18th, Sunday 20th and Saturday 26th may be canceled due to weather conditions. Information at the counters or at 89.48.88.88"

Apparently "Raromatai" refers to service to Huahine and Raiatea so maybe I needn't worry about the Terevau ferry from Moorea to Tahiti being cancelled on the 26th. The other ferry, Aremiti 2, is always available but we would need to catch it at 12:45.

But it makes me wonder what the seagoing (and snorkeling!) conditions are likely to be for the PG itinerary Huahine--Aitutaki--Rarotonga--Bora Bora.

What do you think?

My issue with the lagoon tour is as I understand it you get back too late for the children's show and the moonfish demo. They're both on the Huahine day, right?

Thanks. I see I confused Faia with Fare.

We're signed up for the PG Huahine Iti 4x4 excursion (Sunday May 27 as part of the Society and Cook Islands itinerary).

I guess there are no sacred eels on that tour?

The excursion runs from 9:00 to about 12:30. Can we get on our own from the PG tender/dock to where the eels are near Fare? Are taxis available or is it possibly walk-able?

https://www.airfrance.us/US/en/common/page_flottante/hp/news-air-traffic-air-france.htm

https://www.airfrance.us/US/en/local/resainfovol/infovols/detailsVol.do (flight 076)

Some months ago, when the Tahiti-based crews were on strike, Air France provided substitute service via a charter airline.

Are they doing that for the current strike, or a ticket holders out of luck?

If you're interested in comparisons between Azamara, Crystal,Regent, and Oceania, I posted my review of my March 8 trip on Oceania Riviera on the Oceania board today.

I found your Oceania Riviera review's company comparisons very interesting and helpful.

It was concerning to read that unlike Oceania, where staff serve the buffet food, Azamara buffet guests handle the serving utensils in common. Maybe Azamara management will read this and make a change?

Les Tipaniers also has a few bungalows--they call them Vanilla--that are air conditioned. We're reserved one at $225/night for three nights pre-cruise in May 2018.

I'll report back when we return.

I originally booked Tahiti Pearl (directly rather than through PG) for our June 2018 post-cruise.

Based on earlier comments here similar to TBK's above I cancelled and booked instead with Le Meridien Tahiti.

Originally I was put off by the statement at the SPG website that until August 31, 2018, the Pontoon and Overwater Bungalows at the Meridien are closed for renovations. I'm fine booking the regular land room but I wondered if the construction would be a problem.

I'll see about switching to the Meridien.

Thanks, you're a great group!

We left the ship 5:30am to catch our 8:30 AF flight. Kind of liked this option other than missing the last lunch onboard,

First-timers on PG, we're using Air France for our Society/Cook Islands cruise in May 2018, with pre-cruise staying 3 nights Bora Bora and 3 nights Moorea.

Our cruise runs Saturday to Wednesday. Rather than fly out early Wednesday we're taking two nights at reasonably-priced (for Polynesia) Tahiti Pearl Beach Resort and a Friday 7:30am flight to LAX.

I wonder if we should have planned to fly back immediately at cruise end as you did. It would take a change fee at this point to fly back Wednesday so we'll probably leave things as is. Do you think the two night/one day add-on in Tahiti was a mistake?

TBK, have you any idea about Papeete-Moorea ferry times. If you come in on a 4.30 pm flight could you still get to Moorea Hilton for the night or do you suggest an overnight in Papeete?

Not my thread, but as far as I know your ferry schedule is here (put in your actual dates since the times do vary):

http://www.aremiti.pf/horaire (French)

http://www.aremiti.net/schedule (English)

Makes me wonder what their plan is for the future.

Last month I put Journey's July 1, 2019 itinerary on deposit. In the balcony category that earned a $400 OBC for booking early.

Sure enough, there are currently no offers available for that cruise.

I understand the Cook Islands are generally cooler than Polynesia.

I imagine the sun is warm enough, but what about water temperature. Is the water cooler than, say, Hawaii season-by-season? (Remembering that May is Fall and November is Spring.)

As they say at the opera, Brava !!!

We'll have a rental car for the day. I'm planning to stop at Fruits of Rarotonga for a drink + snorkel but I'm not sure how far out we're comfortable swimming in an unfamiliar place.

Are there any locals or informal guides who might shuttle us out and stay with us off shore?

We're looking at a V2 Deck 7 veranda cabin for Journey's July 1, 2019 Norway and Midnight Sun cruise. Currently considering Cabin 7083 on the starboard side.

Starboard because that seems to be the land side for most of the trip (see picture below). Does that make sense?

But the starboard side is the diesel fuel bunker side. If that's going to be smelly, should we switch to port side?

Any other comments on Journey Cabin 7083? It's not on the spreadsheet.

One last comment, for our 25th, we rented a car on Bora Bora and went around one way and then around the island the other way. My husband always veers off the beaten path. A very young girl in a residential neighborhood ran up to our car, saw our bread and requested Pan, Pan (bread) pointing to my loaf -- she traded us a flower. She ran off laughing -- no doubt thinking she got the best end of the bargain. But it is we who will always remember that moment. I still have that flower, pressed, into my album of pictures. Life is great!!!!!

Wonderful!

I disagree, but I'll update you in a few weeks. We've stayed in another small hotel on Moorea, Les Tipaniers, in the September timeframe, with screens on the windows (!) and a ceiling fan, but no AC. We in no way needed it. We'll be back there on Wednesday (yippee!), so I'll let you know how that goes.

I have a reservation at Les Tipaniers pending for next May.

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Their email to me:

C’est Le bungalow vanille avec cuisine qui est climatisé avec deux chambres séparées

Et équipé de cuisine au tarif :20000cfp+14%taxes la nuit(sous réserve d’augmentation de taxes en 2018

Plus taxe de séjour :150cfp par personne et par jour

My translation:

In our vanilla bungalow the kitchen is air conditioned with two separate bedrooms. It costs: 20000cfp 14% tax per night (subject to increase taxes in 2018 150cfp per person per day).

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"Vanilla" is the name they give to the family bungalow--not meaning plain or basic as we might say in English.

I'm hoping the entire unit is air conditioned. Please let me know if you can clarify that when you're there....

Dana, another big thank you for bringing your trip to us.

A question about Moorea - - it appears you didn't have air conditioning. Was the heat/humidity tolerable?

We have a reservation for Cabin C767. There's some controversy about that choice since it's rear-facing and bigger than the other C-class cabins (stateroom 229 sq. ft. – balcony 74 sq. ft.).

The consensus I've read here is it's not noisy and it's not smoky from the engines, but there's a risk of extra motion since it's as far from mid-ship as you can get.

Ask me again next June!