Navigator

Cruise with Child 7 years old from Tahiti to Tahiti at Christmas time 2019 december do you recomend?

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I would recommend doing Tahiti on the Paul Gauguin rather than the Navigator (note: This is a luxury cruise line -- the ship used to be run by Regent).

Tc, I’m actually interested in the Paul Gauguin cruises also, can you go into more details, why you like them better for that part of the world (besides the fact you don’t like the navigator😊.

The P G is there all the time and will have best insight into area. It is slightly smaller than Navigator but suited for area.

Tc, I’m actually interested in the Paul Gauguin cruises also, can you go into more details, why you like them better for that part of the world (besides the fact you don’t like the navigator😊.

Our preference for the PG has nothing to do with our dislike for the Navigator. The PG was built for the seas of French Polynesia and therefore can visit places that other ships cannot visit. I believe she has 332 passengers which is fairly small and allows people to mix and mingle easier.

I hope that Wendy the Wanderer reads this thread as she still sails the PG and loves it. We haven't sailed on her since 2004. It was our first Regent cruise and one that will always have a top spot in our minds. From what I've read, she is still the best ship in French Polynesia. I can also see a 7 year old girl enjoying everything that Tahiti has to offer. And, onboard, the local entertainment (that includes children) is amazing!

The PG was built for the seas of French Polynesia and therefore can visit places that other ships cannot visit. I believe she has 332 passengers which is fairly small and allows people to mix and mingle easier.

The Navigator has a draft of 24 feet as opposed to the PG's draft of about 17 feet, which is indeed an advantage for the PG in getting closer to everything. The shallow draft obviously isn't that great in rough seas though.

We love the Paul Gauguin. Great ship. And our son did his honeymoon cruise on her just 2 years ago. Perfect for Tahiti

Thanks for the insight. I had received a mailer from PG and was very interested.

Irish,

In the first place, the PG has a shallower draft and can get places the Navigator can't. Also, the PG carries a bunch of water sports gear, and the Navigator does not ( don't believe). The PG offers local entertainment, and I doubt the Navigator will. Also, the PG offers included air on Air Tahiti Nui, and unlike Regent, it is upgradable to first class for a reasonable price. The Navigator offers included domestic air from gateway cities, while the PG does not, but domestic air on the Navigator is not upgradable to business at a reasonable cost so to us it is worthless. And perhaps the best thing of all, the PG is a smaller ship. The Navigator, like the Mariner, is a Regent ship with included shore excursions. The PG does not include these. But we cruised the Mariner a couple of years back on an intinerary that included French Polynesia and found their included excursions to be just a bit lacking. The ones you book on the PG have always been great for us.

We have been on the PG when children were aboard. Since they were the type who like tropical water activities, they loved it. They were well behaved, and nobody complained that they were on the cruise.

Have raised 3 kids and now 7 grandchildren; I have taken them all on annual cruise for the last 17 years. IMO I would never suggest a 7 yo on any luxury cruise line. They would be bored to death. Neither Regent or PG have much of a kids program.

I did take them once on a Princess cruise from Tahiti to Hawaii that worked out well. Princess and the larger "Premium" lines have deticated kids club programs that the kids love. They are busy in the day and you spend dinners and shoreEx together. A win-win. We have used all of the main stream lines, but like Princess best for large groups. But my wife has taken them all on Disney Cruise and feels that Disny has the best kid friendly products.

J

Generally, this is true of many 7 year olds, unless they have an interest in tropical water activities. If they do, they love the PG, because that IS the kids program.

But not all kids like the kids program on ships. When my boys were 6 and 9 we went on a Royal Caribbean cruise. They were the very well behaved type. They hated the kids program. After 1 day they hung out with us instead. We got compliments all the time about their behavior. We were assigned to a dinner table with another family with 2 very ill behaved girls. The parents finally asked us how “we did it?”. The thing the 4 of us came up with is their girls had always been put in the kids program and had never had been taught proper dinner manners and they were expecting them to suddenly know how to behave. So....every child is different with different experience and lots depends on their temperament and interests.

But not all kids like the kids program on ships. When my boys were 6 and 9 we went on a Royal Caribbean cruise. They were the very well behaved type. They hated the kids program. After 1 day they hung out with us instead. We got compliments all the time about their behavior. We were assigned to a dinner table with another family with 2 very ill behaved girls. The parents finally asked us how “we did it?”. The thing the 4 of us came up with is their girls had always been put in the kids program and had never had been taught proper dinner manners and they were expecting them to suddenly know how to behave. So....every child is different with different experience and lots depends on their temperament and interests.

It is lovely to sail with well behaved children. We have complimented the parents of children on Regent when their children were like yours. It is a shame that there are too few parents that take the time to teach proper dinner manners, etc. When I see uncontrolled children - I don't blame them - I blame the parents.

It is lovely to sail with well behaved children. We have complimented the parents of children on Regent when their children were like yours. It is a shame that there are too few parents that take the time to teach proper dinner manners, etc. When I see uncontrolled children - I don't blame them - I blame the parents.

This right here. People say "Kids will be kids" and that's true - but only acceptable if "Parents will be parents". While I love to see kids running, screaming, laughing and playing in a playroom or a playground, I DON'T like seeing that same behavior in Compass Rose or the theater. I have no problem with kids on a Regent cruise at all...as long as they're not reenacting Lord of the Flies...

It is lovely to sail with well behaved children. We have complimented the parents of children on Regent when their children were like yours. It is a shame that there are too few parents that take the time to teach proper dinner manners, etc. When I see uncontrolled children - I don't blame them - I blame the parents.

We took our daughter on her 1st cruise at 9 months. We left the dining room when she had enough. We figured others would prefer enjoying their dinner without a screaming child. By the time she was 2 she would sit through the meal with a short walk after an hour. By four she had mastered the menu, and never wanted the kids menu. She is now 25 and still enjoys cruising. She said she enjoyed Royal the best as a young child because she had more to do and more kids to play with. We took her on Princess, Holland, celebrity. By the time she was 8 we took her to Russia, Scandinavia, Europe. We took her on the Explorer last year and she looks forward to more RSSC cruises.

We took our daughter on her 1st cruise at 9 months. We left the dining room when she had enough. We figured others would prefer enjoying their dinner without a screaming child. By the time she was 2 she would sit through the meal with a short walk after an hour. By four she had mastered the menu, and never wanted the kids menu. She is now 25 and still enjoys cruising. She said she enjoyed Royal the best as a young child because she had more to do and more kids to play with. We took her on Princess, Holland, celebrity. By the time she was 8 we took her to Russia, Scandinavia, Europe. We took her on the Explorer last year and she looks forward to more RSSC cruises.

Kudos for raising your child in a way that she could grow into the cruising experience. You started by taking her on a cruise line that was age appropriate. She grew into sailing on higher level cruise lines. At 25, she was certainly ready for Explorer. IMO, if all parents were as considerate of their child(ren) as you seem to be, there would not be problems with children on cruise ships. In addition to everything else you were doing, you were considerate of others. You sound like a lovely person!:)

I'm not certain if you experience the same in restaurants/dining venues as we do over here, but my pet hate is going out to eat and being seated amongst family groups [we are a mixed age group from two up to 87] where the parents immediately put games/films/tv programmes on an I-pad/phone/tablet etc without headphones and then precede to ignore the said children.

How are children expected to learn about table manners, the social art of conversation and take their place in society.

I hate the cacophony of noise from these devices, and the raised voices as the parents try to talk over the said noise and then the children shouting to get their parents attention. It doesn't make for a good experience.

We may not agree with all the modern ways of raising children, but I do give thanks that all our children were brought up to appreciate mealtimes and participate in the conversation and this was brought home by our three year old granddaughter when after choosing her own meal, started to slide off her seat, saying, " can I go and play........" [there was a play area] to stop mid sentence, sit herself back up and remark "not till we have eaten"

We may not agree with all the modern ways of raising children, but I do give thanks that all our children were brought up to appreciate mealtimes and participate in the conversation and this was brought home by our three year old granddaughter when after choosing her own meal, started to slide off her seat, saying, " can I go and play........" [there was a play area] to stop mid sentence, sit herself back up and remark "not till we have eaten"

The mental picture of that just made me smile. :D

I would recommend doing Tahiti on the Paul Gauguin rather than the Navigator (note: This is a luxury cruise line -- the ship used to be run by Regent).

Ditto this advice! PG in this part of the word is what you want.

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