Princess 10-day FP and 12-day FP to Hawaii both booked, which would you take?

[kadiebug12]

We reserved a cabin on both the 10-day Princess French Polynesia cruise and the 12-day Princess French Polynesia to Hawaii itinerary in hopes we could do them both (they are back to back this Oct/Nov). Unfortunately, we do not have enough vacation time to do both. So, for those who have done either, which would you choose? I would love to hear people's thoughts on which to choose (and yes, we can only do one unfortunately).

 

(We've done the 10-day FP cruise before and loved it)

[Kinkacruiser]

We have also done the French Polynesia cruise and would do it again in a heartbeat. Perhaps there are fewer ports of call in the Hawaii one, if that's what you are looking for.

[gabelle]

One of the absolute best cruises we ever took was on the Tahitian Princess from Honolulu to Papeete. We had a blast despite less than perfect weather. It is a wonderful itinerary if you like sea days between two paradises. We leave next week for a two week cruise on the PG. Can't wait to be back in those gorgeous waters:)

[jagoffee]

My wife and I have done the 10 day cruise twice and it is an excellent way to experience the F.P. My wife and I were faced with the same decision in the reverse direction in September and October. IMO, you need to decide if 5 Sea Days in a row are exciting enough for you. My wife and I have always wanted to try a positioning type cruise and thus decided to take the 12 day cruise from Hawaii to the F.P. We are looking forward to the five sea days. Hawaii is her favorite place and the F.P. is mine, so it was a good balance for our special celebration. By the time that we return, you will already be committed.

 

It is good to have choices especially those kind of choices. Good luck.

[Toto2Kansas]

We just returned from a B2B similar to this, and here are my thoughts.

 

Personally, we like the cruise from Hawaii to Tahiti much better than the reverse. Although Hawaii is nice, it only gets better from there when you hit Tahiti.

We once did a B2B Hawaii/Tahiti/Hawaii, and the reverse just wasn't as great. To further explain, going from pretty Hawaii to beautiful Tahiti is wonderful. But going from perfection in Tahiti to Hawaii, well, I think you know what I mean?

 

One thing to keep in mind is that there are 5 sea days from Tahiti to Hawaii, so part of the decision would be if you enjoy sea days as much as beautiful port days. Keeping in mind these smaller ships have a limited amount of things to do to keep you occupied like the larger ships in the fleet. To enjoy these sea days, you really need to be able to relax and just enjoy the sea breezes and a good book or a dip in the one small salt water pool.

Also, the flights involved. Flying to and from Tahiti means two very long flights. Where as when one flight is from or too Hawaii, it about cuts it in half and you only have one very long flight to contend with.

 

It's a tough decision, only you can make.

 

FYI-We enjoyed the Hawaii/Tahiti/Tahiti cruise so much this past fall, that we booked the exact same cruise again for Februray 2011. ;) Good luck on your decision!

[Mercruiser]

I went through a similar decision making process before I chose the Jan 28 2011 Royal Princess Tahiti to Hawaii cruise. In the end, I chose the Tahiti to Hawaii over a RT Tahiti for the following reasons:

• I love sea days, especially when the weather is warm
  
  
• I want to cross the equator
  
• I was able to book a rear balcony, out of the wind, which makes warm sea days especially enjoyable
  
• I do not like port-intensive cruises where I feel compelled to try to see everything
  
  
• I like the whole nautical experience of being on a ship at sea that is moving versus being in port every day.
  

That having been said, I would not turn down the opportunity to go on the 10 RT Tahiti cruise. In fact, I would really love to go on the 14-day PG RT Tahiti cruise to the Marquesas Islands. But, barring a really good sale, that's out of my budget.:rolleyes:

I do plan on staying in Moorea for a few days before the cruise to experience more of FP than one gets on the 8 to 5 port calls.

[twin123185]

Here's my 2 cents - take the trip that takes you to both places and then return in the future which you like better - this is what I did and now I am about to head to Tahiti for the third time since that first one. Guess which i liked better?

I echo a previous poster - Do the Hawaii TO Tahiti - this way you will not be disappointed in Hawaii!

[Mercruiser]

. . .

I echo a previous poster - Do the Hawaii TO Tahiti - this way you will not be disappointed in Hawaii!

 

Perhaps if enough people book the southbound Hawaii to Tahiti cruise, Princess will have to lower the price on the northbound cruise to fill the ship.;) Maybe I'll get a lower price!

[kadiebug12]

Thanks everyone for your input!! Since we've been to Tahiti before and absolutely loved it, I was concerned we might be a little disappointed going from Tahiti to Hawaii. So, I think we'll probably do the first cruise, 10 days around French Polynesia and skip the one that goes from Tahiti to Hawaii. While the thought of "cruising" part of the way home is VERY appealing, I think we'll tough out the long flights to have more time in French Polynesia.

 

We have an aft balcony reserved on the November 5th Tahiti to Hawaii (same room for our 10-day FP cruise since they were B2B). We'll be freeing that up in the next few days by cancelling that booking. Just in case anyone has been waiting for an aft balcony to open up on that sailing. :)

[twin123185]

The aft balcony is awesome - especially deck 6!

[kadiebug12]

We are actually on deck 6 in room 6090! Have you stayed in or near that room?

[Toto2Kansas]

We are actually on deck 6 in room 6090! Have you stayed in or near that room?

 

We were in the Owner's Suite right next to 6090 for three weeks this past fall (we were in 6088). What a great location.

We spoke with the passengers in that stateroom while we were both out on the balcony a couple of days. The gentleman was really worried about seasickness (he told us he gets it frequently), but towards the end of the cruise, he said he had no problems whatsoever.

This is a perfect location!

[kadiebug12]

That's great news! Thanks for the info.

 

Breaks my heart to give up that location for the one we're going to cancel (Tahiti to Hawaii) but it will make someone's day I'll bet! Hey, at least we'll have 10 days of bliss (even if it's not 22 as we'd originally hoped).

[twin123185]

4 years ago I was in 6090 on the TP

Awesome - yes I am repeating myself!

[calikak]

We did the Tahiti to Hawaii in 2006 and LOVED it. One thing I particularly liked was not having that awful wait at the Papeete airport on the return. I also found it kind of nice to transition back to the US gradually after being in paradise--it's always a shock to my system to return to my regular life after a great vacation. It is a lot of sea days compared with the 10-night sailings, though.

 

We also had an aft balcony, and it was awesome. No noise from the dining room directly below us, and it was a huge balcony, half-covered and half-uncovered, with plenty of room for two loungers. We did have some rattling on the sea days, being close to the engines, but it wasn't bad--it was just the bathroom door, which we resolved by putting a towel in the door jam, and the the safe, which we kept unlocked at night when we were in the room to be hearing the rattling. Problem solved. I would happily sail in that cabin any time!

[happycdn]

Hi

 

Looking for an opinion on fore or aft balconies on the small ships - where can you feel the motion more? fore or aft - I always book a center of the ship balcony to lessen motion but have never been on a small ship and would be worried about feeling the motion if these seas are a little heavier

 

We are only the 10 day round trip Papeete where the ports are all very close together.

 

Opinions please?

[Toto2Kansas]

Forward is where I feel there is more motion. We had a bit of a bumpy ride (at times) in our aft suite, but nothing more than we can handle.

But on the small ships, if there is any motion to the ocean, you will feel it a bit more no matter where your staterooms is located, so always be prepared with whatever seasick prevention you feel safe taking.

[happycdn]

Thanks - I think I will stick with my mid ship room