21 Delightful Days on Paul Gauguin

[MightyQuinn]

We recently returned from 21 nights aboard Paul Gauguin, doing the 7-nite Society Islands cruise b2b with the 14-nite Marquesas and Tuamotus cruise. It was spectacular in every way. There is no doubt in my mind that Paul Gauguin provides an incomparable way to experience the magic and unique culture of French Polynesia.

Arrival and Pre-Cruise

 

We bought a PG package that included flights (LAX-Papeete), airport/hotel/ship transfers and 2 nites at Intercontinental Tahiti in an oceanview room. Our Air Tahiti Nui flight was delayed by over an hour in departing LAX and arrived late into Papeete. The usual formalities of customs and immigration were handled smoothly and pleasantly, but unfortunately, we sat for a long time on the transfer bus waiting for others. It was well past midnite when we checked into IC Tahiti. Our intent was to request a paid upgrade to an OWB for the following nite, but we were very happy with our OV room and we decided to simply stay put.

 

IC Tahiti is a beautiful property with perfectly manicured grounds, an enticing infinity pool, a man-made lagoonarium and gorgeous views over Moorea. We enjoyed hanging about the pools, going for a swim/snorkel and generally easing onto Island time. That evening, we planned to go to Les Grandes Ballets at the hotel, since it’s billed as a spectacular show of Polynesian dance and theatre. But alas, we were too tired so we had a foo-foo cocktail and snacks at the bar and called it a day.

 

Next day, we were transferred to Paul Gauguin at 3:30 pm, but not before enjoying a sumptuous seafood feast that was included as part of our PG package. The buffet was extravagant and included lobster, huge prawns, scallops, smoked salmon, caviar, poisson cru and many other hot and cold plates. It was priced at $49 pp but complimentary for us! I’m not sure how many people are actually aware that they are entitled to this lunch (read the fine print on your pre-cruise docs), but do take advantage of it if you have a PG package at IC Tahiti.

 

Stateroom

 

We were welcomed onto Paul Gauguin with champagne and smiles. Everyone we met seemed genuinely happy and eager to assist. Shortly after boarding, our processing was complete and we were escorted to our 4th floor stateroom for our initial 7-nite cruise. Our room was bright and airy with simple decoration. A large stone tiki stood guard in the entranceway to remind us that we were in French Polynesia. The bathroom was well laid out with generous cabinet storage and L’Occitane toiletries. Our mattress was very comfortable and bed linens were in excellent condition but we did ask to swap pillows. No problem, with pleasure.

 

We moved to a 7th floor balcony room for our next 14-nite cruise. The room was identical in every respect to our initial room, but it felt larger due to the floor-to-ceiling windows and balcony. There was excellent privacy between neighboring balconies and we enjoyed using it immensely.

 

Dining

 

We had high expectations for dining aboard Paul Gauguin and we were not disappointed. Menus were interesting, ingredients were fresh, flavors were delicious and presentation was artful. The chefs and cooks love what they do and it translates into every meal they prepare.

 

L’Etoile is the main dining room and is open for dinner only. The room is expansive with bright lighting and simple decoration. Menus were interesting with ample choice for appetizers, soups, salads and mains. Cheese selections were exceptional and desserts were always yummy. Complimentary wines were quite acceptable and poured generously. Open seating worked well with Maitre d’ Remy running a very efficient house.

 

La Veranda is a touch more elegant than L’Etoile for dinner. It is by reservation only and we ate there often. The menu changed a few times during our b2b and we wanted to try all the good stuff! Maitre d’ Ivan was very accommodating and we never had a problem getting the date/times we preferred. La Veranda features a 7-course tasting menu inspired by the Apicius chef, as well as several a la carte choices. Complimentary wines are different than in L’Etoile and are chosen to match each specific menu. Notable musts include Mushroom Risotto, Pink Peppercorn Crusted Duck Breast, Black Cod and Tahitian Vanilla Crème Brule.

 

Le Grill is the most casual dining spot for dinner and also by reservation only. It’s essentially an outdoor restaurant since most of the tables are actually in a breezeway. It can get very hot here during the day since there’s no A/C, just fans. It can also be quite windy at nite when the ship is underway. Le Grill specializes in Asian/Fusion cuisine with a focus on seafood. There is usually a fresh catch of the day which is cooked a la minute and is simply outstanding. We especially enjoyed Poisson Cru, Thai Lemongrass Broth, Fijian Prawn Curry and several Grilled Catch of the Day. Head Waiter/Maitre d’ Raffy was always smiling and aimed to please.

 

Breakfast was buffet in both La Veranda and Le Grill with the usual suspects of juice, fruit, yoghurt, breads and rolls, smoked fish, eggs, bacon, meats, hash browns, as well as made to order omelets. There is an additional small fixed menu in La Veranda with benedicts, waffles, steak and eggs, pancakes. La Palette offers continental breakfast and is the best spot to find the elusive and delicious almond croissants! We alternated between La Veranda and Le Grill for breakfast on sea days and choose Room Service on port days. Our only complaint was the cold beverages were at room temperature no matter where we ate breakfast.

 

Sunday brunch was not offered at all during our b2b, even though our cruise included Easter Sunday. This was a bit surprising, since other non-luxury cruise lines do make the effort to put on special Sunday breakfast/lunch.

 

Lunch was also buffet in both La Veranda and Le Grill. There was always a selection of salads, deli, sandwiches, soup, pasta and a carving station. As well, there were hot items with a daily theme - Greek, Pacific, Tahitian, World Curries, French and so on. Custard with Rosewater and Baklava on Greek day were off-the-chart good! Le Grill was open with a snack menu during mid to late afternoon. We often grabbed a Caesar Salad or a Hamburger when we came back to the ship too late for lunch. Room Service also had a very decent selection of items. Beef Tenderloin with Peppercorn Sauce was particularly good while Pizza was best avoided.

 

Afternoon tea in La Palette was a big miss. Paper tea bags, coffee cups and self-serve buffet! Why bother?

 

I must make special mention of Polynesian Night which happened once per cruise. A 6-course menu featuring Tahitian specialties was available in both L’Etoile and La Veranda, while Le Grill was closed that evening. Broiled Lobster, Shrimp and Scallop with Tahaa Vanilla Sauce was a real winner.

 

Enrichment

 

We had an excellent line-up of regular and guest lecturers. Mark Eddowes was aboard for both cruises and his detailed presentations certainly added to our understanding of the peoples and cultures of French Polynesia. He is very interesting but has a tendency to be long-winded and repetitive. He seemed much more animated when leading treks than when giving lectures.

 

Bobbi Verdegaal is the on-board naturalist and she is simply outstanding. Her presentation style is engaging and thoughtful. I learned so much from her about the geology of the Islands and the formation of mountains, reefs and lagoons. Bobbi is also the go-to person for any questions about fish, coral or snorkeling.

 

Jon Bowermaster, a documentary film producer for National Geographic, was also with us. He screened several films about his travels in a sea kayak around the globe. A remarkable human being doing incredible work. Simply fascinating stuff.

 

There was also Arnaud de Sulle, a passionate student of Paul Gauguin, whose presentations gave interesting insights into the life and times of this legendary figure. He also was available for questions at the gravesites of Paul Gauguin and Jacques Brel when we visited Hiva Oa in Marquesas.

 

Les Gauguines

 

What can I say? These Tahitian hostesses are the heart and soul of Paul Gauguin and their presence was a constant reminder that we were not in Kansas anymore. They added a huge dimension to our cruise experience, whether performing on stage or offering insights on all things Polynesian through dance, song, traditional instruments, weaving and language. Their patience and grace know no bounds! Don’t miss the opportunity to get to know these gorgeous creatures and learn about their Polynesian culture.

 

Entertainment

 

Paul Gauguin relies heavily on its on-board staff for entertainment. We enjoyed performances by Cruise Director Michael, house band Siglo, pianist Sal and magician Devlin. Krew Kapers was a lot of fun and was worth it just to see the riveting performance by La Boutique Manager Emma. Les Gauguines were never far from the action and were always well received, whether on stage or when singing/dancing through the restaurants during dinner.

 

Local groups were brought on-board as evening entertainment at several ports, including Papeete, Moorea, Fakarava and Hiva Oa. Local children delighted us with their on-board shows at Raiatea and Tahaa, while local groups performed on-shore at Fakarava, Fatu Hiva and Huku Hiva. These performances were a wonderful addition to our cruise.

 

Shops on Board

 

La Boutique is shopping central on Paul Gauguin. It has PG logo wear, Hinano branded stuff, pareos, monoi oil, vanilla, shell belts and purses, swimwear, flip flops, Polynesian shirts, sundresses and liquor. Prices are fair on some items and outrageous on others. Most stuff is not produced locally – in fact, labels mostly read Indonesia, Vietnam, China and USA. This is a huge oversight and PG really needs to source more local products.

 

Tahia Collins has a small boutique on-board. They presented a few seminars on black pearls and also hosted a fun Champagne and Pearls evening in the shop. They have some absolutely stunning pieces as well as some relatively inexpensive loose pearls.

 

The Photo Shop has a decent selection of digital cameras for sale. Oddly, none were waterproof but inventory may change over time. On our final nite, we still had a considerable amount of OBC left to spend, so we each bought an Olympus camera. Easy to pack and fun to use!

 

Spa and Gym

 

We didn’t use either to full advantage. We both had a Hot Stone Massage which was immensely pleasurable and reasonably priced, especially with OBC! However, the Spa didn’t offer many port day specials, which is pretty much the norm on other cruise lines. We worked out in the Gym far fewer times than we had planned. There was just so much to do that we didn’t find time to do our usual routines. Excuses, excuses.

 

Excursions

 

We are independent travelers who usually arrange our own tours in most ports of call. However, we decided to avail of several PG shore excursions to use some of the generous OBC we had for our b2b cruises. For the most part, we were very happy with our choices. I have much more to share about our excursions in the various ports of call and will post as soon as I collect my thoughts.

 

Disembarkation

 

After 21 nites, it was tough to say good-bye to Paul Gauguin. We really felt embraced by this happy little ship and its wonderful staff and crew. But sadly, the time had come.

 

Since we had a PG air package, we could remain on the ship until 12:30 pm before we were transferred to a day room at the Radisson. Passengers with independent arrangements were asked to be off the ship no later than 10:00 am. We vacated our room by 9:30 am and then hung out on the ship, taking last minutes pictures and generally feeling melancholy. Maybe it was the beginning of the PG flu. We lingered over lunch in La Veranda and then swiped our sea pass for the last time. We decided to take the optional tour en route to the Radisson. It included a visit to the Ron Norman Hall Museum, Venus Point Lighthouse and waterfalls on the east coast of the Island. We enjoyed the tour very much. We arrived at the Radisson about 3:00 pm and checked into an incredibly gorgeous suite overlooking a stunning black sand beach with views to Moorea. We had a quick snack, freshened up and then did nothing till it was time to board the transfer bus to the airport about 7:30 pm. This was the worst part of the whole trip, marked by crowds, line-ups and interminable waiting. Our Air Tahiti Nui flight departed on time and soon we landed at LAX with precious memories of a fabulous cruise.

 

More later ...

[astrocat]

Great review and very evocative! Keep it coming!

[Emdee]

Welcome back Mighty!

I was wondering where your were....

Good to see you had a wonderful time. I smell the beginnings of the FP Flu.

 

Glad the PG was everything you hoped for.

 

Just 7 weeks and counting for me now.

[gailellen12]

Thanks MightyQuinn. I am leaving for my cruise on Aug 10-can't wait. How were the optionals that you decided to take? i am still up in the air on some of these. Glad you had a great time. Thanks for your reviews. Gail :)

[cmalagngl]

Great review. Looking forward to your thoughts on the shore tours. We are on the August 10th cruise and actively looking our our shore options. Thanks for taking the time to write this excellent overview of your cruises.

[Texed]

Quinn,

Excellent review. Thanks for posting. :)

[Hibiscus13]

Great reading so far, can't wait to hear more. Thanks for posting.

[MotuIslander]

Thank you so VERY much for your review. We have been on board five times, but I am horrible at putting it all in writing and could never have done so fine a job as you have done in your first (of many I hope) installment.

 

Thanks again!

[seacat65]

Beautiful review!...I hope to one day get a chance to go to Tahiti.

 

Can some of you post pictures of Tahiti as well as pictures of the Paul Guaguin???

 

I also feel the FP flu coming along.....soon!

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Nice! 21 days in a row must be complete heaven! B2B2B, wow! Looking forward to hearing about your experiences in port.

[MightyQuinn]

Thanks for the nice comments! What goes around comes around and it's pay-back time for me!

 

As previously mentioned, we usually arrange our own tours in most ports of call. However, on these b2b cruises, we did several PG shore excursions to use our generous OBC. We didn’t book any tours in advance and, with just a single exception, were able to get what we wanted once on-board.

 

As an observation, Shorex staff on Paul Gauguin did a decent job, but in many cases, they didn’t seem to have good knowledge of the tours they were selling. If their cheat sheet didn’t have the answer to your question, well tough luck. Nevertheless, we were pleased with almost all our PG excursions.

 

Here's what I have so far on what we did in the Society Islands. Still to come, Marquesas and Tuamotus.

[MightyQuinn]

Our pre-cruise documents showed our scheduled port call to be less than a full day, from 11:00 am–6:00 pm. Surprise! We actually arrived at 9:00 am and stayed overnite until 6:30 am the following day. If we had known this in advance, we would have had sufficient time to do an all-day private tour, L’Excursion Bleu with Bruno. But it was not to be, since we had already signed up for the half-day PG Coral Gardens Drift Snorkel.

 

We motored by covered boat to the west coast of Tahaa to a coral garden located between motus close to the reef. We had to walk maybe 10 min across a rocky motu to get to the drift spot, so reef shoes are definitely needed. We drift snorkeled through a shallow lagoon along a couple of channels with the help of a moderate current. Even though it was a brilliant sunny day, most of the coral was dull and there was very little sea life. We were both very disappointed. Based on photos we had seen from previous trips, we had huge expectations for colorful coral and tons of fish, which simply weren’t there. Since others rave about Tahaa Coral Gardens, I can only conclude that we weren’t at the right spot. Our overall experience was pleasant enough but I can’t recommend this excursion as a must-do.

[MightyQuinn]

Ah-Motu Mahana. We had the good fortune to visit it twice during our b2b. Based on advice from PG regulars, on our 1st cruise we took the 1st beacher to MM and grabbed a prime spot to the far left of where we landed. We had a wonderful day of relaxing, snorkeling, eating and drinking. There were many activities offered on MM, mostly hosted by Les Gauguines. I participated in pareo dying and tying, coconut tasting and Tahitian dancing. It was a lot of fun. There were several PG approved vendors selling vanilla, shell jewelry, black pearls. We looked at the stuff to get an idea of prices, but didn’t purchase anything.

 

On our 2nd visit, we did PG Exploration of Tahaa in the morning and went to MM for the afternoon. The PG excursion was superb! It was an off-road exploration of the entire Island with visits to a black pearl farm and a vanilla plantation. This excursion was the only way to set foot on Tahaa, since all other tenders went to MM. Tahaa is wild and beautiful, quite unlike the other Islands. The black pearl and vanilla operations were both family-owned affairs, small and simple. Buy your vanilla here - prices were the absolute best that we found anywhere. After the excursion, we tendered back to the ship and then it was a mad dash to make the next beacher to MM. We arrived in time for lunch and had no problem getting well-located loungers. We spent the remainder of the day just hanging out, Midori Colada in hand. Life’s good.

 

As an aside, it was a wet landing (calf deep) on our 1st visit to MM but a dry landing on the 2nd time. Be prepared with reef shoes as the beach is full of coral and sea cucumbers are abundant close to shore.

[MightyQuinn]

We were on Bora Bora for a total of 3 days.

 

On the 1st day, we did the all-day 4x4 Safari with Lagoon Excursion and Motu Picnic with the famous Patrick. We had the man himself for the 4x4 part of the tour, which was exceptional. It was a blast going up ridiculously steep and rocky trails to get to viewpoints overlooking the gorgeous lagoon. It was a lot of fun but do be aware that it’s a rough couple of hours of jostling about.

 

Things slipped after that. We transferred from the vehicle to an outrigger canoe, skippered by his cousin Moreto. Let’s just say he’s no Patrick. He tries too hard to be cool and comes across as aloof and bored. Our first stop was at a private motu for our Polynesian feast. Cooks were already there preparing an underground oven with suckling pig, chicken with spinach, breadfruit, plaintain as well as a BBQ with grilled yellow-fin tuna and chicken. There was also poisson cru, assorted salads and fruit. No lobster as reported by others. We were invited by Moreto to help ourselves to a cooler with champagne, Hinano beer and soft drinks. When the buffet was ready, we loaded stuff onto grass plates and ate at a table set into the lagoon. It was a magical setting. Food was OK but not great.

 

After much too much time at the motu, including waiting while Moreto transferred some of the group to shore for their 4x4 safari, we continued with the lagoon excursion. We made 3 separate snorkeling stops: 1) black tip reef sharks. The sharks were plentiful and it was exhilarating to swim among them. Moreto had some food (not sure if it was bread or tuna) that attracted them towards us. Bonus points as we also saw several lemon sharks swimming deep below us. Moreto dived down and climbed onto a lemon shark and rode it for a very brief time. I think Moreto himself was the most impressed by his stunt! 2) stingrays. Very disappointing as the rays were few and far between. Many of us only caught a glimpse of them swimming away. Moreto shouted that he spotted an eagle ray, but he was the only person to see it. Apparently the group that did the lagoon excursion in the morning had much better luck in having the rays surround them in the water. 3) coral garden. This was a lovely spot with colorful coral and many fish. Unfortunately, by the time we arrived there, Moreto was clock-watching so our snorkeling time was very limited.

 

Bottom line, our experience with the legendary Patrick was good but not great. It was a fun day but certainly not a trip highlight as many others have reported.

 

On the 2nd day, we went to the PG private beach, which was an idyllic hideaway of white sand beach, turquoise waters and swaying palms. Even though it’s not fully serviced like MM, it had the essentials to keep us happy – bar and snorkeling. We snorkeled for a while and thought it was better than on MM. Other passengers played volleyball and petanque with locals. After a few hours, we returned to the ship and joined others for a quick visit to Bloody Mary’s, just to say we did!

 

We visited BB for the 3rd time on our 2nd cruise. We did a half-day Reef Discovery with Christophe. What a wonderful excursion! Christophe is a former dive instructor who has now dedicated himself to helping others discover the underwater joy of Bora Bora. His knowledge is impressive and his enthusiasm is genuine. Christophe showed concern and consideration for all members of the group and took particular interest in those who weren’t comfortable in the water. He’s a class act.

 

His tour was essentially a circle lagoon trip to less visited spots than other operators cover. It included 4 snorkeling stops: 1) coral garden. We started in waters about 9 ft deep that were abundant with colorful coral and fish. We then progressed to much deeper 40 ft waters looking for manta rays. After much effort in swimming against currents, we only found a single manta, but it was still a thrill. 2) spotted rays. Swam with a school of spotted rays, who showed no interest in us at all. They were very graceful and elegant, but shy and easily spooked. We also spotted another manta ray. 3) coral garden. Easily the best spot of all the snorkeling we did in FP. Crystal clear water, amazing coral and unbelievable tropical fish. It was like being in a 3D-IMAX movie! Nobody wanted to leave this magnificent place. 4) drift snorkel. We went close to the reef edge of the lagoon and snorkeled in a shallow coral garden. The coral was very dense and colorful. Christophe aptly called it a coral carpet. The currents were present but not overwhelming. This drift was hands-down better than the PG Coral Garden Drift Snorkel in Raiatea.

 

I highly recommend Reef Discovery with Christophe.

[MightyQuinn]

We were on Moorea for a total of 3 days and anchored in Cook’s Bay on both cruises.

 

On the 1st day, we took PG Aito Off-Road Safari. It was fantastic! It was a fun way to hit the key spots - Belvedere, Agricultural School, Juice Factory – and to orient ourselves on the Island. We also went to an ancient marae site and drove past pineapple and mango plantations. At the AG School, we tasted locally produced jams, ice cream and juice. Tiare flower ice-cream was a real treat. More tastings followed at the Juice Factory, with Tahitian Vanilla Liquor being my fave. Prices there were excellent, not only on booze but also on pareos, honey and jams, oils and vanilla. The tour ended with a thrilling ride up Magic Mountain. I’ll not ruin the surprise, but it’s a fitting end. Later that day, we tendered to shore and walked to nearby Maharepa Village. It was a pleasant 15 min walk along the water, but there were no sidewalks so it was a little unnerving whenever cars zipped by! We poked around the few shops in town, looking for everything in general and nothing in particular. I bought some monoi oil in the local supermarket and some tamaru oil at a pharmacy mid-way between town and the ship. Hoping for miracles! En route back to the ship, we popped into Ron Hall Island Fashion which was a lovely store with friendly folks. I was keen to find a hand-painted pareo since those on the ship and in most shops were mass produced in Indonesia. No joy.

 

On the 2nd day, we taxied to Moorea Hilton with our PG snorkel gear in tow, with the intent of buying a day pass. I had contacted the Hotel Concierge in advance so we knew it was possible. Not sure how or why, but when we inquired about the day pass, we were offered full use of the resort, beach and pools at no charge, as long as we purchased lunch. Done deal! We enjoyed a wonderful day of relaxation and water activities. Others have described snorkeling in the waters in front of the hotel as world-class. I agree. I definitely recommend spending some time at Hilton Moorea.

 

We were on Moorea for the 3rd time on our 2nd cruise. We took PG Dolphin Watching Expedition with Dr. Michael Poole. It was touch-and-go for a while with no dolphins in sight. But thankfully we were in the 95% that actually find them. Once the spinners were spotted, we stayed with them and observed their behavior while Dr. Poole gave non-stop commentary. Very pleasant. Later we passed an edge of the lagoon where huge waves were breaking on the reef and locals were surfing, so we watched them for a while. It was more thrilling than watching the dolphins! This excursion had a clear focus on education and was very interesting, although Dr. Poole had a condescending manner that was quite off-putting. He ran the tour like a marine biology class for unruly undergrads, even though we were 9 well-behaved adults. Maybe that’s why his boat wasn’t full? A shame really, since he’s doing great research to support dolphins in the wild. I’d recommend this tour to people who haven’t seen dolphins or other marine mammals up close before. If you’ve seen them elsewhere, give it a miss.

[MightyQuinn]

We had a full day in Papeete in between our b2b cruises. I had arranged a half-day Circle Island Tour with Dave’s VIP Tours before we left home. But he was a no-show on the day, despite e-mail confirmations and a follow-up call placed to him on our behalf by Tourism Tahiti. Oh well, stuff happens. So we decided to just putter about Papeete. We went to Le Grand Marche, the massive local market filled with fresh fruit, vegetables, flowers and fish on the ground floor and handicrafts and black pearls on the upper floor. We wandered the stalls for an hour or so, soaking up the smells and sounds. We returned to Le Grand Marche later in the day and I bought some monoi oil, tiare soap and a pareo caftan. We were tempted by some lovely Marquesan hand-crafted bowls, but decided to wait until we were actually in Marquesas to make a purchase.

 

We lunched at a little café called Patachoux, which was featured on an episode of No Reservations by Anthony Bourdain. Our baguette sandwich was good but nothing special. Then we did a walking tour of downtown Papeete, following our Lonely Planet guide. It was unmercifully hot and humid, so our walk was limited to the area around the waterfront.

 

We had dinner on the ship and then went out for dessert at Les Roulettes. These mobile food vans are set up every nite on the Papeete waterfront within steps of the ship. It’s a carnival-type atmosphere with kids playing, music blasting, street performers and everyone eating at communal tables. We enjoyed crepes stuffed with pineapple and bananas, with Tahitian vanilla ice cream. Divine.

 

We got to see a little more of Tahiti on our final day during the PG complimentary tour en route to our day room at Radisson. Just quick peeks at Venus Point and Faarumai Waterfalls made me sorry that we missed our Circle Island Tour. If you have the time, I recommend that you get outside Papeete and explore the rest of Tahiti.

[MightyQuinn]

That's it for now. Still to come: Our shore excursions on Marquesas and Tuamotus. Stay tuned!

[kiwiuk]

Excellent reading - thank you Mighty Quinn !! Very insightful.

Out of interest, you have your location as "Pacific Northwest" - can you give us a clue as to where you are based?;)

[Emdee]

Hi Mighty,

 

Your payback is excellent and much welcomed.

 

Could you tell me what time the dance show is on Fakarava. We have an excursion booked so may need to navigate around that.

 

What did you do on Fakarava?

 

Thanks

[psyfi]

Thanks for sharing your details!

[Emdee]

Mighty ,

Seafood brunch was this in place of breakfast buffet or did you get both?

Thanks

Miriam

[MightyQuinn]

Hi Emdee! What’s up with CC these days? I’m having a heck of a time logging on and pulling up threads.

 

As for the shows on Fakarava, the children put on a special performance at their school, located just across the road from the tender pier. The show started after the first few tenders had arrived, shortly after 9:00 am. It lasted about 40 minutes, but performances were repeated so even late-comers got a chance to see at least part of it. When we left at 10:30 am it was still going strong. It was obviously a big deal for the community – the kids and their teachers were so excited and many locals came out to see the show. At the end, they sold a cute little calendar that had pictures of all the kids in colorful dress. Later in the afternoon at 4:00 pm, a local dance troupe was brought on-board to perform on the Pool Deck right before sail-away.

 

Speaking of sail-away, be sure to be outside for either arrival or departure. Sailing through the Garuae Pass into the lagoon is spectacular, with huge waves crashing over the reef.

 

We had an interesting shore excursion on Fakarava! After the kids show, we wandered down the single paved road, looking for the perfect snorkeling spot. There were many PG passengers doing likewise. Along the way, we came upon the village medical centre. My DH had gotten a pretty nasty coral cut on Raiatea the week before and it wasn’t healing. He resisted but I insisted that we pop into the clinic for a look-see. As it turned out, his cut was infected and we were referred to the village MD, a young Frenchman who looked like he’d rather be surfing than practicing medicine! But he gave DH a thorough exam, cleaned and bandaged the coral cut and gave him 2-weeks supply of penicillin, pain killers, gauze and bandages. All for about $36. But the doc really proved his worth with a recommendation that we have lunch at Te Anuanua, which he claimed was the best restaurant on Fakarava. So off we went for a fabulously fresh seafood meal overlooking the gorgeous lagoon.

Then back to the perfect snorkeling spot. The doc had recommended the area right outside Te Anuana, but we had a look and weren’t too sure. We ended up snorkeling right off the beach along the main road, to the left of the tender pier. There was a kayak launch near-by with concrete steps into the water. Very easy to get in and out! The snorkeling was very good, considering we were so close to shore.

 

Fakarava was the only place where we tried to get a PG excursion but it wasn’t possible. We wanted to do Pinnacle Snorkeling in the Garuae Pass, but it was all sold out before we got on-board. We were on a wait-list but we didn’t clear. Boat capacity was only 12 people and they ran it twice, in morning and afternoon. According to the dive guys on PG, snorkeling there is the absolute best. So if this is of interest, I recommend you buy it on-line before you go.

[MightyQuinn]

Seafood brunch was this in place of breakfast buffet or did you get both?

Both! I don't think many people knew that they could also have lunch on boarding day - check your PG pre-cruise stuff. When we went to the restaurant, I saw a sheet with many names on it, presumably those eligible for the free lunch. Few were crossed off. We went to eat about 11:30 am and they were serving a wonderful seafood buffet. I saw some people come in later and order off the menu, so perhaps that is also an option. It's a great deal!

[MightyQuinn]

Forgot to mention that Fakarava was another port where we had a slight itinerary change. We were originally scheduled to be in port 8:00 am-5:00 pm but we actually arrived at 5:00 pm the nite before, anchored overnite and departed as originally planned at 5:00 pm the following day.

[Emdee]

I too have been finding the boards slow.

 

Fakarava and Rangiroa I think the ship needs to come in with the tide so its important that they navigate at a certain time. I will make sure to be on deck for Fakarava.

 

We have booked Ato's excursion in Fakarava so will miss the kids - darn would have loved to see them. Maybe we can ask Ato to leave just a little later. I did ask him to bring us back by 3.30 so we will see the later show for sure.

 

I cannot swim so the snorkelling in deep water is out of the question - that is why we booked Atos picnique to the blue lagoon and motu. I understand that his trip includes fishing usually spear fishing so menu will likely be fresh fish.

 

That is a good tip regarding lunch - I will make sure to check. The cost for one night for the three of us was quite substantial ( 850 or so) would be nice if it includes lunch.

 

Thanks