paul gauguin vs other rssc ships

[ivopera]

I am going on my first rssc cruise (after several times on celebrity) on the Paul Gauguin on the 20th of august.

• Apart from the size, is there a difference in food, service... between paul gauguin and other rssc ships
  
• How does the marina work? (when can you go? How long can you rent something? are there waterskis? Is it free?......
  

[Jim B]

Yes the PG is smaller than the other RSSC ships but quality, service, and experience does not take 2nd place. It is a fantastic cruise.

Our group did not use any of the things avalible off the back of the ship.

It usually is availible while the ship is anchored in port. I do not believe there is any charge for using the equipment. I don't know about water skis. Don't remember that avalible. Might be an out side tour that does that. This cruise has so many great ports of call that it makes it difficult not to go ashore. Make sure you do the day at the beach at Tahaa. Worth the whole trip. You will get your snorkle gear on the ship and use it all week. NO Charge.

 

03/22/80 Commodore MS Caribe

02/15/03 Radisson Paul Gauguin

02/22/04 Norwegian Dream (ick)

11/12/04 Radisson Mariner

02/15/05 Radisson Diamond

12/27/05 Radisson Voyager

[adrenn]

Hi IV! Hope you have a wonderful time. We just returned from the PG. The marina offers free use of their snorkeling equipment (masks, fins & snorkels), kayaking and water skiing. The daily schedules will list opening times for these activities. They are all complimentary; snorkel gear needs to be returned on Friday night. If there is bad weather/high winds, marina activities (and shore excursions, for that matter) might be cancelled. Hope that helps. Enjoy the PG! Cheers, Anne

[Jim B]

Boy!

Thanks for your help Adrenn.

After I sent a post I realized I was probably not much help to Ivopera

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Yes, the Marina equipment is all free. The kayaking is a bit limited from the ship, I think you have to stay close by (never done it). But the kayaks are also available at all of the motu days. Never got around to doing any of that stuff, so guess I'll have to go back!

[dougburns]

Last time we were on the PG it seemed a bit worn, compared to the other RSSC ships. It was our least favorite of the RSSC fleet and we've been on them all. Food and service is comparable, but that's about it. A very expensive week of cruising IMHO.

[Island Cruiser]

I've been on Voyager for a total of 23 days and PG for a total of 14. Haven't yet done the other two RSSC ships but we are booked on both during 2006.

 

Voyager is more than twice as large as the PG, so the public areas are larger with more glitz. But both ships have a very high space to passenger ratio, so you never have a sense of crowding. No lines on either ship. The crew on both ships has been superb--really fine meal service, excellent cabin service, and, generally a very positive can-do performance on both ships. The entertainment is better on Voyager because, of course, it is more than twice as large. But I thought the entertainment on PG very good. In my opinion, there are only two important differences between the two ships. The standard cabins on Voyager are a third larger than on PG. While I was happy with the PG 202 sq. ft. PG standard cabin, I was spoiled rotten by the Voyager's wonderful cabin at about the same price as the PG. The other area of difference is the quality of the food. Voyager offers almost consistent luxury line "fine dining" in all of it's resturants. We have never had a disappointing meal on Voyager. Voyager's food presentations are eye-popping. Hot foods are usually served hot. Fish dishes are superb. On Voyager they wow you with the quality of the food. We keep a food diary. I want to photograph each presentation (but decline fearing it would be perceived as rude). One of the main reasons we cruise is to enjoy really fine dining. We've never missed a day of fine dining on Voyager. We sailed B2B on the PG beginning 5/21/05. Apart from breakfast and four excellent meals in Apicius, we considered the food quality (not the service) on PG to be below luxury cruise standards. Not bad, mind you. Just not at the luxury cruise level. The lunch buffet is standard all-you-can-eat restaurant fare. Our one meal at Le Grill was simply poor. We didn't try it again. And only a couple of meals in the main dining room approached the "luxury" level in quality. We hear, now, that the PG is closing Apicius, the only consistently "luxury" venue, in my opinion, and, on 7/2/05, replacing it with a French bistro restaurant. My guess is this is another cost cutting measure, an attempt to get passengers to fill up on bread and cheese rather than more costly fare. We'll have to wait on the reviews to understand fully what this means. (Please understand, I love to eat truck stop food and quarter pounders with cheese and all sorts of "ordinary" meals. I love the ordinary stuff too much. But I pay truck stop prices for meat loaf and mashed potatoes. When I book a luxury cruise, I am promised "fine dining," in the case of the PG, the "best food ever served in the South Pacific," and I pay for it and expect it. I am very sad to see the PG closing the only restaurant that delivered "fine dining" consistently. My guess is this move will pop the PG fully out of the luxury cruise category with respect to its food service.)

 

You're going to have a great time on the PG. It will tempt you to move up to Voyager!

 

Patrick

[jhp]

While it is an expensive week of cruising, I would suggest that if you did it on land you would pay a lot more and get a lot less overall for the price in this part of the world. Going out for any meal in FP is very costly. For what the PG offers, I think it is a bargain, but you sort of have to be a sun-lover to do this cruise. Some things you can't put a price on, like those motu days in Tahaa (know this is incorrect spelling), and Bora Bora. A pre-cruise is highly recommended if you have the time and money.

 

The PG is my least favorite RSSC "ship"(although I loved my cruise), it is the destination that is so special, and having read many reports of the others available there, PG wins hands down. Staterooms are not nearly as large as Mariner, Voyager and Navigator, more like the Diamond, which is now gone. I would go back in a minute if it wasn't so far away and I was ready for a warm destination from a ship!

[Island Cruiser]

jhp, I agree with every word in your post. Patrick

[ivopera]

Thanks for your answers! And sorry for my late reply but as I live in France so we are not awake at the same time.

I never heard about the fact that they will close Apicius! Where did you learn this??

 

 

-

[cwc]

I e-mailed RSSC and this is what I heard from them today.

 

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

From: PAU Hotel Director

Subject: RE: No more Apicius on PG?

 

Yes we will be changing the menu in Apicius to a different concept as

of next cruise, but the menu is still put together by Jean Pierre Vigato

from Apicius in Paris.

 

Best regards

Philippe

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

 

Well, we will be on the 7/2 cruise. I will let you all know what do I think about the new menu.

 

Cindy

[dougburns]

JHP and others who wish to do FP. Mariner and this year Navigator do FP as well. We took the 26 day SFO-SFO cruise aboard Mariner( Cat C penthouse) in the Fall of 2003 and had a much better cruise than the one in a Cat B aboard PG. Saw the Marquesas, Papeete, Moorea, Bora Bora and three stops in the Hawaiian Islands to boot. The price wasn't much more than the PG cost, because the cruise was a 2 for 1. Navigator this Fall was also a 2 for 1.

[gdlamberth]

This year the Mariner is doing Auckland to LA for 18 days at 2 for 1. Price is about $200 more than the 14 day PG cruise (about $4700+air). AND you have a short flight home!! No Hawaiian stops, but you do get Bay of islands, Cook Islands (Raratonga), Tuamotus (Raingoria), and Auckland. I think the big miss for us will be the Les Gauguines and Motu Mahana.

Greg

[Island Cruiser]

Wow! What a Mariner itinerary. AND you get Mariner cabins and real luxury cruise cusine, that latter having been abandoned by the PG. I've just quickly compared posted cruise prices. The Tahitian Princess' posted prices for an equivalent sized cabin are about half that of the PG. Even when you factor in all the "free" booze and "free" bottled water and soda pop, it appears that the PG, for some reason, can't cut it competitively.

[ysuley]

Hi Ivopera,

We are sailing on PG 8/20 too. I started a Roll Call http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=192307.

Let's keep in touch.

[tane]

Worried about our upcoming trip on the PG. We need to pay the balance soon and with all the negative comments, we're concerned that we will not be receiving food and accommodation commiserate with the cost of the cruise. We were on the PG several years ago and had a wonderful time and were so impressed with accommodation and service. Loved the food (and the staff) at the Grill, thought the all-around dining experience in the main dining room (sorry, it's been 2 years, is that L'Etoile or Veranda?) was terrific. We were a little disappointed in Apicius because our meal that night (the final night of the cruise as we were docking at Papeete) did not compare to others we've enjoyed when we visit France and had it in our minds that we would be served a similar experience, but we were looking forward to having another taste test! Sounds like the dining in the Grill isn't up to par and that many are disappointed with the food in the main dining room as well. Sure don't want to be paying big bucks for worn out accommodations and inferior food. We will be following Cindy's and others' trip reports closely as their returns are very close to our final payment deadline. We have alternate plans for our vacation in Tahiti so the show WILL go on, just maybe not in the form of a cruise on the PG.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

The Grill is still very nice. The meal that Island Cruiser referred to was a set menu for a group. It was just okay, and badly presented (missed course, plating problems.)

 

But we went back to the Grill the week after, and had a very nice meal. My husband's entry was a little heavy, it was duck, and the special of the night. But everything else was really great. Still very romantic, if it's not too hot.

[Call me Ishmael]

I think this is more a matter of personal preference. If you want more mainstream type cruising with formal nights, production shows, more dining options, art auctions and a multi-story atrium, then the bigger ships are for you.

 

I spent 2 weeks earlier this year on the PG and just returned from 10 days on the Voyager. Both experiences were wonderful, but there were things about the PG I preferred:

 

1. All casual dress.

 

2. Apicius better than Signatures. (We dined in Apicius three times we liked it so well. Too bad they are changing it.)

 

3. Smaller size allows you to meet other passengers more quickly since you see them more often. The crew and wait staff quickly know you, interact with you on a personal level and the wait staff quickly learn your preferences.

 

4. Room service at breakfast time is much faster.

 

Bottom line: the PG feels more like a private yacht than a cruise ship.

 

The Voyager, however, wins for balconies throughout (we had to pay up to get one on the PG), more dining options (I found the PG's Grill disappointing in both food and service), more closet space and better bathrooms.

 

If GCT hasn't mucked it up too much, the PG is a fabulous, although slightly different, cruising experience.

 

CMI