Pre-cruise Tahiti

[CurleyfromFL]

We are going on the TP Oct31st we plan to do a precruise does anybody have any suggestions on where to stay? Is it best to do it on your own or with the cruise line? Are hotels cheaper when you do it yourself? Do you buy transfers from the cruise line or how reliable is it to find your own way We dont know what to expect. Hope we can get some information. Thank You John

[james j feller]

CURLEY,

 

Do not stay at the SHERATON ,there is no beach and the rooms were not as nice as i would think a resort could be.

 

Everyone we talked to liked the other big hotels, i can't think of there names right now.

 

JIM

[RMS Olympic]

This hotel was great....you might also check out the new Radisson hotel...it is suppose to be fabulous.

[laurasue]

Don't worry about purchasing transfers with the cruise line. Cabs are easy to catch and you can do it at your leisure. (just ask the front desk at the hotel to call for you)

 

You will find on the island of Tahiti that there are fewer sandy beaches (actually, this applies to French Polynesia as a whole). However, we really enoyed the night's stay at the Tahiti Intrcontinental Beachcomber. It's a nice hotel, pretty grounds, great pools. We had a lagoon view room. Honestly, I wouldn't recommend spending the $$ on overwater bungalows on the island of Tahiti. It's a much better and different experience to stay in one on Moorea or Bora Bora, for instance. I have a few pictures from the Tahiti ICB if you'd like, I'd be happy to share.

 

If you plan to stay a few nights pre-cruise, I would suggest heading to Moorea and staying there. It's a nice island, more suited to a few nights stay, and has a better hotel selection. The Sheraton there is top of the line and the overwater bungalows are amazing. Getting to Moorea is easy and relatively inexpensive.

 

We booked our entire 2 week land vacation in tahiti on our own. It's easy and you can find the best deals that way. I would assume the cruise lines have a good markup on rooms.

 

Happy planning! :D

[thulewx]

I did 3 days pre-cruise at the Le Meridien on Bora Bora. The place is fabulous with unbelieveable views. The food is a little lacking and expensive, but all the hotels in F. Polynesia are like that. It was one of the Radisson cruise packages so fairly cheap, considering their rack rate is over $1000 a night :eek: .

[CurleyfromFL]

Hi Laura Thank you for the information. I would enjoy seeing the pictures of the ICB. I think our flight doesnt get in till evening so we would not have enough time to get from the airport to Moorea. Is there plenty of cabs? How far is it from the airport to downtown Papeete? Any other information you could give us would help Thank You John

[laurasue]

John, it was about a 5-10 minute cab ride from the airport to the ICB. We arrived around 7pm and headed straight to the hotel. We had no problems catching a cab in either direction. We did not take a cab from the hotel to downtown (just back to the airport) so I am not sure the distance. The restaurant at the ICB was good. They have two pools, one is sandy bottomed, one is an infinity pool. We were greeted with a fresh fruit drink. The room was nice, very clean and comfortable and a great view of Moorea. Other than the Sheraton, it's one of the closest hotels to the airport which is a good thing if you're arriving on an evening flight. I believe cab fares are more at night.

 

Send me an email at briandlaura@yahoo.com and I will forward on to you the ICB pictures I have.