Help me decide - Princess versus Paul G

[astridwilson]

I am debating a Radisson Paul Gauguin cruise versus a Princess cruise

 

The Princess is the Tahitian Princess and is a 10 day cruise for approximately $1900. This is a room with a Balcony.

 

Itinerary

 

1 & 2 Papeete

 

3 Huahine

 

4 & 6 At Sea

 

5 Rarotonga

 

7 Raiatea

 

8 & 9 Bora Bora

 

10 Moorea

 

The Radisson Paul Gauguin is a 7 day cruise for approximately $3,300.

 

This is a room with a Balcony.

 

Itinerary

 

1 Papeete, Tahiti

 

2 Raiatea

 

3 Taha'a Motu Mahana

 

4 & 5 Bora Bora

 

6 & 7 Moorea

 

So Princess has Huahine & Rarotonga and two days at sea.

 

Paul Gauguin has Taha'a Motu Mahana and an extra day in Moorea

 

PG has tips included. They equate to $200

 

PG has soda and water included and two bottles of alcohol and a wine at dinner. This equates to $300.00

 

So the approximate difference in price is $900 per person.

 

So is the Radisson Paul Gauguin really worth $1800 more???

 

I like the idea of a shorter cruise, because we plan to spend a few days before and after on one of the islands. The time for the PG coincide with our anniversary better, but I am still undecided about which cruise and if I even really want to do a cruise or just do the trip independent. Radisoon tells me the PG cruise is going up this week so book early. I am still a year out, hate to be penned in so early. What do you all think???? Help me decide.

[Dreps]

Am biased having done a b2b on the PG in 2003 and going back to the PG for a 10-day cruise in February 2006 that includes Huahine and Rangiroa. Many have said the PG experience is the best cruise in the world. Don't know about that, but it was fantastic. Not the largest cabins afloat, but very nice. The food very good, and the service excellent. Many also say that the food and service at any of the land-based resorts don't compare to the PG. Note, our 10-day PG cruise is under $4000 (excluding air). Also, have a great cruise agent, who specializes in Radisson and a few other luxury lines and gives extra discounts. We also like the fact that the PG dress code is country-club casual throughout. Once on the PG, think you might be spoiled for future cruises on many other lines.

[Jim B]

You need to study everything.

Comparing TP and PG is really apples and oranges.

PG always looks more expensive until you see what is included in the package

and what you will be charged for on the TP.

Included are things like.

In cabin bar set up

snorkle gear

Day at the beach in Tahaa which includes beer,wine,cocktails,lunch

Day at beach Bora Bora

About three cocktail parties

No charge for sodas and bottle water. Drink and take all you want.

Wine, beer, or cocktails included with dinner.

No tipping. (It is included in your price).

(For some.) If you need to fly into LAX the day before your flight they put you up at LAX Hilton.

 

I would recommend you type in Paul Gauguin under search here on Cruise Critic. You will find all kinds of info.

Another idea for you is to check these web sites. Tahiti Explorer and Luxury Cruise Talk. They will also have a ton of info for you.

[JulieMac]

I'm sure you realize that posting on this particular board will not give you unbiased opinions! We love the RSSC experience and the PG is true gem. It is hard to compare it to the TP. I think it's great you've tried to quanitify the value, however I think your estimates of the beverage and alcohol value are considerably low, depending on how much you drink. They serve very nice wines with dinner and have frequent open bar events like cocktail parties, the Bora Bora motu beach, and Motu Mahana.

But what is much harder to quantify is the experience. You will be spoiled by the PG! I know I was. I went on it 2 years ago and just returned last month from a 10-day PG trip because I loved the experience so much the first time. The day on the private island, Motu Mahana, is truly unforgettable. And the service overall is top notch.

No doubt the TP is an economical way to go, and i've heard many wonderful things about it. But it's a whole different experience in terms of service, food and quality to sail the PG. There's a reason the PG has so many repeat customers!

 

JulieMac

[Jim B]

Julie Mac is correct.

It will be hard to get many negatives on this Radisson board.

As I said before. Go to the search section on the right hand side of the Radisson

page and type in Paul Gauguin.

I would then go to the Princess Cruise line page and type in Tahitian Princess and check it out.

[Goofyisme]

I think it is not just a matter of dollars and cents. It is the style of cruising that you wish to enjoy. RSSC and Princess offer different atmospheres which appeal to different people. If the Princess style appeals to you, then you will enjoy it, if you prefer the RSSC style of cruising and the additional cost is not prohibitive then go there. I really believe you need to research things like on board activities, announcements, dining styles and decide which will offer you the most enjoyable vacation.

[cwc]

Some more differences:

 

Princess has formal & informal night.

PG is country club casual all the time (no tie or Jacket).

 

Princess is two seat dining. PG is open seat

 

The specialty restaurant is free on PG, but extra on Princess.

 

PG has watersport platform for free snorkel gear, kayak, windsurf etc. Also, they operated their own dive, so lugging everything long distance.

 

Oh, PG put you up in a day room on the departure day in PPT(if you book their air). On Princess, you will have to fend for yourself.

 

For me personally, I will stay in the bottom of the boat (no balcony, just port holes) on the PG rather than a mini-suite on Princess.

 

I just came back from a 10day on PG and loved it.

 

Have fun!

[Jim B]

Our group decided to book F cabins on the PG.

Our reason was to book the lower priced cabins and then spend the savings on excursions, and parties in the bars etc. We figured since we were a group we would usually meet by the pool deck most of the time anyway.

Our decision was correct and we would do it again tomorrow if we could.

[astridwilson]

Ok Guys you've convinced me. I posted this same thread on the princess page and they did not convince me. Maybe I am really leaning towards the PG anyway. Any tips on getting a great rate for a balcony room?? Also suggestions on extra land days??

 

[Dreps]

If you can, I would spring for the balcony cabin on the PG. As far as tips, if you provide your e-mail, I'll tell be glad to give you the name of our agent. I know that others who have chimed in also use the same agency.

--------

Eugene

[Kathy Z]

You've made the right decision. Add my husband and I to the list of happy PG passengers. We did a back to back last year (repeated the 7 day cruise for 2 weeks in a row) and did a 10 day itinerary last month (the same one as JulieMac). The free motu days were incredible. I expect that I use the same agent as Dreps and Jim B. I highly recommend her.

 

We were among the fortunate ones who got a free night at the LAX Hilton. It's referred to as a forced overnight. It really helped prevent jet lag on our way over. We also spent 2 nights prior to the cruise at the Tahiti Beachcomber. I suggest at least 1 night there prior to embarkation just to be able to board in the afternoon rather than the evening you arrive.

 

Last year we did a post cruise at the Manihi Pearl Resort. It is remote, lovely and very quiet. There are really no options for eating cheaply there as there is little else on the atoll besides the Pearl Resort and pearl farms. But their food was very good. Last month we did a post cruise at the Moorea Pearl Resort. It was good to spend more time on Moorea which has plenty to offer and the Pearl is situated close enough to the small town of Maharepa to walk to a grocery store and a few other shops.

[ChatKat in Ca.]

We went on the PG in May and had a great time. We ususally do get a balcony, but we did not this time. I would only get the balcony room if you will be dining frequently in the room or if you are big on taking photographs of sunsets and the shoreline from the ship. We did fine without it. Don't miss the Children of Raitea on Sunday Morning. It was a wonderful part of the cruise for me.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Astrid,

 

I am another PG bigot, although I would go on the Princess in a heartbeat if the PG wasn't there. Some other salient points, some of which may have been mentioned already:

 

- The PG is half the size of the TP, with half the passengers, very intimate feel

- Lots of deck parties involving free drinks, activities

- Comparable rooms are bigger--you could do without a balcony on the PG, we always have

- open dining, great service

- no formal nights! No suits and ties!

- the motus!

 

Your analysis price is very interesting--another young woman whom I met in June did the same analysis, and came to the same conclusion--there's about a $1K per person difference. In her opinion, that $1K was well worth it for the intangibles.

[Daw6id]

I live to eat - and the dining experience on the Radisson cruise I went on last year [Mariner to Alaska] was comparable to an expensive NY restaurant, where the bill is $50 without tax or tip. Princess has good food, but not that good. I'm looking forward to the PG next month for the food. What price do you put on that, three meals a day? By the second day on our cruise, there were four people [in the bar, restaurant and buffet] who saw me coming and immediately produced a Diet Coke, which they then kept refilled [at no cost]. That's worth something too. Yes, Motel 6 also has rooms with beds, but I still prefer Westin!

 

David

[baf10]

I just got back from PG. I had a fantastic time. I chose the PG mainly because of a 10 day itinerary. I many ways I was disappointed with the PG. It was the first Radisson cruise or premium cruise I have been on. I have been on many other cruises like Carnival, NCL, Princess and RCCL. I expected to have fantastic food and service with the premium the Radisson charges. I would say that the food was not better than on Carnival and the service was very poor. I was very difficult to get a drink brought to you at the pool. Also I could not believe the PG only had 60 lounge chairs at the pool so many passengers only got chairs if they were lucky. I was on the Tahitian Princess when it was Renaissance and I thought the ship was nicer than the PG. The only exception was the watersports platform which I loved.

 

I spoke to some people who got of TP and they said it was too rough to get off in Raratonga. The TP also does a 10 day to the Marquesas. This may be a better choice than Raratonga.

 

The PG imay be a better choice but just don’t expect too much. French Polynesia is one of the most beautiful places in the world. You will be happy with either one. Hope this helps. Have fun.

[cwc]

Hi Brett,

 

I think we were on the same cruise. I saw your wife and little boy quite often. We never hang out around the pool because we were too busy doing other things on the ship or on the islands. So I did not know there was a problem getting drinks. However, once I was doing the crown weaving class on the side of the pool bar, I was "bugged" by more than 2 bar person during the 1/2hr I was there, asking if I want anything to drink. Maybe I look thirsty??!

 

Also, I think we were in La Veranda the same night, what do you think about the Apicius menu? Kind of salty for us.

 

Sorry, for your bad experience, but I though the food was way better than RCCL. I guess if you don't like fish and veal, this is definitly not the cruise for you (there were some type of veal dish every other day).

 

Cindy

[Island Cruiser]

We did the PG B2B beginning 5/21. I agree with baf10, the quality of the food served on the PG was NOT "luxury" as I have experienced it on the Radisson Voyager. I was really disappointed. We actually had several BAD meals and the others, with the exception of Apicius, were very mass market-quality. Service on the first week of the cruise was acceptable to good depending on the server. On the second week of the cruise, the service shined because the ship had about 130 very unhappy passengers on board. But if you go back and read the Radisson promotional brochure, you'll see that the rhetoric and the reality with respect to "cuisine" don't match. Perhaps they used to, but not between 5/21 and 6/4. Patrick