Suite perks? Excursion info?

[SuzCruise]

We just booked our anniversary cruise on the PG for May 29th. I have some questions:

 

1) Our only other cruise was a HAL, and then we had some added bonus for being in a suite - besides the obvious bonus of the veranda.

We are in a class B suite - any other perks besides the great balcony. Certainly don't need it - just wondering.

 

2) When will we find out the excursion options and when we can book them? Not until we get on the ship?

 

3) We are doing a pre-cruise stay in Bora Bora at the Lagoon Resort. Does anyone know what the schedule is for the transfer to the ship and what time we can board the ship. Our anniversary is that actual day - so we would like to be able to have some idea of our schedule so we can plan.

 

Thanks in advance for the help. Any other advice or do's or don'ts would be greatly appreciated as well.

[foreveryoung]

SuzCruise, What a wonderful way to celebrate an anniversary. From all that I've heard, you should have a fantastic cruise on the PG.

 

You should receive your excursion information in with your docs. Until then, go to Radisson's web site, and look up your date. Altho it may not be the final version of the excursions, you can get an idea of what may be offered. I don't believe Radisson allows pre-booking excursions. One positive note is that since you are doing a pre-cruise, you'll probably be on board long before the passengers arriving on the evening flight and will have 1st choice at the excursions.

 

From the Radisson web site, it appears that Cat B suites include Butler service.

 

I'm afraid I can't help you with the rest of your questions.

 

Vickie

 

12/6/04 WOWzers Chocolate Lovers Cruise on Voyager

 

 

It's not that life is short, it that we wait too long to begin enjoying it.

[SuzCruise]

Thanks for the response. I hadn't noticed the info about the Butler service, thanks for pointing that out.

 

Can we book our excursions as soon as we get on board - or is there a certain time that the booking desk opens?

[lastlook]

Yes - it is my understanding also that Cat B includes butler service, so you should have extra special attention. If you haven't already made RSSC aware that it is your anniversary, you definitely should, as they do special things for those on their honeymoon or celebrating an anniversary.

 

I believe that 3:00 p.m. is the earliest that you can board, and the excursion desk is open for a while in the afternoon. I don't recall the exact hours. It opens again in the evening for those boarding later on. We loved the Bora Bora waverunner excursion, so if you haven't already done that while on Bora Bora, you might want to look into it. We had never been on one and it wasn't a problem at all as you follow the guide. I found that the excursions listed on the web site were exactly what was offered. You'll get a booklet with your cruise documents that lists them all. You have to book them on the ship as they don't allow you to do it in advance.

 

Perhaps RSSC can tell you what time your flight is from Bora Bora to Tahiti. I believe there are several each day, and would imagine it would probably be a late morning or early afternoon flight. That is assuming you booked your pre-cruise stay through RSSC. They use Tahiti Nui Travel as their local agency for flights, reservations, transfers, etc.

 

Hope this info helps and I'll be glad to answer any other questions you might have if I have an answer. I did pick up the flight schedules for the island while there in March, so could check the times for you and get back to you on Thursday, if you like. Have a wonderful trip and anniversary celebration!

[drich]

Hi,

Note that the excursion lists many options each day. We discovered only on boarding that a lot of them conflict on times of the excursions. We had to trash our prior list of what we were going to do and drop about half of them.

But on the good side, we still did so many things that we canceled a few towards the end due to being tired.

The only one I did not enjoy was the 4X4 tour on Moorea, it rained like mad and we were sliding in two feet of mud up the mountian.

The ship is perfect, the islands are perfect, the service is perfect. What else can I say.

Have fun

[SuzCruise]

Thanks for all the helpful info!

 

Unfortunately, the RSSC site doesn't have the excursions listed for most of our ports. Hopefully we'll get out cruise docs soon so I can start planning. I am a planning addict!

 

lastlook, I would love to have some idea what our flight schedule might be like if you don't mind looking it up for me! At this point we don't know when we are leaving for our vacation or what we'll be doing on our actual anniversary. Thanks for the tip about telling RSSC it is our anniversary. I know our TA knows - but I will make sure she conveys the info. and we will definitely do the waverunners. I have heard that is a blast!

 

One other question - can we - and should we - have dinner in Le Veranda the first night of our cruise? Since it is our anniversary I would prefer a nice romantic dinner - but I have heard some mixed reviews about the food and didn't know if this restaurant would even be open sice this is the night of embarkation.

 

Thanks again for all of the help everybody

[SuzCruise]

Thanks for all the great info everybody!

 

Unfortunately, the RSSC website doesn't have the excursion listed for most of our ports. I'll keep checking to see if they update that.

 

Lastlook, I would love to have some idea of our flight schedule if you don't mind looking it up for me! At this point we don't know when we leave for our vacation or what we'll be doing on our anniversary. I am a planning addict - so this is driving me crazy. I guess the phrase is "control freak".

 

Thanks for all the help everyone.

 

Any other do's or don'ts or secrets you can share?

[SuzCruise]

Sorry for the multiple reply to my own post. Computer problems - user error I am sure.

[ChatKat in Ca.]

Actually, the first night of the cruise, most people are tired and they opt for the regular dining. As soon as you board, find out where they are taking the reservations and book the special restaurant (I have not been on the PG-Yet) for your anniversary. You won't regret it.

 

Kathy

6/2/04-Navigator Bermuda

9/22/04-Navigator NYC/Canada

5/03-Mariner - Panama Canal

6/01-Mariner-Alaska Inaugural

5/02-Millennium - Carribbean

12/97-RCCL Splendor of The Seas - Carribbean

1998/1993/1991 RCCL Viking Serenade

[thulewx]

Suz - I don't think they'll have the flight schedule to/from Tahiti to Bora Bora until you get off the plane in Tahiti - we'll probably be on the same plane. They don't do reserved seats - planes are too small. As far as excursions, I think they are on the rSSC site. Oops - just checked - they're gone! If you have any questions, email me - I've gotten the documents already (long story) and have the excursion booklet with prices. I'm planning on the Wave Runners on Bora or Moorea, at least. not sure about others yet...

Did you get my email after you emailed me?

 

Phil

 

upcoming:

Radisson Gauguin, 29 May and 11 Sept 2004

HAL Westerdam 13 & 20 Feb '05

[lastlook]

SuzCruise - I will look at the flight times/connections between Bora Bora and Tahiti tonight and get back to you tomorrow.

 

I am not sure if you can book a reservation for Apicius (La Veranda) the night that they sail, but if you board early enough(fellow CC, gdlamberth, observed some passengers boarding as early as 1:00 p.m. when he did his back to back on the PG in March), perhaps you can make arrangements then if you enquire first thing upon boarding. Or you could consult your TA to see if she/he can assist you with this in advance. The PG does have an e-mail address. I'll look for that tonight as well.

 

We dined in "Apicius" (with 2 other CC couples, CruzFan and Wahine) one evening and it was very nice. I think the atmosphere would be preferable to L'Etoile for a nice quiet dinner on a special occasion. Although we didn't think there was a huge difference in the quality of the food from L'Etoile (all quite good)I think the Apicius service would be more personal and attentive as there wouldn't be very many others dining that evening.

 

Other than the waverunners on Bora Bora, we took a couple of the 4X4 tours - one on Raiatea, which was combined with a motorized outrigger canoe that went up the river a short way. It was just okay - many think relaxing on the ship that day is preferable. I tend to agree. The 4X4 on Bora Bora was also okay, but you can probably do that during your stay on BB.

 

We spent the entire day at Motu Mahana, doing some snorkeling, kayaking and lots of relaxing. We also went to the BB Motu in the afternoon, following the 4X4 trip. There are no facilities there, but the PG does have a bar set up and limited munchies.

 

The weather was not that great during our 2 days on Moorea, but we took advantage of the time to do a bit of pearl shopping with 2 other CC couples (CruzFan & gdlamberth.) After we left the pearl shop, we walked over to the Intercontinental, had a drink and stopped to watch their dolphin program in progress. The second day, we went with gdlamberth and his wife on a 4X4 on the "rough" road (wasn't really rough in my opinion)to the Belvedere, which takes you through an agricultural farm. gdlamberth arranged this himself through one of the vendors where the tenders dock, and we asked our driver to stop at a pearl shop on the way back, where both couples made a nice purchase. That was at the Black Pearl Gem Company, whose jewelry is also carried by the PG's shop. Gorgeous black pearl jewelry.

 

Hope this info helps!

[SuzCruise]

Thanks for all the great info!

 

Phil, I did get your note and just recently sent you a reply. When are you flying into Tahiti from LA? I am in Texas, so it won't take us that long to get there - so I am hoping that we can do all of the flying in one day without a ton of layovers. Surely there will be no overnight in LA. We have no idea what our plans are yet, our TA says RSSC can't even tell us which hotel we are doing our pre-cruise at even though we booked it last week.

 

Is there a deep sea fishing excursion in one of the ports? My husband would love to do that. The wave-runners are something we are definitely doing!

 

An anniversary dinner question - Could we have this butler I just learned of arrange for dinner in our suite from Apicius? Talk about a romantic luxury filled evening! Just a thought.

 

A pre-cruise stay question - do I need adaptors for the plugs in our hotel room for charging camera and DVD player batteries? Do the seats on ATN have a cigarette lighter or 12 volt plug? Random questions - I know. I get a bit bored while traveling, so I need lots of diversions. Diversions need lots of battery power.

 

Thanks so much for all the great help!

 

Susan

[Dolebludger]

On our last Radisson cruise (Voyager, Trans Canal, Apr. 13)we received an excursion form with our docs and could pre-book excursions (no guarantee) via fax.

 

By chosing the PG cruise, you have just chosen the best cruise in the world, period. You should note that there is a Motu (private beach day) on Monday, and it is probably the best beach experience in the world. Same also for two days on Bora Bora.And, of the two, the snorkeling is the best off the beach on Bora Bora.

 

For excursions, I would recommend the land and river excursion on Raiatea on Sunday, if you've never been to FP, as it gives a lot of history and cultural orientation. Monday is the Private beach day at Taha'a, and I recommend you go there. You might try the snorkeling on Bora Bora and/or Moorea, or a 4x4 inland adventure, or a special dinner sail excursion. You just can't go wrong on this cruise.

 

We took the PG in Feb. '02 and did a back to back in Feb.'03 (two weeks). We didn't go this year, and I am suffering!! Just go, and know that you have chosen the very best in the world.

 

Thanks,

Richard

[lastlook]

SuzCruise - There are 8 flights from BB to Tahiti on Saturdays on Air Tahiti, starting at 6:15 (a.m.), the last one being 17:20 (5:20 p.m.)and all appear to be nonstop except for the 11:10 a.m., which has 1 stop. The nonstop flights are 45 minutes. Here are the arrival/departure times:

 

6:15/7:00

7:20/8:05

8:20/9:05

11:10/12:20 (one stop)

11:25/12:10

14:30/15:15

15:00/15:45

17:20/18:05

 

I would guess that you'd be on a late morning or early afternoon flight? Hope this helps.

 

Your idea to dine in your cabin sounds great - especially since you have butler service. We were in Cat C (no butler), and enjoyed having our breakfast on our balcony several mornings.

 

Here's the ship contact info that came with our documents:

 

gauguin@cruisemail.com

 

Let me know if you need the ship's tel or fax number as those are listed as well.

 

Another brochure that arrived with our cruise documents was a gift order form. The contact number on that brochure is in Omaha, Nebraska: 1-800-285-1835, and orders must be placed at least 12 days prior to sailing (gifts such as special champagnes, caviar, anniversary cakes, PG robes, etc.) Good luck with your arrangements! :-)

[lastlook]

Suz - I forgot to answer your other questions. There are 110 outlets, as well as 220 in your cabin. I didn't see a 110 in the bathroom for the hairdryer, so used the outlet at the desk, which has a large mirror over it. There is another 110 outlet in the base of the your cabin's bar (ours was on the left toward the bottom), and we used that to charge video and digital camera batteries.

 

I don't recall what the seats were equipped with on the ATN flight, but you'll have your own personal screen, and a choice of 6 movies, games, etc. Plenty to keep you occupied. A really nice touch on ATN is that they give you a little gift bag that contains headphones (different from US planes), eyeshades, earplugs and socks. You'll also receive a little flower to put behind your ear, and they serve your choice of beverage right away. I enjoyed the French champagne! :-)

 

The flight attendant uniforms are sharp and the whole color scheme of the plane inside and out is the blue/green colors of the water that you'll be seeing, and the white tiare flower (Tahitian Gardenia.) All of the flight attendants wore beautiful black pearl jewelry.

 

Have a wonderful trip!

[SuzCruise]

Lastlook,

 

Thanks so much for all the great info! I am so excited for this trip I don't know if I can get thru work for the next few weeks!

 

One more question: Did you have chaise lounges on your veranda and if not is there room for them?

 

Thanks again everyone for all the help!

[lastlook]

Hi Suz - We only had two chairs and a small table on our balcony, but we were CAT C, and I think CAT B does have 2 chaise lounge chairs. Take a peek at the RSSC web site and view the tour of the cabins on the PG - I think they show loungers in your category as the balconies are a bit larger. I'm relying on my memory from a few months back when I was in the state you're now in - excited anticipation! Happy to help.....:-) By the way, our room service on the PG (and this was non-butler)was fast and efficient, with no errors, even at 5:30 a.m. In fact, after reading past posts (before our cruise) about terribly slow service in general in French Polynesia, I am happy to report we never experienced that anywhere we went. Excellent service, with no waiting and no mistakes. I'm fairly fussy (within reason), so I'm not an easy "grader"......Hope you can arrange something special for your anniversary, and I would ask your TA for assistance if needed.