Review 25th June-4th July 2015 cruise

[AmR87]

Kaye,

 

I'm so excited to read your report! It is wonderful thus far.

 

I hope everything is lovely in Vegas".

[sammyboots]

Thank you, Ali! :) Settling back in to the surreal world that is Vegas...hot hot hot at the moment, just looking forward to the Autumn! :cool:

[sammyboots]

Today we were looking forward to taking a SSV tour with Albert’s Transport. We booked this tour independently through the Alberts Transport website and found the company very good at replying to emails promptly. They were extremely reliable for our pickup and drop offs to and from the pier on our pre cruise arrangements. The pick up was arranged for 8.35am on the tender pier at a price of 22.000cfp per vehicle. The tour was mostly ATVs but we fancied having a side by side so we could chat more easily, take photos etc and I have to say we were pleased that we did. I don’t think they have many SSVs though so if that is what you would prefer to go with, book early. We had a few other folks on the tour ask how we managed to get the SSV as some felt they might have preferred it, quite simply, we asked and we were lucky that they had one available. We were picked up initially by bus and taken to the Albert’s Transport office where we picked up our ATVs and SSVs. All the folk on the ATVs were given helmets but as we had seatbelts and it was protected by a roll cage it wasn’t necessary for us to wear one. The SSV had storage room for bags and also a drinks holder for the bottles of water which they also provided. After a brief instruction we were off! There was a guide driving an ATV at the front leading the way and also a guy following at the rear on a motorbike.

We were glad we were taking the morning tour rather than the afternoon as it was very hot and humid. Driving towards the interior, the first stop was at Bounty Plateau to take in the view from the volcanic crater. We also visited the pineapple plantation and the agricultural college where there were jams to sample and buy. The highlights after, heading up to Belvedere Point and then last but not least, Magic Mountain. The views were spectacular; so much greenery around and also the multitude of shades of blue when looking out to the sea. We were lucky with the weather and had great views of all around and including the Paul Gauguin. It’s certainly a great way to see the island! We were glad that we packed extra water as we drank not only the bottles that they gave us on the tour but also the bottles we had packed with us from the PG. One of the ladies on our tour was covered in bites afterwards though but this is to be expected if you take this type of tour. :eek:

 

We were feeling exhilarated after a fun day out and also slightly grubby and tired after so much sun by the time we returned to the dock. First stop after getting back onboard the PG was a shower and change before heading up to Le Grill for a buffet lunch. It was the first day we had managed lunch on the ship and it was not a disappointment. Every day, there was a theme and on that particular day, it was Greek food, which just happens to be my favourite! The salads were beautiful, fresh and very tasty and the moussaka was delicious. There were plenty of staff around to take drinks orders and clear tables so there never seemed to be an issue with finding a table.

 

We spent the afternoon relaxing before changing for Polynesian night! Some of the local ladies were making leis, wrist corsages and traditional headwear from tiare flowers. The scent was wonderful! I stayed to watch a while and then one of the ladies handed me a lovely wrist corsage that she had made. They make it look so easy but actually they are very talented in putting it all together, as I later found out!

 

We had a lovely dinner in L’Etoile all with a Polynesian theme; the local dishes were all delicious and we always enjoy trying something new! The entertainment that night was local dancers putting on a great performance. I was taken to sit at the front to make a lei with some of the other ladies. My efforts showed just how talented these ladies are as it wasn’t a patch on what their efforts were. My husband was also taken from his seat but he was asked to perform the “Haka” up on the stage with some of the male dancers! What they didn’t realise was that my husband had learnt the Haka while on our cruise to NZ and Oz last year so he had a little advantage ;) All in all, a wonderful day and another great night on the ship. This cruise was going by way too quickly for us and we were feeling sad to think we would only have one more night on board.

 

Back at the cabin, we had a lovely surprise to find a box of chocolates and a card from the hotel director and the customer services manager that we had enjoyed dinner the previous evening with. We thought it was a very nice touch; the PG does customer service very well. Considering we were in one of their cheapest cabins we were made to feel valued all the same. The Maitre d’ made us laugh on the first evening; as we gave him our cabin number my husband quipped “we’re in the cheap seats!” ;) The maître D’ s reply was “Well we all get to the destination at the same time on this ship sir!” Made us laugh. Quite right as well. ;)

[Emdee]

Great review, thanks.

 

You have certainly brought out PGs superior service and the nice touches.

 

On Tere Moana we ad a special surprise each night..limoncello, truffle oil etc etc.

[sammyboots]

Great review, thanks.

 

You have certainly brought out PGs superior service and the nice touches.

 

On Tere Moana we ad a special surprise each night..limoncello, truffle oil etc etc.

 

Emdee, we felt completely spoilt. The service on this cruise line blew us away! :D

[sammyboots]

It was our last day on board the PG but we were determined to savor every minute of it. We went to enjoy our breakfast as usual at La Veranda and then went to the Showroom to meet up for our PG organized tour. We booked this trip with the PG ‘s excursions as there was very little difference in price when we checked independent tour arrangements.

A waverunner jetski was the plan for the morning which sounded like a lot of fun! We didn’t wait long for our tour to board the tender and after arriving at the dock, we were then taken by a boat to the Intercontinental hotel. We were fitted with life jackets and given operating instructions for the waverunners and told there had been no accidents on the last tour he had taken out and hoped for the same today. I was hoping the same thing actually. :eek: There were around twelve of us altogether, all in single file following the instructor out into the lagoon. It was fairly choppy as the wind was getting up and it made a fun ride more like a bucking broncho by the time we were out of the reef! I have memories as a child of a ride at the travelling fairground where they used to shout out “the louder you scream, the faster you’ll go” I was hanging on for dear life! We even managed to circle the PG which was great!

Returning after a good amount of time spent out on the water, we returned to a small motu where there were soft drinks available. As we climbed off the jetski, there were two stingrays in the shallow waters that swam around us touching our legs. It was an incredible thing to experience. My husband put his hand down and careful stroked one; since he has a history of being the one that gets bitten, I was happy to just be a spectator at this point! ;) After a short stop of around fifteen minutes, we climbed back on our jetskis and went the short distance to the IC hotel where our boat was waiting to take us back to the dock.

 

There were many local vendors in a market by the dock that was good to look round; all the vendors were very friendly and weren’t pushy selling their merchandise.

We decided to head back to the ship where we arrived just before the rain started.

 

We went up to have our lunch in Le Grill, finding a seat inside for a change. The food was great, just like the previous lunch was the day before but this time it was an American themed buffet.

 

The afternoon was spent organizing our packing ready to leave out that night. Again, I was onto a winner, as my husband normally takes care of that!

 

Our evening dinner was in L’Etoile spent with some friends we had met on the ship. As always, it was very good; we never had to wait for a table and our experience in there was far better food wise, than we had experienced in Le Grill and La Veranda for dinner.

 

The next morning it was very pleasant not to be rushed out of the room as so many other cruise lines prefer you to do. We had a lovely last breakfast at La Veranda and said our goodbyes and thanks to the wonderful staff in there. Our cases were easy to find and there were taxis waiting at the dock. We took one last look at the Paul Gauguin feeling a mixture of emotions; happy to have had one of the best cruise experiences we had ever had and yet sad to think that we would probably not get the chance to repeat it. If the Tere Moana was staying with the company then we would probably have taken the chance to experience a cruise on her as Europe would be an easier trip for us in the future from the UK. However, now that it’s changing hands, it looks like we won’t get that opportunity 

 

We took a taxi to the IC where we were staying for one night before flying to LAX the next morning, bright and early! The taxi did a slight diversion for us to the market so we could pick up some vanilla beans and I’m so pleased we did; the size of the Tahitian vanilla beans is huge compared to the scratty little things I am used to buying in the grocery store!

 

Arriving at the IC, the first impression was that it was incredibly busy. We were too early to check in as expected, so my husband sat and read his book in the reception area while I went off to explore. It was like people soup in the pool and hardly any sun loungers about (without towels on!) a completely different feel to any of the other hotels we had been to or visited. I had heard it has a very transient feel due to the day room facilities and the fact that many people have only a couple of nights there en route to somewhere else. There looked to be some cordoned off areas that were being repaired as well. When we managed to get to our room, the bedroom was nice enough but the bathroom was grim! The bath had mold around the sides, the shower didn’t work well; it really looked like it needed ripping out and replaced. I’ve seen some pictures of the bathrooms at the IC and ours didn’t resemble what I had seen. As we walked out of a side entrance, we came across some rooms with bathroom fixtures outside so they look to be in the process of doing refits. To be honest it was for one night so I wasn’t bothered too much.

 

We had dinner in the main restaurant and it was pretty good and not as extortionate as we were expecting. There was some entertainment on in the bar but the music was such that I felt we could’ve been anywhere in the world; such a shock to the system coming off the PG!! Heading back to the room, I found around five mosquitoes over the next hour and hoped I’d seen the last of them. Unfortunately for my non bug spraying husband (you’d think he’d learn!) there were still some around and they managed a good dinner off him at various points of the night!!

 

It was a very early start for us to catch the Air France flight back. We thought we would have breakfast included but apparently it would only be available in the main restaurant which didn’t open until later. We ordered breakfast at a small bar in the hotel and a large platter came with fruit, meats, cheeses and pastries! Rather a lot more than we were expecting to eat at such an early hour we barely touched it really. I was very impressed with the bar tender though who insisted on us paying just half of the price, we have no idea why but since it was a little pricey at about $25 we were pleased!

 

Our taxi was waiting as ordered by reception and the short journey to the airport gave us our last glimpses of a beautiful sunrise over the island.

At the airport there was a huge queue for Air France which we initially joined before realizing that we could skip the line as we had a Delta card. So within minutes we were checked in and going through security! There was a slight delay on the flight but otherwise once we were onboard we had as good a flight and service as we had experienced on the way out.

 

We were pretty tired by the time we arrived in LAX and weren’t in any hurry to get back so we decided to stay overnight before driving home the next day. I’m not sure if it was just delaying tactics…the holiday was everything we had hoped for and more. The Paul Gauguin didn’t disappoint and although I very much doubt we’ll take the opportunity to go again, I thank my lucky stars that I got the opportunity to go at all. ;)

[lkawartha]

Thanks so much for a wonderful report on tour trip. We are back on the PG in November for the 2nd time and looking forward to some wonderful times.

Thanks for all your tips !

[sammyboots]

Thanks so much for a wonderful report on tour trip. We are back on the PG in November for the 2nd time and looking forward to some wonderful times.

Thanks for all your tips !

 

Thank you Ikawartha, I appreciate your comments. It was a bit of a trial as my computer had a glitch and it lost all all the report I had written so I had to redo it! :eek:

Not long until your trip then! We will be on a Transatlantic cruise at that time but I know where I would rather be...;)