Midnight flight home what to expect from Paul Gauguin

[scuba diver]

We have air arranged through PG.  Just got our flight details and the departure is near midnight.  What can we expect from PG concerning care and comfort after being thrown off the ship until we are bussed to the airport?

[rockwallroses]

We are curious to this answer as well

 

[jrbruns91]

I'm curious as well. We haven't booked our trip yet, because we are trying to decide if we want to book our own air or let PG do it. The possibility of finding ourselves in your situation is one of the concerns I have in letting PG book our air for us. I read something about "day rooms" for those situations, but I don't know if they are included in the package or if they have to be booked separately. Please let us know what you find out...

[justmeindustland]

If you book air with PG they do take care of you.   First you are allowed to stay on the boat a little longer than those who have not.  You have a choice of a tour of Thaiti or head directly to a Day room at a resort.  You can upgrade your dayroom to IC if that is important to you.  Taking the tour is a personal decision but I think the majority of people don’t think it is worth it.  You have the day only part of the time.  They will ask you to be out of the room by a specific time (I don’t remember the time) and then will sit in the lobby until the buses are ready to take you the airport.

 

 

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Yes, they do take care of you.  If you haven't been to Tahiti before, particularly if you're interested in the history and culture, the bus tour is nice.  They take you to the main museum, usually a marae (outdoor religious temple), and a few other places that vary from tour to tour.  

 

You can then hang around the hotel where they take you, swim, nap, dine, have a shower.  After you have to get out of your room, you can sit by the pool, you don't have to sit in the lobby.

 

I always have had better luck frankly, taking a cab to the airport *before* the busses depart.  The airport itself is usually quite an awful experience--humid, crowded, so beating some of the crowds makes sense, although it's always lined up and crowded, even if you're travelling Business.

[scuba diver]

Thanks Wendy and Justme.  This is our second trip.  However, the first was back when Regent was in charge.  Very similar to what we did with Regent.  Kicked off the boat.  Took a tour and then day room.  Thrown out of the room and forced to sit in the airport for hours because the flight was delayed.  This time the flight is outrageously late so I can only expect to spend a long time at the airport even if the flight is on time.  Still excited about the trip and looking forward to every minute including the hours at the airport.  We may just spring for the $$$ to sit in the VIP lounge although that is a little pricey.

 

[SWFLAOK]

If you take the PG airfare, they provide your transfers and don't make you wait for hours at the airport. You may, however, wait for hours at the hotel. The IC is, however, very nice, but the drinks and food are very expensive. If you don't take the bus tour, you'll spend time waiting for your day room. Many people go straight to the hotel, and change into swimsuits to hang out by the pool. The luggage is kept in a secure place. Around 6,  they want the luggage back,  and an hour or so later, you need to move to the public areas. The airport is really very crowded, and it's hard to even find a place to sit down. There are 3 or 4 flights that leave between 11 and 12. We haven't found an affordable way to get into the VIP lounge.

After our first cruise, we decided to pay PG for 2 nights at the IC after our return to port. This was so much better than the day room experience. Breakfasst were included, and we rented a car for a day from the hotel lobby, which allowed us to go to the nearby grocery store for very reasonably priced French wine and snacks for our room, as well as drive around Tahiti and Tahiti Iti. We saw all of the waterfalls, gardens, and beaches, as well as the expansive views from Tahiti Its . On our departure day, we were allowed to leave later than the usual time, and didn't spend much time at the airport. There were only 2 other couples on our bus, and our luggage was with us. We found the extra expense to be well worth it compared to the entire expense of the trip.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

On 1/26/2019 at 10:03 PM, scuba diver said:

Thanks Wendy and Justme.  This is our second trip.  However, the first was back when Regent was in charge.  Very similar to what we did with Regent.  Kicked off the boat.  Took a tour and then day room.  Thrown out of the room and forced to sit in the airport for hours because the flight was delayed.  This time the flight is outrageously late so I can only expect to spend a long time at the airport even if the flight is on time.  Still excited about the trip and looking forward to every minute including the hours at the airport.  We may just spring for the $$$ to sit in the VIP lounge although that is a little pricey.

 

 

Well the flight details aren't really the cruise line's fault, are they?  The drill is pretty much the same as when Regent was in charge, although I'm not sure, but they may let you stay on the boat a bit longer--you can generally have lunch onboard before you're packed off for your post-cruise.  And they try to get you to the airport 3 hours prior to your flight, not more, although as I said elsewhere, getting to the airport a bit earlier may get you out of the lines and sitting inside a bit sooner--it's not bad once you're in the departure lounge.  The last time I was in the Business lounge at Faha'a, it was really nothing special, but that was ten years ago and it might have improved since then, but the normal one isn't bad, and there's duty free shopping.

[alwaysonaship]

The business class lounge was just fine. They had great WiFi, and a decent selection of wine and snacks. I will say PG needs to do something with their WiFi on board, and it was really sloooow

[dcr1975]

We just got off the boat on Saturday and had this same midnight flight.  Had been dreading it, but wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be.  We had to be out of our room by 930.  (main luggage had to be outside our room by 11pm the previous night).  After we were out of our room, we went off the boat and over to the main market and did some final shopping.  There wasn't a lot to do on the ship after we checked out (pool and pool bar area was closed), but you could sit in any of the common areas or La Palette and read, etc.  We could have lunch on board (from 11 - 12), then had opted to go on the bus tour before heading to the hotel.  Not the most exciting tour of the trip, but we got to see a bit of the island and it was a pleasant ride in an air conditioned bus.  Paul Gauguin put us up in a dayroom at the Tahiti Pearl.  I was pleasantly surprised by our room there, as I hadn't been expecting much.  It had a large balcony with ocean front views and a nice shower/bathroom  The other plus was the fast, free wiif!  (had to get my internet fix after being on the ship for 14 days)  We were allowed to stay in our dayroom until 7, then we went for a quick dinner.  Restaurant prices were fairly pricey, but we weren't overly hungry so just shared a Margarita pizza which was more than enough for us since we had ate a large lunch on board.  Drinks were pricey as well.  $17 for a cocktail, but beer was more reasonable.  ($6 for a Hinano)  Bus departed to the airport just before 9.  As others have stated the airport is very crowded and hot, so not the most pleasant experience!  Red eye flight back to LA was better than expected.  They served a "light snack" which was a half chicken wrap with greek salad.  (Edible, but not great!) Then lights were turned down and everyone slept (or tried to), until they woke us up to serve breakfast.  We arrived in LA about 15 minutes earlier than expected, but then had to take a bus from the runway to the terminal.  Hope this helps!

[mommamd]

I flew Air Tahiti Nui Business back in 2016 and thought the lounge was nice, plenty of seating and refreshments.  Our flight was not at midnight though. 

[alwaysonaship]

Yes the lounge was great. I think our flight was about 9. The attendants in business were top notch. We did the coach over and it was just awful. The food was nasty and not sure what it was. You can upgrade at the airport if space is available and it was worth every penny.

[Ormylad]

Firstly it is unfair to say that you are “thrown” off the ship.  dcr1975 accurately describes what happened on 9 February 2019, however what you need to appreciate that the crew and outside contractors only have from 9.30, when you leave your room to 15.00 when the next set of passengers embark, to maintain the ship. On the 9 Feb the woodwork around the pool was being sanded down and revarnished so the pool deck was out of bounds. I don’t think they will be doing that every trip so you may be able to sit on deck.

We chose to stay 2 extra nights at the IC Tahiti and left with several others who chose to do the same as a group to the airport. The Oceana Marina had docked on 10 Feb and the IC Tahiti also had a large group from that ship there but they were bussed by Air Tahiti Nu separately.

The problems start when you get to the airport, there are only 3 desks open for economy and 1 for business.

Some had  checked in on line and joined a shorter queue at the Airport but had to wait for a gap in the business queue so they didn’t gain much time.

But none of this is the fault of PG.

Below are the instructions for dis- embarkation.

[scuba diver]

I have been thrown off every ship I have ever been on.  If I had not been thrown off, I would never have left.  

[Ormylad]

Good for you!!  have a good trip until your thrown off.

[SWFLAOK]

We haven't had access to the Business Class lounge on our return flights from Papeete to LAX. Our flights have always departed between 11PM and midnight, when most of the flights depart. The inconvenient time isn't PG's fault. It's often hard to find a place to sit at all once you get through security, and finding a comfortable place to sit isn't nearly impossible. We've always flown coach over and back, and the flight attendants, food and beverages, as well as onboard movies, have always been way better than the flights we take in the US, including those we took to get to LAX.

[alwaysonaship]

That is interesting as our coach flight was horrible. I was actually surprised as most people said it was fine, and PG wanted a lot to go business. As I have said it was so terrible we did go business back which was outstanding. Maybe it was an “off” flight. Did get to watch a good movie..Crazy Rich Asians which I really enjoyed. 

[SWFLAOK]

The last time we flew on ATN was December 2017, and it was our third trip. None of our trips were bad. The food was always edible. At least food was served,  and it was included. The wine has always been drinkable and free. For an included flight, that's acceptable to us. We never go to see movies in a theater,  so that leaves us with plenty of choices to watch. I found 3 movies to watch, 2 of which were good. We upgraded to business class for our September 2019 cruise because we don't like the seating configuration on the new planes. With the 2 of us,  we don't want another person sitting in the third seat.

We were recently on the Prinsendam for it's last holiday trip. It was our first, and probably last, cruise on HAL since we prefer smaller ships.  Between excursions and meals, It took 4 times to watch all of Crazy Rich Asians. I loved it.  I didn't even mind rewatching the parts that I had already seen. We're heading to Singapore for a Regent cruise in December. While we won't be living the lifestyle that the movie portrayed, I'm looking forward to visiting Singapore even more than I was when we booked that cruise.

[alwaysonaship]

That was a great movie. We enjoyed Singapore as it is very clean. It was hot, but most everything is inside and the a/c works  

great. Enjoy your next cruise. I suppose you will stay at the Marina Bay Sands and post a picture from the infinity pool 😆

[Pengawin3]

Since they upgraded the airport, there is more seating to be had, and the airflow felt better! Hooray.

Those ham sandwiches they sell at the airport are tasty, cheap (for FP) and filling!

Oh, and Air Tahiti has retired the old, hardly serviceable Bora Bora!!! She was a nightmare to endure in coach!!! 

I enjoyed the "free" bus tour...TWICE! Went with a friend, and had to go again with my husband just to see and touch that Oscar!!! :)

YES, the food and drinks are PRICEY at the Pearl! The hotel is great, though. Nice pool, water bike classes around sunset daily, great views, comfortable room. HUGE balcony!!!!!

Enjoy your cruise, folks!!!