PG vs Holland America for Tahiti

[57redbird]

As you can see from my signature, we've only sailed on HAL --- interested from hearing from any of you who have sailed on both ---- pros/cons & any thing you think might be of importance between the two.   I've also posted this question on the HAL board.   TIA.

[Tahitianbigkahuna]

2 hours ago, 57redbird said:

As you can see from my signature, we've only sailed on HAL --- interested from hearing from any of you who have sailed on both ---- pros/cons & any thing you think might be of importance between the two.   I've also posted this question on the HAL board.   TIA.

 

Pretty obvious what the differences are. On Hal for the Tahiti run you will have many sea days, close to 2,000 guest, a huge ship.

On Paul Gauguin you get a ship that it's home is French Polynesia, a ship specifically designed for the small islands of French Polynesia, an all inclusive experience, a group of local Polynesian on-board host that knows the islands. 

 

Just try and image what it will be like to visit lets say Fakarava where the ship has 4X the population as the island. What a mess  ..... the island doesn't have the infrastructure to support such a large ship. This isn't an issue with the Paul Gauguin 😉

 

As I say ... it's apples and oranges, you can not compare these two ships/companies. BTW, the PG wins several awards every year for being a great ship/crew/experience. 

 

So the question you should be asking yourself is do you want to go cheap ..... or do you want to experience French Polynesia the way it is suppose to be 😉

[SWFLAOK]

We just did our first and last HAL cruise out of Miami to the Caribbean last December. It was 2 weeks, and we stayed in a Neptune Suite on the Prinsendam. If we hadn't splurged for the Neptune Suite, it would have been unbearable.

Without a Neptune Suite, we would never sail on HAL again, and we would not be likely to splurge on a Neptune Suite again. We had many sea days, and many of them were not schedules sea days. The captain decided that it was not safe to dock, or he was worried that the anchor might drag, or that a disabled people would not be able to get on the tender if the seas were more than 2 feet.

Our HAL captain refused to remain anchored at their private island. He dropped anchor further out than another HAL ship that came in after us. He then pulled up anchor and told us the water was too rough to stay and tender to the island. The water was nearly flat. We spent 7 winters taking our 43 foot power boat to the Bahamas, and we had passed through this area a number of times. We would have had no problem anchoring there, and taking our 13 foot dinghy to shore.

A crew member told us that the captain might have been being overly cautious since a mobility impaired passenger on a previous cruise had fallen between the platform and the ship, and been seriously injured.

The food wasn't great, and the elevators were very small, and mostly out of service. Luckily, we are still able to walk the stairs, even to the top deck where our cabin was located We found service to be good in our suite and at the bars. It took us a few days on our 2 week cruise to have our sommelier warm up to us and then she was great. We never found any good waiters or waitresses.

On our first Paul Gauguin cruise,  a 2 week cruise from Tahiti to the Marquesas and back, all of the staff knew our names by the second day. The food and service ware excellent. By the end of the cruise, we had booked another cruise, and staff said that they would see us then. And they did, and greeted us by name. We had a 3rd cruise booked when we left the second (coming up in September) and have since booked a 4th cruise next April.

There's no comparison between the Paul Gauguin and a large ship, and the Prinsendam was one of  HAL's smailer ships. We've tendered on the Paul Gauguin in seas that were huge compared to the seas that HAL refused to anchor and tender in, and  everyone made it safely. Maybe it's because the tender captains were so much better on PG than the tender operators on HAL. How many days do you want to spend at sea rather than the ports that you want to visit.

 

[DavidTheWonderer]

French Polynesia is one of my favourite parts of the world, and the Paul Gauguin is probably my most favourite ship in the world, so take what I write here with whatever quantity of salt is appropriate for your dietary requirements. One difference not mentioned so far is that the PG compared to HAL ships such as Amsterdam have about 30% more space per passenger. Similarly, the number of passengers per crew is about 30% less for the PG. More space and more crew to look after you are both important for the overall experience.

Already mentioned but I will emphasise here: the PG is an immersive experience in the geography and culture of French Polynesia by a company deeply committed to both, while the alternatives (HAL, Oceania, etc.) are basically longer cruises with many sea days that sort of dip their toes into French Polynesia along the way.  Although I like sea days, in this case I would rather fly in and spend my time in FP.

Of course, many cruises just dip their toes into whatever part of the world they are in. Nothing wrong with that, and for me they often cause me to figure out how to go back to specific places for a longer visit. So, if you're comfortable with HAL, like sea days, and want to have a peek at the South Pacific, go for it.

The Tahiti segment of my upcoming world cruise on Regent Mariner is sort of similar: many sea days before and after, with one day in Papeete and one day in Bora Bora.

 

[Tahitianbigkahuna]

18 hours ago, 57redbird said:

As you can see from my signature, we've only sailed on HAL --- interested from hearing from any of you who have sailed on both ---- pros/cons & any thing you think might be of importance between the two.   I've also posted this question on the HAL board.   TIA.

 

Pretty obvious what the differences are. On Hal for the Tahiti run you will have many sea days, close to 2,000 guest, a huge ship.

On Paul Gauguin you get a ship that it's home is French Polynesia, a ship specifically designed for the small islands of French Polynesia, an all inclusive experience, a group of local Polynesian on-board host that knows the islands. 

 

Just try and image what it will be like to visit lets say Fakarava where the ship has 4X the population as the island. What a mess  ..... the island doesn't have the infrastructure to support such a large ship. This isn't an issue with the Paul Gauguin 😉

 

As I say ... it's apples and oranges, you can not compare these two ships/companies. BTW, the PG wins several awards every year for being a great ship/crew/experience. 

 

So the question you should be asking yourself is do you want to go cheap ..... or do you want to experience French Polynesia the way it is suppose to be 😉

 

 

Dave  .... you two might want to get off the ship with your luggage in Bora Bora 😉