Aranui 5 to Pitcairn, r/t Papeete; Jan. 2021

[gnld]

I'm on this cruise to Pitcairn Island. Aranui 5 just does Pitcairn once per year. Wife was not interested, so booked this myself. Single supplement is 100% (ouch!), but they luckily had 1 of 2 single cabins available. Only a porthole, but I took it. We'll be anchored off Pitcairn for 2 days and will be going ashore!

Gary

[Floridiana]

The 'going ashore' is great! You won't get this on regular cruise ships even when the weather is good. I have been on Aranui 2 and 3 and they took passengers ashore in small villages with the wooden whale boat bobbing up and down at a stone pier. 

We often talk about our Aranui trips. Enjoy!

[Floridiana]

I checked the itinerary! The other islands are never or seldom visited. The Gambiers are on my wish list. What a treat!

[Fletcher]

The only drawback to an Aranui trip is that it doesn't visit the other islands in the Pitcairn group.  Of course, getting to Pitcairn itself is a major achievement for many (as it was for me) but the other islands are also pretty special. Henderson is a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its unique species and overall environment (we cleaned the beach of plastic) and Ducie is an incredible bird colony with a lagoon full of tiny sharks. Ducie also gave my best snorkelling experience ever.  Chilly water though!  We didn't make it to Oeno, the fourth island in the Pitcairn group.

 

There are a few cruises each year which visit these other islands on a route from Easter Island to Tahiti via the Marquesas.  Likely ships are Noble Caledonia's Island Sky and Silversea's Explorer.

Edited December 30, 2019 by Fletcher

[Louise22]

A friend and I were on the Caledonian Sky from Easter Island to Tahiti 5 years ago.  It was a fabulous trip which included the Marquesas.  We could not land at Henderson because of the weather but Ducie and all the birds was amazing.  Not so amazing was the amount of trash on the beaches - so sad.

 

Our landing at Pitcairn was almost a disaster.  There was a new landing area in the process of being built but our landing was at the old and very rough.  We were transferred in the ocean from the ship's zodiacs to the boat used by Pitcairn to get goods from ships.  Basically just a raft with a motor and we sat on the floor.  No one fell in the water fortunately.

 

We were treated to a buffet lunch prepared by the local women in the building that was used for the school.  They were so wonderful to us.  My favorite souvenier from anywhere in the world I got there.  It is a carved wooden tortoise 6" long and 4" high.  Kind of funky looking but on the stomach area the elderly man I bought it from wrote "Best Wishes from Pitcairn Island, Reynard Warren".  (I think that is the last name).

 

Our trip was mid October to November 1st and the weather was very good but for around Pitcairn.

 

[Fletcher]

 

Incredible footage of the island in this YouTube video.  It consists mainly of drone footage of the entire coastline, showing both landing sites.  A lot about the island's history and geology.  The filmmaker, Toby Probst, has done a fantastic job.  Be warned: vertigo sufferers might feel ill at the end.

 

[Floridiana]

Great visuals!

 

[gnld]

Rcv'd an email yesterday from my TA fwd'd from C.P.T.M. This cruise was moved up to January 5th (from the 9th). And they added a 2nd Pitcairn cruise in February 2021 -- probably to accommodate the April 2020 guests to Pitcairn that will not sail. Sure glad I hadn't made my flight reservations yet to/from Papeete!!

[Host Jazzbeau]

Here's an article on Cruise Critic that's relevant to this topic:

Cruising to Restart in French Polynesia As Early as Mid-July

 

The article talks about Paul Gauguin, Aranui Adventure Cruises, and Windstar – as well as air travel restrictions.  "Aranui has indicated it will restart its operations in French Polynesia on July 18, just three days after the local government lifts the restrictions on international tourists.  Aranui 5 will set sail on two special 'Local's Cruises' – one-off itineraries departing July 18 and August 8 that are open to locals, along with international visitors who are eligible to travel to the region at that time."

[gnld]

I recently found out that Pitcairn closed it borders on August 4th, good thru 3/31/21. Per Pitcairn Tourism's website "All cruise ships, tour vessels and yachts are prohibited from landing passengers at Pitcairn Island." And on August 6th, we have "CDC recommends travelers avoid all nonessential international travel to the Pitcairn Islands."

So this cruise is obviously toast, even though CPTM has not cancelled it yet (and the one in Feb. 2021). However, I did a preemptive strike and told my TA to cancel the cruise. CPTM will mail me a refund check, tho they said "there will be a delay in refund processing at this time due to the pandemic". Hopefully that's measured in weeks and not months!