Embarkation/Disembarkation/Excursion ?s

[jbmom2120]

Hello,

We have high hopes to be able to cruise on Paul Gauguin this year. 😃 

 

Approximately what time of the day does embarkation start? 

 

Our itinerary shows that we arrive back into port at 7:30pm and spend the night in Papeete at the end of the cruise.   How close to 7:30pm does the ship arrive & approximately what time are folks able to get off? Has anyone experienced disembarking the night of arrival back to Papeete?  Is that a possibility?  Otherwise, what time would folks have to be off the ship on disembarkation day?  If we have a late flight out, what is there to do on disembarkation day, considering that we will have our luggage with us?

 

We have not yet been on a ship that has stayed overnight in a port....how does that work?  Do they have a certain time that you need to be back onboard the ship at night, or can a person come back on the ship at anytime?  

 

Has anyone booked a scuba diving excursion thru Paul Gauguin?  What do the prices usually run thru the cruise line for a scuba excursion? Is there easy accessibility to booking a scuba trip on our own?  

 

Thanks in advance for your assistance.

[Tahitianbigkahuna]

18 hours ago, jbmom2120 said:

Hello,

We have high hopes to be able to cruise on Paul Gauguin this year. 😃 

 

Approximately what time of the day does embarkation start? 

 

Our itinerary shows that we arrive back into port at 7:30pm and spend the night in Papeete at the end of the cruise.   How close to 7:30pm does the ship arrive & approximately what time are folks able to get off? Has anyone experienced disembarking the night of arrival back to Papeete?  Is that a possibility?  Otherwise, what time would folks have to be off the ship on disembarkation day?  If we have a late flight out, what is there to do on disembarkation day, considering that we will have our luggage with us?

 

We have not yet been on a ship that has stayed overnight in a port....how does that work?  Do they have a certain time that you need to be back onboard the ship at night, or can a person come back on the ship at anytime?  

 

Has anyone booked a scuba diving excursion thru Paul Gauguin?  What do the prices usually run thru the cruise line for a scuba excursion? Is there easy accessibility to booking a scuba trip on our own?  

 

Thanks in advance for your assistance.

The PG is pretty consistent about arriving at 7:30 pm. No guarantees of course but it's always been around that time. We've gotten off that evening and headed to the airport. I would recommend making a taxi reservation from the ship's desk. There is a fee for this but it's worth it to know there will be a taxi waiting for you. 

 

I've also gotten off the ship and enjoyed the food trucks and entertainment and then came back on-board around 11 pm .... no problem.

 

Things are a bit different now with C-19 so who knows what to expect at this time.

[FlightMedic555]

Scuba diving is pricey regardless of whether done privately or through the PG.  The PG dive team is great and I loved diving with them.  If your itinerary includes the Tuamotus or the Cook Islands the PG contracts out the dives I those locations.

 

With an overnight usually on Bora Bora and Moorea they usually have tenders going late into the night in the event you want to eat at a restaurant off the ship.  You could also leave the ship and spend the overnight at a resort on Bora Bora or Moorea.  Some do but IMHO I am already paying a lot for the cruise and I don't think it is logical to then pay for the resort as well.

 

If you use the air package with the PG they include a bus tour of Tahiti which departs at about 11:00 am - noon on the day you leave the ship.  After the tour they take you to a hotel where you have a few hours use of a day room.  At about 7:00 pm the bus you to the airport.  If you decide to arrange your own transport you could take a late flight out the night the ship gets back to Tahiti or you can stay on the ship until the morning.  There is now luggage storage in the vicinity of the dock and you can then explore.  It might also be an option to rent a car, explore around the island, come back to the waterfront at 6:00 pm when the food trucks set up and then drive to the airport for your late night flight.  Car rental is available near the dock and you can drop off at the airport.

[FlightMedic555]

I should have mentioned that if you dive with the PG team you leave directly from the ship via a zodiac to your dive site.  The PG team sets up all of your equipment.  If you decide to use a private company you have to take the tender to shore and then have arrangements with the private company.  It is so much easier and more enjoyable to use the PG team for the dives.

[klkaylor78]

PG dive team is great but relatively strict so bring all of your certification card with you as well as a log of your dives/log book.  

You can look at the dives on their website but if it says advanced you have to have the PADI Advanced open water, they also require the Deep Diver Certification on some dives - and hold to the rule.  Check your schedule but if you want to dive you will need to log into the excursion page on day -60 and reserve the dives - they sell out the first day on most cruises.

Some dives need to be sched. on board at the dive desk so getting on board early is also important if you want to sched. those dives.  The marina will hold all of your gear and you can drop it off the first day. The dive staff is just great - dives are a lot of fun but a bit pricey - sorry don,t remember the exact cost.

In closing the diving from the PG is great - sign up early, bring your documents, and try to get some recent experience if it has been awhile as the trips are pretty tight on time.

 

We did the pre and post PG cruise hotels with PG and they had it down to a science -but lots of folks got off the night we docked for flights home but don't know all of the ends and outs of doing that - sorry.

[jbmom2120]

On 7/13/2020 at 9:59 AM, FlightMedic555 said:

I should have mentioned that if you dive with the PG team you leave directly from the ship via a zodiac to your dive site.  The PG team sets up all of your equipment.  If you decide to use a private company you have to take the tender to shore and then have arrangements with the private company.  It is so much easier and more enjoyable to use the PG team for the dives.

Thank you!

[jbmom2120]

On 7/13/2020 at 8:41 AM, Tahitianbigkahuna said:

The PG is pretty consistent about arriving at 7:30 pm. No guarantees of course but it's always been around that time. We've gotten off that evening and headed to the airport. I would recommend making a taxi reservation from the ship's desk. There is a fee for this but it's worth it to know there will be a taxi waiting for you. 

 

I've also gotten off the ship and enjoyed the food trucks and entertainment and then came back on-board around 11 pm .... no problem.

 

Things are a bit different now with C-19 so who knows what to expect at this time.

Thank you 😊 

[jbmom2120]

On 7/21/2020 at 9:30 AM, klkaylor78 said:

PG dive team is great but relatively strict so bring all of your certification card with you as well as a log of your dives/log book.  

You can look at the dives on their website but if it says advanced you have to have the PADI Advanced open water, they also require the Deep Diver Certification on some dives - and hold to the rule.  Check your schedule but if you want to dive you will need to log into the excursion page on day -60 and reserve the dives - they sell out the first day on most cruises.

Some dives need to be sched. on board at the dive desk so getting on board early is also important if you want to sched. those dives.  The marina will hold all of your gear and you can drop it off the first day. The dive staff is just great - dives are a lot of fun but a bit pricey - sorry don,t remember the exact cost.

In closing the diving from the PG is great - sign up early, bring your documents, and try to get some recent experience if it has been awhile as the trips are pretty tight on time.

 

We did the pre and post PG cruise hotels with PG and they had it down to a science -but lots of folks got off the night we docked for flights home but don't know all of the ends and outs of doing that - sorry.

Thank you!