Tahiti opening borders May 1, 2021

[Petoonya]

Fingers crossed for French Polynesians, and for anyone hoping to pack a mask, fins and snorkel this summer.

 

 

Press release | Press / Trade Release - April 7 / April 7th Reopening of borders and Safe Travels View this message correctly

Reopening of borders on May 1, 2021 The President of French Polynesia, Mr. Edouard Fritch went to Paris to meet several members of the Government and the President of the Republic, Mr. Emmanuel Macron. Mention was made in particular of the clear improvement and stabilization of the health crisis in French Polynesia with less than 20 new cases of COVID-19 per week, thanks to the maintenance of measures to protect the population; also, it was communicated that the vaccination campaign is accelerating in Tahiti And Its Islands, where vaccination against COVID-19 is now accessible to all; moreover, French Polynesia has proposed to adapt its entry and stay protocols to take into account vaccinated people and immunized travelers; finally, the degraded economic and social context of our destination heavily dependent on tourism has of course been widely exposed. Back in Tahiti, the President of French Polynesia officially announced, during a press conference this morning, Wednesday April 7, the reopening of the borders to tourism as of May 1! Regarding the entry conditions, he clarified " We are going to set up a protocol at the entry of our borders by combining these means which are the virological test, the serological test, the vaccine and ETIS. We will detail the health system in detail with the High Commissioner in the coming days ”. We will not fail to inform you of this protocol as soon as it is made official.

[doug52]

Great news, thanks!

 

[Strenz]

Great news for all of you, totally fabulous cruise. Bravo and Happy Sailing. 

[Comex]

Petoona, 

Thanks for the update!  We're on the Aug1, '21,  2X Tahiti and can relax somewhat.  Now if the excursion issues can be resolved we can deal with all the other stuff. This is all great news!

[jumelle]

It breaks my heart but we are still cancelling our July 2021 Tahiti cruise. Too many potential issues, too many tests, too many rules and regulations. Even though we are fully vaccinated and got such a great deal. 

[minidonuts85]

@jumelleDitto on those feelings...we just cancelled our 8/1/21 and hated to lose the great deal, but we cant do ship only excursions and didnt have an appetite for being one of the first few sailings post the 7/15 start up. Looking to reschedule for 8/2022 sometime.

 

Great to see things moving in the right direction for FP!!

[Petoonya]

@Comex

 

if the excursion mandate was removed we'd join the waitlist for 2x the Tahiti Aug 1. But if wishes were horses.....

[doug52]

...cruisers would ride or is it beggars?

[bigedwin]

We are giving this another try...Just booked January 16 2022 Twice the Tahiti. Have a group, hoping we can finally make it to Tahiti.

 

 

[CynthiaP]

18 hours ago, bigedwin said:

We are giving this another try...Just booked January 16 2022 Twice the Tahiti. Have a group, hoping we can finally make it to Tahiti.

 

 

We're also booked on 1-16-22. I need to get into the water and snorkel. He wants to buy fresh vanilla pods. Something for everyone! Keeping my fingers crossed.

[msears101]

On 4/9/2021 at 7:42 AM, jumelle said:

Too many potential issues, too many tests, too many rules and regulations. Even though we are fully vaccinated and got such a great deal. 

 

I am not commenting on being vaccinated and still  having extra rules on top of that, but as far as testng - it is pretty easy.  I have travelled internationally since covid.  Here are some the tips.  Get pretested and make sure your test meets the requirements.  French Polynesia has an EXCELLENT list that details, tests and providers that are allowed.  Hint the FP list is good for helping to secure tests to other places too!.  I recommend getting a pretest to make sure have the right paperwork.  Make copies of your paper work.. most places have a pre approval app/website.  Use it.  It will make it easier.  Coming back into the US,  talk to your hotel, or the airport you are flying out of to find a test.  Make sure you have time to get the result (usually 15-30 mins).   The US is not picky about the test.  One last testing tip.  One of the other reason to get a pretest is that if the requirement is RT-PCR, it can detect the virus months after you have  had Covid.  If this is the case - try and see if they will take your positive test (that was more than a month in the past)  for the entry requirement.  Some countries including the US take that as allowed for entry.

 

Also sit in the front of the plane.  The air flows from front to back (all planes have a hole in the back to let ar out).  First class and less "contaminated air will go past you".  There are flaws in airline rules.  There will be someone that will take 4 hours to eat a single bag of peanuts with his(or her) mask off.

 

FP is wonderful. I have been 5 times.

 

 Good luck.

[jumelle]

Thanks for the wonderful information. I will definitely go to Tahiti and take the Windstar cruise but not until I can move freely on and off the ship and plan my own private excursions. Until then it will have to wait.

[Petoonya]

More Tahiti info:

 

• From the TahitiInfos website (translated)-

 

On the issue of opening borders, the High Commissioner announced that they would only be possible by air transport at first. As of 1 st May, tourist movements will be possible again to the United States only. On the other hand, the health situation in metropolitan France does not allow the immediate resumption of travel to France, which remains impossible "until further notice".

 

On the announcement of the new health protocol of entry into the territory applicable from 1 st May, President detailed a target device based on the medical condition of the travelers.

For vaccinated travelers:

A negative RT-PCR test three days before departure

Proof of "complete vaccination schedule"

A declaration of itinerary and contacts on the Etis platform

An antigen test on arrival at Tahiti-Faa'a airport

No quarantine

A "possible" self-test at D + 4 (the President of the Country indicated that this possibility had not yet been decided)

 

For travelers who have already contracted the Covid:

A negative RT-PCR test three days before departure

A serological test of less than a month proving the presence of antibodies

A declaration of itinerary and contacts on the Etis platform

An antigen test on arrival at Tahiti-Faa'a airport

No quarantine

A "possible" self-test at D + 4 (the President of the Country indicated that this possibility had not yet been decided)

 

For unvaccinated travelers:

A negative RT-PCR test three days before departure

A declaration of itinerary and contacts on the Etis platform

An antigen test on arrival at Tahiti-Faa'a airport

A quarantine of 10 days

Two self-tests on D + 4 and D + 8

Edited April 15, 2021 by Petoonya

[Host Jazzbeau]

This sounds very reassuring to me that Tahiti travel will be safe.  Bon voyage to all!

[Petoonya]

6 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

This sounds very reassuring to me that Tahiti travel will be safe.  Bon voyage to all!

I wonder what "proof of complete vaccination schedule" is? So far all I have is my little white card....

[Host Jazzbeau]

6 minutes ago, Petoonya said:

I wonder what "proof of complete vaccination schedule" is? So far all I have is my little white card....

New York State, for all its flaws [believe me, I know...] has a vaccine passport program that shows how it should be done.  Two weeks after your final shot [first or second, depending on vaccine] you can log in and get a certificate with a QR code that links back to the State website to prove your vaccination schedule.  You can print this out, and also add it to the Wallet on your smartphone.  [And you can't bootleg it on the internet, AFAIK]  DW and I have our 'Excelsior Pass' on our phones, and we're ready to travel!

[Petoonya]

Well that sure gives you a feeling of security looking forward to travel. I feel my state won't have any program together for sometime yet. I didn't get a feeling of confidence when I asked about it when getting the vaccine.

[Host Jazzbeau]

IATA will help you out.

[Petoonya]

Well, the jig is up WS.

Looks like summer Tahiti cruises will also be cancelled. The cruises that were available last week in July and August are all now listed Call for Availability, the code words for cancelled. Not available again until Aug 18. PG cancelled all it's summer cruises until Aug 28 as well.

 

I hope that no one here is affected.

 

[minidonuts85]

Wow good to know Nancy! My TA hasn’t cancelled our 8/1 yet as I haven’t given her a date to move to yet.

[Petoonya]

35 minutes ago, minidonuts85 said:

Wow good to know Nancy! My TA hasn’t cancelled our 8/1 yet as I haven’t given her a date to move to yet.

Deb,

You said the timing isn't right for you and 18 days next year won't work with your jobs. But if any chance you might consider 8/4/22 please do. Maybe the 11day? There are about eight of us CCers on those two cruises.

[Host Jazzbeau]

I don't understand what's going on in French Polynesia.  We just had the very optimistic report that they had gotten permission from France to reopen – specifically to US tourists.  Then the next day Paul Gauguin cancelled another slew of sailings, and now this from WS.  It's like even press releases are all 'fake news' now!

[Strenz]

I do not think it is “ fake news” I think it is the virus out smarting us and people misbehaving. 
Everyone and thing  wants to get going but the  virus needs us to behave and if we do not  it multiplies and causes more sickness. I do believe the travel industry is doing everything it can and it is trying to keep a positive spin by using hope. I am in the hope category. I think the ill will is the people who will not follow the science and by refusing to get vaccinated. I really Hope for Happy Sailing in the NEAR future. 

[susiesan]

Perhaps the bookings for July and August were so sparse Windstar couldn't afford to sail the ship.  Maybe most Windstar cruisers didn't like all the limits of their movement onshore and didn't book Tahiti cruises as this is an expensive place to go to. 

[dandee2]

We'd love to go but imagine, even if we're vaccinated, the # of people we need to interact on our way.

YUL-YYZ-LAX-Overnight stay-PPT - That's 3 airports with minimum transit of +/- 3hrs ea., meaning we would cross path with thousands of travelers. 

But. it doesn't matter, we can't even leave Canada LOL.