Shortest Cruise to or from the Tahitian islands...

[ezspirit72]

Hello,

It seems that all the Cruises which visit Tahiti are 15 days and beyond.   Do any of you know if there are shorter cruises which take in French Polynesia???   We've taken a few cruises mainly to Alaska and Mexico.. but were wondering how were the seas?   Were they Rough at times?   I must admit I don't have sea legs, but have survived well with the behind the ear patches.   

[USNA 72]

Oceania, Windstar and Paul Gauguin all offer 7-12 cruises R/T out of Papeete.  

[Mercruiser]

French Polynesia is very far away from other countries. As a result, it is too far away  to be a stopover port, except on very long cruises.   As USNA 72 mentioned, there are 3 lines doing local cruises of 7 nights or more. You can fly to Tahiti nonstop from LAX and SFO.

 

I've been to FP 3 times. The seas were always calm during my visits. YMMV.

[Petoonya]

@ezspirit72@ezspirit7

Were you looking more for  a  west coast USA to Tahiti, rather than a shorter island to island Tahiti? If so it's NCL and the Pacific can be rough or calm. I've done it several times and only once did we run into 25ft swells- rest of the times very peaceful.

But if just looking for a shorter inter island Tahiti I agree with USNA 72 about Oceania, Windstar, and PG; and can't forget Aranui. Been on all except Aranui and partial to WS and O. Rarely does it get rough in the islands- but it's more likely in winter months Dec-Feb.

Not a fan of seeing big ships like NCL's in FP. The islands can't support 1500 people disembarking and touring. But if the ship sails it hits Hawaii too and I think it's 12 days.

[ezspirit72]

On 9/23/2021 at 11:06 AM, Petoonya said:

@ezspirit72@ezspirit7

Were you looking more for  a  west coast USA to Tahiti, rather than a shorter island to island Tahiti? If so it's NCL and the Pacific can be rough or calm. I've done it several times and only once did we run into 25ft swells- rest of the times very peaceful.

But if just looking for a shorter inter island Tahiti I agree with USNA 72 about Oceania, Windstar, and PG; and can't forget Aranui. Been on all except Aranui and partial to WS and O. Rarely does it get rough in the islands- but it's more likely in winter months Dec-Feb.

Not a fan of seeing big ships like NCL's in FP. The islands can't support 1500 people disembarking and touring. But if the ship sails it hits Hawaii too and I think it's 12 days.

Thank You... very helpful information....  I did see that Royal Carribean had a cruise from Hawaii to Polynesia which ended in Australia...  17 days I believe....   This is kinda what I had in mind...

[Tahitianbigkahuna]

1 hour ago, ezspirit72 said:

Thank You... very helpful information....  I did see that Royal Carribean had a cruise from Hawaii to Polynesia which ended in Australia...  17 days I believe....   This is kinda what I had in mind...

 

Keep in mind FP just released their new ship size rules  ... no more mega ships (over 3500). In the future it is likely ships between 2500 - 3500 will be requested to port at Tahiti, Moorea and Raiatea.

 

Bora Bora will likely invoke their desired rule of no more than 1200 cruise passengers visiting the island each day. 

 

Ships up to 700 passengers and in particular ships who are in FP year round will be given preferential treatment.

 

Keep this in mind when your considering a ship  .... be a bummer if you booked and then when your cruise came up you were taken to Raiatea instead of Bora Bora because of new rules being enforced.  😉 

Edited September 25, 2021 by Tahitianbigkahuna

[Wilcoam]

Not to sound elitist, but if your cruise doesn't hit Bora Bora, then in my mind you didn't actually visit Tahiti, lol, you did more of a drive by, similar to how those large ships drive by Antartica, let's just say certain parts of the world, like the Galapagos, Antartica, Arctic, Portugal, are best served by visiting in smaller vessels, in rivers cruises, or sub 700 pax cruise ships, I'd include all of French Polynesia on that list

 

Yes, it's more expensive, if one is comparing the price on per day basis, and yes RC and Princess have the ability to get you to Tahiti on a lower budget, and especially if it's a family trip, if Princess starts going to Tahiti again, check them out, they were using their smallest ship, at one point it was a viable alternative to WS and PG, and their cruises left from Australia

 

jc 

 

     

[Tahitianbigkahuna]

Been on Princess on their smaller R4 ship  .... got nickeled and dimed to death  .... when I did the math and added all the stuff you had to pay for on Princess the price for a PG cruise was only a few hundred dollars more .... I'll take the ship rules the FP waters  ... the PG

[Mercruiser]

On 9/26/2021 at 6:42 AM, Wilcoam said:

Yes, it's more expensive, if one is comparing the price on per day basis, and yes RC and Princess have the ability to get you to Tahiti on a lower budget, and especially if it's a family trip, if Princess starts going to Tahiti again, check them out, they were using their smallest ship, at one point it was a viable alternative to WS and PG, and their cruises left from Australia

 

jc 

 

     

I booked on Princess Pacific in FP a couple of times. But it never worked out. My last booking was for Nov 2020 on a 10 night cruise from Tahiti. Cost was $2900 pp for a mini suite. Unfortunately, that cruise season was cancelled due to Covid.

 

I've cruised on Princess several times and have really enjoyed those cruises. I have never felt "nicked and dimed". In fact, my final bill only has tips, a few drinks, and a night or two at Sabatinis. I just don't spend much extra on a cruise.

 

At TBKs recommendation, I have looked at PG several times. I could never get the math to work out to come to the conclusion that PG is only a few hundred dollars more than Princess, even considering airfare and liquor.

 

I am going to FP in Feb 2022, for a 2-week resort stay in Moorea, all on frequent flyer miles and hotel points. I'll be watching for a cruise bargain during that time, and might book last minute if there is a really good deal. Here is the per-person, per-day, cruise-only fares I'm seeing right now for Feb 22:

 

Windstar 7N $371

Oceania 10N $269

PG 10N $530 (The PG fare includes tips and select drinks.)

 

I will not be booking anything near $530. That's just not a good value to me. The Oceania and Windstar per-diems are in the range that I would be willing to spend. And I'm sure I would have a great time on either one.

[Petoonya]

We love us some Windstar Wind Spirit, but crazy about Oceania Regatta too. There's an April 2023 10 day sailing that is all waitlisted at this point but waitlisting the Cat G comes in at $279pp. It is the PERFECT itinerary and just ducks out of wet season. We're redoing the 18 day Papeete to LA with a stop in Hawaii  in April 2023.It's not the pure Tuamotu experience that you get with their 10 day Papeete but it's still pretty damn fine especially for the price. Perfect combo of activity and leisure. Our fare was $183pp for a Cat G guarantee.

[Mercruiser]

The Papeete-Hawaii-LA repositioning cruise looks really nice. I like that the sea days are broken up by the Hawaii visit. The repo. cruises that go from Tahiti to LA, without stopping, are more consecutive sea days than I would want.

 

The $183 price for a Guarantee is a real bargain.

 

Ironically, we are now discussing, "Longest Cruise to or from the Tahitian islands..."  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Edited October 5, 2021 by Mercruiser

[Petoonya]

Yes, pretty funny!

But this is a wonderful cruise--did it 3 years ago on Sirena and it was heaven. And the price for the itinerary can't be beat. The Cat F is available now and $200pp. Would love to have you join us. We were booked on April 2020 of same and it was the first of many subsequent Windstar cruises to be COVID cancelled.

 

Last time we did it we had a G guarantee at $2999, and 2 weeks before the cruise were able to upgrade to an aft cabin for $250pp. Fairy tales can come true. The dining, service beauty of the ship is incomparable.

 

***** If you decide to book perchance be sure to go with an Oceania 

'Cruise Connoisseur" agent. They have the most pull with O. Mine usually gets me free gratuities and a nice upgrade.

Edited October 5, 2021 by Petoonya

[Petoonya]

@Mercruiser

Just noticed that Cat F inside on that same Oceania April 2023 18 day PPT-HNL-LAX cruise is now available. Makes a per diem of $197pp. It certainly doesn't stop on as many islands as you would on PG or WS, but still a darn good deal especially with that stop in Hawaii. 18 days of Oceeania bliss. Be great to meet another Tahiti-o-phile from CC 🙂