April 9-23 Paul Gauguin

[witt's end]

Two negative Covid tests and 10,000 km from home, I finally find myself watching Moorea emerge as the day begins. 
The time difference and my excitement for the trip had me on our OWB balcony willing the sun to rise. The sound of the waves crashing the reef has now got the visual to match. 
I am happy to answer any questions as our trip progresses. 

[cruisequeen4ever]

Gorgeous! Have a fantastic cruise!

[witt's end]

It was fun watching her from our bungalow as she returned from Moorea to Papeete.  It has been 2 long years and we are ready to sail again. 

[witt's end]

We are enjoying a sea day today after a beautiful beach day on Fakarava. We swam with very friendly dogs and black tip sharks who were thankfully not interested in us!

The photos are on my phone so I can’t post them here from my iPad since I can only have one device connected to the internet at a time. These ones are from the Intercontinental in Papeete.

My next post will be from my phone so I will include some.

The meals are exceptional, particularly the very fresh fish, and the service is impeccable. 

The Ponant French influence is evident as this is truly a bilingual ship - almost exactly 50:50. Announcements are conducted in both languages and lectures with different time slots for each language. It makes social distancing much easier.

We are having a great time and I will happily answer any questions.

[babydoc2]

Thank you for offering to answer questions and I hope you are having a great time! We are booked for May 7-14 and have seen the 72 hour advance testing requirement. On other lines, such as Seabourn where we cruised in February, the 72 hours is interpreted as 3 calendar days so that one doesn't literally have to count hours and take time zones into consideration. I am wondering if a test anytime on May 4 (eastern daylight time) will suffice for boarding anytime on May 7. That's the way it works with Seabourn but PG may see it differently. Would you be willing to ask someone on board who would know? Thank you so much!

[Tahitianbigkahuna]

6 hours ago, babydoc2 said:

Thank you for offering to answer questions and I hope you are having a great time! We are booked for May 7-14 and have seen the 72 hour advance testing requirement. On other lines, such as Seabourn where we cruised in February, the 72 hours is interpreted as 3 calendar days so that one doesn't literally have to count hours and take time zones into consideration. I am wondering if a test anytime on May 4 (eastern daylight time) will suffice for boarding anytime on May 7. That's the way it works with Seabourn but PG may see it differently. Would you be willing to ask someone on board who would know? Thank you so much!

 

72 hours is the written rule  .... though I've been told they look at the days so they aren't counting hours and time zoones  .... but ...I wouldn't want to chance going thinking I was good and find out at the last minute that I'm denied boarding 😉

Edited April 17, 2022 by Tahitianbigkahuna

[#1cruisecoach]

I actually called PG about this very subject and was told AT THAT TIME, that they go by the day and not the hour.  That being said however, I will continue to call with that very question again and again, just to make sure I am not receiving just one persons opinion. Please let us know what you find out.  Thanks

[MrRandal]

17 hours ago, #1cruisecoach said:

I actually called PG about this very subject and was told AT THAT TIME, that they go by the day and not the hour.  That being said however, I will continue to call with that very question again and again, just to make sure I am not receiving just one persons opinion. Please let us know what you find out.  Thanks

I've called Paul Gauguin direct and been told just the opposite, 72 hours, not 3 days.  Our flight leaves 77 hours before embarkation , as it stands  we plan on getting a PCR at either LAX or a lab very close on Century Blvd at 7pm the night of our flight at 11:55. Results are guaranteed within one hour. I know that's cutting things close. Hopefully requirements will be relaxed by September. I have a friend, fully vaxed and boosted, had caught and recovered from Covid 60 days prior, was totally asymptomatic, and then traveled to London for 2 weeks. She took a home test the day she was due to come home, tested negative, but then tested positive at the airport. She was stuck in London for 21 days after her scheduled departure before she finally tested negative at the airport! If you have had Covid and recovered, it's important to know that you can test positive long after you recover, sometimes months.

Edited April 18, 2022 by MrRandal

[witt's end]

I just asked at reception and they are firm about 72 hours - not 3 days. We did an antigen test at YVR before boarding our flight and our RT-PCR in SFO and it was easy (and cheaper than in Canada). If we had done a PCR in Canada it would have been 73 hours with the 3 hours difference and we didn’t want to risk it. Our friends did it at the Intercontinental the day before we sailed - very convenient.

Remember an antigen test does not suffice.

I hope that helps.

 

[babydoc2]

On 4/18/2022 at 5:38 PM, witt's end said:

I just asked at reception and they are firm about 72 hours - not 3 days. We did an antigen test at YVR before boarding our flight and our RT-PCR in SFO and it was easy (and cheaper than in Canada). If we had done a PCR in Canada it would have been 73 hours with the 3 hours difference and we didn’t want to risk it. Our friends did it at the Intercontinental the day before we sailed - very convenient.

Remember an antigen test does not suffice.

I hope that helps.

 

That helps a lot! Thank you and good to know it can be done at the Intercontinental. We are staying there for 2 nights before embarkation. 

If you don't mind another couple  questions, what is the mask situation on board currently, and are there American type electrical outlets for 110 volt appliances like curling irons?

[witt's end]

Hi from Bora Bora!

I don’t mind answering any questions.

There is a 110 outlet in the vanity and one in the sitting area cabinet. There is also a grounded one in the bathroom that says ‘razor only’. There may be more that we haven’t discovered but we are managing well with the two.

 

As for masks; we need to wear them when we are inside and can remove them when seated. The vast majority are compliant. We are not even close to capacity so it is rare that I have felt that I couldn’t social distance as my first Covid defense. The crew is always masked.

 

Temperature checks are at the entrance to the restaurant and when you board the ship after an excursion. I am not confident that a fever is an indication of Covid so it doesn’t ease my mind about avoidance. Since I am not a health professional, you can take that for what it is worth - my opinion.

 

One obvious down side to mask wearing is that I find that passengers are not engaging as much socially as we have in the past. We are traveling with another couple and we pretty much stay to ourselves.

 

Two regrets I have in my packing:

* returning guests get 5 laundry items per day. This would have been good to know because I have more clothes than I needed to bring.

* I wish I had packed my binoculars!

 

I hope that helps!

 

 

[MrRandal]

On 4/18/2022 at 2:38 PM, witt's end said:

 Our friends did it at the Intercontinental the day before we sailed - very convenient.

Remember an antigen test does not suffice.

I hope that helps.

 

Are you are talking about the Intercontinental in Papeete? Did they do the tests on site, and do you know the cost and turnaround?

[witt's end]

Yes,

Papeete Intercontinental.

It was easy - booked through the concierge and they came to the room at $120.00 pp.

 

[Cruisedreamer1]

Tell us about the lecturers on board as they speak. We loved while on board the talks so much.

[MrRandal]

22 hours ago, witt's end said:

Yes,

Papeete Intercontinental.

It was easy - booked through the concierge and they came to the room at $120.00 pp.

 

Thank you, I have an email into the concierge. How long before you got your results, and how were they delivered? (hard copy, email, text?)

[witt's end]

They got both hard copy and email within a couple of hours.

There are many options available and I did not hear anyone onboard

complain that the process was difficult.

Sadly, we are back in Papeete and our luggage is in the hall!😢

[babydoc2]

Witt's, thanks again for your help! Safe onward travels.

[Rufus Bruno 2009]

I was on this cruise with Witt's End.  It was a fantastic cruise and the crew as always was wonderful. We stayed an extra night at the Hilton with late check out.  Walked across the attached skywalk to the pharmacy across the street in the mall and got our return covid test.  Had a hard copy in hand within 15 minutes.  Only $15 per person.  Our flight back to LAX on ATN was almost empty.  Maybe 60 people.  We were all able to stretch out over 3 seats and sleep.  Not a turbulent flight. 

Customs was very quick and efficient at LAX. 

I spoke with some of the French passengers.  Ponant is heavily advertising the PG in France and giving discounts and lots if perks.  That is why there were so many French passengers.  Loved the duo language presentations and announcements.  I am going to take French lessons before my return next year.   Some people stuck with just their group but we were able to meet several people from around the world, states, Canada and surprisingly our area of WA state and ID state.  

[Rufus Bruno 2009]

On 4/21/2022 at 2:21 PM, Cruisedreamer1 said:

Tell us about the lecturers on board as they speak. We loved while on board the talks so much.

We had two speakers.  Mark Eddowes who is a renown archeologist in FP.  He gave 3 seminars on the ship about the origins of the FP people, historical information on their beliefs and rituals and the negative and positive influences of the Spanish and French and missionaries.  He also accompanied the land tours in the Marquesas'  and Tuamotus's and spoke about each islands history at each site we visited.  The 2nd speaker was Caroline Boyle-Turner.  She is an expert on Paul Gauguin's life and art.  While I am not a fan of his art personally, her insights and explanations were interesting.  She also met everyone who visited his grave and answered questions after a brief talk.  I did enjoy her seminar on "Why a 6 yr old could not paint this.".  Presented slides on Degas, Pollack, Picasso and Gauguin etc.  A very lively discussion followed with everyone expressing their likes and dislikes of the various artists.  

[mustangmonie]

Did you happen to go on the ship's snorkel excursion in Bora Bora?  Did you hear anything about it from others?

 

[minidonuts85]

Was there an overnight OTW bungalow excursion offered from PG in Bora Bora or Moorea? 
 

thank you! 

[Rufus Bruno 2009]

3 hours ago, mustangmonie said:

Did you happen to go on the ship's snorkel excursion in Bora Bora?  Did you hear anything about it from others?

 

No we did not.  Sorry I do not have specific information on snorkel excursions on Bora Bora.  We were scheduled to do the underwater walk but it was canceled due to bad currents.  Friends did the jetski tour and said it was fantastic.