Cruising the South Pacific - Why Only Early Months of the Year

[flipflop104]

Hello,

 

Sorry if this is a silly question, but why do the like of Regent, Oceania, etc. only do cruises in the South Pacific (or seem to from what I can find) in January-March time when it's not the best season to go?

 

When I google the best times to go, I get this result:

 

"Although the South Pacific is hot and humid most of the year with warm seas and clear skies, the best time to visit is generally between April and November when the weather is driest. The exception to this is French Polynesia, where the peak season is shorter and runs from June to August."

 

We are wanting to get married in Bora Bora (late ish 2025 - Sept./Oct./Nov.) and then jump on a 7-14 days cruise round the South Pacific and it seems the only time we can go is between January and April ish.  Unless we go on Windstar or Paul Gauguin type cruises which we don't want (we were hoping to go on something like Regent / Silversea / Oceania, etc.).

 

Or am I just not looking in the right places? lol

 

Thanks in advance

[mnocket]

Just a wild guess....  maybe they prefer to sail in the Northern hemisphere (e.g.Mediterranean) during their summer months and then deploy to the Southern hemisphere during its summer months?

 

I've cruised the islands around Tahiti and also done vacations where I stayed at several island resorts - e.g. 5 days on Bora Bora and then 5 days on Moorea.  To be honest, I actually found the resort stays more relaxing.  It's hard to beat staying in an overwater bungalow. It depends what you are looking for I guess.

[flipflop104]

Thanks, I guess they will get more bookings from Med cruises.

[Leejnd4]

I'm curious why you're counting out Paul Gauguin? I've cruised that ship twice, and have a third cruise booked with them for November. I've also cruised Regent, Oceania, Crystal and Windstar in various parts of the world, but for French Polynesia I would pick a PG cruise over all of them in a heartbeat. If it's the luxury factor you're concerned about, both of my PG cruises were comparably luxurious experiences while also offering total immersion into the Polynesian culture and vibe, which you DON'T get on the other lines. That ship may be a bit old, but they do a great job of keeping it sparkling. Also she just had a dry-dock refresh, and I've read that the ship looks great.

 

Just some food for thought! 😀

[flipflop104]

Oh it's nothing to do with luxury - it looks like a gorgeous ship - it's just that Paul Gauguin and Windstar are just a little too small for our liking tbh (and no casino which we like to play on an evening).  

[Leejnd4]

4 hours ago, flipflop104 said:

Oh it's nothing to do with luxury - it looks like a gorgeous ship - it's just that Paul Gauguin and Windstar are just a little too small for our liking tbh (and no casino which we like to play on an evening).  

Ah, okay that makes sense. Yes, I read that the PG eliminated the casino recently. I don't think it was very heavily used. And it's true that as a small ship, doesn't have all the activities that the big ships have. The PG is all about the destination, and cultural immersion.

 

Good luck with your search for the perfect ship for your wedding!

[flipflop104]

Thank you 😄

[5waldos]

Uh- I'm sailing in the South Pacific in late September into October with Silversea. And they go on from there for another month. But yes- this is a small ship which you might not prefer. However, since many of the islands are very small, they can be overwhelmed by large ships. Imagine an island with 300-400 population having a cruise ship land with 2-4,000 people. Not a nice picture. I suspect that many of the itineraries in the South Pacific are not entirely compatible with your preferred choice of cruises. 

 

And for what it is worth- the old seasons have not been reliable more recently with global change. 

Edited April 26, 2023 by 5waldos

[flipflop104]

We are wanting to go Sept./Oct./Nov. time in 2025 for about 7-10 days.  Silversea is one of the lines we have been looking at - when we say "small ship" - we don't mind 500/600 pax just don't want it to be as small as PG or Windstar.

[Leejnd4]

7 hours ago, flipflop104 said:

We are wanting to go Sept./Oct./Nov. time in 2025 for about 7-10 days.  Silversea is one of the lines we have been looking at - when we say "small ship" - we don't mind 500/600 pax just don't want it to be as small as PG or Windstar.

Yes, that's a good point - many of the islands bar the larger ships entirely, and these restrictions are expected to get even more rigid. Bora Bora recently banned any ship larger than 1000 pax, and I read that they will soon reduce that number further. And honestly, I wouldn't want to cruise to the South Pacific without stopping at Bora Bora! You won't find better snorkeling, or a more romantic setting, on any island that any cruise ship can get to.

 

So it looks like your options may very well be limited. In looking at the higher-end lines visiting the South Pacific in Sept/Oct/Nov of this year, you've got PG, Silversea & Seabourn. There's also a Viking ship that will be visiting there, but it looks to be part of a month-long cruise from LA.

 

I haven't personally sailed on Silversea or Seabourn, but my understanding is that they are pretty sedate, luxury-focused cruise lines. Plus, the only Silversea ships going there are the Silver Explorer, which is even smaller than the PG - 130 pax - and the Silver Muse, which is probably more to your liking with about 600 pax. And it does have a small casino.🙂

 

Seabourn only sends the Odyssey to the South Pacific, and that's kind of in between - 460 pax. It has a very small casino, but it appears to be a VERY sedate ship with little in terms of entertainment or activities. 

 

If you're willing to go on one of the lower-end mass-market lines, NCL, Royal Caribbean and HAL seem to have some cruises that hit the South Pacific, but their itineraries are not very exciting. Plus, well, mass-market big ships.

 

I think if you want to avoid the big boys, you're going to end up with a quieter cruise.

 

 

Edited April 26, 2023 by Leejnd4

[flipflop104]

Yeah I was aware of the restrictions Bora Bora are putting in place regarding ship sizes.  Bora Bora is where we wanted to get married and thought as most ships stay overnight in Bora Bora we could hop off and get married on one of the days we're docked but we think you have to be there more than a couple of days to get married so are now thinking we'd do 3 days in Bora Bora to get married and then join a cruise (so, the cruise doesn't have to stop at Bora Bora as we'll have already been there).

 

Don't really want to go on the likes of NCL, RCI, Celebrity, etc as we have done these before and want a "step-up" for our wedding - plus the ships will be too large to go to certain places, I believe?

 

I can't even seem to find cruises round Cook islands/Fiji that are around 7-10days duration, as an alternative (seeing as we will have done Bora Bora), but maybe I'm looking too early or not looking in the right place(s)?!

 

PS.  Thank you for your helpful and insightful knowledge thus far.

Edited April 27, 2023 by flipflop104

[5waldos]

The Silversea ship we are sailing on is about 125 people, so not something you are looking for I suspect. I think that the ship that will be taking over these South Pacific itineraries is also small- perhaps 200 people or something. No casino or big entertainment- lots of daily excursions and talks, some music. The focus is pretty much entirely on the islands and culture. We loved the entire experience but it is not for everyone. 

 

You might want to look at the port timetables https://www.cruisemapper.com/ports and see what ships might be visiting some of the islands during the months you have available. 

Edited April 27, 2023 by 5waldos

[flipflop104]

I've been looking at cruisetimetables.com but I'll take a look at that as well, thanks.  I suspect i might be looking a bit too early as not all the cruise lines may have released their port plans yet.  But i like to get organised, haha!

[Leejnd4]

6 hours ago, flipflop104 said:

PS.  Thank you for your helpful and insightful knowledge thus far.

Happy to help! In fact I'm having fun. 😉 I've already done all the planning for my upcoming PG cruise, and don't have another cruise on the horizon to work on, so I'm actually enjoying working on yours. LOL!

 

Yes, I believe you are looking too far ahead. While the high-end cruise lines often alter their routes, they do tend to do the same itineraries for a few years so you can see what will likely happen in 2025 by looking at what's going on in 2023 and 2024.

 

FYI, my go-to for searching for cruises is vacations to go dot com. I don't use their booking services, just their search engine. IMO they have the best search system I've ever seen. If you use their custom search option, you can filter your search by a wide variety of options, including by multiple regions or even by one particular port stop; by ship rating; number of pax; even by year ship was built! Check it out.

 

I threw in Tahiti/South Pacific for Sep/Oct/Nov 2025, and the ONLY cruise line so far that is showing any itineraries there is Windstar. But if you look for the same months in 2024 you've got a full range. If you compare 2023 to 2024, it's very close and you can assume that it will look pretty much like that for 2025.

 

Based on everything you've described, the best itinerary I've seen for you is the Silver Muse 15-day from Cairns, AU to Auckland, NZ. It stops in several ports in Fiji as well as some other really interesting, and less-touristed, islands in the South Pacific. It's running in November of this year, but not next year, so I don't know if you'll have that option in 2025.

 

Another one to consider is Celebrity Solstice. It's a big ship, but as mass-market ships go, it's on the higher end. They've got an itinerary in Oct. 2024 that goes from Hawaii to Sydney, stopping in the Society Islands. A lot of sea days, but that ship has a TON of stuff to do on it! They might be running that one in 2025.

 

I'm an early planner like you. And for a wedding, that's even more important. But unfortunately I think you're gonna have to wait a while until the 2025 itineraries are out.

[flipflop104]

Wow, you really know your stuff and are very helpful and full of suggestions.  Thank you so much, it's really appreciated 😊  And glad I am giving you soemthing to research seeing as you've done all yours lol 😊

 

I'd love to do Hawaii to Sydney but my partner is very new to cruising - took me ages to get her to go on one as she's terrified of being at sea (where she can't see land), gets seasickness and can't swim so on paper a cruise is her worst nightmare lol.  I've managed to get her on a couple now (Med cruise just after covid but round Mallorca and Italy so pretty calm seas and Caribbean for New Year that's just gone, and again relatively calm seas and both had minimal sea days) but any with lots of sea days and the potential for rough seas would deffo be a no-no.  I've got to take baby steps with her. and ease her in slowly  lol.  And while I'd also like to do Silver Muse 15 days cruise you mention, she works for the NHS in a hospital ward and isn't allowed more than 2 weeks off at a time, so adding in the few days in Bora Bora and the travelling time, we wouldn't be able to do that long a cruise (hence why our search is so restricted).

 

The wedding is just us two (no family coming so no one else to think of) and we intend to get married in Bora Bora and then just have the cruise as our honeymoon so nothing special to plan (just getting all the legalities sorted to marry in Bora Bora) except getting the right cruise at the right time.  But I still like to plan early - it's my 50th in February 2025 (man and dad, and auntie accompanying us) and I'm planning to go to LA (for Disney Cali), then west coast train down to San Diego, then fly to Vegas and then fly to New York (staying 3 nights in each place) which is why February/March isn't a good time for the wedding and we'd prefer Sept./Oct./Nov. for the wedding and the cruise.  But if pushed we can swap them round if we really have to, but I do like being in Vegas on my birthday and would prefer my 50th hol in February when it's my actual birthday. 

As a side note we saw a Princess cruise for 2023 and early 2024 with Cruise Kings that does a 3-night pre-cruise stay in LA (Disney -  ✔️) then sails from LA-San Fran-Monterey-San Diego ✔️-Ensenada and then back to LA and includes a post-cruise 3 night stay in Vegas ✔️.  I asked if they can stick New York on the end of Vegas before flying us home to the UK and they said they could ✔️, so I'm really hoping that package is replicated by them in 2025 too.  Anyway, I digress, sorry.  lol

 

I shall deffo check out that website you recommended - it's always helpful to get receomendations from experienced and knowledgeable people.  The extra searches you threw in are ideal cos we don't have anywhere specific we want to go - just know we want to do something in and around the South Pacific area, so happy to be pointed in directions from people who have been before and know their stuff.  I've only ever done Caribbean cruises before (and Med.)

 

Having said all that, I think you're right and loks like I'm going to have to wait until at least later this year if not, early next year to see a full and comprehensive list of itineraries and options (this doesn't suit my early planner brain lol).