Transpacific Hawaii to Brisbane Oct 23 Quantum of the Seas

[Kezzig]

We will be on the QOTS boarding in Honolulu, 18 days (repositioning) to Brisbane via French Polynesia - Tahiti, Moorea, Raiatea and Port Vila.  Would anyone who has done this trip in reverse in April able to answer the following:

1.  Was there a limit on passengers able to disembark in any port in FP?

2.  Were passengers who booked shore tours through RCI given priority to disembark?  
3.  Did anyone book third party tours in FP - specifically JetSki/snorkeling tours.

 

thank you in advance.

[Chiliburn]

26 minutes ago, Kezzig said:

We will be on the QOTS boarding in Honolulu, 18 days (repositioning) to Brisbane via French Polynesia - Tahiti, Moorea, Raiatea and Port Vila.  Would anyone who has done this trip in reverse in April able to answer the following:

1.  Was there a limit on passengers able to disembark in any port in FP?

2.  Were passengers who booked shore tours through RCI given priority to disembark?  
3.  Did anyone book third party tours in FP - specifically JetSki/snorkeling tours.

 

thank you in advance.

If you book through the ship you will be the first off .

[BecAus]

Hi

We did the crossing on Quantum in April this year.

1. No, there is no limit. They wouldn't be stopping at those ports if there was. That's why they had to drop Bora Bora due to limit on passengers.  We got 2 days in Moorea instead but from this season they are changing from that to the new port of Raiatea.

 

2. As Chili mentioned, RCI tours always have priority.  Generally they are running 2 tender departure points (forward and midship) and RCI tours will use one and other passengers the other.

We were in a suite this time so I can't really recall the tender ticket process but I think passengers had to line up to get them at a certain point the day before.

If you are in a full suite or a Pinnacle we were given early tender tickets in the SL.  I think she said she had tender #'s 1 - 10 put aside.

 

3. We did RCI's snorkelling tour in Papeete in the morning.  It was pretty good. A couple of different snorkelling stops including one with a plane wreck (a real one, not one they placed there for the tourists!) that was pretty cool.

In the afternoon we did a private island tour in the afternoon.

 

First day in Moorea we did a snorkelling, motu island lunch tour with Moorea Miti tours booked privately.  This included a couple of snorkelling stops and swimming with sting rays and black tipped sharks which was REALLY COOL!

Second day we did a private tour with Moorea Activities Centre doing a 3.5hr ATV Island tour followed by a 1 hr jet ski tour.  They have many different combo's of  varying time lengths of each activity.

The ATV tour was really cool.  Thank goodness I only booked the jet ski for 1 hour because I discovered I HATE jet skiing - my husband liked it though, just not my thing.

We spent 1/2 hr of that jet ski swimming with the sting rays / sharks again.  We didn't have to do that but I hated the jet ski so much I was begging to get off it!

It was actually really great though as there were less people than the day before so we got great time with the rays / sharks.  They recognise people as well apparently (the rays that is!) and our guide was one of their favourites so they were all over him and up close to see.

Moorea Activities also take free photos of your day so we got heaps from the ATV and also underwater ones from the jet ski tour which were cool.

The ATV / Jet ski wasn't cheap by any means - it was $475AUD for the 3.5hr / 1hr combo for the two of us but I definitely would say it was worth it for us.

I know they were booked out so if you are considering booking this sort of activity then I would book it early, like now if they're not booked out already.  I paid by credit card at the time of booking (I have a fee free international credit card)

 

Hope that helps you

 

[Kezzig]

Thank you for such great info.  
Re the jet ski - did it have a flip down ladder for getting back on?  What was it about the jet skiing that you didn’t like?  
 

[BecAus]

What didn't I like - everything.  The speed, the rough bumping up and down over the waves, the tight turning.  Don't take my hate of it as advice though. MOST people love it I'm sure, it just definitely wasn't for me - you won't catch me doing it again.

The guide did say it's not as much fun if you're the passenger.  I wouldn't have liked it either way but I think most people would.

Most people in the afternoon group were doing the 3hr tour so there was a heap of them together and a lot had their own jet ski instead of sharing. If sharing I'm sure you can swap 1/2 way, You were able to swap drivers on the ATV tour 

We were the only ones doing the 1hr tour so we got our own personal tour guide which was great and we could therefore choose exactly what we wanted to do ie. go spend more time at the ray/shark area. 

 

No, there is no ladder.  It was a bit of a problem for me.  I have RA and leaning on my wrists is a problem which I needed to do to push myself back up at the back of the jet ski.

The guide was happy to put a knee there to help you jump up but I needed more help than that.

I had to get my husband to get off and help me back up.  The guide was concerned as he wanted him up there first to balance the jet ski as its very easy to flip it but we were able to manage to do it, leaning away from each other and balancing it without any real trouble.  There's kind of a flat / platform area at the back of the jet ski that you lift up on to / sit on as you get yourself up.

 

It's shallow, standing area where the rays/sharks are so most people would be able to manage getting back on the jet ski ok it's just with my condition it made it difficult for me personally but we managed to get it done.

[Kezzig]

Thanks again Bec.
Hubby keen but I have been worried about getting back on ski. I have OA  in knees……pretty sure this trip is not for me either. But in saying that can you bring ski closer to shore into shallow water/ beach and get back on? 
Overall how did you find the multiple sea days. Have been on 12 day cruises but with more ports of call. We are in a group of 6 so will have company for cards, games etc. 

We have booked interior although will bid for Royal up, hoping for balcony.  Did you spend much time on the balcony? Hubby says nothing to see but water - but i would like the fresh air. 

 

[BecAus]

We didn't go near the shore at all, I don't know about the longer tours but we got on the jet ski at their dock and off again at their dock, other than getting in the water to swim with the rays / sharks which is optional.  Perhaps email the company, they might be able to advise more.

 

We ended up really liking the TP / sea days and will do it again in the future and probably go further ie. Aus - Honolulu - Vancouver - Alaska next time.  I was concerned about the number of sea days given previously we had only had about 2 sea days in a row.  I thought my husband would hate it but he liked it even better than me.  It's amazing how quickly you settle into it and we are not even very involved with most of the activities they have on board.  

 

To be honest, we probably don't spend enough time on the balcony to really warrant the cost.  We used it a bit as we always do - I sometimes have a coffee out there in the morning and my husband sat out there a few times to read.  Every time I book think I'm not sure we're using the balcony enough to warrant the extra expense but I would find it hard not to have it now.  Having the balcony makes it feel a little less claustrophobic to me but it really is a personal choice.

[Mikamarii]

20 hours ago, Kezzig said:

Overall how did you find the multiple sea days. Have been on 12 day cruises but with more ports of call. We are in a group of 6 so will have company for cards, games etc. 

We have booked interior although will bid for Royal up, hoping for balcony.  Did you spend much time on the balcony? Hubby says nothing to see but water - but i would like the fresh air. 

We were on the 19 night TP from Hawaii to Sydney last October on Ovation so same class of ship but slightly different ports. We originally had connecting port holes but prior to departure they closed off our entire deck for covid rooms so we got bumped up to connecting balconies. We absolutely loved it. Its easy to say because we didn't pay for it but having the balcony for all those sea days was awesome. We didn't spend tonnes of time out there but would go and sit from time to time for an hour or so as it was quiet and peaceful and wonderful when pulling in and out of ports. I cant remember what the price difference would have been for us but I'm guessing it was a fair amount as we didn't book it originally. The balcony definitely enhanced the trip though. 

 

We also loved the stretches of 6 sea days but we are sea day people. There was lots to do all day and as other poster stated, it's amazing how you just settle in to a routine. 

 

We didn't book any excursions through the ship as there weren't many at the time. Moorea is a tendor port and it was a good 15 mimute tender ride to the dock. The water is crystal clear and views amazing. In Moorea there are loads of vendors right off the tender dock.  We overnighted there so the first day we caught a cab to the beach and second day we did an island tour with Albert Transport. It was awesome and I'd definitely recommend it if thats what you are in to. They take you to the peak of the mountain in the center for some amazing views.

 

Tahiti we booked scuba diving direct from a local company. Docking in Tahiti you are right in the center of downtown so lots of vendors and the tourist office is a short walk from the pier with loads of things to book. We didn't do the other ports you are going so don't know about those. 

 

 

 

 

[Mikamarii]

On 6/26/2023 at 4:17 AM, BecAus said:

We did RCI's snorkelling tour in Papeete in the morning.  It was pretty good. A couple of different snorkelling stops including one with a plane wreck (a real one, not one they placed there for the tourists!) that was pretty cool.

Was this the plane wreck 😄😄?

 

 

[Kezzig]

Thank you so much for the info and still researching tours in FP.

we blew the budget and all upgraded to balcony cabins. So excited!

[Zaggirl]

We are booking this cruise also.  Anyone who did it last year, do you recall if there was a bridge director on board?  (I only cruise to play bridge.) Not quite kidding.