Private overnight in Bora Bora

[cruising22]

Has anyone done their own overnight stay in Bora Bora. I am looking at a ships tour and it is mega bucks. Have found a overwater hotel only snag is if we book it it is non refundable.

Any tips, help. Thanks in anticipation

 

[SailingHigher]

We did this two weeks ago on a Windstar cruise. We jumped ship for one night at the St. Regis Bora Bora. Mrs. Sailing was in tears over how beautiful the bungalow was. The normal rate was insane, but accumulated Marriott points made it just expensive. The service was off the charts. I'm sure the Four Seasons is also just as good. We viewed this as a "bucket list" experience.

 

The trick was that these resorts are not reachable via water taxi directly from the cruise ship. The concierge was great, however. A taxi met us at the tender dock in Viatape for the 30 minute ride to the hotel's dock. I knew how much cash to have on hand thanks to advance warning from the hotel. We waited for maybe 10 minutes in a nice room with sofas at the dock. The hotel's boat picked us up and took our overnight bags straight to the bungalow while our butler/attendant gave us a terrific tour of the property via golf cart. The water taxi across the lagoon was charged to the room bill. We got a late checkout and repeated the transfers to return to the ship. We made the last tender with just 30 minutes to spare. 

 

I would do it again. It was cheaper than the ship's pre-arranged overnight at the Intercontinental Bora Bora, but still uber expensive.

 

[Between there and here]

Did you get permission from Windstar to do this overnight or did you as you say  "jumped ship?" 

[Between there and here]

On 6/29/2023 at 6:40 AM, cruising22 said:

Has anyone done their own overnight stay in Bora Bora. I am looking at a ships tour and it is mega bucks. Have found a overwater hotel only snag is if we book it it is non refundable.

Any tips, help. Thanks in anticipation

 

Have you contacted Azamara to see if you need permission to stay off overnight in Bora Bora? We are on a different ship  with a different cruise company and I was told that since it is a tender port, I need to ask my cruise line-who I guess goes through the Port Authority in Bora Bora , for permission. Still waiting. I thought that this would be a highlight of our trip so will be disappointed if we can't do our overnight in an over the water villa! Please let me know what info you have. Much appreciated!

[SailingHigher]

2 hours ago, Between there and here said:

Did you get permission from Windstar to do this overnight or did you as you say  "jumped ship?" 

I wouldn't say I asked for permission, but I did notify the ship by stopping by the Wind Spirit lobby desk and mentioning our plans to the person on duty. I also informed our cabin steward so that he would not worry and would know our cabin would not need to be addressed while we were gone. Both were very relaxed. They thanked me for the information and emphasized that the ship wants to know about any shore stays in case something unexpected should happen regarding the ship, tenders, weather, etc.

Edited July 24, 2023 by SailingHigher
typo

[Between there and here]

Thanks for your timely reply and the information. We have already asked for permission but it will be a week tomorrow and we have heard nothing. Meanwhile, we had already booked the St.Regis in an over the water villa. UGH! It's the whole tender as opposed to docking that is the problem. We didn't know it was a tender port.  I will get in touch again tomorrow.

 

What's  the expression? " Hope for the best but expect the worst." We have a lovely cruise planned and if we don't get this "little"-ok really big  extra that we planned for ourselves, then  that would be a shame- but not the worst thing in the world. I was pleased to hear how much you and your wife enjoyed it ,so here's hoping!

[SailingHigher]

I bet things go just fine once you are on the ship. One tip I would add is to make sure you understand when the last tender will depart back to the ship. We had undue stress because I forgot to pin that down before we left for the resort. I had no luck calling all phone numbers at Windstar for customer service, emergencies, etc., before we checked out. Somehow the concierge got through and within an hour, the ship called us in our room to say that the last tender would leave Viatape at 4:30 p.m. even though the ship was sailing at 9 p.m. I was glad we were in a taxi by 3 p.m. and didn’t try to enjoy the resort for another hour. 

[Tahitianbigkahuna]

Depending on the ship ... some do a BBQ and show one evening in Bora Bora and the tenders might be used for such and not available for going to Viatape after 4:30PM

 

BTW  ... the most convenient resort to spend the night on is the Conrad Hilton or the Moana ... The Conrad picks you up right at the tender drop off and the Moana is only a 10 minute taxi ride away. 

[Between there and here]

6 hours ago, SailingHigher said:

I bet things go just fine once you are on the ship. One tip I would add is to make sure you understand when the last tender will depart back to the ship. We had undue stress because I forgot to pin that down before we left for the resort. I had no luck calling all phone numbers at Windstar for customer service, emergencies, etc., before we checked out. Somehow the concierge got through and within an hour, the ship called us in our room to say that the last tender would leave Viatape at 4:30 p.m. even though the ship was sailing at 9 p.m. I was glad we were in a taxi by 3 p.m. and didn’t try to enjoy the resort for another hour. 

Not looking so good for an affirmative response. Checked in again and was told that my request was only submitted yesterday-a week after I called! This fellow said that he resent  the request as I was on the phone with  him-but it will likely be denied.

 

Thank you for the heads up about  arranging  a   timely  resort departure -and being aware of  the tender  times! That is very useful information to have if, by a slim chance, our cruise line allows us to fulfill this bucket list opportunity! I'll let you know!

[Between there and here]

4 hours ago, Tahitianbigkahuna said:

Depending on the ship ... some do a BBQ and show one evening in Bora Bora and the tenders might be used for such and not available for going to Viatape after 4:30PM

 

BTW  ... the most convenient resort to spend the night on is the Conrad Hilton or the Moana ... The Conrad picks you up right at the tender drop off and the Moana is only a 10 minute taxi ride away. 

Thanks for the info. Unfortunately it wouldn't matter which resort we booked: it is a matter of either being given permission to overnight off the ship since it is a tender docking -or not. It is not looking good. Disappointing. 

[Tahitianbigkahuna]

1 hour ago, Between there and here said:

Thanks for the info. Unfortunately it wouldn't matter which resort we booked: it is a matter of either being given permission to overnight off the ship since it is a tender docking -or not. It is not looking good. Disappointing. 

 

Simply stated for others ...

[Between there and here]

On 7/25/2023 at 12:31 PM, Between there and here said:

Not looking so good for an affirmative response. Checked in again and was told that my request was only submitted yesterday-a week after I called! This fellow said that he resent  the request as I was on the phone with  him-but it will likely be denied.

 

Thank you for the heads up about  arranging  a   timely  resort departure -and being aware of  the tender  times! That is very useful information to have if, by a slim chance, our cruise line allows us to fulfill this bucket list opportunity! I'll let you know!

Well generally "they" say  that " three times the charm" but in the case of us asking for a response from Oceania,-three  different times as to whether or not we had permission to overnight in Bora Bora -off ship- the answer was a no. Not meant to be. We cancelled our villa over the water at The Saint Regis. It will be the rainy season when we go so maybe for that amount of money, it is just as well.

Thanks again for your information .