First time PG cruiser & Tahiti visitor. Excursion recommendations for Tahiti & Tuamotus cruise.

[Little Rascal]

Hi,
Taking this cruise has been a bucket list trip for me for 25 years. ☺️. We are so excited to be cruising this May. Does anyone have any favorite excursions from the Tahiti & Tuamototus cruise?  Also, the dining venue called the Grill outside sounds really nice to us. Do we get to pick where we want to dine?  We can book our excursions 60 days prior by calling Paul Gauguin but what about the dining reservations?  Is the dress casual on the cruise?  Thank you for any help. 

[Tom Sandra]

Hi! I did the Society + Cooks itinerary in 2022, so there are a couple of overlapping ports. We did all excursions through the ship, and we were sailing at about 66% so things may be different with the full/er capacity of today.

 

In Huahine, we did the Huahine Exploration tour. The pros were that it was a small group (like, 6 of us) and we hit many sites. Still, the excursion was just 'okay.'

 

In Bora Bora, we did the small private boat tour with three stops (sorry, can't recall the name). It was outstanding! Pricey, but well worth it!! I've since learned that you can book it privately at a better price point -- which I'm hoping to do when we return in July. I'm having trouble getting responses from vendors though...).

 

In Tahaa, we did the Exploration of Tahaa tour and it was very good!! We saw a lot of sites, met locals, had homemade treats and refreshments from locals, and I love the vendors we visited (vanilla farm and Galatea pearls). It does take away from time at Motu Mahana though; and I've since learned that the Drift Snorkel excursion here is outstanding. So as much as I'd like to repeat this excursion, I'll probably go with the Drift Snorkel this summer.

 

In Moorea, we did the Ocean & Lagoon Tour and it was outstanding. There were only two couples on the tour and the guides were excellent!! One was an academic so we learned a lot, too. Lots of snorkeling, but weather kept us on the boat more than planned -- and they took us to places not on the itinerary to make it better! The next day we did the Slow Paced Belvedere/eBike tour and it was awful. The tour guide was rude and impatient. A few people were new to eBikes and she literally took the group onwards while they were straggling (& struggling) behind...and it was just downhill from there (no pun intended 🙂).

 

Dining:  The Grill was our favorite place for dinner. We went almost every night, though it sounds like that is not the norm. You make reservations when you board; your butler will do that for you if you're in a Cat B or higher. I've since read that you're guaranteed one reservation at Le Grill and one at La Veranda per sailing and you can inquire about more onboard (??). 

 

Dress onboard:  Casual. In the dining rooms, pants (like khakis, Dockers-like) and short sleeved loose button-down or polo shirt for men; and sundresses all the time for women.

 

Have fun!

[FlightMedic555]

For Le Grill try and book on a night in port, ideally the first night on Bora Bora.  Much nicer when the ship is not moving.  Some private excursions require you to form your own group.

 

Do the ship’s Aquarium snorkel excursion on Rangiroa and book early.  It sells out and there are few other options.

 

Fakarava Explorer by Ato is great but he wants you to organize the group.  Includes great snorkeling, a nice lunch at a beautiful lagoon with good snorkeling 

 

if you really love snorkeling and don’t mind missing an hour or so on the motu do the drift snorkel on Taha’a through the ship.

 

look at Huahine NAUTIQUE sometimes referred to as Marc’s tour on Huahine.

 

Reef Discovery Pure Snorkeling on Bora Bora is fantastic.  It is now offered through the ship although I believe you can still book this independently.  If you want a longer day with a motu lunch then their sister company, Lagoon Services, gets great reviews on TripAdvisor.

[Tom Sandra]

On 3/25/2024 at 3:18 PM, FlightMedic555 said:

Fakarava Explorer by Ato is great but he wants you to organize the group.  Includes great snorkeling, a nice lunch at a beautiful lagoon with good snorkeling 

 

Reef Discovery Pure Snorkeling on Bora Bora is fantastic.  It is now offered through the ship although I believe you can still book this independently.  If you want a longer day with a motu lunch then their sister company, Lagoon Services, gets great reviews on TripAdvisor.

@FlightMedic555 I can't get a response from Ato; I've emailed him a few times in the last 5 weeks. Any advice for connecting with him? Our sailing is in July 2024.

 

Also, have you ever booked directly with Reef Discovery in Bora Bora? I've heard them mentioned a few times on these boards and would like to book in advance with another couple. Just looking for some reassurance that they are a reputable company to pre-book with. It's a sizeable payment and we don't want to lose it for two couples. Thank you for sharing any of your experiences. By the way, it appears that Reef Discovery now provides the longer day with motu lunch according to their website.

 

Thanks so much again!

[Tahitianbigkahuna]

45 minutes ago, Tom Sandra said:

@FlightMedic555 I can't get a response from Ato; I've emailed him a few times in the last 5 weeks. Any advice for connecting with him? Our sailing is in July 2024.

 

Also, have you ever booked directly with Reef Discovery in Bora Bora? I've heard them mentioned a few times on these boards and would like to book in advance with another couple. Just looking for some reassurance that they are a reputable company to pre-book with. It's a sizeable payment and we don't want to lose it for two couples. Thank you for sharing any of your experiences. By the way, it appears that Reef Discovery now provides the longer day with motu lunch according to their website.

 

Thanks so much again!

 

Reef discovery is a very reputable company to do business with ... 

 

I assume you have the correct email address for Ato: fakaravaexplorer@hotmail.com

 

You can also send him a private message on his Messenger/Facebook under: https://www.facebook.com/lissant

 

 

Edited March 28 by Tahitianbigkahuna

[Tom Sandra]

51 minutes ago, Tahitianbigkahuna said:

 

Reef discovery is a very reputable company to do business with ... 

 

I assume you have the correct email address for Ato: fakaravaexplorer@hotmail.com

 

You can also send him a private message on his Messenger/Facebook under: https://www.facebook.com/lissant

 

 

Thank you so much @Tahitianbigkahuna! I really appreciate your feedback. 

Yes, that is the email address I've been using for Ato. I will try his Facebook/Messenger as you suggest. Thanks again!

[pappy1022]

I tried email them with no reply from them

[Tom Sandra]

18 hours ago, pappy1022 said:

I tried email them with no reply from them

@pappy1022 Are you referring to Ato? I can't reach him either and have been trying since late February. I sent him a message yesterday on Messenger as recommended above, but it has not even been opened yet. We'll keep our fingers crossed.

[pappy1022]

Yes

[Tahitianbigkahuna]

Just talked to Ato ... said to try his email again as he received nothing 😉

I told him to check his spam folder ...

Edited March 29 by Tahitianbigkahuna

[Tahitianbigkahuna]

29 minutes ago, Tahitianbigkahuna said:

Just talked to Ato ... said to try his email again as he received nothing 😉

I told him to check his spam folder ...

 

Nothing in his spam folder  ...

 

I sent him a test email ... he received. Send him another email 😉

[Tom Sandra]

18 hours ago, Tahitianbigkahuna said:

 

Nothing in his spam folder  ...

 

I sent him a test email ... he received. Send him another email 😉

@Tahitianbigkahuna First & foremost, thank you very much for this!! I just sent another email (fingers crossed). I checked all three prior emails and I sent them to that same email address. Hopefully it will work out! Again, thank you so much for taking the time to help; much appreciated.

[Tom Sandra]

Still no email or Messenger response from Ato. Such a bummer. I'll sign up for a ship excursion as a backup, and keep my fingers crossed for an Ato miracle. lol