Windstar Tahiti - December

[jstudio]

Thinking of Windstar in French Polynesia for December but we're concerned about rainy season warnings. Also, we are used to expedition cruises...how different is the vibe? 

[oakridger]

Welcome to Cruise Critic @jstudio!  I was first in FP in December and yes, it did rain sometimes but it didn't hamper the enjoyment of the beautiful islands and people!  Besides, the weather was warm and we just continued to snorkel even if it was raining....the fish didn't mind and neither did we! 😁  It will rain at times all year long and I'm sure you have looked at the average rainfall statistics online.  

 

I haven't sailed on my first Windstar yet (May 2025!) so can't personally discuss the onboard experience but there are quite a few YouTube videos about Windstar Star Breeze that helped me get a feel for the ship.  Have a look!

 

Others on here will give their firsthand cruise impressions, I'm sure.

 

Let us know what you decide!

 

~Nancy

[avalong]

It's not so much the rain as the increased humidity that makes Tahiti uncomfortable in our winter months (their summer months). 

[AmateurGO]

We did our French Polynesia in very early December (2017).  I had not even checked expected weather as this was to celebrate other, more important, occasions.   We apparently were lucky as I don't think we got rained on for the entire 11 day cruise.  If there was any rain, we didn't notice.  On the day we disembarked back in Tahiti, a major rain storm came through in the evening, about 6:00, about the time the Wind Spirit would would have been departing and doing the Sailaway.  I felt sorry for those passengers.

[oakridger]

Just googled "Average Humidity in Tahiti" and laughed! 😁The Humidity is almost the same year-round in Tahiti!!

 

Check Humidity in Tahiti by Month | Accurate Insights (weather-and-climate.com)

 

Edited September 22 by oakridger

[avalong]

37 minutes ago, oakridger said:

Just googled "Average Humidity in Tahiti" and laughed! 😁The Humidity is almost the same year-round in Tahiti!!

 

Check Humidity in Tahiti by Month | Accurate Insights (weather-and-climate.com)

 

That is simply not so.

[oakridger]

17 minutes ago, avalong said:

That is simply not so.

 

@avalong I'll look around at other weather sites.  It's just the first one I saw on the list.  Do you have a recommendation for a weather website that is more accurate?  I use them a lot for travels.

 

Thanks,

~Nancy

[jstudio]

Hmmmm

[AmateurGO]

Not sure I want to jump into the middle of this, but.....    The relative humidity stays practically the same all year, but the actual humidity is higher in Dec - Feb (Summer).  Relative humidity is actually a poor indicator of humidity, a better measure is "Dew-point temperature".  As temperature rises (as in summer), the air's ability to hold water also rises.  Air at, say, 90 F can hold a lot more water than air at 85F. Since the summer (Dec - Feb) air temps in FP are about 5 - 8 degrees F higher than in winter, if the relative humidity is the same year round, then the summer air is holding more water (humidity) than the winter air.  In dew-point temperature terms, this is probably the difference of around 65F Dew Point Temp and 75F DPT.  This makes a significant difference in the way the air feels.  

Did I confuse you enough?

[jstudio]

This is all mildly confusing and bottom line, very helpful. We have been to the Cook Islands and Fiji, both idyllic in our summer. And I was at Club Med in Moorea back in the day, in April. For us I think it makes sense to wait for more pleasant weather. 

[AmateurGO]

Since no one addressed "the vibe" part of your query, I'll put in another $.02 (USD) worth....   

Obviously, I have not been on a Windstar Expedition cruise so I'll use our Galapagos cruise on a 100 passenger Celebrity ship as a reference.  In many ways, the typical Wind Star cruise is very similar to an expedition cruise: very casual, yet very comfortable and friendly, within the passengers and between passengers and crew.  Dress codes are a little more relaxed than on the typical "big ship" cruise.  Food quality though, is excellent on both, probably because the kitchen does not have to produce many hundreds of meals so they are more made-to-order.  One aspect of most expedition cruises is the "educational" component: there are typically more lectures/discussions of the environment you are exploring.  While there will typically be a "port talk" about upcoming port visits, it really does not usually go into much depth.  There is more entertainment on non-expedition cruises, taking the place of the more educational offerings.  

[jstudio]

Thanks Amateur, this is super helpful!

[RMMariner]

We were in French Polynesia in November of 2022. It rained (hurricane like) for our first 5 days. Then it was sunny sometimes, cloudy and quite rainy a lot for the next three weeks. It did not ruin the trip, but it did ruin certain days.

 

The second time was in March 2024 and it was incredibly hot and beautiful almost every day. We brought our bikes on Windstar and rode every island. One of the Windstar cruises before us was actually pushed out of the Society and Tuamotos all the way up to the Marquesas because of a hurricane.

 

You just really never know. We are going back next year in October. The whales will be there then, and I did not get to see them the first two times.