Back from BTB Tahitian Princess Marquesas part 1

[cindygad]

Tahiti Jan16 –Feb 5th BTB

 

Thur 18th Sea day formal night. was overcast and we finally saw the sun. The weather is improving. Went to pool, there is one on ship and two hot tubs. Usually chairs

Are available in sun, It was so intense we only stayed out 45 min – hr in direct sun. Chair hogs were out for the ones in the shade. Tip # 2 nice padded chairs on both side decks # 5 in shade. Good place to go to read or take a nap. Went to gym to work out, pretty big for such a small ship. Had 5 treadmills, 2 elliptical machines, and 2 step machines 4 bikes, several machines for weight training and usual free weights and exercise balls. It is Located in front of the ship and nice view while working out. Everyone was very conscious of cleaning machines with alcohol wipes after use. In front of ship is area you could rent chairs for $15 a day. We rarely saw people out there. It seemed way to hot with the direct sun for me. We went to cruise critic party Barry Trojanoski had put together in the bar by dining room 20 people showed up. It was fun to put a face to people we had talked to on line.

 

Friday 19th Sea day partly sunny. Nothing special just enjoyed the ship. My husband did find the ice cream that is on Buffet from 330-430 daily. He found the homemade ice to cream to be exceptional and enjoyed all the flavors. We found the grilled chicken and homemade buns to be a nice addition at the poolside grill.

 

Saturday 20th Hiva Ova My 50th birthday. I felt so blessed to spend it in such untouched beautiful island. We had booked a private 4x4 excursion with Claude. Actually the tour guides name was Phillip just booked through Claude. Climbed in air-conditioned trucks and were off for our adventure.. Went to a restored archaeological site . It had two large terraces with five huge stone tikis the area showed that it was once densely populated. Large moss covered rocks and enormous banyan trees. Had a spiritual feel to area.. Took a hike, need water shoes or tennis shoes to go up a steep incline. We saw Petroglyphs carved on the stones. We saw a large cascading waterfall. Woodcarver’s shops were in Hanaiapa valley. We had Lunch at Yvonne’s I had seafood platter of kingfish , shrimp and tuna steaks for $20. Trip was 7 hours and Philip was a well informed guide. Tip take bug spray to ward off noon’s. It was island night on Deck 10 after supper.

 

Sunday 21st Hiva Oa

When off tender board the free trucks or bus to town.

We went to local market place in town to watch Polynesia Dance. Allow enough time to get to early show. Bring hat or umbrella to protect from sun and water to drink. They have two shows when the ship is in port I recommend the early show due to intense heat. After the show take road to left to a nice beach area to swim with a beautiful view.

 

Monday 22nd Sea day Formal night. Did laundry located on deck 7. $1 to wash and $1 to dry, takes quarters open 8am to 10pm.

 

Tuesday 23rd Rangorea Took first tender over to meet Pascal for private excursion. He was waiting with a sign on shore, boarded boat we were give wet suits and life jackets for snorkel in Tiputa Pass. It depends on tide as to what time he does tours. He was great in communication with us on ship by sending email to ship of change of time to start. The pass was amazing the water was so clear we could see 90-100 feet. Saw lots of red snapper, mating season for them, a black tip shark, barracudas, and sea turtles. We held hands with 6 people for the drift. Pascal would stop and point out things of interest on way. He then took us to second drift snorkel and then to loonaguariam. I had not seen any post about Pascal and must say we were very pleased with tour. When we finished we walked along road from tender spot until we came to sign Bounty pass and took that path back to beach and walked back to tender. Made for a nice leisurely walk along the water.

 

Wed 24th Riateea arrived at noon. The only spa service I had was a special of 20-20-20 which you could pick of 3 choices for 89$. I had a 40 min hot stone massage and 20 min ankle treatment and massage with Hazel. I felt like Jell-O when I was done. We had a drift snorkel with Princess in coral gardens. You need to be good snorkeler to do. Need water shoes to walk on coral to area you get in. They bring your shoes back to boat. Be aware of black sea urchins a couple of people were stung here. You need your fins here too. The current was strong here and coral close to top of water so you need to be able to maneuver around the coral. We did the pass twice. Spectacular color, many fish and would do this excursion again in a heartbeat! Had fresh pineapple, papaya and coconut and little bananas when we completed the snorkel. MUST see the show Children of Riateea when you get back at 515 in boat. Tip they also sell wonderful head pieces of flowers for $5 on ship before show. You need cash for this. At night after dinner there is another dance with Polynesian dancers on deck before the champagne waterfall at llpm.

 

Friday 25th Bora Bora did Helmet aqua dive in morning a Princess excursion. It was excellent and you were under for 30 min. Well done excursion. The guide that took you down to bottom helped to clear pressure from ears and made sure you were ok before he left you. Amazing you can wear your glasses and your hair does not even get wet. It is very easy to breath in helmet. My husband has a large head and they had an extra large helmet that fit. Everyone in our boat loved this excursion. In the afternoon we had booked the beginner scuba dive. Normally I try not to do two tours but there was so much I wanted to try in Bora Bora. The beginner dive is just what we needed to give us a taste of diving and find out we love it. Also very well done and diver stays with the two of you the whole time.

 

Friday 26th turn around day for BTB. This is first cruise we have been on where they allow passengers to stay on until their evening flights. They do a great job accommodating both passengers, For us BTB they gave us a packet with instructions and waver card when we got off. We needed to change rooms from aft balcony to side balcony. They came to our door at 1000 had cart to move suitcases and we were able to keep clothes hung up. They told us to go to our new room and then moved our things for us. When we got back on ship they took new picture and gave us our new card. Very painless. Old passengers are allowed to eat in dining room for lunch, new passengers eat at buffet. New passengers eat in dining room open seating for supper and old eat in the buffet.

 

End of part 1

 

Cindy

[JenAMR]

Thanks Cindy!!! I can't wait to read part 2!!!

[btrojanoski]

Hi Cindy:

 

Great review. One correction. The first Marquesas Island is called Nuku Hiva (Saturday the 20th)

 

Waiting for part deux.

 

Barry

[laurieb]

Cindy, how did you like the aft balcony room? was it nicer than the regular balcony?

[cindygad]

Barry you are so right. Nuka Hiva was the 20th. I was just looking at some pictures from that day with you and Sharon. What a beautiful unspoiled island.

 

Laurieb, You were the one who first started our roll call. I got so much wonderful information from you. When are you going back? I thought it would be a once in a lifetime trip but now I think we just might have to return again. The aft balcony was ok. It is not as big as the aft on celebrity ships we have been on. It still was bigger than the other balcony. We had to move to a balcony on the side second cruise. The aft was big enough to get a lounge chair. I do enjoy watching the wake and the pamorama views you get back there. I must say I was dreading moving but really did not miss it that much. Paradise is still paradise no matter what your view is. We met Dave and Diana from NY who you had cruised with. What a lovely couple. We went on a couple excursions with them and had alot of fun with them.

 

Cindy

[laurieb]

thankyou for responding! we are headed back on the 1/29/08 cruise if all goes right. I don't think that once you have been to fp you can stay away!!

[Ojaian]

Monday 22nd Sea day Formal night. Did laundry located on deck 7. $1 to wash and $1 to dry, takes quarters open 8am to 10pm.Cindy

 

Hi Cindy,

 

Great review, one question regarding laundry room. Was there a change machine in the laundry room for the quarters?

Thanks

[cindygad]

There is no change machine in laundry room. You can get change from purser on deck 4.

 

Cindy

[hillslife]

Great review - thanks for your tips. Will look forward to your Part II.

 

We are thinking of the beginning dive in Bora Bora also.....my 16 year old daughter has been wanting to experience this....glad to hear it is well done and safe.:)

 

Did you do any pre/post hotel stays with Princess? Any tips there?

[hillslife]

Sorry - double post.....

[cindygad]

Hilslife,

 

Your daughter will love the beginner dive. Just what you need to give you a taste of diving. The first part of my review is back on page 3 of the Princess thread.I could not figure how to post a longer review so it got seperated and this is the second part of cruise one. Since we were spending 20 days on the cruise we were only able to go one day early and stayed cheep downtown at the Le Manderin. A great no frills place to catch up on sleep but nothing to do except use of room .

 

Cindy

[hillslife]

Thanks Cindy - I will check it out.

[vette]

Hi Cindy,

 

Thanks for the great review! We are leaving in a few week for our turn on the TP. Can you fill us in on any fun secrets of the ship, any secret decks, any great little nooks or crannys?

 

Are the pools open while you are in Papeete?

 

Vette

[Sunny Beaches]

Cindy,

 

Thank you so much for your great review! We're very much looking forward to Part II. And thanks for the info on the Aqua Safari Helmet Dive in Bora Bora. This is one thing we both want to do but I was little worried about the whole thing. Your explanation really makes the dive seem like a piece of cake!

 

Thanks again!

[cindygad]

Vette, Sorry I can't think of any special areas on the ship. It is small, The library is beautiful but we did not spend any time there. Area on Deck 11 sun deck did not seem as busy as other sun areas. The pool was open when in Papeete.

 

Sunny beaches, I was just looking at pictures today of aqua safari. Everyone came up smiling.

 

Enjoy,

 

Cindy

 

PS I am going to post part 2 Cook islands tomorrow but I am going to post on Pacific Island thread.

[Aussie Gal]

Cindy,

 

Can you tell me what was the number of your aft cabin number and which deck you were on. We are booked on an aft cabin for our cruise in June and would be interested in hearing more about yours.

 

Thanks

 

Jennie

[cindygad]

Jennie,

 

We had an aft room 6090 on deck 6. The balcony was deeper than the side balcony. We were able to have a lounge chair, two reg chairs and a table. We did not notice any motion problems or have any issues with noise.The main thing I enjoy about aft room is watching the wake, watching leaving ports and the pamoramic view. On the second cruise we had to change room to side balcony room 7082. Our room was exactly the same, the balcony was just smaller. The aft balcony was about 1/2 the size of the ones we have had on celebrity.

 

Cindy

[mikefast]

Thanks for your review. My wife and I are thinking about going to Tahiti soon, I'm thinking that cruising is the most practical way of seeing those islands. Just curious, where did you anchor at Bora Bora. I think most of the pictures you see of Bora Bora are from that beautiful shallow lagoon. I would love to see that part of the island.

[cindygad]

Mikefast,

 

It was much more cost effective doing the BTB cruise. Staying on the islands is very expensive and the food also adds up. The OWB are gorgeous but after looking at staying there 3 or 4 nights we thought we might as well do another 10 day cruise. Bora Bora is a tender port. All except Papeete and Raiatea you tender in. What makes Bora Bora so beautiful is the combination of the multihued lagoon and Mount Otemanu towering in the backgrown. The different color of blues and greens of the water are undescribable.Bora Bora is only 27 square miles in area.

 

Cindy

[Aussie Gal]

Cindy,

 

Thanks for getting back to me so soon. We had a side balcony on Deck 7 in 2004 and that is the reason I have gone for the aft this time, as I thought it would be great to have a bit more space on the balcony. In the meantime, we cruised on the Pacific Princess in January and had a mini suite. That was wonderful. Not only is the cabin larger but the balcony is also and in future we would only book one of those.

 

It is going to be hard to come back to the smaller cabin but I am sure we will be fine. I did enquire about upgrading but apparently they are all booked and we have been put on a waitlist. I am now thinking that if one comes available, we probably will not take the offer up, as we can use the dollars saved for our time in Hawaii after the cruise.

 

Jennie