Tahitian Princess, 155 Captioned Photos

[dobie]

Your pictures were wonderful! Thank you for sharing.

[emmy]

Thank you so much Jim & Linda in sharing your most wonderful photos and review. I especially liked the pics of Marc's Motu Picnic..now that looked like so much fun. :)

 

Just added another itinerary to my list ;)

 

Good job!

 

Emmy

[tispwisp]

Linda & Jim - Thanks so much for sharing your wonderful vacation pictures! I'm really really angry with you for doing so however! :mad: Now I have to add this cruise to my to cruise list! :D And see where I can fit it in! :D

 

Thanks again for sharing! :)

[tootiesmom]

What great pix ! Thank you for taking the time to post them. I've never thought about Tahiti as a place to go......until now! It looks absolutely beautiful.

 

tootiesmom :)

[Hornet]

Thanks Linda and Jim for sharing and getting me interested in that cruise. Oh........so many places to visit.

 

How did you like the smaller size of the TP? We are going on another large ship this fall and wonder how we'd like the smaller size. I know it's not small compared to other lines, but for Princess ~ she's pretty small.

 

I copied some of your camera info and do appreciate that you included that too. Did you take all stills or video too?

[LnJ]

Hello JMB410 and Hornet,

 

I’ll try to answer your questions here.

 

Did we take taxis on Bora Bora?…No, we took Le Truck out to the Matira public beach. There were several just 50 yards or so from where the tender dropped us off. On the way back we flagged one down with a wave in front of the Hotel Bora Bora. I think the fare was about $3 US per person each way.

 

12 years ago, Linda and I rented mopeds and circled the island. Back then, some of the road was just gravel, but by now it’s probably all paved. I don’t have any suggestions about rates now but perhaps someone else can answer with more up to date info about moped and bicycle rentals. There is so little traffic, and the island so small, a rented bicycle would do just fine.

 

On Tahiti and Moorea we rented small (tiny) cars without prior reservations. Like I mentioned in one of the photo captions, Avis and Alberts had cars available where the tender dropped us off near Opunohu Bay on Moorea. In Papeete, we rented a Fiat from Europcar for 24 hours, a couple blocks from the dock. I would have probably gone with Avis, but their downtown office was already closed at 6:15 pm.

 

Hornet asked how we liked the small size of the Tahitian Princess. I occasionally felt a little more motion than on larger ships, but wasn’t bothered by it. My sister-in-law Judie on the other hand was glad she had “the patch” she wore behind her ear. She got three of them for motion sickness from her doctor before she left home. I’m pretty sure the Princess doctor won’t prescribe them.

 

One nice thing about a smaller ship is that you recognize quite a few of your fellow cruisers after a while. We especially liked running into fellow CruiseCritics we met the first day by the pool bar.

 

In addition to the digital still photos, we also took about an hour of video. We try to follow the “7 second rule” with video…. no one shot should be more than 7 seconds long. Several years ago on our Alaska cruise I watched somebody video the ENTIRE (!!) 15 minute ice carving demonstration. Wouldn't it be a lot more interesting to have 3 or 4 "7 second" segments as the eagle appears from the block of ice?

[Shine]

Jim: thanks so much for the pictures. My husband and I are thinking of this cruise for October 05....where did you get the information for the water picnic? that looked great.

[PescadoAmarillo]

Thanks Jim, for the info and thanks again for sharing the photos.

[LnJ]

Shine,

 

Marc’s motu picnic tour info is at http://www.huahine-nautique.com.

 

Bruno’s snorkel/picnic tour on Raiatea is at http://www.tahaa.net.

 

The real beauty of Polynesia is found in the water. I’ve read some reports about “Bora Boring”…. Obviously, anybody with that attitude didn’t even get his feet wet!!! It’s like a huge tropical aquarium down there.

[Tkennedy]

Linda and Jim - Thank you so much for posting you web link. Your pictures are fantastic. I put you link on my CC Roll Call for the "Pacific Princess" Aug. 2004 - Papeete - Ft. Lauderdale. We have 22 "Cruise Critics" so far on our Roll Call and everyone has been enjoying all you pictures. We set sail on Sunday, sailing to some of the same islands. Looking forward to taking our own pictures. I'm very jealous of you camera and skills. I'm still working with a 2 mega pix and dreaming of a day I can upgrade. Thanks again, Lorraine :)

[sueandkent]

Great photos, looks like it was a great holiday.

[LnJ]

Lorraine,

 

You’ll have a wonderful time in French Polynesia. Looks like you’re leaving tomorrow or maybe Sunday.

 

As far as the photos go, my advice is to take lots of them, and then delete at least half while everything is fresh in your mind. This is easier if you bring a laptop with you. If you’re exposing film, have it developed on board ship, or buy an inexpensive lead bag (about $15) to protect against the “death ray” x-ray machine that scans luggage (and RUINS film) at some airports, including Papeete. Hand checking of film is difficult sometimes.

 

Making prints from negatives is very subjective. Color and density can vary dramatically with the skill of the photo technician. If your photos have a blue cast, or are “washed out”, it could be that your negatives are properly exposed but the automatic printing machine was incorrectly calibrated. Some processors expect you to be their “quality control” and don’t even look at your photos.

 

I like to have some “scene setters” that give a wide angle perspective to where I am. If there are people in this type of pictorial, move them close to the camera, not tiny specs in a scene taken with a wide angle lens or wide zoom. Landscape photos are generally more dramatic when the sun is low, usually an hour or two after sunrise or before sunset.

 

Include story telling photos of people doing something, not always just looking at the camera. This can be especially dramatic with your subject close to the camera with a wide angle lens. I like to use natural light inside when possible. I’d rather have a “noisy” (grainy) photo at a higher ISO with a detailed background rather than have people pasted on a solid black background when the camera’s flash is turned on.

 

A few detailed close ups can be dramatic, as are photos taken with an underwater camera, or ones taken at very high or low camera angles. Cloudy or rainy weather can bring some unexpected dramatic results too. With the new digital cameras, it’s easy and inexpensive to take lots of photos, experiment, and delete the duds.

[Rshetley]

Thank you for Posting your pictures. The were wonderful. I am pleased to hear you Met my old boss..Janet Edwards. I worked for her on the Sky Princess (former TSS Fairsky ((Sitmar)). Being a stage manager for her...Keeps one very busy! But enough of me, I am glad she still has the spunk she had in 1988.

 

Thanks again for the Photos.

 

Richard Shetley

Stage manager, Sky Princess.1988

[LnJ]

Richard,

 

Do you still work for Princess? How do those dancers keep their balance when the ship is moving? How long do most performers stay with a ship?

[LnJ]

Just bringing this forward from a couple months ago...

[Michele Noel]

Thank you so much for the photos. We are going on the TP in February to the Marquesa itinerary. We are also staying in Moorea a week before the cruise at the hotel you stayed at a long time ago, the Club Bali Hai. Thank you for the pictures of it.

[LnJ]

Just bringing this forward again from a few months ago...

We've been thinking about cruising into the fjords of Norway and then visiting relatives in Sweden and Finland.

[guardhouse]

Excellent pictoral review of this cruise. We cannot wait! Thank you!

[dog]

I am wondering about the flights...we would fly from Toronto, Ont. to LAX, spend a day or two and then fly from there to Tahiti, probably on Air Tahiti Nui.

Does this airline have business class seats? Or upgrades to business class from economy that you know of?

And when you stayed on the other islands on your previous trips how did you get there? Plane, ferries?

What would you say is the best time of year (weather and sea conditions) to cruise there?
Your photos are absolutely beautiful! Thanks for sharing.

[LnJ]

You won't go wrong flying Air Tahiti Nui. No complaints at all, and we were in the coach section. Our mileage program, which we charge all our business purchases on, allows flights on any airline. This ATN flight was booked as a codeshare through Quantas for even more American Airlines miles! I'm sure you can get the business class options on the ATN website or by phone.

Flying is the most convenient way to reach the outer islands. Moorea is only about 10 miles away from Papeete, but getting to the ferry from the airport is probably a lot more trouble than it's worth. Bora Bora is about a 45 minute flight.

Best time of the year.... we've been there in March, 12 years ago, and last year in July. The weather was quite a bit cooler in July (but not "cold"). March was very warm, to the point of not wanting to do a lot during the middle of the day but be in the water.

[momthecruisedirector]

Your photo diary is magnificent! This is my fantasy vacation, I'd like to go in four years for our 25th anniv (well, I'd love to go sooner of course!). Thank you for the wonderful pictures.

[gopher's girl]

Great photos.

[laurasue]

Thanks for sharing your pictures, they're wonderful! It brings back such great memories of the South Pacific! *sigh* Next time we're doing Tahiti on a cruise. I love reading the trip reports!

[guardhouse]

bump