Star Flyer / Tahiti questions

[budaman]

We are researching possible booking on the Star Flyer when it repositions to French Polynesia, and have a couple of questions.

 

1) Cabins 101 & 102...cat 4 on Commodore deck. Do these cabins have a raised bed? They seem a bit larger and might be a good choice if they have a standard layout.

 

2) Scuba Equipment....Are tanks equipped with a DIN(European) or K(US) valve. Also, what brand of BCD & Regs do they use. Would like to bring our own, but the regs have K Valves.

 

3) If anyone has already booked the FP cruise, have they posted a time table for the ports yet?

 

Any help or insight would be greatly appreciated....

 

Mike

 

http://web.mac.com/csealove/iWeb/Site/Welcome.html

[budaman]

I think I will hijack my thread:D

 

Found a solution to the scuba equipment issue...Scubapro does make a DIN adapter for our regulators....one issue out of the way.

 

By the number of hits, there is obviously some interest in this itinerary & ship.....so lets hear what anyone's concerns, revelations etc or if you've booked, how was the experience and who with. I have gotten my quotes and info directly from Star Clippers and they seem to be pretty knowledgeable and genuinely interested in helping. My first inclination was to get a Cat.1 cabin, air & 2 day post cruise stay at the Radisson, but the cost is in the 10K range, so I've been playing with different options and keep the cost into the 8 to 8500 range which would give us a bit more play money. Any opinions?

 

Mike

 

http://web.mac.com/csealove/iWeb/Site/Welcome.html

[vtbobby]

>>If anyone has already booked the FP cruise, have they posted a time table >for the ports yet?

 

>>Any help or insight would be greatly appreciated....

 

Hi Mike...all the FP itineraries are in the current brochure...7, 10 & 11 night cruises in the Society Islands and Tuamotu...and 10 & 11 night that extend to the Marquesa's. If you wish, I could list all the atolls and lagoons they will be stopping in.

 

Star Clipper started selling space today for the "No Frills" 22 day repositioning cruise from Panama City to Papeete in December. No stops...no diving! I'm considering it for the pure adventure of crossing the Pacific under sail! :D

 

My wife and I are on the Flyer reposition from Barbados to Panama in November. We stop at Tobago cays; Venezuela; Curacao; Cartegena; San Blas Islands; and through the Canal to the shipyard in Panama City. The Royal Clipper makes the same trip to the shipyard in December with a few more stops in Aruba and Grenada.

 

One heads up for all: the brochure shows the first Tahiti cruise starting on December 23rd...but the Flyer doesn't arrive in Papeete until the 27th.

 

Bob

[budaman]

Thanks Bob! Got the brochures the other day and there is a complete seperate one for Tahiti...about 30 pages. Really gets you psyched. The thing I haven't found is the estimated times in the ports. Also nice to find out the Flyer has 110 outlets so we'll be able to plug in the chargers for U/W camera & videos. I'm slowly convincing myself to bite the bullet & take the plunge:D

 

Mike

 

http://web.mac.com/csealove/iWeb/Site/Welcome.html

[maalahi]

Hey Mike,

 

I just booked the March 6 FP cruise on the Star Flyer. If things work out for us, we'll do this on the end of a 6-month South Pacific trip. When are you planning on going? I decided everything from the info I found on their web site, http://www.starclippers.com and now, after the fact, I'm checking online for reviews. So far, I'm thinking we made a good decision!

 

David

[budaman]

Hi David.....wow, 6 months in the SP....that would be the life. I've thought maybe one of these days trying to do one of the 50 yr leases on a small island in Tonga and living out my life as a beach bum:)

 

We're planning for Sept '08 to coincide with wifes birthday. Got a lot of info from putting in Star Flyer in internet search.....lots of good articles and links to various sites. One of the guys I work with used to work for Star Clippers & has sailed on all 3 ships....says we should really enjoy it.

 

Mike

 

http://web.mac.com/csealove/iWeb/Site/Welcome.html

[habenicd]

My wife and I were on the Star Flyer last August in the Med. We are thinking about FR in Feb. What work is being done to her in Panama City in Dec?

 

Also, I am a bit confused about the disembarkation from the website. What time can you leave the ship. The AirFrance flight out is at 8:20 am and I do not see how you can make that flight. We really ought to be home for work on Monday and it doesn't appear to be possible.

[budaman]

Hi there Habenicd!

 

Don't know about work in Panama, but as far as debarkation.....the ship gets into Papeete on Sat. evening and you can actually depart Sat night or Sunday morning if on the 7 day. I'm pretty sure the 10 & 11 day itineraries operate pretty much the same.

 

We made our reservations for the Aug. 3, 2008, 7 day trip last week.

 

Mike

 

http://web.mac.com/csealove/iWeb/Site/Welcome.html

[dvswar]

My wife and I are considering booking the SF cruise in FP for March 2008. Any information, such as how rough the sailing, rainfall, etc would be appreciated.

[budaman]

We went on the Tahitian Princess last Nov. which is the beginning of their summer/rainy season, so March should be similar,as it is on the tail end of the season. The seas were fine & we only encountered one day of rain, and it wasn't much. Looking over the TP reviews from this past March, it doesn't look like they encountered any adverse weather.

 

We booked for August directly through Star Clippers and they were very pleasant to deal with, plus I think we got a pretty good deal to boot. We had originally planned on going in September, but they have chartered out the ship for the entire month.

 

Mike

 

http://web.mac.com/csealove/iWeb/Site/Welcome.html