Back from PG--observations and surprises

[KLG]

We had a wonderful cruise on the June 25th sailing. Overall, the PG lived up to our very high expectations for food and service, and Tahiti exceeded them. The weather was just about perfect, too.

 

But there were a few surprises along the way, some of which might be worth noting.

 

* Tahiti and the islands are part of French Polynesia. It should have been obvious, but we were really surprised at just how French the islands were, and at how many of the visitors to Tahiti came from France. Not quite like being in Europe but a very European flavor just the same.

 

* We thought we'd be taking advantage of summertime, with longer days. But sunset in Tahiti was around 5:45 pm last week. Again, it should have been obvious: day length changes significantly up north according to the season, but stays fairly constant near the equator. (And it's "winter" in Tahiti.) But it wasn't something we'd thought about.

 

* The PG is no longer a new ship. From these boards, we knew that the cabins would be smaller and less luxurious than those on other Regent ships, and we were prepared for that. What we weren't prepared for was the quantity and quality of storage space. In our category C balcony cabin, we had two narrow closets with shelves, one set of four drawers, and a lot of small spaces that were too small for storing clothes. We've been on other ships on other lines with comparably sized or smaller cabins that had much more and much better-designed storage space. [One solution is to bring less "stuff." :-) ] On the other hand, the bathroom had an enormous amount of storage space.

 

* Exercise: The ship has a small gym with machines and a miniscule stretching area. The only place to walk outside is on deck 9, where 20 laps is about a mile. However, deck 9 is blocked off until 8:30 a.m., as a consideration to the people whose cabins are below it on deck 8. That means no early-morning outdoor walking for early risers. Also, I could find no place on the ship where I could spread out and do some yoga—the space in the gym and in the cabins is too small. I'm told they used to have a yoga teacher, and I'm guessing the classes were in the Grand Salon. But the teacher is gone and the Salon was generally closed when not scheduled for a public function.

 

* Excursions: It's been our experience that Regent's tour desk is more interested in providing passengers with good experiences that in selling tours—and the PG was no exception. The cancellation policies are a pretty generous 24 hours, which means you can change your plans easily. The staff is knowledgeable and friendly and will suggest alternatives to tours if you want to go out on your own. We didn't book any tours in advance, but did shortly after we arrived. In a couple of cases what we wanted wasn't available or being offered on our cruise, and the staff suggested good alternatives. This wasn't a surprise but another example of the good service we experienced.

 

* Bar setups: When we weren't asked for our preferences, we inquired and learned that with the all-inclusive policy, Regent no longer automatically provides an in-room bar setup (at least not for Category C and below, don't know about higher levels). The refrigerator is still stocked with beer, soda, mixers, etc., and they will attempt to meet special requests such as my Sprite Zero. If you want a bottle or two in your cabin, they will provide it, or you can call room service and request it. We found that it was just as easy to stop at a bar on our way back to the cabin and bring our drinks with us. Regent's intent was for the in-cabin bar setups to be consumed on the ship, and they found that people were taking the alcohol home instead. That seems to be one motivation for the change.

 

Overall, it was a great experience.

Karen

[Friscorays]

Thank you Karen. We are really looking forward to our trip at the end of August.

 

John and Denise

[Cruising Librarian]

Thanks for your trip report-I enjoyed your comments and observations.

 

As for the French influence--I saw more than one Tahitiian near a market with a baguette in hand or sticking out of their grocery bags:) Didn't expect that!

 

I can't wait to get back on board in September!

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Glad you had a good time. What can I say? It's French. They have their baguettes delivered daily--it's one of the few cheap things on the islands. If find that aspect delightful--I get to use my highschool French.

 

The fact that the ship is older (now), doesn't make the rooms any smaller--they've always been like that. I guess what you mean is that newer ships have larger cabins. I will (again) miss a balcony this December, but plan as usual on spending lots of time out on deck.

 

We have regularly done Tai Chi on one of the lower utility decks, with a teak floor. Very quiet, just the odd crew member. I could easily imagine doing yoga there as well.

 

Just to reiterate, Tahiti is south of the equator, but quite close. The length of days varies very little over the year, but right now it's near its shortest. In December when we're there next (near their solstice), sunset will be closer to 6:30.

[drifting_away]

We were on this same sailing and had the time of our lives.

 

We are used to larger suites (ex. owner suite on RCCL), but we did not need any more room. We were on the 8th floor in one of the B veranda suites and had more than enough room. In fact we had such a great time, we just booked an July/Aug 09 sailing for next year. We actually downgraded to the C category since we never used our butler. Jerry was a saint though!!! He was always working hard to please us.

 

Since I had read a couple reviews about the condition of the PG I did look at the carpet etc. but it was not in bad condition and the crew was so amazing that we never had time to look for things to complain about.

 

Wendy is right on about the lower floors outside decks, very peaceful and in the shade!! Plenty of room to spread out a mat.

 

As for early sunsets, I am not sure we could have handled anymore day light. We were so tired at the end of the day that we were wishing that dinner would start earlier.

 

I found the people on the cruise and on the islands to be very friendly and warm. I was amazed at how far people had to travel to get the FP. I never thought about it until we began to meet people from all over the world. Never felt a language barrier (even on the islands) since everyone spoke enough English to communicate. Met some great friends and brought home some unforgettable memories.

 

I will try to write a review soon, but we caught the polynesian flu for sure!!!

[drpad]

Glad you had a good time. What can I say? It's French. They have their baguettes delivered daily--

================================================

One small correction- it is twice a day, and the bread fits into the mailbox-like structure in front of homes.

Also- the bakers and delivery people- Chinese.

[magens93]

Thanks Karen for taking the time to follow-up on your cruise. We are cruising in late August and will also have C-class cabin and appreciated your perspective. Just going on square footage alone, this cabin has over 220 sq ft and we are used to traveling on more of the major lines without balconies and their sq footage runs between 165-180. Thanks again.

 

Eric

[NC&KY]

Yeah, I guess it's all a matter of perspective. I've been reading entries where the people complain about the small space compared to other Regency ships. I've never been on a cruise in a cabin larger than 160. We're in a Class D room without a balcony, but it has 200 SF. We'll feel like we're in a penthouse.

[KLG]

Just to clarify--The cabin size was fine. But we were frustrated at the configuration of storage space, since we have been in smaller cabins that seemed to have more and larger shelf and drawer units.

 

Wish I'd known about the quiet spaces outside on the lower decks as a place to do yoga. We mostly went upstairs to go outside.

 

We, too, found the people friendly and lots of fun. As East Coasters, we were definitely in the minority on this ship, but really enjoyed getting to know all those folks from California (and elsewhere). The biggest disappointment, if you can call it that, was that our roll call gathering kind of fizzled out. Never did put a face to most of the people who participated.

 

While I'd love to go back, it will be quite a few years before we travel to Tahiti again. There are so many other places we haven't been, so those will take precedence. But I'm really, really glad we got to experience the PG this year!

[ChatKat in Ca.]

people complain about the small space compared to other Regency ships. .

 

It's Regent...

Regency is a now defunct line with no ties to REGENT.

[TedC]

We've cruised on both lines and the difference between defunct Regency and Regent is more than 100 times the difference between day and night!