Pearls of the PACIFIC ATTEMPT 3

[MrsWaldo]

ok...i POSTED 2X but for some reason the body has floated off into cyber space

 

 

We are looking at June 9 Prince Albert from Papeete...any comments on either PA or ports (i do realise these are all new) because it is close to home and has places we want to go

 

(did Cloud Baltic North Sea in o6)

 

 

Hotel recc for Papeete?

[duct tape]

We will be getting off on the 9th of June...can't tell you much until then but we are REALLY looking forward to it!

[canadagal]

I cant' wait to hear some reviews about the Prince Albert in the South Pacific as we are interested in booking this but wanted to hear how the shore excursions and zodiacs were handled etc. in this part of the world as it's new. I hope some of you will report back upon your return. We stayed at the Intercontinental last time in Tahiti in a Lagoon OWB and it was wonderful. We stayed at Le Meridien too and I would never go there again. We are booked again this October at the Intercontinental.

Pat

[duct tape]

We will be arriving early. Will spend the 1st night in Papette due to plane timing, ferry schedules, etc and then go over to Moorea and stay at the Sheraton in a bungalow (complements of AE points!) for a few days before boarding. Looks like a great trip!!

[soraya]

Hi there, my DH & I were in PPT in 2004 and stayed at the Intercontinental - the OWB are in an amazing setting

 

I can recommend getting breakfast delivered - after all how often does room service announce themselves by conch shell to let you know that the outrigger canoe has arrived with your breakfast?!

[MrsWaldo]

Flight schedules from Sydney are pretty urrrch so it looks like 2 nights in Papeete pre cruise...I don't want to do 1 night there and then 1 night Moorea

 

Pat,

 

...read a few reviews which said IC was a bit tired/overpriced for what you got....

 

how was the room etc will be interested to hear your views from this oct.

 

If and when anyome hears anything on snorkel trips etc i would love updates...

 

Prob take our own fins, masks snorkels...wont be diving this time

[canadagal]

Mrs.Waldo, I have to say that hotels on the island of Tahiti are lacking and not as nice as say Moorea or Bora Bora. That's a given. The newest hotel to date is the Radisson but it is also far away from town and unless you choose to rent a car you more or less are stuck there. We are renting a car post cruise to tour the island so we will definately stop in at the Radisson to check it out. My only hesitation with the Radisson is the poor reviews it has received about lack of service since it has opened. This normally probably wouldn't be a huge problem but when you are stuck way out of town without transportation to other restaurants or tuck shops etc. then it could pose a problem if you have no means of transportation. I read some of the reviews too about the Intercontinental being tired and worn and I also think it has to do with what category you are booking. I will gladly give you an update on things in October and I'm hoping that the Intercontinental is not now worn around the edges as one thing I can't stand is lack of cleanliness and musty old furnishings. Bad service I can tolerate but if my housing is bad where I have to sleep and bathe then I'm truly unhappy. That's why I refuse to go back to the Le Meridien even though they have now been taken over by Starwood and I'm an upper tier member of that hotel chain and could take advantage of several perks. The last time we were there the place was crawling with ants in our room, in the bed , in the shower and several other cruisers I met there had even worse stories of no water pressure to lack of any water and no air conditioning. I have not read that Starwood has done any multi-million dollar renovations there so that leads me to believe that the fittings and fixtures are still the same and not reliable. After our last stay we swore we would never return. Then again I had friends that stayed in an overwater bungalow there and just loved it. All the problems seemed to be in the actual main hotel rooms.

Pat

[MrsWaldo]

OK Mr W did the booking today and we have 307...totally pleb but we figure in tahiti etc we are not likely to use a balcony or spend too much time in the room...

 

IC is looking like the best choice but Sheraton is giving it a a nudge for Papeete (mostly due to proximity to the Port)

 

Fiji is presenting the most challenge for accom because I don't want family friendly and we are on the edgeof Aussie school hols....2 nights meand our choices are pretty limited so if any one has any better suggestions let me know...

 

Any idea when IC fiji is opening and where it will be??

[RachelG]

We stayed at the Sheraton 1 night precruise last year and at the Intercontinental in a OWB 2 nights post cruise on PG with Regent last year.

Actually, if I were to go again, I would stay at the Sheraton. The room we were in had just been redone and was VERY nice. The OWB at IC was nice, but VERY expensive.

Either place I would go off-property for food. Sheraton is within walking distance of downtown. At the IC, you would have to have a car or depend on taxis.

[canadagal]

I'm sorry but I won't be able to give you an update on the Intercontinental Tahiti in October. We've had an unexpected death in our immediate family so we will be cancelling the cruise. We were set to leave for the cruise October 07th and it's just too soon. Another good example of why you need to take out insurance.

I did read this though on Seatrade and thought I would pass the info along to you and others.

Pat

09/25/2008

The 200-room Sheraton Hotel Tahiti, part of the six-hotel Starwood Hotels and Resorts French Polynesia, is due to layoff 32 of its 167 employees on Oct. 1/08.

The Sheraton layoffs are planned as management expects to finish 2008 with an average room occupancy rate of 45%-50%, French language daily newspaper La Dépêche de Tahiti (LDT) reported Thursday. After an average room occupancy rate of 58% for all of last year, the hotel reported a 52% occupancy rate for the first half of 2008, LDT reported.

 

Although other hotels reportedly may be forced to take similar actions, this is the first to be announced publicly by the local media even though LDT reported that the management of the Sheraton Hotel Tahiti had no comment to make about the layoffs.

 

However, the LDT reported that the hotel's work committee had been consulted since mid-September about the pending layoffs in order to help determine which of the non-management posts would be involved. The criteria used included seniority, family situation and professional qualities.

 

The layoffs, according to LDT, will involve one reception employee, eight housekeepers, two luggage handlers, one employee in reservations, 10 restaurant employees, two maintenance employees, one warehouse employee and eight security employees.

[MrsWaldo]

:( I'm so sorry Pat, I'm not sure what to say other than a big thank you for thinking of us.. unfortunately only one of us is eligible for travel insurance so there is a 50% coverage. Thoughts and prayers are with you

 

Interestingly on the Sheraton it is the front line employees that go...the ones than can really make a difference to your stay.

 

Mr W spoke with the TA today about what to do so we are leaing accom and flights for a while..TA thinks some good deals may appear in wake of the stock market crash..

Deni