Paul Gauguin Review
Tropical delightful cruising in the South Pacific & the OWB
Rating by category
Additional details
For those contemplating a trip to exotic French Polynesia and taking a cruise on the m/s Paul Gauguin, I hope to provide you with some useful information in my review. Be sure to check out other reviews to get a more complete picture of the cruise. My wife and I wanted to stay in a romantic Over the Water Bungalow (OWB) for a week in French Polynesia. However, after we started pricing the cost of such a trip, we changed our approach. We decided it would be more cost-effective to go on a cruise with Paul Gauguin Cruises (PGC) and stay in an OWB as part of a pre-trip package. PGC would handle all the inter-island flights and transfers for the OWB part of the trip, at what appears to be a good price. And we would get to travel to several islands, including Bora Bora and Moorea.
Highlights of our trip: the friendly people we met, the scenic views in French Polynesia, a small ship (doesn't take long to get from one place to the next), drift snorkeling in Rangiroa, snorkeling near sharks and not panicking, and seeing dolphins and whales near the ship, Siglo (quartet) music group on the ship.
Low-lights: having any low-lights, dive boat trip back from a snorkel excursion, diving restrictions, safety issue with tender boat, security screening at Tahiti Papeete airport.
Cabin Review
Our cabin was 733. The room was adequate in size (but smaller than the room on other ships we have been on). The suitcases did easily fit under the bed. There were plenty of drawers for storing clothes and odds and ends. The bathroom contained a combination bathtub and shower. There was a line that you could extend above the bathtub for drying out wet clothes. The outdoor deck only had two chairs and a table; there was not enough room for lounge chairs to lie down on. There were privacy panels between the adjacent outdoor decks.