Cruising on the Paul Gauguin was truly a trip of a lifetime! The ship, the crew and the itinerary lived up to all the hype you have probably read all about.

I am going to not only include a full review of the ship but will also break down our specific itinerary for this cruise on the Paul Gauguin. Our trip was the 11 day Society Islands & Tuamotus, August 27 - September 6, 2008.

Since we are from Philadelphia, PA we decided to break up the flights by staying overnight in LAX prior to departing for Papeete, Tahiti. We stayed at the Sheraton Hotel at LAX and it was as expected per their website. To start our vacation we rented a car and drove out to the Santa Monica Pier and had a wonderful sunset dinner at The Lobster Restaurant. Excellent meal, sunset and beginning to our vacation. Read more