Starting on March 5th - we left Milwaukee, WI on a charter flight with a group, arriving in L.A. for the flight to Tahiti. The Air Tahiti Nui flight was easier to take than I thought. I am glad we landed in the dark, (11:30 ish), because if I would have seen how short the runway actually is…..let's just say I'm glad the brakes work well! Great flight, great service…all is good. Check in to the InterContinenental, to tired to really look around…but the next morning was beautiful….. Sunny, clear, all is good. Had a great breakfast, and decided to jump right in to island life….took the LaTruck to the market by 9:00 a.m. What a hoot. The trucks are great - a good experience! Wood seats, no seat belts, everyone is friendly…. We caught it right outside the hotel area. No fears at all about traveling. Arrived in the market area, and it is very crowded, busy. Wandered around and looked at a lot of "stuff". The actual open market area is interesting with the homemade crafts, chopping fish right in the open. We could not help but laugh that there seems to be no regulations, no seat belt laws, no one to regulate who builds what kind of home or business next to each other….., yet without all these laws that we have in the USA, no one seems to mind, get hurt…..hmmmmm - and we live in the "land of the free"….(not that I do not appreciate it! Just a humorous observation.) Towards noon we hit the beach area of the hotel, and about 1 hr later - the clouds came in and it poured rain. That evening we ate dinner in the small restaurant at the InterContinental with a great couple we met, and it was delicious! Definitely better than the seafood buffet and show - from what we heard. The next day we planned to hang poolside, and wait our turn to get to the PG (which was not until 3:40 p.m.)….well, it rained, drizzled, and was cloudy until 1:00 - then we hit the pool…..very nice with the sun out! We arrived aboard the PG around 4:30 - and it was easy beyond any boarding of any cruise ship. Maybe because we were with a tour group - but everything was ready for us, and made so easy - I believe check in took 5 minutes….and that incl. the champagne and escort to our room.
Our room review: we were in- what I fondly refer to as - the basement - floor 3. We were one of the last folks to make a reservation and took what we could get. The room was very roomy, lots of storage, very clean! Could not ask for more!!! If I needed 1 thing, it would have been an electrical outlet, but thankfully someone pre-warned us, and I brought an extension cord…worked great! I did go to some other friend's room on deck 8 - with butler service - and I would have paid for the view and balcony - definitely - but I would have skipped the butler - (jmho).
1st night dinner, we met up with the friends we initially met (great friends, I believe them to be keepers!) - and some other folks. Went to the main dining room, and it was great. Service was a blast; they were all very nice and personable. The Wine Steward was funny, we had fun with him. The food was good, as well…. No complaints. No problems at all! Good taste! Raiatea - Ok - normal breakfast - very American….. good, no complaints at all. We had an excursion thru the ship, the Anapa Pearl Farm. Probably one of the best excursions we have been on. We were picked up shipside by a gentleman who was very open to us asking a lot of questions about the island, life on Raiatea. The company he works for also gives tours, and I would recommend them! Raiatea Tourisme - raiateatourisme@mail.pf - We went to the other side of the island, and then were picked up by Philip (pronounced Phileep)…wonderful man, who took us out to his "office". We learned everything about pearls, and then had chances to swim, snorkel, and shop. Very accommodating - wonderful pearls….so I bought some….if you would like more info on the pearls, and costs, please e-mail me @markpfuehler@aol.com. I can share more one on one if you would like. Philip was extremely accommodating, and informed us he would also be at the motu the next day. His wife is from Oregon, USA, and his office is great! You'll know when you get there what we mean…. We all wish we could work here. Again, one of the best excursions we have been on! Dinner was at the French restaurant on board this evening. Ok, call me crazy - but wow! The food was good….but the service was very very slow. Maybe this is the ambiance - but it took 2 ½ hrs to eat dinner w/ dessert…we were so tired of sitting by then….we could not wait to be moving again. Again, food good, service slow…so - depends if you like to eat slow….
Motu - Fabulous! Get off the ship on the first tender - get great seats with friends, drink away - and have fun! This was a fabulous day! I know others have complained about not having lobster - etc on the picnic - we were served hamburgers, hot dogs, steaks…..we loved it - ate it and had a great time! I think more than that would have been "to much - to rich", and it's a picnic! Dinner in LaGrille that evening….a little wind and chilly - but good! We had a blast! (I may have mixed up my nights here from day 2 and 3 - I can't remember ….)
Bora Bora No plans, so we went shopping - stopped in all the little stores - went to Galerie Pakalola - compared costs on wooden pieces/art. We ended up back at this particular store because of the piece of art - a wooden sculpture, and the girl that works (may be owns) there - she talks a lot but is extremely friendly - knowledgeable and fair! Our sculpture was a "Marco Lundi"….very excellent! Dinner again, fine, good….main dining room.
Bora Bora (next day) We had an excursion for the 4X4 off road adventure - highly recommend. Again - thru the ship. We were in Patrick's truck….get him… he is a hoot! We had a great time! Again….dinner main dining room. We were moving from Bora Bora to Moorea - unfortunately - very rocky - I went to bed - but - dinner was fine for everyone else.
Moorea We rented a car for 4 hours - drove around the island - stopped and shopped - looked at different things. Was beautiful…we did love this island! Went back and hung poolside - drank - ate - had a great day! Dinner was good…..we were in the main dining room. Fun - as always. Moorea (next day) We rented the for the whole day - went up to Belvidere - beautiful - then hiked to find the waterfall….tricky - but fun! then spent the afternoon at the Hilton! fabulous lunch! great views - great swimming! DO IT! YOU'LL LOVE IT! Dinner in LaGrille - great food! Very nice!
Docked in Tahiti that night - and we all enjoyed the clear night…very nice.
Overall food impression - very good…I guess I was expecting something more…but - again, very good.
Overall ship impression - nice, clean, very solid ship. Understated class with nice décor. Great casual dress attire! LOVED IT - my husband loved it more!
Overall staff impression - excellent - this is what makes Regent (PG) so great! We could want for NOTHING!
Overall excursions thru the ship - again, excellent! Kitty went out of her way to help and be accommodating, and the excursions were fabulous - Anapa Pearl Farm, my favorite!
Overall entertainment - boring…(sorry!) Wish there was more to do at night.
Overall people watching - because it is such an intimate ship with 330 people max…there is no-one that you don't seem to talk to at least once…so the people watching is minimal.
Overall islands impression - loved them. And the people. Very kind, helpful and accommodating people. They love tourism. Loved Moorea the most - just a great feeling there. Their beliefs and religion seem strong.
Weather impression - unfortunately - because we were there on the tail end of the rainy season, we got rain…but never enough to dampen our spirit - or ruin events. Came close to seeing a South Pacific sunset - but - a cloud won out. We did have stars a couple nights, and we did see the Southern Cross….so we do not feel like we missed anything. Mother Nature will always win…and that's ok.
Our tour folks: Cruise and Tour based in West Bend, WI…www.cruise-tour.com Could not ask for better communications, better accommodations, and better staff!
French Polynesia is a magical place in the world - somewhere you only have the opportunity to travel to several times possibly. Much like Hawaii in looks, but definitely - they are their own people! We loved it.
Again, individual questions to: markpfuehler@aol.com
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