We stayed at Hotel Tahiti Nui, in downtown Papeete. Taxi from airport to hotel was $40. Lots of taxis available, and there were enough people who spoke English at airport and hotel. Hotel was nice, modern, but dark corridors at night, traffic noise from the street. Next door is a convenience store/gas-station which is a good cheap place to buy snacks. For breakfast we got lovely French pastries and yogurt from there for a (relatively) bargain price. There is a wine shop on Rue Gauguin across from City Hall building. The wine is from France and tends to be expensive. Cheap wine is $25.

You can walk from hotel to pier but the sidewalks do not have drop curbs and some have steps. It was about 15 min walk with luggage. The pier entrance is nothing special, no secure gated area as you approach - just walk toward the ship. There was a white tent area to drop off luggage and get the cabin card, and then you proceed to the secure area. Checkout of hotel was 11 am and we began check in at the pier at 11:30. There were about 30 people ahead of us. By 11:30 however, the line was quite long and people were now waiting in the sun.

Unlike other cruise ports where you have to leave the ship in the morning on disembarkation day, Ocean princess accommodates for the very late flight departures by allowing passengers to hang out in the common areas of the ship. Lots of people were in the library area waiting to disembark for late flights. Their carry on luggage was stored in a dining room area. I have concerns over how secure people felt their luggage was since we walked in there and it was a while before any ship personnel appeared. I would recommend a hotel in Tahiti rather than depart immediately after the cruise to avoid this.In Papeete we did the self guided walking tour. The pearl museum was interesting and informative. At night we wandered around but there was not much going on. The market was interesting. We bought beautiful flower bouquet that we were allowed to bring into our cabin. Read more