Great itinerary, slightly spoiled by lots of rain everywhere except at Raiatea. The Marquesas are very spectacular, pretty much unspoiled as they only get about 10 ship visits a year, the Tahitian Princess doesn't repeat this itinerary until March.

Nuku Hiva doesn't have much to offer, we tendered in, as we did at every island except Raiatea, and saw the dance exhibition which was great, much more primitive and not at all touristy like the Tahitian dances have become. Hiva Oa is more interesting, also saw dancing but also went up to see Paul Gaugin's grave.

A tip to future cruisers, DON'T believe them when they say it is an easy 10 minute walk to the cemetery. We took one of the shuttles provided by Princess, a 4 WD SUV and it still took 15 minutes !! It is a very steep road up to the cemetery and since it was raining quite hard we were very glad of the ride, chauffeured by a very nice Tahitian lady who took us on a sightseeing trip, including to her house. This latter was provided as my wife is Tahitian and the two of them became good friends instantly! Read more