Tahiti (Papeete) Expedition Cruises Reviews

I am not a fan of big cruise ships..never had much interest in them as I prefer more intimate travel with few people along and more independent sightseeing. I had read about and followed the Aranui for over 40 years and having traveled by freighter as a small child wanted to experience the sea in this way once again. This trip exceeded all my very high expectations. The Marquesas islands are ...

We had picked this cruise for 2020 as a way to see an interesting, somewhat remote part of the world that we only knew about from Melville's book "Typee." Covid had other ideas, requiring rebooking twice. Because of Covid everyone had to be vaccinated and boosted and have an negative antigen test before boarding. There were 30 english speakers out of 180 passengers, ranging in age from 55 to 89. ...

We read about this half freighter/half cruiser about 20 years ago for the first time and always said we would do it one day. Well, when our Wind Spirit cruise in the South Pacific was cancelled, we were looking for another alternative and this was it! Wow, what an experience. This ship takes everything from baby food to cars to these remote islands every two weeks or so. The Marquesas are ...

We chose this cruise for 2 reasons: the exotic ports it was calling on AND the unusual design of the ship- 1/2 Cargo and 1/2 Cruise ship. The food, was always flavorful. Everyone receives the same entree. Unless one has food allergies. The guides, were incredibly knowledgeable and helpful. The shore activities were very interesting AND are included in the price of the cruise. On ...

Aranui 5-February 14-26, 2019. Papeete was a bustling hub of activity. The night before our Aranui 5 cruise, we lodged at the Hotel Tiare Tahiti on the Main Street (Boulevard Pomare) facing the harbour: reasonable rates, pristine but very clean, staff accommodating. Check-in was 2:00 pm. but the hotel desk lady got us in earlier. The only downside was no bottled water in the room. If you arrive ...

I read about the Aranui 3 many years ago and had been intrigued by the Marquesas islands ever since. I generally hate cruises, but I was on a freighter cruise before and liked the experience. Also the Marquesas Islands are so remote that Aranui 5 is one of very few ways of getting there. I finally took the plunge this year. The cruise was part of my round-the-world trip. I could fly east (which ...

This was our 7th cruise with Lindblad. We go with Lindblad/NatGeo because of the smaller ship size (72 people on this one), the knowledgeable and expert staff and the very high quality of the crew. We toured the Tumumatu Atolls and the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia, visiting 17 in 15 days. Some had not seen a cruise ship stop there and many did not have any people where we swam, ...

The Aranui ships are not like your normal cruise ship. They take passangers and have cruise like atmosphere but half the ship is a working freighter delivering goods, supplies and some locals between the islands and connecting them to Papeete. This is what makes Aranui so interesting and integeral to the local community. On our cruise the passanger mix was more English speakers than French and ...

I had been to the Marquesas Islands on a sailboat in 2002 and wanted to share this unique part of the world with my wife. This cruise was an amazing two week trip and cultural immersion of French Polynesia and especially the Marquesas Islands. Having been here before, my wife and I really enjoy this part of the world, and especially the nice people. We have heard all of the complaints - it is ...