South Pacific - Tahiti Cruise Reviews

It was an amazing trip. We had perfect weather, the staff is absolutely unbelievable, and not to mention the scenery was something out of a postcard. I highly recommend Windstar- Dreams of Tahiti. This was our first time with windstar, and we are already planning to go on their Mediterranean one. Once you sail with windstar, it will be very hard to go back to a royal Caribbean or a carnival! 

This is an complete cruise package, including meals, non-premium alcohol and gratuities. Excursions were reasonably priced. Our stateroom had a problem with toilet flushing, but it was manageable. The staff are very attentive. On-board medical facilities are limited and any serious problem must be handled "on-shore." Embarkation began at 3 PM, with nowhere to wait if arriving early.

We have done 18 cruises. This cruise is fantastic.

All crews are so helpful.......restaurant waiters, housekeepers, concierge, tender boats, bar tenders, name them all.

Food are excellent.

Programs are super.

Art and craft classes are marvelous.

We really enjoyed the opportunity to sail on Crystal for the first time.  They win awards every year for a reason.  The service is great as is the food and entertainment.  The Polynesian islands are gorgeous.  The typical passenger is very friendly and well traveled.  Many of the men on board wore sport coats to dinner even though it was not required and the women were dressed elegantly - such a pleasant change from the average cruise line.  This was a theme cruise - Film & Theatre - and that added to the enjoyment because the talks and entertainment were very interesting and the entertainers on board were very accessible.  We will be back on a Crystal Cruise again if I can afford it.

This trip was amazing! From the pre cruise 3 night stay in the over the water bungalows in Bora Bora to the 10 nights on the M/S Paul Gauguin everything was perfect. The crew & service was exceptional & the smaller ship with only 332 passengers made it more personable.

We just can't say enough good things about the whole experience.

Highly recommend it & plan on going on more Paul Gauguin cruises!

The outstanding service was the highlight of our cruise. The entire trip was coordinated with exceptional precision.

We enjoyed the Gauguin hosts and hostesses that were always available and very entertaining.

We really liked the waiter Ryan in the La Varanda Restaurant and bartender Francisco in La Pallett.

I wasn't sure if I was going to like cruising the islands of French Polynesia, but Wind Spirit was exactly what I needed. The staff were amazing! The ship was just the right size and we were able to make many new friends that made the trip even more enjoyable. We received lots of information about every step of the trip and were able to make the best choices for us. DWI make our experience wonderful, he went above and beyond to make us feel welcomed and cared for. Hakim worked so hard to make our room clean and comfortable. We loved the towel sculptures and the thoughtful notes for our Anniversary.

We especially appreciated how hard everyone worked at learning our names and the things that we liked. It was sweet that our anniversary was acknowledged with a cake and a song on the Motu. I would totally tell everyone to sail with Windstar...it was the best experience ever.

This Paul Gauguin cruise actually exceeded our expectations and they were pretty high. The ship itself is comfortable, could use a little update in decor but you soon overlook this as the crew is amazing. They memorize your name, the bartenders remember your favorite drink if you have one, and are ready to tend to your every need. The islands visited on the cruise are breathtaking. Aitutaki was our favorite, the snorkeling there was amazing. 

The excursions offer a pretty good variety, our favorites were the snorkeling ones, particularly the swim with the Rays and sharks, sounds scary but it's really an amazing experience.

The food is good enough that your waistline will grow a bit by the end of the cruise. It's a good thing the activities keep you moving. The passengers range from newlyweds to those celebrating 50 year anniversaries so you will meet and make new friends along the way.

There were many passengers who had done the cruise before, many repeat customers which speaks well for Paul Gauguin. We may well fall into this group in a few years. Polynesia is a magical place.

We absolutely adored this cruise experience!  Just the greatest crew- we felt so pampered all week.  Terrific excursions, too.  Really can't say enough good about this cruise!  Thank you, Windstar!

This Windstar cruise of French Polynesia holds adventures that most don't experience in a lifetime. And yet, there is little risk or danger. Swimming with sharks and cuddling stingrays is a safe environment in the ocean was one highlight of our trip. Drinking coconut juice from a freshly cracked coconut and drift snorkeling was another. Watch out for the coral! Learning how to scuba down about 40 feet with a 2 on 1 guide to insure safety was unbelievable satisfying and adventure leaving us wanting to do this again in the future.

And that is just the excursions. The Windspirit with its own marina platform and the  gracious, friendly, warm crew made the trip so much nicer. And, the sail away leaves us speechless with goosebumps.

The food was terrific but we had so much to do that dinner was the only time we luxuriated in the experience of drinking and appetizers and dinner.

This particular trip comes highly recommended from people such as us who have taken 20+ cruises on large ships with lots of people. Our next cruise will definitely be on a Windstar yacht vs. the other cruise lines. We will never forget this journey!

Great ports, wonderful balcony room, pleasant employees. lots of good food, fun entertainment and then the last day.

Had to be out of the room by 8 am. Could not disembark until 8:15pm. 12 hours sitting in chairs.

I have always dreamed of going to French Polynesia. Booking a cruise is the best way to see the islands without having to worry about food, transportation, and/or how to book excursions.  I usually take large cruise ships a few times a year to enjoy the shows, food, spa, etc ... but this ship isn't for that.  The ship is small, the pool closes by 8pm.  The pool bar closes by 8pm.  The shows are one step up from high school performances.  The casino is small, and the dining options are limited.  Some of the lounges and my bathroom smelled of mildew and mold.  They do all they can to keep this ship in shape ... but it is where fun goes to die.  If you are 80 yrs old, then this ship is perfect for you.  

I had a great trip, one of the best trips of my life.  And the Pacific Princess fitted all my needs to facilitate a trip to French Polynesia.  But for any other destination, I can't imagine sailing on it again.

We were very pleased with our experience with Princess Cruises.  The staff was friendly and very interactive with the quests.  Great itinerary with enough time to see the islands. We really appreciated the ability to use the ship as a hotel before and after the cruise; plus they allowed us to stay on the ship our last day until our paid departure with the cruise line. 

Beautiful islands but the 10 day trip is a bit long.  Adding two sea days to travel to a remote atol was rediculous since there is nothing to do on that atol except snorkel or dive.  A 7 day trip without that atol diversion would have been better.  The small Princess ship was ideal for these islands.  The Princess staff were great.  The food was excellent.  

The cruise was unforgetable despite the weather did not play on our favor, overall the trip was real nice. The ship was clean and the employees were always wanting to help and curteous.

Good itinerary, if you are into snorkeling.

Old, small ship.  Bounces too much even in low swells.  No onboard entertainment to speak of, mostly low quality shows (single singers, single comedian).  No passenger participation games, contests.  Makes live onboard very boring.

Suitable only for people who like to do nothing.

The ports of call had very little to offer if you did not take the ships tours. Rangiroa had nothing to do or see without a tour and due to the current you could not have swam even if you could get ino the water. There are very few beaches and most in Tahiti are contaminated as sewer flows into them. There is very

Little to do if you are not into water sports.

the people are very nice and the weather is awesome.Most spoke at least some English. The islands have very small populations. Other than vanilla farms and pearl farms there is little else. The small ship was a nice experience.

We were very impressed by the services in buffet, D.R., cabin, especially by the very friendly staff all over ship!

Food was excellent!  Shows in theatre were great!! Very well done! We absolutely enjoyed every cruise we have taken with you!

Disembarkation Day was made so relaxing by allowing passengers with late flights, to be able to get off & back on ship for the entire day, also for being able to take showers up on 9th floor

Thank You Princess Cruise Line..

What a wonderful ship !!! Yes its old and small ...but filled with great staff and food...!!! Our server Frosina in the dining room and Ron lee were two of the sweetest and hardworking crew....we wanted to take them home with us...For an old ship it was well maintained and a bit elegant....It was our 30th cruise and our room even had 2 bathrooms !!!! Yes I felt like a princess !!!! Especially with my new pearl necklace we bought on the ship ...we even booked another cruise while on the ship !!!!!

Though ship is small and actually a bit disappointed at the beginning.  However, after the 10-day cruise, we feel we are just at home and our meals are well served.  Our table attendant/asst.attendent in the dinning room are well trained and always happy to serve.  The head-waiter is funny and make jokes, and he is entertaining.  Room is neat and tidy.