South Pacific - Tahiti Cruise Reviews

This was the 7-day trip to the Society Islands plus the Tuamotus.

This was our second trip on the Paul Gauguin.  We did the 10-day cruise last August specifically to snorkel at the two atolls, Fakarava and Rangiroa, in the Tuomotus.  We never got there because an engine problem kept us five days in Bora Bora (they had to fly in an engineer with a part from France!).  They provided us with some compensation, so we decided to book the seven day version of the same cruise (only one day in both Bora Bora and Moorea instead of the 10-day trip that schedules two days at these two islands).  We knew we were taking a chance going in the rainy season and we sure did run into a lot of rain.

Two of the days, because of bad weather and rough seas our excursions were cancelled, including Moorea and once again Rangiroa!  We did the pinnacle snorkel in Fakarava, but only got to snorkel near the beautiful coral and schools of fish about 20 minutes.  We enjoyed our excursions on Huahine, and Tahaa'a.  But the best day of the trip for us was on Bora Bora.  We had arranged an independent snorkeling tour with four stops.  Even though it was raining when the trip began, with only one other couple aboard.  We had a fantastic stop watching giant manta rays gliding below us, then a stop with many fish, then a great stop at a beautiful coral gardens, and finally a last stop to watch a couple of eagle rays swim by at a distance.

The trip was still very good, and the staff were excellent as was the food.

Now for a few minor criticisms.

Paul Gauguin had us fly on Air Tahiti Nui from Los Angeles on the late afternoon flight.  Flying into Papeete and getting to the ship after midnight had some negatives: we missed the first days activities and dinner, and also the first port talk on the first three ports we were visiting.  They should be able to just videotape this kind of presentation as other cruise ships do and repeat it on the cabin television.

I thought they could have done something classy on Valentine's Day, like give the women flowers when they came for breakfast.

The majority of people going into the dining rooms never use the hand sanitizer that were placed there to prevent illness.  On the big cruise ship a staff person is positioned there to make sure people do clean their hands.

We still had a good time and recommend this cruise to all.  As my boss where I work said, better being in the rain in Bora Bora than being in the snow in Minnesota Minnesota!

Fabulous cruise, once in a lifetime. Beautiful locations and great staff.

I was amazed by the attentiveness of the staff! They were at the airport to greet us and were there every step of the way! The ship is beautiful.....perfect sizeo, not huge, which is why we decided to go with this perticular cruise  line. Our cabin was beautiful, our fridge was always stocked with beer, soft drinks water and ice! Our beds were always made up, our room cleaned and vacuumed, and at night Sharonette came and turned down our bed! Sharonette was our stateroom steward.....so great in every way! I got a feeling that everyone of the employees on this ship really enjoyed their job and never acted like they had a bad day! We especially loved Alex, at the piano bar(spent a lot of nights singing and drinking there)! Florezal (Flo) was fantastic and Francisco ALWAYS knew your name and what you were drinking! I'm still amazed by that! All of the staff on board catered to your every need! The excursions were great, I also loved that they gave you snorkeling equipment to keep for the whole trip.....that was great as it would have added weight in our suitcases. They had little boats available to take, if you wanted  to go on your own. Let's not talk about the food, which was fantastic! I gained 4 pounds in 10 days! All worth it! Waiter staff was the greatest! Really, even though our ship had some technical problems, everyone was very professional, and it didn't impact much! All in all, I WILL CRUISE AGIN WITH THIS SHIP! Exceeded my expectations, I LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF MY TRIP!

Very relaxing and beautiful. Surf is my favorite but Spirit comes close. Great food. Incredible scuba trips!! Crew show was a hoot when the ship's doctor sang!! Watersports platform and staff is great!!

We joined the ship in Papeete, for the 12 days beck to San Diego. We arrived in Papeete at 6am with check in set for 1pm. We decided to go to the ship and hope they would at least take our luggage. To our pleasant surprise they not only took our luggage but allowed us to check in. 

We spent most of our time in the mix, listening to the solo guitarist Chris Bartlett, great talent. The bar staff was fantastic. Justin the Piano man was great too. 

The service and food in the buffet was very good, choices at times not the best. I can not comment on the Main dining room as we did not attend. The Pinnical grill was fantastic, well worth the surgharge. The crew on the ship was fantastic. 

The ship was in good shape.

We thoroughly enjoyed our cruise. We did mostly water based activities, and this is what you should be wanting to do in this area. We liked out land tour on Moorea, with William and found his prices in his pearl shop to be reasonable. We didn't do a land or water tour in Nuku Hiva, and should have, so we found it boring here, although the scenery was lovely. The drift snorkel in Raiatea and the snorkel/shark/rays in Bora Bora were well worth doing. Fr. Polynesia itself is incredibly expensive with $25 to $30 for hamburgers/sodas/fries for two

Although we are four star mariners on HAL it has been almost three years since we cruised with them. The following is a summary of the ship and my cruise experience, beginning with the positive followed by concerns. Generally speaking—I find no significant degeneration in HAL's service or facilities. This was a very good cruise and I highly recommend it. Excellent weather and relatively calm seas all the way except Moorea, the port we had to miss due high winds. * I recently read a review from a lady regarding the maintenance and upkeep of the Statendam in which she condemned the ship and company for allowing the ship to deteriorate. I find that not to be accurate at all, conversely, this ship is well taken care. The Statendam entered service in 1993 and, with the possible exception of the Prinsendam, I find it better maintained than most of the HAL fleet we have More previously sailed on, most of which were newer ships. HAL has always enjoyed a reputation of taking good care of their ships; I find they still do so. *The meals were better in general than I recall on most previous voyages, the only exception being the “Pinnacle” which is still good but has slipped slightly, we used it 6 times. The Lido buffet seemed to have a larger food variety this trip and HAL does a great job of making certain everything is sanitized. I love the fresh squeezed orange juice in the morning there. The Canoletto was very good and made for an intimate dinner, last time we were on the Ryndam they didn’t charge the $10.00 per that they do now in the Canoletto. However, on the Ryndam things were so crowded, probably because no charge for the Canoletto, that the tables, even for two, were so packed together that it was like joining a "6 conversations going at once club". *Shore excursions were all pretty well put together and of quality. All escorts were tour knowledgeable and easy to understand. HAL did not overload the coaches and managed to keep most of the passenger loads to around 50% max. We also sail a lot on Regent which equally has excellent excursions, but their price is included in the cruise package which I greatly prefer. *During our last 200 days or so at sea we have elected to take open dining. No more traditional for us. We experienced excellent service in the main dining room by HAL personnel and always got a table for two, seldom we had to wait, maybe twice for a minute or two. This is our second voyage on HAL using their “Any time you wish dining”, or, almost 60 days at sea with HAL using that service. It is my opinion that HAL critics of this procedure are flat wrong. *The gym on this ship was excellent in that it had lots of modern workout equipment, was located up high with good views of the ocean and not overcrowded like so many of them are. *The Statendam is one of HAL's "S" class ships. So is the Ryndam which we have also sailed on. It occurred to me that this class ship has more open deck public area per passenger than any ship we have been on. This proves to be a major plus for guests on cruises where a lot of scenic cruise days are involved, like along the coast of Alaska, glacier viewing, Antarctica, fiords of Norway and so on. All open decks on this ship are planked with Teak, and there is two 360 degree complete walk around decks, the promenade and the uppermost outdoor deck which runs around the top perimeter. Also there are many decks where public can gather to sightsee. On so many ships when approaching spectacular points of interest, like Hubbard Glacier at Yakutat, everybody is on deck trying to find nook for good viewing. Decks are so crammed that it is ludicrous. One frequent criticism of the newer megaships is that they have little open deck space for observation, sunbathing or cozy quiet places to read, which used to be considered of value for traditional ocean travel of yesteryear. Instead, the ships are designed like shopping malls and amusement parks where guests are pretty much confined to interior areas. Even though these ships might have excellent space to passenger ratios, getting out and enjoying an open sea breeze is not a number one priority for ship designers anymore. *Prior to boarding someone told me that HAL still had the same old selection of news service on cabin TVs. I dread being relegated to watching only FOX and CNN, so I simply leave the TV off. Imagine my surprise then, when I find MSNBC (My favorite), BBC, and FOX. HAL got smart and got rid of program duplicity leaving CNN out and giving their guests a “fair and balanced” selection of news choices and reviews. *As always, HAL has provided a good selection of theme lecturers for a voyage. Three in particular I liked so much on this one I didn’t miss a single one of their presentations. On this voyage they have something new, a Polynesian, Kanioa, who works full time describing ports and history of the Pacific, he even does some Alaska and South America. He has an artful sense of humor that really cracked folk up occasionally. Quite a change from the old travel agent style delivery by someone speaking about everything in general with a delivery similar to reading from a text book. Both HAL, Regent and Princess are excellent in providing experts for areas being traveled, such as naturalists, biologists, anthropologists and historians. HAL is one of the few lines anymore that provides a protestant cleric for Sunday services and daily devotionals. *We had a normal balcony stateroom located on deck 9 slightly forward of midship---Stateroom 144. Enjoyed it although would like a larger bathroom without the tub, but only a shower. Great balcony, larger than most. Even though this voyage has been very smooth, one time during the day when we couldn't get into Moorea I felt the ship take on a big one, I looked outside, through our patio windows, to see a wall of white water completely obscure the view for a few seconds. Being on deck 9, or 7 decks or stories above the water line, the spray must have reached 10 stories up. *We had seven formal nights, which we like. *I really like their hot tubs on the Lido deck, used them every day. *Entertainment was pretty much on par for most ships this size. They had some great singers and performers and have pretty much done away with the bore comedians with their corny political jokes that leaves half the audience mad and the other cackling (although they do have a comic now and then that is very good they are now wise enough to stay away from ignorant politics or religious issues). *Most unique port visited: Fanning Island. *Best deals and quality on local made items: Fanning Island. *Most exciting: Port: Rangiroa--Due to dicey departure through channel in order to enter ocean again. Also, best demonstration of Black Pearl farming found here. *Most educational shore excursion: All day tour around Island of Tahiti which looked good in the shore excursion description but expensive. Later, when I checked it out on the ship it was closed out. But later yet they expanded it. Sure glad they did, besides being an excellent tour it included lunch at a restaurant that was out of this world, du Musee Gauguin. If we ever get back to Tahiti again we are definitely going to try to get there for dinner. Regarding the down sides: *HAL has definitely reduced staff levels. Surprisingly, it doesn’t have that many apparent negative ramifications, although the reductions do have an impact. For instance, the laundry equipment was down more often than should be and all around staff effort isn't near as coordinated as it used to be so there is a lot of reacting and not enough anticipation of potential problem areas. *I am not enamored with HAL's new wine policy. I do miss the old one where one could bring a modest amount of wine on board at any port without charge or restrictions, it was an unique feature of their sailing experience. Since they are determined to go the mediocre route in order to fit in with most of the other big cruise lines, the least they could do is provide a red wine selection that is more reasonably priced. For instance, a $12.00 bottle of Cab. from COSTCO sells for about $55.00 on board. If you buy at COSTCO and pay the $18.00 corkage to bring it on board, you pay about $30,00. I would gladly pay HAL $35.00 for this wine and eliminate the hassle. *The price of Internet is horrible due to the slow speeds. I wish HAL would give free Internet perks like Regent does. I would greatly appreciate that over some of the other Mariner perks provided. Less    

The ship, while full, was never crowded. The food was excellent, the staff attentive. The ports visited were wonderful.

We have travelled on this ship before and we would do it again.

This was our first Princess cruise and definitely we will be back. Everyone was so friendly and professional. Check-in was a breeze. Loved the smaller ship and also the demographics were not of an old age home.

Pros: Ship, Food, Vista Suite, onboard entertainment, service. Cons: ship sponsored shore excursions, poor internet service, delay in check-in, hard to understand billing of cruiseline, difficulty getting to Tahiti via airline, constant rain

Great ship and staff. Room was very comfortable. Food was excellent.

Good size as you can very easily be alone!

The ship is a nice one to travel into the Pacific. The meeting locations and shows are great. The staff seems to always keep many activities going for all interests. Our group was interested in helping Fanning Island schools and Health centers by donating supplies and purchasing their many crafts for sale. The ship was so helpful with delivering our supplies and allowing guest presentations by many who wanted to inform the passengers. A great sailing for sure. Done it about 4 times now and will again!

THE PRICE IS VERY REASONABLE. GO! The excursions may be expensive....so just get off the ship and find your own transportation and/or cruises on the shore. BE BRAVE! :o)

Great trip. Go! If the excursions off the ship are too expensive, which they may be, just get off and find your own transportation or tours on the shore. No problem. Be brave! :o)

Very well organized and operated. Very good entertainment. Super food. Almost no obnoxious announcements on PA system. Shore excursions seemed expensive compared to do-it-yourself...

If a cheap cruise is what you are looking for then this is your cruise ship. Food was very poor, our cabin looked clean but when really looking it was dirty. Worse was our bed. It was too low and too soft so we both had back problems on board. I had a massage and really felt very good and day and evening. Then went to bed and pained returned in the AM.

The refurbished Rotterdam (VI) is beautiful inside and out--very well maintained. We loved the new spaces such as the Mix and the Retreat with the outdoor big screen movies in the evenings. The itinerary was wonderful--South Pacific at it's best. Absolutely gorgeous Islands, atolls and motus. Wonderful colors of sand, sky and sea. Fanning Island stop was a very pleasant surprise with terrific buys on native handicrafts and friendly people. Sea days were filled with all sorts of enjoyable activities or we could just relax. Rotterdam has the best onboard entertainment we've seen on any cruise. There are so many choices for dining with the La Fontaine, Lido, Pinacle and Canaletto restaurants plus the pizza place at the Retreat and the Terrace Grill by the pool. Food was wonderful! Great variety and extensive menues.

OLDER SHIP, HOWEVER WELL KEPT. WAIT STAFF WERE POLITE & HELPFUL. WE HAD AN OCEAN VIEW ROOM A BIT SMALL, HOWEVER IT WAS FINE FOR US. THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME WE WERE ON AN ALL INCLUSIVE SHIP & BOY WHAT A DIFFERENCE. WAIT STAFF WOULD'NT TRY TO PEDDLE THE "DRINK OF THE DAY" FOR $5.00-8.00 PLUS TIP. EXCURSIONS WERE A BIT PRICEY, BUT HEY YOUR IN TAHITI IT DOES COST MORE. SHIP OFFERED A DAY OUT IN A MOTOU (SPELLING?) TRIP. WHICH IS TAHITIAN FOR ISLAND. WOW IT WAS WONDERFUL & BEAUTIFUL. THIS SHIP IS GEARED FOR ADULTS, THEREFORE LACKED IN CHILDERN ACTIITIES.