Paul Gauguin Cruise Reviews - Reviews

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.

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.

There is this sense of luxury at its best, in the form of staff that constantly anticipate your wishes, indulging, gracious, with contagious smiles and cheer.

The 11 day PG cruise to French Polynesia was wonderful. The locations, the cruiseship, its crew and their services, the food and entertainment, were all excellent. I would highly recommend this world class cruise to anyone.     

This all inclusive cruise line was far above our expectations. It was great to not be nickeled and dimed constantly. Everything was handled with extreme efficiency i.e. boarding and disembarkation. We purchased the least expensive cabin which had two portholes. It was exactly the same size as the balcony units. The storage was the most generous of any ship. The bathroom was very large with a bathtub. You could actually put two people in it at the same time. The food was consistently well prepared and tasteful. Our only disappointment was the two specialty restaurants. While the service and ambience were above board, the food portions were extremely limited and small. For dinner , the Main diningroom was wonderful. For breakfast and lunch, the outside buffet could not have been any better. The menu changed daily If you choose not to do the buffet, you could order off the menu. Included in the cruise cost was free alcohol, beer, wine, sodas, In the room refrigerator, was water, sodas, and beer replenished daily. I would consider the Alcohol and wine to be mid level which was quite a good surprise. Gratuities were included. This being said the service was exceptional. From the room stewards, alll the way up to the maître d', you were treated like gold. We never saw one sourpuss. Entertainment: Michael Schapiro, the cruise director, put on two musical shows in the evening. Fabulous job ,very entertaining. There was a magician, who we did not see. Three evenings while in port, they brought on local dance troops who were wonderful. The ship had local young females and one male as hostesses (called the Gauguines) who entertained and were the most delightful. They had various Jobs throughout the ship, like greeting you at the tenders, hosting games, and singing and dancing throughout the ship. What a treasure they are to the cruise line. This was an 11 night cruise beginning in Tahiti. These tropical islands can only be described as heavenly. Our itinerary included Bora-Bora, Moorea, Huahine, Aututaki, Rarotonga, and their private island on Tahaa, where we spent the day with an island barbecue. I would give this cruise line and A+.

Everyone was wonderful. The cruise director spoke English without a thick British accent, Les Gauguines were very friendly and helpful. The service provided by everyone (room stewards, waiters, maitre'd, tender operators, staff) was excellent. Enjoyed the gourmet dining, everything was very close and liked having the snorkel equipment to use the entire cruise.

French Polynesia and Cook Island itinerary was excellent. Service was professional; room service w/in 10 min. Wines were high quality. Rich french food at dinner got overwhelming for 11 days. Ate frequently at the Asian influenced Grill to lighten up. Rooms were comfortable. Staff curt in the French boutique restaurant. Evening entertainment below par; dated and often amateurish. Travel desk not open @ independent touring outside of excursions, although excursions were high quality and fairly priced. Did the pre sail tour to Moorea and it was spectacular.A great way to tour the islands.

Since PG has been acquired by Ponant, this line has suffered greatly. There is no customer service, other than the crew on board. Be very careful if you make reservations and be sure to get their 'promises' in writing.

Saved up for this one and well worth it. Met people that had done this cruise line 15 and 30 times. That is a bit extreme as it is a big world. But, we do want to return and take one of the longer cruises. It was noted that the islands are like Hawaii was 50 years ago. Relaxing and tropical.

Great ports of call. The actual cruise is pricey. Announcements were in French and English.

So, this cruise was highly recommended by our travel agent and so we listened and booked it. So right from the get-go after final payment we received the airline reservations for a flight out of LAX that would not arrive until 10:30PM in Papeete and then they would transfer you to the ship. I am saying why? So, we'll board at Midnight? Yes. Well there goes your boarding experience and no dinner for that evening. Meeting at the airport and transfers to the ship were great, waiting and standing in the rain to board not so much fun. Day 1 of cruise gone! Cabin was great, luggage was already there waiting. The ship is quite old, but clean. I have no real complaints about the ship. Dining experiences were awesome all credit goes to the staff. The menus at the 2 restaurants that you must make reservations for have the same menu every night (bad idea). Earliest you can eat dinner is 6:30PM Food was very good though. All entertainment starts at 9:30PM and that just does not work for us, we did manage to stay up for the Beatles from the Philippines but ended up leaving early, they tried, but sorry out of sync and out of tune. It was the only show we went to. Other activities were going on throughout the days and evenings and the ones we did go to were good. But it should be mentioned that a lot of these activities start at 6:30PM so we did not get to meet the Captain as we had dinner reservations, we did not get to make a Tahitian flower crown for the wife as we had dinner reservations. The fitness center is very small and very crowded and most time we had to wait for a machine to workout. The Public rooms, Bars we awesome and we had a good time. Service throughout the ship was excellent as well as the staff, enough cannot be said about the wonderful staff. The shore excursions we took were average and nothing to get excited about. So let's talk about the Islands...first one we go to is Huahine and I have to say why? Why the heck do they go there? Tender from the ship to the opposite side of the Island and take the shuttle to town 30 minutes away and two stores were open, gezzz what a waste of time. Second one is their private Island Taha'a and it was great and had a good time there until it rained, and everyone scrambles to get back to the ship via tender. Third stop Bora Bora for two days. Toured the Island and went shopping, second day went on the glass bottom boat, it was OK but overcrowded. Next stop Moorea for two days, day one it rained the whole time of our tour around the town and the shops we went to, OK but missed all photo opportunities due to the clouds. Second day we went shopping until it started raining again and again a battle for the tender back. I believe Moorea would have been by far the best Island, but rain prevented most of the great experiences. So finally, back to Papeete and we get there at 7:00PM and receive our Dis-Embarkation instructions, I thought embarkation was bad this was really bad. Must be out of cabin by 9:00AM and can't leave the ship until 12:30PM Breakfast does not start till 9:00AM so 3 hours of sitting or waiting, what to do? They do allow you to walk into town, which we did and went shopping and were back by 11:00AM just in time for lunch. Then we wait till 12:30PM to get off and found out the bus was going to take us on a 2.5-hour tour "to waste time" as the guide said because the Hotel they were taking us to was not ready for us. The tour was OK, and the Hotel was very nice but all you get is a room for 4 hours to kill before you have to check out and wait in the lobby for another 1.5 hours before the bus takes you to the airport for your Midnight flight back home. After loading the bus and luggage in a van we get to the airport at 9:15PM and wait another 2.5 hours before boarding. The flight back to LAX is 8 hours and I can’t sleep on a plane, never could sleep in an upright position. So, from 6:00AM in Tahiti to 1:00PM home 33 hours later is not how I would have planned it. We did get about 2-3 hours sleep in the Hotel in Tahiti and wife slept on the plane home. My advice, don’t book your travel plans through Paul Gauguin, book your own flight and get your own Hotel if you need one and get there 1 day before because the earliest flights all seem to get there after 6:30PM and boarding starts at 3:00PM. Also, the earliest flight home starts at 8:40PM so again I would get a Hotel going home (even though you may not spend the night), some place to go and relax before going to the airport.

This cruise is the cruise of a lifetime. A must for your bucket list. Spectacular

It was worth the money!!! (that's about sums it up!)

Cabin 809. Second trip on the Paul, it's the most indulgent ship we have ever been on and we have seen 75 plus cruises. Cabin all 10 s. Food all 10 s. Service all 10 s. And some of the most beautiful waters you will ever see. We will be returning within next three years without a drought

A must cruise ship for an older person or first time cruiser. The level of attention and care of the elderly guest was extremely personable

Paul Gauguin impresses from the time to begin your vacation with them. Two Paul Gauguin agents greeted us before we checked into the airport at LAX to verify our reservation with them. Itinerary, staff and crew, food, and excursions were exceptional. We will return to Paul Gauguin in the future.

Words cannot express how amazing this cruise was!!!! My amazing husband booked it for our 3rd year wedding anniversary (I’m very spoilt 😁) as he knew Bora Bora was on my bucket list and also I wanted to take my PADI Scuba Diving certification which Paul Gauguin offered. That in itself was amazing, the instructors were just fantastic and diving in such beautiful sea waters was a memory I will never forget. The food onboard was delicious and consistently good, it was great never having to wait for a table, never eating in a crowded dining room and multiple staff seeing to your needs. The beaches especially PG private island were just so beautiful and relaxing, waters so crystal clear and shallow, fresh coconuts, and fantastic meal all made for a great day. To top it all, my husband arranged for us to have our own private boat with champagne and we was taken to see the sun set with no obstruction on our wedding anniversary night, followed by a romantic meal specially prepared by PG. I cannot recommend this cruise enough but go when it is not the rainy season because I imagine that would not make for nice memories ....

We have just returned from an 11 day cruise on MS Paul Gauguin to the Cook and Society islands of French Polynesia. We highly recommend this cruise! The ship is attractive, well- maintained, and well-managed . It has an incredibly well trained, cohesive staff who take pride in their service. Anything that you need is not just available- but anticipated. Our cabin was lovely and sitting on the balcony looking at the amazing blue colors of the water and the surrounding islands was wonderful. The meals in both the main restaurant, L’Etoile, and the two smaller venues (Le Grill and La Verandah) were gourmet- beautifully presented and delicious. We enjoyed all our excursions and felt very welcome on whichever island we were visiting. We extend our thanks to everyone aboard the Gauguin- and especially to Rowena, Marlon, Marvin, Rowell, Flo, and Mike . Special thanks to David Walsh of Avoya who offered wonderful suggestions, selected the perfect cabin, and followed through whenever it was needed.

No one does Tahiti better than Paul Gauguin Cruises 🚢. Do a pre or post stay in a overwater bungalow at the Intercontinental Resort. The water is a beautiful turquoise color. Check out Bloody Mary’s in Bora Bora. This was the most relaxing vacation I have had to date.

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!