Just back from the PG and it was as wonderful as ever. Told myself it was my last PG cruise but came back saying I would return for the fourth time.

The only change to the usual 7 day itinerary was an extra half day in Paradise Motu Mahanna and a day in Huahine. We tool the Motu picnic in Huahine and I was very disappointed with it. Just not up to par with the PG motus. Beach was rocky in the water and also strong currents. Chairs were set in a lagoon on the other side where water was a bit dirty and the view on one side was of several shanty homes. View on the other side was good with the huge hills of Huahine.
Dancers and singing promised in the description were not provided.

Other excursions were good. My daughter did a 5 hour hike along with the captain and his wife and it included rapelling and was quiet strenous. They came back covered in dirt happy but exhausted.

Wendy, the Cabin for three was a little tight but we managed and with so much of the time spent outside it only felt crowded at times.

Passenger make up : There were a lot of vantage and grand circle passengers so the age group was skewed in their favour ( 65-80 - we are 53) but we met some very nice people among them. There were also a couple of large families .Apparently since the ship was bought it has been running to full capacity and the dining room gets full and bookings at La Verandah are harder to get. Our previous visit had capacity around 200-250 so it showed.

Food: I felt it was down a notch from past visits but they still gave me my mixed berries at breakfast. The cheese boards have improved.

All Inclusive: It was wonderful to not have to sign for anything. I mostly drink water but when I wanted the occasional drink it was always available. I found the included wine list at lunch and dinner slightly improved from pastcruises .I had a look at the reserve wine list - I was told it was the same wine list but prices were reduced to compensate for the fact that the ship is now all inclusive.

Standard liquors included the following:
Vodka: Grey Goose, Skybor, Chopin plus the usuals
Scotch whiskey included Black Label, Chivas, Glenfiddich and Glen Livet
Cognac included Remy and Courvoisier both VSOP.
I managed a copy of the list so if you have any specific questions I can check and let you know.

We ordered drinks to the room a couple of times. My daughter ordered Malibu and fresh OJ. They sent her a glass of OJ and half a glass of Malibu!
Another night she ordered a B52 and all they sent her was kahlua on ice. The bartenders in the other bars were good however.

Service: The service was the best I have ever received. Ivan at Etoile and Efren in the Bar were their usual congenial and efficient selves.
Besides them there were so many others who were absolutely excellent.

Housekeeping was hit and miss - some days towels for the beach some days none also shampoo etc not topped up as expected.

New Year's celebration : This was the very worst we have had on board ship and we have done a few of these. The Cruise director is a former gauguinne and did nothing to enliven the event. In the hour leading up to midnight all she did was announce the entertainment -eg we will now have an aria from x.... etc. Orion is not a patch on the other group they had in the past ... name escapes me but I am sure you know who I am talking about. Orion just belted out the songs on top of the lungs. The entertainment for the night came from 5 passengers who decided to enliven the night by jumping into the pool fully clothed!

French Polynesia being what it is and the PG being the PG it was all in all a lovely trip.

Miriam