FYI..what we have learned so far, hope it helps upcoming PG cruisers:

Air:

--Use www.seatguru.com to select good seats on flights.
--At LAX once you have checked in thru TSA and ATN you now go to final TSA security check in. If first one line is too long; go in opposite direction about 50 ft..to a second final TSA check in.

Boarding:

--On first boarding check your excursions for accuracy, as they are on first come, first serve basis.
--make rsvns for specialty restaurants Apicius
and The Pacific Grill.
--Go to the Marina and check out your fins/mask
set for the week.
--Go to Carita Spa and make reservations for the complimentary Steambath (we reserved every nite at 5:30) they also have a shower stocked with aveeda products (both bath/shower have doors with locks for privacy)...this is a great way to unwind after a tough day at the motu, or diving

Entertainment

--For Children of Raitae show get their early (immediately after lifeboat drill) to ensure good seats for video/camera shots.
--dinner at L'Etiole--we went nitely at 8 pm..if our favorite table/waiter (jerry) was not available, Allessandro (m/d) would send us to la Paleete for complimentary drinks
--Go to La Paleete nightly between 6:30-8 for music provided by Hal Frasier and canapes. (good pre dinner mtg place for drinks)

Excursions

--Sign up on Sunday for the Jungle Hike throuh
Hell (5 hours with ropes) in Raitea (new excursion) very demanding but worth it...you get to bath in waterfalls after two hours of tough hiking...Have a story to tell later on this excursion as a rainstorm came and the river became a rushing (class III rapids) needless to say we made it back to the PG last night at 6:45.
be sure to buy a good pair of reef shoes (wall mart for $5 or www.cudas.com for $20)

Bora Bora 4X4

--great excursion, bumpy..great camera shots of
the gorgeous ocean colors..good WWII history.

Moto Day (Monday)

--be on first tender to get good seats (last ones on immediate left side by water's edge) very quiet area.
--bring cheap (Wal-Mart $1.99) air mattresses to float on....float up to the bar order a pina colada...life does not get any better than this.
--be on your balcony with rooom service at 7 am
to enjoy the stunning views of the Islands as we sail into the Motu..if no balcony go the pool deck (8).

Pearl Shopping:

--Yep, gave in and got Ida a nice angel pearl
(don't ask) but if you are like our new cruise
friends and want a new black pearl necklace..go to the ship's boutique and get a free shuttle voucher to go to the Black Pearl Gem Co shop on Moorea either Thursday or Friday...our friends bought a magnficent set for five figures--their strategy was to enter the store and offer them only once an offer 20% less than the store's (15,000 versus 18,000 (gulp)

Late Night Entertainment

--bring you own CDs and Eugene (DJ) in la Paleete
will play your dancing tunes....Ida does this and closes La Paleete down every night at 1 or 1:30.

Exercise:

--Go to the ship's gym early (0600-0700) for best selection of treadmill, eliptical, stairmaster)
--Pool opens at 7 am..one lap is 6 strokes or 56 stokes per minute, figure 105 laps for 15 min.

Classess:

--Resident Sculpter on board (Hanson from Maui)
teaches you how to make pins (fish or turtles) you can wear as a broach.---his art sells for $3500-$8000...Ida wanted to get me the Manta
Ray sculpture (hey she said it was 25% off while on board)--No way..he this is the price for a week on the PG..but the art is wonderful..

Room:

--bring 12 Ft. extension cord--good for women's hair dryer
--bring two plastic shoe racks to hang on your cabin door--great space saver

Last Tip:

If we were to do it again, we would absolutely fly out Fri nite..Papeete is our least fav port.
and even tho you are on the PG till early Saturday aftertoon...you arrive in Papeete Fri Nite at 7pm...there is really nothing to do in Papeete (besides we were there for a one day precruise 12 days ago)...we are still trying to get our tickets changed.

Diving:

Best diving in the French Polynesia with the PG Dive staff...they provide all equipment--new, great shape (altho I brought wetsuit,fins,mask)
Dominque runs super dives, lots of sea life (lemon sharks, black tips, lion fish, turtles)
For an outside operator on bora bora, we used bora diving center--they were good...but diving from the PG can't be beat for convenience.

Specifically, PG offers six dives..two with outside operators (mushroom patch w/hemi sub
and a Tues night dive with BBDC)Dove with both outside operators and recommend them..did a manta ray dive with BBDC on Tuesday am in place of Table Top with PG...Tabletop is a refresher dive for all divers not very deep 30-45' and my least favorite of the PG dives (did it week two)..the best PG dives are Weds--Tapu (lots of sharks)
Thurs/Ledges (Sharks/turtles/eels) and Fri/Shark
Gallery (more and more sharks)...remember, all dives are good dives, but tapu/manta ray dive with BBDC and shark gallery are spectacular.

Parties (i.e., open bars)


Sunday, Captain's Welcome Aboard
Weds, AMX-Platinum cocktail reception
Thurs, Seven Seas Society Party
Fri, Captain's farewell, Divers Party

Lectures:

Tahiti in the time of Cook--Mark Eddowes, Wednesday 6pm

The Real Story of Mutiny of the Bounty--Mark Eddowes, Thursday 9am.

Dolphins in French Polynesia, Dr. Poole, Thursday 6pm

Lunches (L'Etiole)

Sunday: American Buffet (Ceasar Salad/Grilled Chicken)
Tuesday: Italian Buffet
Weds: French Buffet
Thursday: Pan Pacific (Asian) Buffet (Fresh Sushi)
Friday: Mexican Buffet

Hope these tips helped.


PS..Doug will tell Dominque hello...Norm now works the excursions.

r/Wes & Ida

Wow Wes, those are all great tips! Sounds like you are having a blast. Keep up with all the great info.

Hi Wes, another question. I clicked on seat guru, but did not see ATN. Is Air France the same plane? I think they are owned by the same company. Thanks, Mounds

Good question, mounds. I had looked and not found ATN as well. But when I look at AF, I don't see the same kind of equipment as ATN, which is the Airbus A340-300.

Wes, the hiking trip sounds exhausting! I was thinking about doing this, but now I think I'll take a pass. Sounds very worthwhile, just don't think I could actually do it, despite being reasonable fit for a middle-aged civilian. Maybe I'll just do the "Ancients" hike instead. Did you have to wear actual hiking boots, or could you get away with good sports sandals or runners?

Hi Wes,

You are such a great source of info and advice! I agree with so much of what you have said. Good luck getting those tickets changed to a Friday nite departure. That's what we had this time and I absolutely felt that was the best choice for us having done the Saturday night departure 2 years ago.

One question for you--I know this is a long shot, but you mentioned your favorite waiter being Jerry. Any chance he was on the Navigator last year at this time? We had a waiter, Jerry, last year and he was the BEST! I will be so sad if it's the same gentleman and we missed him when we were there 2 weeks ago!!!

OK, two questions--is Mark Eddowes on board for lectures this week (or last?). We missed him on our cruise as he was ill. We were very disappointed. Have heard so many wonderful comments about his talks, just wondering if you had a chance to attend and what your opinion is.

Hope you continue to have a great time!!

Jacki

Wes, were you in row 30 in the center or 31 on one of the sides? From the diagram I have those look like the only exit row. Row 10 looks like it would also have the extra leg room.

Good luck to anyone trying to get seats changed with Tahiti Nui. The two flights we are on in June are very full and there was very little chance for changing what was assigned to us so I stuck with what we have.

Wes, what great tips! Especially coming from one couple who are absolutely maximizing the opportunities! Maybe they will keep Ida aboard as an assistant social hostess in charge of late night dancing! (Oh, maybe you could carry fins for divers or something) I would only add (as I have ad nauseum in the past), be sure and bring DEET insect repellant on every excursion.

Wes, thanks for the excellent tips. I'm going to copy and paste into a Word document to save in my travel info for that longed for PG cruise! Now I want to go more than ever and maybe I will.

Alan returned last night from LA with a fortune cookie for me (he had eaten at our favorite Chinese restaurant). Guess what my fortune said? "You are heading for a land of sunshine and relaxation." I turned to Alan and said, "Look, we're going to Tahiti!"

Wes, excellent tips! Thanks!

Donna, curious to know your favorite Chinese in LA.

Robert, since it is the ONLY Chinese restaurant I have been to in La, it is my favorite. Might not be so great to a veteran LA restaurant patron. My fortune cookie was from Szechuan (sp) on Sepulveda Blvd in Manhattan Beach.

Have not been, Donna, will give it a try when visiting my Uncle in MB. Thanks!

I can't find ATN on the Seatguru site. Is there something I'm missing

Wow Wes!

Much thanks - every question I had answerred in ONE post!

That's an amazing post. I'll have to keep track of it if I ever get to the PG. :)

Masaki

Kimmi,

Last year I found a seat diagram for Air Tahiti Nui on the Air Tahiti Nui site, but I can't find it there now. We saved a copy to our computer and on March 5th I posted it on CC for a fellow traveler. Go to Cruise Critic boards, RSSC. The thread is PG, June 11, 2005, Roll Call. I'm not sure how to post attachments here on LCT. If they are still using the same type of aircraft this should help you.

You can view a seating chart here

Click on the diagram for a larger photo of the chart.

To further enlarge the diagram, hover your mouse over the 2nd diagram until a orange box with arrows pops up. Click on that and the diagram will be super sized :)

Oh Karen, I wish I had your patience and computer knowledge. I checked many parts of that site this morning but didn't go down far enough to find the right place. What would LCT do without you? You are the best!

Love the idea of the blow up air mattress floating on the warm water and drinking that cold Pina Colada!You are right... that is heaven!

Wonderful tips. While on our Navigator trip we did book the PG to get the extra 5% off, although we will eventually move the reservation to 2006. We are also looking at a 14 day Navigator through the Panama Canal from LA that is typically also a December/January trip. Anyway, the info on the PG will come in useful if we decide to go!! Thanks, Jeff

Wes - Thank you SO MUCH!!! These are all great and useful tips. You are so good to us. Wish you and Ida could go on PIP with us and guide us through all of this personally!! That would really be fun. But you've given us this fantastic "guide book" here to help us do it on our own. :)

Can't wait to hear more details about your wonderful vacation!! Good luck with your Friday flight change.

All,

We got back last night at 8:30...like clockwork although would strongly recommend a Friday nite departure for any time in Tahiti--as the last day in Papeete--really turns into the looonnnggeest day....but Radisson was perfect in all our arrangements once we stepped off the PG...again would not recommend anyone stay at the IBC for their dayroom...go to the Radisson...glad to hear it will be OBE o/a 30 April

Did update the tips post above with the lecture information and lunch buffet themes.

Our trip was magical, wonderful, romantic, etc...so much more so because of the sharing spirit found here at LCT...again thanks to all the
veteran PG cruisers for sharing their wisdom.

We did link up with an LCT couple our second week and had a blast with Kim and Hans--from Wisconsin.

We enjoyed multiple delicious dinners in L'Etiole (our favorite, with our favorite waiter Jerry), Motu Monday, and Kim and Hans's renewal of their 10 year wedding vows in Bora Bora--truly majestic setting as the Captain read their vows along with Steve Lewis the Cruise Director--then we suffered through ice cold champagne and a spectacular cake they Kim and Hans saved for our later dinner that night at L'Etiole..they are finishing a post cruise in Manihi today and am sure they will post later this week.

We all took lots of photos, and when I get them ready to send, I will ask Karen for her magic touch and help.

Can't wait for Mush!

ps..will start a separate thread on the latest news on the PG..the new owner's cabin was next to
ours (Grand suite) on the second week.

pss...if anyone has any specific questions we can answer, pls fire away.

r/wes

Wes, you sure "lived" in the good neighborhood on PG, next to owner's Grand Suite. Glad you got a chance to rub elbows with him and get all the latest info (on other thread).

You must be tired and excited at the same time today. I'm so glad this cruise was everything you & Ida had hoped for. I think you must be right about LCT making it that much more special. I haven't even left yet for our PIP and I already feel that way :)

Thanks for updating your above tips with even more wonderful tips. Can't wait to see your photos!!!

Welcome back!!!!

Great information Wes you are very detailed and that is what really helps people planning a trip.

We're first timers joining the PG cruise on May 21 - and we've been following all the postings here, with Wes' contribution being just great! Only two months away!

Pat and Jim
Saratoga, CA

Hey!

Welcome NorCal "neighbors" and fellow Pipsters! This is going to be a fantastic cruise (and adventure)!

Welcome back, Wes!!

Masaki

Jim, Welcome to LCT - look forward to meeting you onboard!

Hi Jim, welcome to the board!
I am sure you have figured out that anything with "PIP" in the title refers to your cruise!

Jim - It's going to be great to meet you on PIP!!!! Welcome to LCT!!!!! You've come to the right place :)

Jim, welcome to Pip, see you on board!

Here are just a few PG pics; will post more this weekend:

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y62/colonelwes/DSCF0138.jpg (Cruise Director, Social Hostess, Harp Player, Wes & Ida)

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y62/colonelwes/DSCF0132.jpg (Les Gaugines)


http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y62/colonelwes/DSCF0040.jpg (Hans&Wes enjoying waterfall bath at top of jungle hike)

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y62/colonelwes/DSCF0044.jpg (raging river we crossed during jungle hike in Raitea

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y62/colonelwes/DSCF0013.jpg (Les Gauguines)

Wes,
Great photos! What fun!!! Thanks for posting them!

Betty

Wes, your pictures are great. Can't wait for the rest of them!

Wes, did you have rain one Sunday morning? It looks like the children of Raiatea are inside. Keep the photos and reports coming!

Hi, this is Kim's husband Hans. We were fortunate enough to sail with Ida and Wes. It was incredible. For those of you who are Pipsters- get more exited! It is an unbelievable cruise.
Wes does do a great job of describing the cruise. I would like to add a couple of other points.
Money exchange: rates varied a little, but most important is the charge for the exchange. Each time was about 500 francs, so your best bet is to exchange as few times as possible.
The Bora Bora motu is great. Watch out for the drinks- they mixed them strong here.
Kim and I went parasailing in Moorea. It was my first time. I highly recommend it.
Other than that, Wes did much better explainations than I could!! We are the ones that renewed our vows on the ship, so if anyone wants info let me know.
We also did "the jungle hike from hell", but I will wait to comment on that until Wes gives a full report.
Just wanted to post quick today as I have to go back to work tomorrow. Also getting pictures back and if I can figure it out, will post some.
Hans

Welcome to LCT, Hans (and Kim). Thanks for posting and I'm looking forward to viewing your pictures. Sounds like a wonderful cruise. I think renewing your vows on the Paul Gaugin must have been a very romantic experience!

Wes, GREAT photos and I am proud of you for uploading them and linking us to them!

The cruise was incredible. The renewal of vows was done by the Captain and Cruise Director with the mountains of Bora Bora in the background. With such a gorgeous setting, the only thing that made it even better was having Ida and Wes as well as another couple we met at LAX there to celebrate with us.
Hans

Thanks Wes for the photos! And welcome to Hans!

Masaki

jimh is a friend of George's, so I would like to issue a special welcome to him. I know you're going to have a fabulous time on PIP.

We look forward to seeing you in Dublin next month, Jim. Is Pat coming with you? She and I might do some serious shopping while you guys work.