Hello All,

This is my first post. I can't believe we are leaving in less than a week. I've been so busy with work that I haven't had time to finish up loose ends with our trip! We are taking the 12 day PG which includes the Marquesas. A few questions:

1. Is anyone else going on this July 1 trip? If so, do you want to share a private day trip on Nuka Hiva? I have all of the information.

2. Should we be making dinner reservations now for L'Etoile? Is it necessary?

3. We have pre-booked the AM jeep excursion on Bora Bora but I would like to do some lagoon snorkeling in the PM. Where's the best place to see lots of fish and how far is it from the ship?

4. Any suggestions for Rangiroa for nice snorkeling without worrying about strong current?

5. We are staying over in Moorea for a few days before the cruise. My husband thought it might be a good idea to rent a car on the cruise day when we return to Moorea rather than while we're staying there. Does that make sense?

6. We have an extra day in Tahiti at the end of the cruise because the Air Tahiti Nui fligbt to JFK was cancelled for the day the cruise returns and we rescheduled for the next day. We were planning to rent a car. Has anyone done that and toured the island all the way to Tahiti Iti? How many hours should we plan for that?

I think that's it for now. Thanks for your help!

Linda

Welcome Linda!
You are going to have such a wonderful time. Moorea is so beautiful, what a great choice for a pre-cruise.
I can only answer one question, sorry. You do not need reservations at L'Etoile. It is the main dining room on the ship and you can be seated any time during dinner, either at a table by yourselves or with others. La Veranda and Le Grill require reservations. I think they are both worth trying at least once. You can make your reservations ahead of time on the RSSC web site. These reservations require you to choose a time.
I hope this helps.
Jill

Welcome to your first post, Linda! I can't answer any of your questions but the fine folks here mosst certainly can. Have a wonderful cruise & remember we love seamail so post from the ship if you are able. Enjoy!

Welcome Linda!
I am pretty new too. We are going on the 7/12 and I got lots of info. on this board which helped me decide on excursions. There is a thread re: PG excursions which should be helpful!
We did stay away from the "drift" snorkel as people said swift currents.
Good luck....and you'll be disembarking while we are coming on!!
Carol

Hi Linda:

My wife and I just returned from the June 10 PG tour through the Society, Tuamoto, and Marquesas'. Wonderful trip! Here are some thoughts.

1. Nuka Hiva private trip. I was diving, but my wife and friends took the tour with resident expert Mark. He is fantastic, and it is probably better to go with this group than solo. Not only is he a top notch archaeologist, but outstanding naturalist.

2. On our tour there were no reservations required for L'Etoile, just for La Veranda and Le Grill. All were excellent, but we probably ate at L'Etoile the least frequently.

3. There is a tender that runs every 20 minutes or so to the Motu. There is good snorkeling there if you swim across the channel to the other islans, or to the right toward the reef. Your best bet on Bora Bora is to take the drift snorkel. It is fun, but you need to be a competent swimmer. I had to help a couple of folks out who had some minor problems.

4. See above.

5. I am not sure. Moorea had excellent diving, so renting while we were on board would not have worked for us. Also, Mark does a tour of the ancients which is also outstanding if you are into natural history and archaeology.

6. Can't help you on this one. One option a number of people on our cruise did was to leave the day they arrived in Papeete, rather than spend the night on the ship and depart the following day. We actually enjoyed the day of departure tour, especially the museum. There was an exhibit that has the best description of the three very different types of islans you will be seeing, and how they evolve (Marquesas- Mountain, no reefs; Tuamoto's- No mountains, only reefs and lagoons; and Society: Partial mountian erosion with reefs and lagoons).

Hope this helps!

Dan Clements

Hi Dan,

I am now communicating with you on two of my posted questions. I hope this isn't as confusing for you as it is for me!

Regarding the ship restaurants, is it necessary to make online reservations before we leave for La Veranda or Le Grill? We usually like to be more laid back than that but don't want to get closed out and not try them. We also like to see what the food options are for that evening. Since we are leaving for Moorea on Monday We would have to do this right away. What did you prefer about the 2 restaurants that reqyure reservations since you are there more frequently?

Swimming from the Motu in Bora Bora, do you have to go far out to see a lot of fish? Is the water calm?

Thanks Dan for all your help. Linda

Hi Linda:

We did not make an on-line reservation and had no problem making them in the morning for the same evening. We also enjoyed the cooking demos, and it was fun to see how the meals turned out.

We enjoyed Agnes in La Veranda and Ivan at Le Grill. La Veranda was a bit more French traditional, and the Le Grill seemed to have a bit more local fish.

With respect to the Bora Bora Motu, I think if you swim a hundred yards or so there will be plenty to see. You can also walk up the beach toward the outer reef. Also, we heard bugs were a problem, but we only used spray once. Even the Marquesas were no problem. I suspect this was a bit unusual.

I am not sure how to post pictures in this response, so I will e-mail you a shot of the PG from the motu. You can see that the water is quite calm.

Cheers,

Dan