didi

Has anyone been on the Paul Gauguin cruise ship? Would appreciate your feedback. Also, would it be better to go to stay on the islands (Bora Bora, Moorea, & Tahiti) or to go by cruise. Last question, what is the best time of year to go. I heared something about a rainy season and lots of mosquitos. Would appreciate any input!

Cajuncru

Hi didi -<BR><BR>If you've never experienced the islands before, I would highly recommend a cruise.<BR><BR>We cruised French Polynesia in May of 2000 and had a WONDERFUL time. After checking into places to stay and modes of transportation between islands, I determined it would be MUCH more economical to take a cruise and visit several islands without having to continuously pack and unpack our belongings! It was a much more relaxing experience...we were able to sit back and enjoy ourselves without worrying about all the details.

DE

Hi didi,<BR>For a first visit to French Polynesia a cruise would be a great introduction to the islands. We did a Windstar cruise some years back and found it wonderful. You will have lots of time to spend visting the various islands. My suggestion would be to either rent a car or hire a driver to tour the individual islands. It's not overly expensive and that way you can stop and do whatever you want whenever you like. After having done a few cruise excursions we now opt for touring on our own. The weather shouldn't be a big problem whatever time of year but the late summer and autumn months are supposed to be the drier time. Our last trip (on land this time) was in Sept.02 and the weather was very good with just the odd sprinkle. We did our initial cruise in the month of Oct. and I recall the weather also being very good overall. If you checkout the following website you can get a wealth of info on FP including cruises. <BR>www.tahiti-explorer.com.<BR>If we do decide to go back and do another cruise in FP I will opt for the Paul Gaugain. It looks to be a lovely ship with top notch service, etc.

Ericka

While I have heard good things about the Paul Gaugin, I have to say that I wouldn't recommend a cruise for French Polynesia. You can take a cruise to anywhere in the world and it would be fine. But French Polynesia is known for something very special - thatch roofed overwater and beachfront bungalows! My husband and I honeymooned at the Hotel Bora Bora and I can't imagine having the same experience aboard a boat. We felt like we were on our own private island. We would actually wake ourselves up in the mornings with a snorkel....just stumble out of bed the 5 sandy steps to the water and greet our purple, pink and blue fish friends. If you're worried you'll miss something by not seeing all of the islands, you won't. Bora Bora is the best, followed by Moorea. The rest of the islands start to all look alike. As for Tahiti, avoid it altogether!

Debi

I'm not sure where you're from, but I'm from the US, East Coast - and I know that the trip we took to French Polynesia would be a once in a lifetime thing. FP is - so far - the most beautiful place I have ever been in my life (and we travel alot). The other thing it is - is extremely French and relaxing. While I like cruises, FP is one of those places that the experience of being there is 50% of the fun. Staying in an overwater bungalow is so cool. I agree with Ericka completely - we only stayed in Tahiti 1 night at each end due to planning for flights out. Definitely go to FP - definitely stay in an overwater bungalow in Moorea and Bora Bora. As for seasons, someone from Tahiti told me this - it just doesn't matter. We went in February - the rainy season. It rained one afternoon in our 3 weeks there - and we had no mosquito problems at all. There are tons of good FP websites. Enjoy!!

wlzmatilida

<BR>There are pluses and negatives for both, it just depends on your budget and lifestyle. I've never had a client come back and complain about Paul Gauguin! I've toured the ship and it's absolutely gorgeous! The Tahitian islands are not cheap (and neither are those over the water bungalows), while on the ship you have 5 star meals and your own floating hotel with luxury accommodations, so a plus. As well as the fact that you pretty much know what you'll be spending (except for excursions) up front. If you're looking to &quot;immerse&quot; yourself in the lifestyle,a specific location, like Bora Bora, etc., a cruise, in my opinion is not the way to go because you're only in port for &quot;X&quot; amount of time.<BR><BR>Regards,<BR><BR>Melodie

DE

Hi again didi,<BR>As others have stated staying in an Overwater Bungalow is just great. My suggestion would be to add on a few days post cruise and spend a couple of nights in an OWB before returning home. You can always book one on Moorea which is only a 10 min plane ride from Papeete or 25 min ferry ride. That way you can have the best of both worlds. I have experienced both accomodations and thoroughly enjoyed each experience.