Business class to Tahiti
 

I am going on the Renaissance Tahiti Cruise in June. Has anyone upgraded to business class? I would like to know how much better it is than coach. I think the flight from LA to Tahiti is a charter flight on Hawaiian Air.

Most depends on what airlines you will be flying on. I would call "R" and see if they can give you some info about the airline. There are many that say that business class isn't worth the extra $$ and they have regreted it afterwards. We have flown both. Business is always better. But economy can be quite tolerable on some airlines.

We are going in June, also. The literature shows a flight of 7 1/2 hours from LA. We would rather spend the extra bucks business class would cost on shore excursions, etc. Now if we were talking about a flight lasting a great deal longer, that would be something else for sure. Business class IS better, but for that length of flight...

Barbara, <BR> <BR>We took the same cruise in December last year and did upgrade to Business Class. The airline was Hawaiian Airlines and the service was excellent. We felt upgrading was worth the money. However, beware of getting put in the center section first row, there is a permanent cart there and very little room for your legs. I believe the seating in business class is 2 3 2. You'll have a wonderful time and if you've never been to French Polynesia....enjoy! <BR> <BR>

One thing to consider is that the leg room on the Hawaiian charters is VERY good (34" pitch). I'm 6'2" and was comfortable.

If you can get some information about the charter airlines and plane you will be flying, I think that might help you make your decision. We flew coach to Tahiti via a charter for a South Pacific/Hawaii cruise on Princess in October '98. Princess chartered the flight through a company called Aviation Solutions and our plane was an older 747. It was a hot, stuffy, cramped, long flight--probably the worst flight I've endured in my life--not to mention the 2 hours we sat "in" the plane waiting to depart LAX. Since the plane was older or plane maintenance was substandard, the middle cabin had no audio for the movies and ours was also barely audible as we were in the last cabin behind the engines. It was a very loud and uncomfortable flight that I thought would never end. The flight attendants were somewhat unskilled as they stood on passenger arm rests to obtain items from the overhead compartments. So I say, if you can find out what type of plane, who's flying it, what is their service record, etc., that might help you make your decision, but I think it's well worth considering.