Luxury Cruise Bible

Regent's 10-Day Paul Gauguin Itinerary

Note

Regent Seven Seas Cruises managed the m/s Paul Gauguin at the time of this review. Paul Gauguin Cruises took over the line on January 6, 2010.

Submitted by: Dreps from Washington, DC, USA

Cruise Details

• Cruise line: Regent Seven Seas Cruises
• Ship: Paul Gauguin
• Date of sailing: 2/15/2006
• Number of nights: 10
• Embarkation point: Papeete, Tahiti
• Debarkation point: Papeete, Tahiti
• Ports of call: Huahine, Raiatea, Rangiroa, Bora Bora, Taha’a, Moorea
• Stateroom category: Balcony C
• Stateroom number: 719
• How did you book your cruise? Online travel agency
• Travel agent: Brown & Keene
• How many times have you sailed with this line? 4
• What other cruise lines have you sailed? Celebrity, Orient
• Favorite cruise line: Regent Seven Seas Cruises

Ratings

• Overall Rating 4
• Ship Condition 5
• Public Rooms 4
• Stateroom 4
• Food & Wine 4
• Spa, Gym, and Salon n/r
• Entertainment 3
• Enrichment Program 3
• Internet & Phone Service 3
• Excursions 4
• Service 4
• Value 4

Good, But Not Great

The bottom line of our Paul Gauguin 10-day cruise (February 15–25, 2006): It was a great trip, but the experience on the ship itself was not quite up to our b2b in February 2003.

February 12

Getting out of DC at the tail end of the worst snow storms in quite some time was a challenge. The roads were a mess, and our driver took it very slowly. We arrived at Dulles with plenty of time before our 9:30 am United flight, and we were surprised by how busy the airport was given the weather. Some flights were cancelled, but not ours. However, after we boarded we spent well over an hour waiting to be de-iced. Our pilot and co-pilot were getting very impatient, questioning the necessity of it, but finally the de-icing machine did its thing. We made up some time, but arrived at LAX about an hour late.

We immediately made our way to Air Tahiti Nui to look into a business class upgrade. They said that business class looked pretty full, but the back of the plane was not. In the end, we weren’t able to get the upgrades, but had plenty of room to spread out in coach. The flight was uneventful; the food was better three years ago.

Note: We did not want an overnight in Los Angeles, because last time we spent a terrible night trying to sleep at the Hilton in a room overlooking the runway, and we also thought the next day was a waste, waiting for the plane to Tahiti. We felt it was better to recuperate on the beach in Tahiti. For us, it was the right decision.)

In Papeete, we hurried off the plane and were directed into a relatively short line for our passport check—much better than our previous experience, probably because the plane was not all that full. We then waited for a few other couples who were going to the Radisson Plaza. It took less than half an hour to get to the hotel, and we checked in quickly, had our luggage brought to our room, and fell into bed. It was a little after 1:00 am local time.

The rooms at the Radisson are very nice. We had a room ending in 02, i.e., 7202, which is in the seventh building on the second floor. I think the 02’s are all large with Jacuzzi’s and separate showers. For our day room after the cruise we were in 5206 (fifth building on the second floor); I think all 06s are huge suites with a separate bedroom and a bath and a half, but no Jacuzzi although it had a large free-standing tub and separate shower and twin sinks. As I said, the rooms are very nice.

The days at the Radisson actually exceeded my expectations. Food was better than expected—not great, but okay. Yes, it was expensive, but I didn’t think outrageous. A chicken Caesar salad for lunch was about $16–18. There was a special Valentine’s Day dinner, which was $75 per person, including a glass of champagne. Service at that special dinner was okay for us, but others had very bad service. At least one couple just walked out. Gail felt sorry for some of the young local couples who had come to celebrate, and she actually asked the wait staff to pay attention to them. Note: The restaurant is open-air but covered and informal—I wore nice shorts and a polo one evening for dinner.

We did have some rain the first few days on and off, especially during the Valentine’s dinner and the following morning. Despite some clouds, Gail managed to get a bad sunburn during a water aerobics class with a French instructor because she didn’t have adequate sun block on. The pool at the Radisson is very nice although not very large. The beach is black sand. It was pretty rough the first few days, but much calmer on the day of our return. That day (being a Saturday) was very busy down on the beach with mostly local teenagers.

February 15

At the hotel, we made new friends with a couple who were also taking the cruise—Ron and Bev Brown—and we decided to share a taxi with them to the ship on Wednesday rather than wait for the bus transfer. The disembarkation was running late, but we were still able to board about 2:00 pm. We waited in the Grand Salon, where champagne and sandwiches were provided. Around 3:00 pm our cabins were ready, and our luggage was waiting for us. (Our cabin was 719—the same one we had in 2003.) We unpacked and then explored the ship a bit.

Honestly, it was hard to remember exactly what was different in terms of the refurbishments that had just been done in dry dock. We think the carpet in the cabins was new and the draperies. The mattresses may have been new also, but we still asked that an “egg crate” be put on because the bed was very firm, being a platform-type bed. I sleep with a lot of pillows, and Radisson will provide most any type you need.)

All in all, the ship looked good. I tried to see the new cabins at the back of deck 7, but I couldn’t get access to them. There was still work being done, and the doors leading to them were not open. Frankly, despite their appeal in terms of size and view, I would not choose them unless I heard they were okay from someone who stayed in them. They are right over La Veranda, and I would think that noise during breakfast and lunchtime when people can eat outside directly under those cabins would be a problem. At night, I assume it’s fairly quiet, since the restaurant is quiet. In addition, I have read that there is a vibration problem in the back when the ship is sailing. Also, they do not have rails on their balconies like all the other balconies; they have glass (or Plexiglas) where the rails would be.

We had dinner with Ron and Bev. Dinner was pretty good. Then there was a sail-away party. It sprinkled a little. The Crystal Serenity was parked next to us about to embark on the next leg of its World Cruise. By the way, we left Papeete at 10:00 am. We had been scheduled to leave at 2:30 am, but months ago, I had pointed out to Radisson that on Wednesday there were no late-night flight arrivals. Therefore, it was silly to cut into our stay at Huahine by leaving so late. Radisson actually looked into the matter, and changed the schedule, which impressed me.

There were very few of the same staff that had been on the PG three years ago. Only one of the Gauguines was a carryover. The biggest disappointment was the band. As many of you know, the PG normally has a terrific band, Siglo, who are Filipino. On our 2003 cruise, we danced to them almost every night. We heard different stories about why Siglo wasn’t there—either that the band leader had medical problems or that there were medical-related papers that were not in order. I think they hope to get Siglo back soon. In the meantime, they had an awful band (Time Stealer Band) from the Ukraine. I tried to request some decent music, but was unsuccessful.

Also, we missed Michael Shapiro, the long-time cruise director of the PG. Rani Chaves, a one-time Gauguine, was our Cruise Director—not the same. Our stewardess was okay, but not great. I don’t know if they have more work to do than before, but her timing in terms of cleaning our cabins often seemed to be inconvenient. We probably should have made more use of the signs you can hang on your door for privacy and service.

February 16—Huahine

We took an early tender over to the pier and then a complimentary shuttle, which was really bumpy, into the town of Faré. The place is very small, and it rained while we were there. We walked around and went into the shops. We bought some additional sun block, which, of course, was expensive. Gail also bought some small gifts. Then, we went back to the ship for lunch (American buffet). We had to eat fairly quickly because we had a snorkeling excursion at 1:00 pm. That was a lot of fun. Again, it rained a little, but it didn’t matter. We went to a great place for snorkeling—no currents, nice coral, and lots of fish. The tour guide, Dolores, was a riot. She had been married to an American (he’s back in the States), and she told us she had a Tahitian lover. She has four children and it was unclear how many fathers were involved. She was probably in her 40s. After snorkeling, we went to a small beach and had some juice and fruit (watermelon, bananas, and coconut), which “hit the spot.” Then we cruised by one of the few fancy resorts on the island and made our way back to the pier. (Doris had some pareos she had hand painted for sale, and they were very nice, thought not cheap, $50). Our fellow passengers had not brought much cash, and neither did we; what little we had was loaned out so someone could buy one of the pareos.

We tendered back to the ship, relaxed a little, and then went to the muster drill at 5:30 pm. We didn’t bother with the captain’s cocktail party at 6:30 pm and made our way to L’Etoile for dinner a little after 7:00 pm. We sat with two other couples. Dinner was not very good. I had Oysters Rockefeller that were pretty terrible, then roast beef, but from the menu it was difficult to determine what cut it was, and the waiter didn’t know what it meant when I asked whether it was prime rib. (In general, I do not think the wait staff is particularly well trained in terms of the food, although they tend to be very nice.) The beef also came with Yorkshire pudding. Actually, later the maitre d’, Gary Roberts, came to apologize, because somehow he found out I was not too happy, but I wasn’t going to reorder at that point. I will say that the Crepes Suzettes for dessert were very good as was the wine.

February 17—Raiatea

We had an early breakfast. The first morning, I had asked for blueberries, and on most days they were waiting for me for breakfast. (I did have to wait about 15 minutes for them to replenish the smoked salmon, which was not as good as I had remembered or as good as was on the Mariner.) In general, Xavier (the French head waiter) took very good care of us at breakfast. Last time we were in Raiatea for the regular seven-day cruise, it was Sunday and almost everything was closed. Even on Friday, there still wasn’t much to see near the pier—mostly shops for black pearls, some nice pareos, and one place that had really nice wood carvings and jewelry made of polished wood. Again, we were caught in the rain.

We took the tender back to the ship and ate lunch, which was an Italian buffet and was pretty good. Eggplant Parmesan and pasta they were making at a station (which took place every day). The desserts included especially good tiramisu and profiteroles. After lunch, we got ready for our Classical Sailing excursion. We were on an old famous sailboat, the Agaleion that had won the Admiral’s Cup in 1973. Just six of us were on the boat. It was very nice, but the winds were light and variable. Any of the passengers who wanted to, could sail. Gail did for quite some time (without hitting anything). I enjoy being just a passenger. The captain’s name was Phillipe, and he was very congenial. He did have penchant for American music, especially Elvis. We managed to avoid any significant rain and spent a lot of time sailing around the Paul Gauguin, which was interesting and a good picture opportunity.

We met Ron and Bev for cocktails in their large cabin (it was one of the named cabins—the Pont Aven #710—very nice). Then we went to La Veranda for dinner, and it was very good. (Unlike our previous experience, this time we thought the meals in the specialty restaurant were better than in L’Etoile.) I had frog legs, asparagus with mascarpone, lamb chops (and I had their famous risotto with wild mushrooms—a main course—on the side), and a chocolate tart for dessert with praline ice cream. Manfred, who oversees La Veranda and takes reservations for the restaurant was always very helpful.

We stopped by the Grand Salon for the entertainment, where a female singer, Heather Allen, was doing numbers from Chicago, Flora the Red Menace, and other shows, by John Kander and Fred Ebb. She had a good voice, but it had been a long day, and we didn’t stay for all of it.

February 18—Rangiroa

We arrived about noontime. After lunch (French buffet), we took the tender to the pier and headed for a nearby beach. We eventually made it there. We did a little snorkeling and then it started to pour. Not long afterward, we headed back to the ship, though we got a bit lost. We eventually found the right road, and took the tender back to the ship.

We had cocktails with Bev and Ron—their butler had ordered frozen Pina Coladas without the rum, and then we added the booze—they were very good. After a quick change, we went to dinner at L’Etoile. It was quite good. I had tuna tartar, osso bucco, and a good Sancerre. After dinner we went to the show, which featured the Gauguines doing Tahitian dances. I should have taken my camera, because it was very good and very colorful.

February 19—Rangiroa

The second day in Rangiroa we had an early drift snorkeling excursion. This was the nicest weather so far. On the excursion, we were first taken to a pass between the ocean and the lagoon, where we were supposed to snorkel with a current through the pass. The snorkeling was not very good, and the current was not consistent. We were then taken to another area where the snorkeling was much better. Among other things, including numerous fish and some beautiful coral, I saw three different types of sharks—each about 5 to 6 feet—swimming below me. That was a new experience for me. Instead of swimming with the current, we were actually swimming against it, and though I am a pretty good swimmer, at one point one of the “guides” in the water, who didn’t speak English, sort of pulled me a long, which was not a plus, and I became tired. I finally decided to head back to the nearest of the two boats our group had come in. This one, however, had no shade, and it was very sunny and hot. (All our gear was on the other one.) Eventually, I was able to transfer to the other boat, and by then everyone was out of the water, and Gail was fairly tired as well. (We received a small refund for a portion of the excursion—I think 20 percent—though we hadn’t criticized it.)

We then returned to the ship, relaxed a while, and then went to lunch. We sat with Heather, the singer from the States, who we had heard a couple of nights earlier. She told us that she was doing some jazz club appearances in New York after the cruise. In the afternoon, we went to a Tahitian dancing lesson, but we just watched. Gail didn’t think her hip would enable her to do the moves.

For dinner, we went back to La Veranda with Ron and Bev. We had another excellent meal there. I had snails in a pastry, which were good, then veal tenderloin, which also came with a sweetbread accompanied by a terrific sauce. I again had the chocolate tart. (I should note that although the menu is basically the same in La Veranda throughout the cruise, they do have daily specials and a few changes in appetizers and desserts.) The wines were also very good. There was supposed to be dancing with the band in La Palette after dinner, but it was awful. I even asked them to play at least one fast number—even a swing—but they never did and no one was dancing to their slow music. Though, it was nice sitting under the stars, I needed to work off some of the meals! As we were leaving, I complained to someone and was told that the next night there would be better music to dance by.

February 20—Bora Bora

It was raining for a change. We were scheduled for the Lagoon Sail and Snorkeling excursion in the morning, which we had done in 2003 and enjoyed very much. This one was quite different. First of all, the main sail was never raised even though by the time the excursion began, the sun was out and there were good winds, and it was supposed to be a sailing excursion. Also, we noticed other boats around had their sails up. We were taken to an area for some snorkeling that was not very good, and I got caught in a current and had a very difficult time getting back to the boat, perhaps in part, because I had not worn my flippers. However, the two guys on the boat were paying absolutely no attention to those of us in the water. I became somewhat panicked, but made it first back to the dingy behind the boat, where I caught my breath, and then to the boat itself. Gail was also keeping an eye on all this, and would have alerted the guys if there was a real danger. Anyway, I was glad when the excursion was over, and this time I went to the tour desk and complained. We received a letter of apology and a 40 percent refund.

By the way, before taking the tender back to the ship, we did a little shopping around the pier area, and Gail bought some gifts. We then returned to the ship and had lunch, which was a Pacific Rim buffet. It was okay, and included some very good fresh sashimi-grade tuna.

At 5:00 pm we took our “Sunset” Sail excursion. It was a great sail, despite the fact that there wasn’t much of a sunset. Great winds. The lighting was actually very interesting, and I think I took some good pictures. The two French guys who piloted the boat—Pascal and Francois—were wonderful. Two couples had cancelled, so there were only seven of us on the _Taaroa_—a 40-foot catamaran.

By the time we returned to the pier it was almost 7:00 pm and getting pretty dark, and I took some pictures of the Gauguin lit up. We quickly showered and changed and then went to dinner. This time, by coincidence, Ron and Bev were seated at the next table, so we joined forces and the maitre d’ found us a table for four. Dinner was mixed. Great shrimp tempura for an appetizer and also an interesting eggplant appetizer. I had Wahoo for my main course, and Gail had veal cordon bleu; the fish was a bit dry. When the maitre d’ asked how things were, both Ron and I mentioned that the fish was dry, and the next thing we knew, the young executive chef, Mark Bishop, was out talking with us. We assured him it wasn’t that bad, and we all concluded that the fish had probably been cut too thin. I had a great dessert, which I had last time we were on the PG. Its name included the word Bounty (as in Mutiny on the Bounty), and it was a chocolate creation of the ship with a sail and all. It not only looked great, it was delicious.

After dinner, we went up to hear the band and dance, and I’m happy to report that some of the songs were good for dancing. The accents were a bit odd. At one point, the lead singer, who had been in a miniskirt, left to change. She returned in a peasant dress and proceeded to do an “authentic” Russian peasant dance, which was pretty strange juxtaposed with the rock and roll music to which we had been dancing. Gail’s knees finally gave out after all the snorkeling, so we called it a night.

We had started quite an uproar among the wait staff, doing our Sudoku puzzles each morning at breakfast. They were all curious about the puzzles, and we started handing out copies after telling them what the object was. One of the waiters, Joselito, started giving me number puzzles to solve. Other of the staff were getting upset when they thought they had solved a Sudoku, and we pointed out a mistake. It was interesting that far fewer people on the_PG_ were familiar with the puzzles than even on our recent Mariner cruise in Australia/NZ. There, some of the passengers actually wanted me to give a talk on some of the tricks for solving the puzzles.

February 21—Bora Bora

We planned on going to the Bora Bora private motu for some beach time. (The day before, it was not possible for anyone to go to the motu because of the winds and seas.) It was a beautiful day, and we spent both the morning and the afternoon at the motu. We went snorkeling in the morning and just relaxed in the afternoon. Lunch was a Mexican buffet and pretty good.

We had dinner with the staff captain (Remi Eriksen). He is second in command and originally from Norway, though he now lives in Spain. According to Remi, the captain (Martin Fiatte) was actually a substitute captain, while the permanent PG captain was on a two-month vacation. Dinner was pleasant. Great escargot to start with, then rack of lamb, and a chocolate soufflé with vanilla sauce for dessert. They also served us very special wines because of the table we were at—a good white burgundy and a delicious “old” Spanish red from 1993, followed by a dessert wine.

(By the way regarding the food. We had a lengthy discussion with the maitre d’ and the chef about the meats. According to them, they were not able to use U.S. beef because of some current regulation, so they end up using more expensive Australian and/or NZ beef (I think), and they admitted that it’s just not as good.)

We didn’t do anything special after dinner.

February 22—Taha’a

When I awoke before 7:00 am, the sun was blazing. Then it rained. I was hoping that the motu day wouldn’t have rain, and we lucked out. Most of you know that it is one of the highlights of the PG cruise, and this one lived up to its reputation. We had a good lunch. Snorkeling was okay, but nothing spectacular off the motu. Shopping on the motu was less interesting than in 2003. Then, we and others had concluded, great black pearl bargains were to be had if you knew what you were doing. We had bought a beautiful loose pearl for a pendant and nice earrings. This time, there was much less selection, and one vendor had a few strands of very large pearls; one we priced was $8,000. They may have been good deals for the money, but we certainly weren’t looking for anything in that price range. We do know one couple who went to a pearl farm (I think in Bora Bora) and selected each pearl for a necklace. They were huge, ranging from 9mm to 15mm, and I’m sure quite costly.

February 23—Moorea

The first day we were docked in Opunohu Bay. In the morning, we tendered over to the pier, and it was extremely hot and there was not much to see. Only some tents set up with not very interesting items. I bought a T-shirt, and Gail bought a few little gifts. It was mostly a waste of time. Lunch was a German buffet, and quite good. In the afternoon, we went on the photographic safari with five other people and the photographer—a young Frenchman named Reno. It was great, but again very hot. We were in a four-wheel drive vehicle, but we did a fair amount of hiking to get to some of the views. We went above Belvedere (which we had been to before) and also to the top of Magic Mountain, which had spectacular views. If you don’t like heights, don’t do this excursion. More than one person in our party almost freaked out. I’m not crazy about heights, but it didn’t bother me. The group were older than us—at least in their 60s and 70s. Reno provided a number of photographic tips, and I think I learned something, especially about picture composition.

We didn’t return to the ship until almost 5:30 pm. We quickly showered and changed and met Ron and Bev in their suite for some before-dinner cocktails. Bev and I had special-ordered meals the day before. Bev had Dover sole, which had been offered on a day that they went to the Grill and had a terrible dinner. I had ordered sweetbreads with a mushroom sauce. Both special orders were delicious. I don’t think I’ve ever eaten so many sweetbreads. We also ordered a special bottle of wine (an Italian blend), which wasn’t all that good. (Despite this, the sommelier, Richard, was often very helpful in helping with our wine selections.) They were pouring Sancerre again (though I could have ordered it anyway), so I enjoyed that. I think because we ordered the wine, we were also brought dessert wine—a Coteaux du Layon, and it was very good. After dinner we went to the show, which was put on by the crew. It was all dubbed, and really pretty terrible. We had missed the crew performance on the Mariner cruise and heard it had been great, so we were somewhat disappointed.

February 24—Moorea

The ship moved to Cook’s Bay during the night. We were signed up for the dolphin expedition with Dr. Poole. We had missed it in 2003. He told us that the dolphins congregate in the passes between the lagoon and the ocean. In Bora Bora, there is only one pass. In Moorea, there are 12. The first few passes yielded nothing, though the scenery is beautiful. (Bora Bora has the most beautiful lagoon, but Moorea itself is considered a more beautiful island.) Finally, after going half way around the island, we came to a pass that Poole said was one of the best for dolphin activity. We saw some surfers and then saw what he estimated to be around 75 dolphins. It was truly amazing. They put on quite a show for us. They were spinner dolphins. My prize picture (among the dozens I took of the dolphins) shows one spinning in mid-air. After lunch, which was an International buffet, we were thinking of finding a beach—some of the passengers went to the Sheraton and enjoyed it—but instead we spent money on pearls. We went to Island Fashions, which is well known and about a five-minute walk from the pier. We had been there in 2003 and talked at length with Ron Hall, the owner. Gail had in mind a bracelet, and we weren’t really satisfied with the few that were made up, so we eventually picked out six 9mm pearls of different hues, and will have them made into a bracelet here in Washington. It actually took quite a bit of time selecting the pearls, looking at them outside in the sun, etc. I think we did okay, though the next morning in Tahiti we went to several pearl shops, and I thought there were also some good buys. If you are in the market for pearls and want to see some beautiful ones to compare, I suggest going to Robert Wan Tahiti Pearls (there’s also a “museum” in the store). The store is located near the pier in Papeete by a “shopping mall.” I’m not saying you’ll choose to buy there, but it gives you a basis of comparison.

Back to Friday night, we had dinner in La Veranda one last time with Ron and Bev. The special at both La Veranda and L’Etoile was lobster tail. I decided to have it as my appetizer and then a rib eye as a main course, because we had had another special wine put aside for us (also an Italian red). The meal and the wine were very good. We had done most of our packing before dinner, and after dinner we wanted to see the last show, which featured the number one folklore troupe in Tahiti. Again, I forgot to take my camera, and it was really a great show. After the show, we finished packing and put our suitcases out (they had to be out by 1:00 am).

February 25—Papeete

We had actually arrived back in Tahiti at about 7:30 pm Friday night. Since we did not plan on taking the tour before going back to the Radisson, we had until 1:00 pm to be off the ship. (Many think the tour is a waste.) As I noted, we walked around the shops Saturday morning. We had already been to the marketplace so that was of no particular interest. I bought a couple of gifts, and then we headed back to the ship for lunch. It is nice that they provide lunch now and a later disembarkation. We transferred to the hotel, and checked in to our day room by about 2:00 pm. As I also mentioned, it was very nice. I think it’s a random draw, but I am sure all of the rooms are more than adequate for the short time involved. We then went to the pool. Remember to keep a bathing suit out, if you’re going to the Radisson before your flight.

We decided to take a taxi with the Browns to the airport, because the lines there can be excruciating, and it is not air-conditioned. The Radisson transfer was scheduled to leave the hotel at 6:30 pm (for the 10:00 pm flight to LAX). We left a little before then. The Browns were going Business Class, so they checked in fairly quickly. Despite a short line, it took us at least 15–20 minutes. I again tried for upgrades, but it was too soon to tell. When we finally checked in, the Browns invited us to join them in the Business Class lounge, which was quite nice, and I think one of the only places in the airport that is air-conditioned. I think it is somewhat unfortunate, that after a stay in such as paradise, the departure is so grueling. They don’t have any jetways either, and it is really difficult for some to get themselves and carry-ons onto the plane. Once in the lounge, we were told we could definitely have one upgrade and were waiting for another. I should have paid at that moment, because in the end, they gave that seat to someone on the next flight because of overbooking. Unlike our plane from LAX, this plane was full, and coach seating is really tight. I will say the food was somewhat better going back, though not great. We made our connections without a hitch, and the plane back to Dulles was also full. The only problem we encountered was that unbeknownst to us, there was a nonstop flight that left 45 minutes earlier, and somehow two of our pieces of luggage were put on that flight. We didn’t realize that until we waited for all the luggage on our flight to be off-loaded and the bags were missing. This was a big waste of time after an 18-hour trip.

For More Information…

…talk with your travel agent, call Paul Gauguin Cruises at (800) 848-6172, or visit their website.