Tahitian Princess in French Polynesia

We visited Tahiti years ago and always wanted to go back. When Princess Cruises announced their 2005 cruises to Tahiti, we booked a 14-day trip. It included pre- and post-cruise overnights at a hotel in Los Angeles. The price was $1,495, excluding airfare. Tips ran about $100.

On Jan. 11, we flew from Philadelphia to Los Angeles on U.S. Airways (using our frequent-flyer miles) and spent the night at a Comfort Inn. After a great buffet breakfast at the inn, we flew Air Tahiti Nui to Papeete, Tahiti ($900 round trip). The flight was smooth and we arrived at 11 p.m.

We went through Immigration, collected our baggage and were taken to the ship by bus. Papeete airport has changed from a one-runway airport to 40 gates and many restaurants, shops and video arcades. We noticed Papeete also has changed. There was a boulevard with shops, restaurants and factories on both sides. The area was brightly lit and looked like “the strip.”

Once at the ship, we cleared quickly and soon were in our cabin, No. 7021 on deck seven. It was large, with two beds, two night tables and a long bureau with large mirrors plus a TV. There were lots of drawers but not much closet space. The veranda was spacious, with two chairs.

The Tahitian Princess is a small ship, only 32,000 tons. It holds 684 passengers, but there were 525 on our cruise. It is beautifully decorated throughout and very comfortable. The pool was small and filled with warm saltwater. The fitness center was well equipped.

During the night the Tahitian Princess sailed to Moorea, and when we awoke the ship was anchored. We had breakfast in the dining room, explored the ship and then tendered to land.

The days spent at sea were filled with many activities. We attended the captain’s “welcome aboard” party and dinner; watched ceramic painting and computer classes in progress (each $25), and met our sports director for quoits. Alice won a shuffleboard tournament.

We spent time in the pool and fitness center every day. A very interesting culinary demonstration was presented by the chef followed by a tour of the galley. We also saw several evening shows, including a French show with beautiful costumes that was put on by the cast — c’est magnifique!

We usually had our breakfast in the Panorama Restaurant (on the aft deck, outside), which offered plentiful variety with 12 kinds of fruit, eggs, cereal, meats and Asian dishes. For other meals we explored the steakhouse grill and Sabatino’s Italian Restaurant (an alternate dining room charging $15)

The ship stopped at several islands. At Nuku Hiva, the main island of the Marquesas, we tendered ashore and took a one-hour tour.

At Hiva Oa, the final resting place of Paul Gauguin, we woke up to see a beautiful rainbow on the side of Mt. Temetiu. We anchored, but it was too rough to take the tender in. Instead, the captain cruised around the island so we could see the beauty of it, then we cruised very slowly to our next port, with extra activities scheduled.

At Rangiroa, a half-hour walk over rough terrain led us to a small beach where we enjoyed a swim in the beautiful, tricolored water.

At Raiatéa we boarded a small boat for snorkeling. The water was delightful. Later, back on the ship, some Raiatea children presented a dance show.

On Jan. 21 we stopped at Bora Bora, idyllic with a lagoon and deep-green volcano peaks and edged by a ribbon of reef and white-sand beaches. The water was very colorful, ranging from deep amethyst to light turquoise. We tendered to a town where there were quite a few small shops with beautiful items.

The ship finally docked at Papeete at 6 a.m. and we had all day at leisure after vacating our cabin at 10 a.m. We had all meals on board, and the pool and fitness center were open. We enjoyed sitting on deck and watching the river traffic.

At 8 p.m. we were taken to the airport, where security was very tight. It took 1½ hours to have our luggage checked, get frisked, take shoes off — the works. Our flight left at 12:30 a.m. for Los Angeles. When we arrived at 10 a.m., we went to the Comfort Inn and to bed immediately. We flew home the next day.

We enjoyed the Tahitian Princess very much, and although we are in our eighties and nineties, we would sail on it again if we didn’t have to fly too far.

ROSA NEFF & ALICE DREW
Roselyn, PA