We were excited to take this smaller cruise ship in the French Polynesia Islands and had read many reviews indicating what a luxury cruise line this was with excellent cuisine and more intimate since the ship is smaller. The staff working onboard are terrific and attentive to every detail. The ship itself is beautiful with updated decor making this very appealing, especially since this is an ...
This cruise (Papeete to Auckland) was a disappointment from start to finish. Check in was horrible - long queue outside the ship in the hot sun, 5 different check in points over a long distance, being asked for my passport 5 times, then a 2 hour wait in one of the ship's bars because my room wasn't ready. The room (they call them "suites" but I don't think they are good enough to be called that) ...
My spouse and I have cruised with 8 different cruise lines and we agree Paul Gauguin has been the most overrated based on critic and passenger reviews we read prior to booking and also the most overpriced. First of all, the ship itself is quite tired/dated looking both inside and out, therefore needs a complete makeover. On a positive note, it’s clearly an older ship thus the rooms and bathrooms ...
The staff on Norwegian Spirit were excellent.
Especially the dining waiters and cooks.
This was helped being the ship was only half full but they were always smiling and helpful with any requests.
The food was always fresh, tasty and plenty of variety.
Definitely the highlight of our cruise was the island of Moorea.
A short boat cruise from the dock took us to a spot waist deep so ...
Polynesia was on our bucket list and the timing for this cruise worked out. We've sailed on Norwegian before and were generally pleased although those were on larger/newer ships. The itinerary was Tahiti to Sydney with stops in Moorea, Bora Bora, Samoa, and FIJI (two stops here at Lautoka and Dravuni). We were a little surprised to get an text message 2 days before sailing about the need to ...
This was a dream destination for us, postponed twice due to covid travel.
The size of the ship is good for this area. Only 230 passengers so excellent service. And spends longer in this area than the big ships.
The crew are all amazing, very quickly know your names. Nothing too much trouble.
Food was excellent . We especially liked The Grill and dining by the pool in Bora Bora was ...
This was our third RSSC cruise. Second time on the Mariner. The remaining cruise on Voyager. With the new controls on cruising we doubt that we will do a cruise again. So, having reflected, what have we learned?
1) Our first two cruises were with a concierge cabin. The third time was a penthouse suite. A huge difference that we really enjoyed.
2) its important to understand that pre and post ...
We are experienced cruisers and have tried a number of different cruise lines over many years. Overall, we enjoyed this cruise despite the disappointment of missing Raratonga due to the poor weather and conditions too dangerous to permit safe tendering. But the food was a huge disappointment and on the basis of that alone I do not expect we will ever choose Azamara again.
At the outset we ...
We chose this cruise because we were interested in seeing the South Pacific and New Zealand and the package deal we got included airfare, unlimited internet and trip insurance (important, as my husband and I are in our mid-60s). We missed our flight and the ship's sailing from Tahiti, so had to board in Bora Bora, the second port on the itinerary. Checking in was fast and efficient - everything ...
The stern vibration is still an issue, especially coming into port early morning, good wake up call is how we managed it.
The cabins are basically the same, very comfortable and was kept very clean.
The wait staff, food and wine was excellent. There was not a meal we didn't enjoy, and we did the back to back, so even after a month of menus, Chief kept serving up a variety of choices. ...