Margo:

I fear that I mislead as to my meaning about Raiatea. It was my goal (which I missed) to emphasize the fact that there is virtually nothing to do there --- not even any shopping, which indeed is at the bottom of my list of things to do in FP! Instead, I emphasized the closed stores, when I should have emphasized the lack of any taxis, private (non-ship sponsored) tours, self-guided tour info, and all the other things that can help us get the most out of seeing a port. Other than the excellent "Children of Raiatea" show onboard in the AM, I would have to rank the rest of this port experience (on a scale of 1 to 10) At near 0. Add some available taxis with drivers in the know, and some water based tours that can be booked at the dock, it might be a good port stop --- even with the stores closed.

Hope this clarifies,
Richard :) :) :)