Floats:

We have followed the threads about taking floats to Tahiti. Are floats not available on board? If people do bring floats, do they bring them home or leave them on board? If leave them on board, see question one.

Bora Bora Motu:

What is the setup in Bora Bora? Is motu all day? What facilities are there> What food/beverages are available? Is it nice?

thanks,

I have not seen floats on board Marc either for sale or left by anyone.

The set up on the motu at Bora Bora is basically free drinks all day and towels are available. There are no chairs or facilities on the motu. We always just throw a towel under a tree and enjoy the day.

It is a beautiful motu. Really beautiful sand and water.

Marc and Pipsters,

As far as I know, there are no floats available on the PG. We have done this cruise twice and haven't managed to make it to the motu off Bora Bora either time! We had so many excursions booked the first time that we just didn't get there. The most recent trip, we tried to get there for just a look, but while waiting for the tender, decided not to take the time since I had a massage scheduled and we would have just gone over and had to turn around and come back. We made that decision based on what a woman told us as we were waiting for the tender. Her opinion was this: the motu is fabulous--in fact she was on her way back (second day) after spending most of the previous day there. She is a water person--said the snorkling, floating in the water was the best, but if you were just going for "beach time", it was not that great. No chairs or lounges, no food, no bathroom facilities. I think there are "liquid refreshments" available. I really wish I had experienced it for myself, but there just wasn't enough time! One more reason why back-to-back cruises on the PG are almost necessary if you want to experience as much as possible without wearing yourself out completely.

This is taken from Ia Orana: "The Bora Bora Motu is a strip of white sand, isolated yet with an open bar, shaded palm trees and beautiful clear turquiose waters. Kayaks, volleyball and great snorkeling are available for your enjoyment. Beverages and fruit will be available. Please Note: We request that all guests stay within the boundaries of our beach to respect the privacy of the local residents. There are no rest rooms or luncheon facilites on the Motu."

Hope this helps your planning.

Jacki

Floats are not available on the PG. Not many folks brought their own floats, but we were glad we did. We had a balcony room, with a large balcony and left the floats there. If you do not have a balcony, it could be a hassle storing the floats. We used the floats at both of the motus and used them as a bed in Bora Bora. It really felt luxurious sipping a drink lying on the float.

We gave our floats to the steward and stewardess who seemed to be glad to have them.

My Ia Oranas for BB say that there are tenders to the motu the first afternoon, starting around noon, and the second day,looks like it's 10 something a.m. to mid-afternoon.

I'm not bringing a floaty. Just more stuff to drag around. I grew up lying on a towel, I can still do it. Without a balcony, the bathtub's going to be half-full of sandy snorkelling equipment and shoes. The stewards do a good job of cleaning up after you, however, so the bathroom ends up fairly neat and tidy, considering.

There is a floating bar on the motu, by the way.

It's the same motu as the BB Pearl, if I remember correctly, that's why we have to stay "in bounds".

I was wondering if the floats would fit under the bed? We are planning on bringing duffle type bags for our clothes, so they could be folded and stored on a closet floor or shelf rather than under the bed. Do you think this idea will work?

Also, how do you take them on the tenders (to/from)? Is there much room on tenders or would they be in the way? I can just see me dragging one around and hitting everyone it the process :D

I'm betting there'd be a corner somewhere on the tender to stash it. Of course, if it's the $10 model, you could just deflate it, and then blow it up again when you need it.

Remember that it will live part-time in the bathroom, waiting to dry off, and de-sand. Don't you have a balcony, Cyndi? You could put it out there, as someone else suggested.

Yes, we will have a balcony. But I thought the "C's category balconies were pretty small and I wondered if it would get in the way out there. I guess we could bring it in when we use the balcony. I hadn't thought of the tub. I guess that is a good home for it (at least when you're not in there for a shower :D )

Wendy and I are experienced at moving snorkel equipment around in the bathroom. I had sought advise prior to our trip and she told me how it could work. I would wash the masks and snorkels out in the tub (after our showers) and leave them there or up by the sink to dry. I got good at standing the fins up against the wall beside and behind the toilet. If you plan to leave floats out on your balcony (we had a window) packing some short pieces of rope might be a good idea so that you can tie them down some way.

We stored all of our luggage under the bed. I needed the floor space in the small closets for shoes and the shelves for shirts, pareos etc. Of course our total time in FP was 19 days so I didn't exactly pack light.

Kathy, can't remember whether I asked you this already, did you use the laundry services? I'm thinking I will probably get a few shirts or a dress dry-cleaned, and maybe a few t-shirts washed, but otherwise I'm going to try to take enough for two weeks. How did that work out for you?

Wendy,
I used the laundry service on the PG and had no problems. I think the only thing I had dry cleaned was a sweater that I had worn for the flight over. I still have a form with the prices if you would like that info. The only thing I washed myself and hung to dry over the tub were my undies. That also worked out just fine--dried quickly.
Jacki

Wendy, I did not use the laundry services. In our sink I washed out undies, Cool-max socks, swimsuits, pareos and a t-shirt. The only thing that was difficult to dry was the t-shirt. This year I got Bill 2 "ultimate travel tee" shirts from TravelSmith that will dry very easily. I pack some vinyl coated wire hangers and put the wet shirts on a hanger in the bathroom to dry.

Thanks Kathy. Good idea about the t-shirts. I wonder if they will feel good in the heat? That would be my only concern.

And I remember that there's a pull-out clothes line in the bathroom as well.

You probably know this already but the best was to dry t-shirts is blow-up coat hangers as they keep the back and front apart.

Wish I could join you.

NO, I've seen people talk about them but never had them. Good idea!

You can do the same thing by putting two hangers inside the neck of the shirt and then hang up the shirt with the hangers slightly apart. It will allow air to circulate inside

Some more questions:

Do they have trivia on the PG? Do they have tea? Is trivia at tea? Do they have a daily quiz? Do they have a library? If so, many good books or should we bring our own? Any computers with internet access?

Do many people spend time on ship during the day or are most people usually off on shore excursions? Do they have "competitive" games onboard?

thanks,

Are we getting more excited about this cruise yet?

You know Marc I dont think they have trivia on the PG. Tea time is in La Palette every day and I do not remember any trivia. Most people are always off the ship so there is not that much activity in competetive games. Computers do have internet access and there are books but since I dont frequent the library or read when I am on board I can really not remember the quantity or quality of the books. They do have videos and you check them out at the reception desk they have a book with all the titles.

It has been too long since I have been on the PG I need to go back I am having trouble remembering these things.

Marc,
There is a daily quiz but no trivia game.

The library is actually a wall of books but I can't remember which deck it's on. Sorry, didn't really check out the titles available, but it looked fairly substantial for the size of the ship.

Jacki

There are books in two different places - on shelves in the hallway outside the spa on deck 6 and in the card room on deck 5 near the entrance to L'Etoile Restaurant. The Mariner is the only other RSSC ship we have been on and that library was much more extensive.

I wanted to share with everyone a neat pool float, where you don’t have to worry about storing it in your bathroom or on the balcony. It folds up into itself and stores in its own mesh bag. I am attempting to attach pictures, hope this works, if not I will email them to Karen to post.

[img]http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/lisa.piper@sbcglobal.net/detail?.dir=/7413&.dnm=834c.jpg&.src=ph[/img]

[img]http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/lisa.piper@sbcglobal.net/detail?.dir=/7413&.dnm=beab.jpg&.src=ph[/img]

[img]http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/lisa.piper@sbcglobal.net/detail?.dir=/7413&.dnm=b83d.jpg&.src=ph[/img]

Its called the Swimways Spring Float and is available at Amazon, Walmart and many sporting goods and pool stores. I think we paid $14 for ours at Walmart. It folds up nicely for packing into the suitcase.

Oops, pictures didn't work. I will try again, or try to email Karen. Bear with me folks, still learning all the magical mystical powers of message boards.

Lisa

Lisa,

Is this the same model?

Marc:

the library was pretty good...as are all Radisson libraries. Of course, you have to get there early for the best pick.
I always bring my own books, but somehow seem to find something in the library on board.

Doug

Karen,
That's it. Thank you very much. I'll figure this stuff out sooner or later...you know the old saying...old dog, new tricks.

Marc, the PG is just a whole different experience than the other ships. It is mostly about being off the ship, or on the motus that Radisson provides. So the ship is a place to come home to at night, rather than to enjoy during the day, from my one experience. Others may differ in their experiences. It is the only ship where I have enjoyed breakfast up on the deck, as I almost always have room service. I don't recall anything you ask about, tea, trivia, etc. That is on the other ships. Believe me, you will love it if you are into visiting some beautiful ports.

There were always people sunning on the pool deck during the day. There are also the little events and parties, the enrichment lectures, the galley and bridge tours, classes in pareo-tying, dancing, lei-making.

Oh, and I found a reference to Pareo Night in one of the Ia Oranas. But it's a deck party, after dinner, in the evening.

I have no trouble just being on the ship some of the time, relaxing, reading, enjoying the scenery. Then there's always afternoon tea, which was very pleasant.

And then if you don't want to go on a formal excursion, in Bora Bora and Raiatea, you can just tender in and walk around town and shop--there's a nice little gallery selling polynesian art in Vaitape (BB), and lots of tourist shops. Not much to see at the dock in Moorea, however.

Marc, you received answers to all your questions..here is what we did; we bought a wall mart ($1.99) special float and just emptied of air for the second week and packed it away..after using it the second week (floating up to the bar asking for a pina colada, smoking a macunudo) we gave it to our new friends from Uruguay (she was the entertainer on board--plays the harp--Ida and her hit it off as they both speak spanish).

Library--I brought four books of my own and got hooked on James Patterson after bringing his latest, "Honeymoon" bought from Abebooks..then got three more JP books out of the PG library..would say they have 4-500 volumes.

r/wes

Kathy, - I think you could say that we are all getting VERY EXCITED. :woh: You can tell we are getting closer....the questions, answers and great, great tips are just flying!!!! Everyone has such good input.

I was going to try to get those inflatable hangers that Lee mentioned to dry clothes. But Kathy's idea about using 2 hangers is a good one too. I've never heard that tip before. Thanks.

Wendy & Kathy Z have really, really good tips for taking care of snorkel equipment!! What would we do without your wise experience?

Wendy - so I wasn't totally off base about Pareo Night :D Sounds more impromptu that I first thought. So glad you reminded us that there is plenty of down time on the PG if you want it. That sounds like heaven. I want to RELAX!!!!!!
(Maybe that is tax season talking :D )

I went to Costco and saw the SwimWays Spring Float that Lisa mentioned above. It is the same one that Kathy got and hopefully the same one that Marcie plans to give us for PIP (see other thread). They look really good and easy to use, carry and store. Yeah!!! Did anyone notice how much healthier the model above looks than the other picture? :) Much better selling feature :D

Karen - I finally got the L'Oreal Sublime Bronze Self-Tanning Lotion. I used it last night. It is WONDERFUL!!! Thanks so much for passing on that info. It smells so much better that the ones I've previously used. And it works so quickly. I LOVE IT!!! (I got mine at Target, but I did see it at Walmart, too)

Hey Cyndi, did you do anything extra before you put on the self-tanner? Did you have to rub down your elbows?

On this ship, you get to do whatever you like, when you like. It's all about relaxing.

Now, where do I find those inflatable hangers? Walmart, I'm thinking...

Look at the following web site for ideas.
Cheaper the better. ($2.99 to $4.00
We made the mistake and took Tote and Floats.
They were much to nice to have and difficult to blow up.
You don't really need them in Tahaa but boy it was nice to have them at the beach in Bora Bora.

www.qualitypooltoys.com
Look under mats & lounges
A couple of people had the Pool Sling Lounge $3.95
and really enjoyed them. Very easy to blow up.

MARC, MARC, MARC - You are a TRIVIA buff? I'll try to look you up on Segment 4 of the Pacific thing next fall.

Wendy,

I didn't do any kind of buffing or exfoliating before I used the tanner - I'm too lazy :D But then again, I'm lucky enough to not have dry skin. Anyone with dry, flaky skin would probably need to exfoliate before using the tanner. I also exfoliate my elbows about 2 times a week (I use a facial scrub at the same time in the shower and the excess is used on my elbows) so that probably helps. I did try to go lightly on the knees and elbows as the instructions said. I used it for the second night last night and I still really like it.

We have a store out here called "The Container Store". It's my favorite store in the world!! It's huge and has whatever you need in the way of storage solutions and has a great travel section. Anyway, I'm hoping I can find the inflatable hangers there. Do you have that store there? If Walmart has the hangers, I'm sure it would be a much better price.

Marc & McKeever - I love trivia, too. But I'm really only good at the entertainment area. So that means I'm not good at the Trivial Pursuit games. I'm terrible at sports and history. Oh well. . . .can't do it all.

I wanted to wear some capris yesterday, so I used my Loreal bronzer, too. I find that 2 applications, a day apart, is plenty. The only place that I notice my dry skin sucking in too much color is the rough spots on my feet.

If I do get a spot with too much color, I just buff it off.

Karen - thanks for the tip!!!

Hey you tanning experts, great tips! And how long does it last--i.e., when do you have to do the two applications again to keep it up?

(I'm still thinking "tan towel" from the shopping channel, btw. Or nothing. I may not get around to any of this before the cruise.)

Ever heard that white is beautiful? Remember the fairy tales of Snow White, who is the fairest of them all. I will glow with my white skin, no tanning, tanning lotions etc for me. So be prepared for a white flash on Tahaa I like to match the sand.

Wendy, after your first 2 applications, I would say once a week will do for keeping the "tanned" look.