We are a group of 6 heading out on the PG (very soon)July 29-Aug 5. We are in need of help with shore excursions. We are young and active. Any advice on some favorites? Also, do we need to pre-book any dinner reservations on board? Thanks! :cool:

Heidigale, welcome to lct! Since you are new here, I am going to c/p a previous post from our moderator which you have missed. It has a lot of info! If you still have specific questions, please fire away!

Many of your PG questions can be answered when viewing this page at the B&K website.
http://www.bkrssc.com/PG_TAHITI_CRUISES.htm

Click here for the PG main page where you will find info on what to wear on the PG, dining menus, what to pack, PG excurisons, flying to Tahiti, diving, cruise reviews, etc.for the PG main page where you will find info on flying to Tahiti, diving, cruise reviews, etc.

On Bora Bora, don't miss the manta rays and the waverunners!
Love, Elena

Hi Heidigale,

We just returned from the 12 day PG cruise so some of our itinerary was different than yours. However, here are my suggestions for things we did on the stops that are the same:

Bora Bora: if you like to snorkel I definitely recommend the Sting Ray/Coral Garden trip. We were completely encircled by rays and white tipped reef sharks on the first part of the trip. The boat then moved to the Coral Gardens for beautiful snorkeling. Everyone loved it.

Moorea: we rented a car and drove around the island ourselves. You could also rent the little buggy-type cars which also looked like fun. If you pre-arrange a car for 6 that would be a better way to go than taking a cruise tour. You could stop along the way and snorkel or just see the beautiful island. We spoke to some that did a snorkeling excursion and thought it was so-so. My other suggestion is to take the Dolphin Watch trip with Dr. Michael Poole. You'll get to see some amazing dolphins and he stops for some snorkel time as well. We did that before the cruise because we stayed on Moorea for 4 days beforehand.

private Motu on Tahaa: We had a pretty rainy bleek day on the Motu. Some friends of ours took the morning drift snorkel trip and loved it. They saw a lot of fish while they were wisked along with the current.

Tahiti: We had an extra day at the end and we rented a car and toured all around the island and enjoyed that.

As you can see, we're not big on group excursions and tend to do things on our own. We never feel satisfied with sighteeing trips on cruises. They are just not that great. However, if you like to snorkel that is the easiest way to accomplish it through the ship since you might be able to arrange things yourself on shore but you have limited time.

Regarding dinner reservations, I was a bit anxious about that since I didn't make any prior reservations from home. My husband didn't want to be so constrained ahead of time. Bottom line was we never had trouble eating in the various restaurants, especially if we were willing to wait a day or so. We also really like L'Etoile the best! La Veranda was nice but had a more limited menu that only changed once a week. The food was good at Le Grille but it's humid and dark this time of year and not that comfortable.

Hope this helps.

Linda

We were on the PG the first week of June this year. We really enjoyed the waverunners on Bora Bora and the Trail of the Ancients hike on Moorea. We also enjoyed the Lagoon Exploring and Snorkeling on Moorea. Another idea is to rent bikes and go around Bora Bora island. My husband did it in about 2 1/2 hours.

Jill

Thanks to all for your suggestions!We are all getting so excited!!! <img border="0" alt="[vhappy]" title="" src="graemlins/icon_vhappy.gif" />

Heidigale:
Hi....We just got back from the 10 day yesterday!
We are a bit wiped out from the return trip...ATN is very crowded and the airport in Tahiti is slow slow slow! Took a long time to go thru security but that was the only negative on a fantastic trip.
We loved the Waverunners in BB (and we are over 60 but "active"!!). It was great ... it even poured rain for a bit but still a real experience.
Others on board loved the snorkle with the rays...it was good.
On Moorea: We really enjoyed the "lagoon tour and snorkle"....great guide and boat....got to see different bays and we stopped right where Pooles excursion was and saw loads of dolphins. Then to a great place and swam with rays...far more than on BB....black tips too! (They really didn't bother you...kept their distance...as did we!!). Then they took us to a good snokeling place by the old club Med. If I had to do it again, I would also have rented a car one day and looked around the island and then stopped at the Sheraton Beach (they allow cruisers there). I would highly recommend the excursion too.
Re; restaurants....we booked LV online ahead of time but had no problem getting additional bookings while on board. Food was wonderful in the L'Etoile also.

The crew was incredible...everyone went out of their way to be helpful! Once on board, Lani in the excursion desk is a terrific resource and so helpful.

Enjoy your time...it was a memorable experience for us and our friends who traveled with us.
The only negative was the travel to and from!!
Regent should have their own charter and make it less painful!!

Take care....and if you talk to Lani tell her Carol says hi and misses her!!

Carol

Carol: We go in 5 weeks. Did you take the ship excursions or private ones? Which ones do you highly recommend? Is it on Moorea that you suggest renting a car? It appears that there are snorkeling tours on both Bora and Moorea that have rays and sharks, is that the case and is one better than the other or are both worth it/ Thanks for any help.

Billybob:
We did the stingray ballet in Bora Bora through the ship and the lagoon discovery with snorkeling on Moorea through the ship also. We didn't rent a car or dune buggy on Moorea but if you want to see the jungle, etc. and other areas inland besides what's at the dock area that is a good option. Some people we met did that and said it was a good way to look around. They rented at the dock for 4 hours. The tour desk has discount coupons for Avis. They are helpful about what to see if you do rent a car. We didn't do any land like things on Bora Bora as we wanted to spend time at the BB Motu which was beautiful and had booked the waverunners one a.m. and the snorkel the other. You could snorkel off the beach at the Motu. Both Bora Bora and Moorea have "tents" with shopping right at the dock. Actually what they had at Moorea was a bit nicer. We weren't interested in doing much shopping or land touring as we wanted to focus on the water!
Let me know if you have any other questions. Are you going on the 7 or 10 day? If on the 10 day I would avoid the ship's Rangiroa snorkeling trip...the aquarium was great where you snorkeled but the "tour operator" was basically just a kid driving a water taxi! That was the only negative we had for our entire trip. Even the coffee and fruit which someone had previously had issues with were definitely good to our taste or improved.

Wish I were going again! Will have to plan it.
Carol

Woops...forgot to say that we saw lots of rays at both BB and Moorea...They were both good trips. The one on Moorea gave more island info and we saw the dolphins...it was my favorite of the two.
But others may disagree. I like it calm and easy!

Carol

Nobody has mentioned the 4 wheeler adventure on BB. That is great fun. The guide takes you deep into the hills and stops to point out flora and fauna on the way. It is a little bouncy but not rough or fast and furious like a thrill seeking ride. And the views from atop the hills cannot be beat.

The lagoon discovery/snorkeling in Moorea was the best. Glad the coffee has improved. In April when we were on the PG it was awful - everything else was A++ so we were really surprised we couldn't get a good cup of coffee (and the juice wasn't that great either!)

I found the wave runners and off road adventure on Bora Bora to be superb.

Moorea, a car is a great idea( easy to do alone). If you can swing it, a kayak paddle to an off shore Motu is amazing.

If you are in Moorea when the whales are there, just get in the water any way you can. If you can't see them, you'll hear them.

Just be flexible (hey it's raining, let's have a long lunch!) wear sunscreen and love every minute.

Motu Mahana...words can not explain how perfect this day is. Doesn't matter what you do.

If you dive; Bora Bora and Moorea offer fantastic dives.

I agree with Lauri, 100%!! I am now sitting here thinking about last Friday....how I was snorkeling in the beautiful Moorea lagoon with the rays and seeing the dolphins! I even loved the waverunner in the pouring rain!!
Carol