I am wondering if any of you who have been on this cruise can reccommend some places to go when off of the ship. Things that we like are exceptional restaurants, fun bars, and the most beautiful beaches. Thanks, karen

Hi Karen. Probably the most famous bar is Bloody Mary's on Bora Bora, famous for its Men's restroom!

Here is a youtube video that includes someone's visit to Bloody Marys. I thought it was odd to tour a men's room but it was really unique! The bloody Marys were really good, too!

We've spent 24 days on the PG. Our only land experience has been at the Radisson in Tahiti. You will find very beautiful beaches on most of the islands at which you stop. The beach at the motu is pretty nice. The beach at the motu in Bora Bora may be even nicer. The waters everywhere are gorgeous. There are many good snorkeling excursion opportunities and even some sailing excursions if you are interested.

Regarding food, I don't think you will find any restaurants with as good food (or service) as that on the PG, and prices are extremely high. I know some like Bloody Mary's, but from what I've read, it sounds a bit too "tourist trappy" for our taste.

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Eugene

I agree with Eugene on the subjects of restaurants, and the pool bar on the ship is pretty nice itself! Food in FP is shockingly expensive, so with the food as nice as it is, it's rarely worth venturing out.

I also find Bloody Mary's too touristy, but if you're into fun bars, then that's the ticket.

Do you mean places on the itinerary of the cruise mainly, or are you doing a pre- or post-cruise stay as well? If you're staying on an island, then I'm sure there are choices. Lots of bars in downtown Papeete, for example.

Villa Mahana is very nice on Bora Bora but you do need a reservation preferably months ahead of time. It's very small with only about 6 tables with excellent fresh daily dishes. Very expensive too but for a special occassion it's nice.
Pat

Karen,
Thanks for the link to the youtube video of Bloody Mary's. Wish I knew about the men's room when we were there. My DH would have had a good laugh!

Wgable, please note, if you are looking for a cultural experience with fine dining, then Bloody Mary's isn't what you want but if you are looking for a fun bar like you stated in your post, then it's a must!

Thank you everyone. Sounds like the ship is going to meet most of my needs. We don't usually do shore excursions but rather seek out things on our own.

I'm sure you'll have a great time. But if you like the water at all, excursions are the best way. You'll have the included motu day by the water, and you will probably have free beach afternoons at Bora Bora, but a snorkel excursion or two would not be out of order. For land, you can always rent a car for a few hours, and take your snorkel equipment along with you.

Thank you Wendy

The last time we were in Tahiti we did some geocaching. Look some locations up and take a GPS unit with you and you will probably see some stuff that tourists would never see. As an aside..one of the geocaches was inside of BloodyMarys...the bartender thought we were crazy and told us the cache had been stolen. On the other hand, we bushwacked up the side of a hill over BloodyMarys to find a cache and it was about the best view we all ever saw. Another cache wss the path to the right at the Belvedere....which was an absolute keeper.

I'll also add a vote for Bloody Mary's as a fun bar - not as an exceptional restaurant, but as a fun bar with decent food.

Cheers,
Ken