CRUISES: Tahitian Princess, Lotta Fun in a Small Package

Story and photography by
Nancy & Eric Anderson

 

The South Pacific may be becoming the Western United States’ playground. It sure makes more sense for those living there in America to head West than to drag all the way East over to the Caribbean. Of all the places in that vast Pacific Ocean the most romantic is, probably, French Polynesia. It captivated the wild French artist Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin, the extravagant Belgian songwriter Jacques Brel and especially the delicate, refined Scottish novelist Robert Louis Stevenson (although anyone used to Scotland’s weather would be enthralled by the warmth of Tahiti).

The problem for Americans in French Polynesia (a land whose currency is based on the Euro) is not the weather but how expensive Tahiti and its islands have become.

Cost is a big enough issue that if you are going to stay at a resort on one of the islands like Moorea after or before the cruise, you might want to choose one close to a village with small restaurants where locals eat so tourists can benefit from their knowledge and frugality.

This beautiful part of the world doesn’t get the flood of visitors other closer places do; this is not a high volume vacation spot so prices are high for that reason alone and because it is so far away. Nevertheless the prime air carrier Air Tahiti Nui frequently has specials on its flight from LAX and it’s worthwhile keeping an eye on its website to see if any reduced fares are being offered at the time you plan to visit this peaceful, contented land. The islands of French Polynesia are not islands wailing against the Western World. They are fragments of what was once Colonial France and for reasons not clear to outsiders are still cared for somewhat benevolently by the Fifth Republic. And of course the dominant language is French so dust off those old school books and practice.

Many of the great tales of Tahiti are beachcomber stories -- almost survival guides -- about subsisting in a Paradise wilderness, living off the land as Paul Gauguin seemingly did a century before and, in the process, thoroughly irritating the local Catholic church by his excesses. You can still indulge yourself in French Polynesia on deserted beaches under waving palms as visitors did a hundred years ago but it's a lot easier now. But more expensive. One classic way for the consumer to deal with this is to nail down costs and pay in dollars before the vacation and see Tahiti and its islands the easy way by a cruise experience – and the winning cruise line that has swept aside the competition in this part of Oceana is, of course, Princess Cruises.

The Tahitian Princess entered the Princess line at the end of 2002. In length 592 feet, it is a small ship perfectly suited to these smaller islands. A crew of 373 looks after 670 passengers. It cruises Polynesia and the Cook Islands year-round from Papeete every ten days. It has seven ports of call including Moorea and Bora Bora, perhaps the most famous of all the islands it visits and certainly two of the most spectacular islands in the world.

The cruise starts and ends in Papeete, on the island of Tahiti itself. Most passengers arrive tired from Los Angeles and are pleased to crash that first night, perhaps having a cocktail as they watch the night’s madcap activity in the port below their balconies. (Ninety two percent of the cabins are on the outside of the ship.)

As with all the ports of call the shore excursion choices seem endless but a simple island tour in Papeete reveals that even this, the most populated of the islands, has a mysterious interior with romantic waterfalls, secret pools and fern grottoes. The tour finally touches the modest museum to the painter who helped make Tahiti famous. Gauguin’s famous personal art may hang in major museums all over the world but you won’t find it in French Polynesia. It’s believed the heat and humidity would allow it to deteriorate -- there aren’t really many air conditioned buildings in this part of the Pacific. Nevertheless it’s a thrill to walk amongst the tribute to his art at the Gauguin Museum.

The ship departs at 5PM the next day destined to arrive at Huahine, the island of surfers, the next morning. Here passengers can roam the island by horseback, 4WD safari or motor coach. Sports fishing and snorkeling are available as are boat rides, sightseeing cruises, beach picnics and walks to religious and historical sites. Somewhat similar shore excursions are available on most of the ports of call yet they are all so different especially on the islands most distant from Papeete. Huahine offers lagoon cruises, cultural tours to ancient sites called marae, panoramic viewpoints and nature hikes to places where visitors can see fishermen using traps as they have for at least 400 years. Huahine, only 110 miles from the main island of Tahiti, is fiercely independent and proud. They don’t seem to be looking for handouts. Says Bob Kane, an experienced traveler in Oceana, “Obstinacy is their diversion.”

Raiatea is a larger island with a population nearly double Huahine’s. Scuba trips are available and snorkeling outings to coral gardens and visits to pearl farms. Fire walking used to be practiced here but today’s visitors are not likely to see that. Raiatea rather rejoices in its distance from Papeete and like Huahine does not have the tourist infrastructure of the main islands.

Not all passengers go on land for the ship-arranged excursions. Some choose to arrange their own, discovering that two couples (with a driver who can communicate with the visitors) can get a feel for an island without the often steep charges locals charge the ships. The one excursion you wouldn’t want to arrange by yourself comes up on Bora Bora: swimming with sharks. There you’d want a professional, experienced guide. It is, after all, your skin!

And when you find it’s still intact where better to go than the famous Bloody Mary’s where so many Hollywood celebrities have gone before you. Their names are painted on the board outside, though one of them is Martin Sheen and one has to wonder when he became a gourmet? Actually the food is wonderful in what is essentially an American-style fish BBQ and the service is fast and friendly. You sit on coconut logs, under welcoming ceiling fans. You shed your shoes and rub your bare feet on the soft white sand floor, sigh and look around: this is the real South Pacific experience perhaps more than swimming with sharks?

The final stop the Tahitian Princess makes is the picture-postcard volcanic island of Moorea, perhaps everyone’s favorite. It’s a common post-cruise destination. It’s only 30 minutes by catamaran from Papeete on the main island and with a mere 38 miles by road around its coastline, is perfect for a day with a car rental.

The acclaimed Moorea attraction is the Dolphin Watch developed by Dr. Michael Poole, a marine biologist. It's somewhat pricey and a better buy may be a motu picnic where you swim amongst rays or where you can enjoy the program that helps the survival of sea turtles. There you snorkel listening to a discussion that you hear with the sound coming via your teeth clamped on the snorkeling mouthpiece. Both those excursions can be arranged by your resort concierge.

You can take dramatic helicopter tours over the island and sunset cruises on schooners, go deep sea fishing or parasailing, hike the trails of the ancients or buzz around the island in a WaveRunner convoy. And you can snorkel in the lagoons or scuba from zodiacs amongst black tipped and lemon sharks if you are a certified diver or, yikes, a qualified beginner! Or you can ride around the island in the famed bus system of Tahiti, le Truck. Such a drive wanders past pineapple fields, photogenic churches and villages full of sleeping dogs and gives you the feel for this unique island. A car, for instance, gets you easily up to Belvedere, the high point on the north side of the volcanic caldera with its panoramas of Cook's Bay and Opunohu Bay to the north. Locals several times a week put on a somewhat hokey show at Tiki Village on the west side of the island but it's good fun and there's plenty to eat.

The major resorts are on the north shore and all have desks for the tourist attractions. We’ve stayed at the Sheraton Moorea Lagoon Resort and Spa and at the Moorea Pearl Resort and Spa. The over-the-water bungalows look romantic but Americans on a typical budget will prefer the less expensive garden rooms. Both resorts have small villages near them where you can eat with the natives.