Day 7 - Moorea, Society Islands

m/s Paul Gauguin is still anchored off the coast of Moorea, Society Islands, this morning. The view from our stateroom balcony is spectacular!

We spend the morning packing for the trip home tomorrow. This is our last full day aboard m/s Paul Gauguin, a depressing thought for sure. Nevertheless, all good things, and cruises, must come to an end. But, only seven days? It seems like we just got here!

We have booked the Slow-Paced Belvedere E-Bike tour ($85/pp) through the cruise line's shore excursion department. The tour is scheduled for 1pm, so we have time to enjoy lunch in La Veranda before our excursion.

After lunch, we gather our backpacks and head down to the Grand Salon to meet other guests on tour this afternoon. Once again, a short tender ride to shore is necessary, but today it is raining when we board the tender! When we arrive at the tender pier, the rain is still falling lightly. A young lady is waiting for us with an E-BIKE sign.

There is only one other couple on our tour today, plus our E-Bike tour guide, Ari. We walk from the pier about 100 yards to an area with several of the E-Bikes lined up. Each of us is offered a helmet and a bike is sized for us. There is a brief instruction on how the E-Bike functions. Basically, it is like any other 10-speed mountain bike, except that it has an electric-assist motor. This is not to be confused with a Mo-Ped. The electric motor will not power the E-Bike by itself. You still have to pedal the bike. But, you can dial in varying degrees of "assistance" to make peddling easier.

We are shown how to adjust the level of electric motor assistance

It only takes a few minutes to get used to how the E-Bike works, and the electric motor really does make a huge difference in the amount of energy needed to propel the bike forward. Before long, we are all heading off down the main island road using the designated bike lane, following our guide Ari.

Ari, our tour guide

After about a mile, we turned off the main road on to a narrower, paved road. The roads were all in good condition. However, one has to be careful not to run off the road into a deep rain gutter alongside the road in some places. Paying attention to where you are riding is very important. Soon, we are riding along tree-lined, curvy roads enjoying some really beautiful scenery.

In actuality, we are slowly climbing a mountain with moderate grades. There is no way Rickee nor I could have ridden this road on a normal bike. The E-BIke really makes going up hills much easier. I should also point out that once the rain subsided, it is VERY hot and VERY humid, making this ride a bit more challenging. The only breeze comes when you are riding the bike. When we make a stop for Ari to show us something, or just for a break, it is very hot.

Along the way to Belvedere (a popular lookout spot), we stop at a fruit jam stand where we get to taste a variety of locally produced fruit jams. When we finally arrived at Belvedere, I think we were all pretty spent from the ride up the winding roads. We took a moment to take in the view and get some keepsake photos.

I was able to rig up my GoPro on the handlebars of my bike, so hopefully, I will have a short video of some of the action to post later!

After the visit to Belvedere, it was time to turn off the E-Bike's electric motor and basically coast back down the mountain. This was the most fun. Just ride the brake all the way down! On the way down, we did make a couple of other stops, one to view the spot where Captain Cook first landed on Moorea.

Monument to Captain Cook

By 4:00pm, we were pulling into the port area where our tour began. I think we were all pretty tired, but exhilarated and glad we had booked the tour. We surrendered our E-Bikes and walked back to the pier to catch the last tender back to the ship. I think Rickee and I agree that the E-Bike excursion is well worth the $85 per person, and one that you should consider, as long as you are in moderately good physical condition.

Back on board m/s Paul Gauguin, I take a quick shower so that I can get up to the Pool Deck for the Captain's Farewell Party, which is already in full swing by the time I arrive.

Guests gather for Captain's Farewell Party

The drinks are flowing, and Santa Rosa (the ship's band) is playing, and everyone looks to be having a great time. There are a few "surprises" thrown in during the festivities, but those shall remain secret. You will have to sail on m/s Paul Gauguin to experience for yourselves!

Santa Rosa entertains at Captain's Farewell

I left the celebration to visit the best place on the ship to observe the sunset: La Palette on Deck 8 aft. As we sail from Moorea, the sunset is as beautiful as any I have ever seen. Many guests gather on the aft deck for photos, or just to take in the beauty.

After sunset, Rickee and I meet at our favorite spot, the Piano Bar, for one last cocktail. After the second day, the bartender knew our favorite drinks, so all we have to do is sit down and the waiter delivers my Crown Royal and Rickee's sparkling wine. A plate of canapés accompanies our drinks.

After we enjoy our drink, we visit L'Etoile for dinner. I enjoyed a perfectly seasoned, and perfectly cooked rack of lamb while Rickee had a nice bowl of spaghetti bolognese. We both agreed that it was the best meal of the cruise!

Tomorrow morning, we will disembark m/s Paul Gauguin and say goodbye to our new friends we have met on board. It will be a long day culminating with a day room at a local hotel followed by a midnight flight back to LAX. We have really enjoyed our short time aboard m/s Paul Gauguin and look forward to our next adventure.

Don't forget to watch for a full, in-depth review of m/s Paul Gauguin coming soon to CruiseReport.com!

Day 6 - Moorea, Society Islands

This morning, m/s Paul Gauguin is sailing toward Moorea, Society Islands. I was working on our blog at around 5:45am in La Palette when the most amazing sunrise caught my attention. I was able to use my phone to capture the moment.

We arrive in Moorea later this morning and the backdrop of jagged peaks and lush greenery is stunning.

m/s Paul Gauguin anchored off coast of Moorea

We have booked an afternoon "Moorea by Catajets" tour through the cruise line's shore excursion program ($299 for two people). We met in the Grand Salon at 1:15 as instructed on the tickets. We then boarded the ship's tender for the ride to the pier in Moorea. The outrigger is waiting nearby that will take us to our Catajet.

The outrigger boat ride only lasts about 10 minutes before we arrive at a hotel beach from where the Catajets and wave runners are operated. We are the only couple from the ship that signed up for the Catajet tour. Everyone else on the outrigger signed up for the wave runner excursion. You may be wondering what a "Catajet" is. Basically, it is a miniature catamaran. Sort of like a 2-person, side-by-side, wave runner.

Chris and Rickee with the Catajet

There is one other couple on the Catajet tour (guests from a hotel) and our guide, who is in a small lead boat. The Catajet is pretty simple to operate. It has a small outboard prop motor, so I am not sure where the "jet" term comes from. Nevertheless, it was pretty fun to drive through the crystal clear, calm waters surrounding Moorea. There is very little instruction from Tom, our guide: basically, here's how you turn on the engine, and here's the throttle, and "stay 30 feet behind me." We rode the Catajet for about 10 minutes to a sandbar where we had an opportunity to swim with black-tipped reef sharks and stingrays.

Snorkeling with the rays and the sharks

We are actually in about four feet of water, so you can easily stand up. The water is so clear that you can see the fish, sharks and rays swimming below even when you are standing up. But, using a snorkel and mask is the best way to get up-close-and-personal with the sea life.

Rickee swims alongside reef sharks

In case you are afraid of sharks, and who isn't, these sharks seem pretty disinterested in people. They tend to keep their distance, whereas the stingrays will swim right up to you and brush past you. It takes some getting used to, but the rays are much more social than the sharks.

We snorkeled here for about 40 minutes before boarding the Catajets for another short ride over to a motu where we had the opportunity to swim in some warmer, deeper waters. However, the current was so strong that swimming was difficult. Soon, the wave runner tour joined us on the motu for a snack of fresh pineapple and lemon-water.

Before we boarded our Catajet for the last time, two rays decided to stop by the motu for a visit. We were in ankle deep water and noticed that the rays have no problem swimming in the shallow water.

I suspect the rays see people as a food source since the guides always feed them fish. We board the Catajet for the 10-minute ride back to the hotel beach. The tour lasted about two hours total, but really only about 1.5 hours on the tour, and most of that time you are in the water. We probably only drove the Catajet for about 20 minutes total. So, it is really a snorkeling and swimming tour. The Catajet is just a form of transportation. At $299, this is not an inexpensive excursion. But, swimming with the sharks and rays helped to make the cost worth it. And, the Catajet is probably easier to operate than a wave runner.

Before we boarded the tender back to the ship, we had some time to do a little souvenir shopping from the local merchants. We bought a couple of refrigerator magnets for our collection. We were back on board m/s Paul Gauguin in time for an amazing sunset and the Polynesian Night celebration.

Sunset in Moorea

Tonight is Polynesian Night and the ship takes on a Polynesian look. Tonight, each restaurant serves the same Polynesian-inspired menu, albeit with a French influence. Rickee dons her new pareo that she bought at the beach BBQ in Taha'a and we hit the Piano Bar for a cocktail before going to dinner. Before we can finish our drink, Rickee is drawn to the Polynesian "mamas" who are sitting on the floor in front of L' Etoile restaurant making fresh flower leis. Everyone is invited to make their own lei, so Rickee joins in the fun.

Rickee begins making her own lei

Interestingly, other than the Gauguines (female crew members), Rickee is the only woman I saw who wore a pareo to the event. She really represented!

Rickee with her self-made fresh flower lei

After she completed her lei, Rickee and I returned to the Piano Bar to finish our drinks. The Piano Bar has become our favorite watering hole on m/s Paul Gauguin. Since I drink Crown Royal, I prefer to have it served in a rocks glass instead of a plastic water glass, which is what you get at the Pool Bar. They also serve delicious canapés each evening at the Piano Bar.

This evening we decided to dine in L' Etoile. Actually, L' Etoile is your only choice unless you make reservations at La Veranda or Le Grill. So, it was an easy choice! We were seated at a nice table for two and given the Polynesian Night menu. One of the most interesting dishes I had was the pumpkin gnocchi with roast suckling pig ragout. What a weird combination, but it worked.

Pumpkin Gnocchi with Roast Suckling Pig (it's hiding under the spinach)

For a main course, I had the filet and Rickee had the fish. Both were good. During the meal, the Gauguines parade through the dining room entertaining guests with Polynesian song and dance.

We decided to skip dessert tonight and head back to the stateroom early. Tomorrow, we are still in Moorea and we have booked an E-Bike tour.