Day 8 - Disembark m/s Paul Gauguin

One of our least favorite parts of any cruise is disembarkation. Not only is it the end of a vacation, but getting off the ship can often be difficult, and then you have to deal with airports and airlines. Yuck. This morning, m/s Paul Gauguin is docked back in Papeete, Tahiti, where our adventure began just seven short days ago.

m/s Paul Gauguin docked in Papeete, Tahiti

Fortunately, Paul Gauguin Cruises makes getting off the ship in Papeete, Tahiti, as painless as possible. Guests are issued colored luggage tags and assigned a time to be off the ship. Large luggage needs to be outside the stateroom by 11pm the night before disembarkation, and tagged with the appropriate colored tag. We had the pink tags indicating that we had a post-cruise tour combined with a day room at the Tahiti Pearl Beach Resort (more about that later). Guests must vacate their staterooms by 9:30am, which is actually pretty generous. And, disembarkation for us was not until 12:10pm. The late disembarkation is due to the fact that most flights don't leave Tahiti until late in the evening or almost midnight. Guests can even enjoy lunch from 11am until 12pm before disembarking. We had our traditional disembarkation-day breakfast with Rickee ordering Eggs Benedict in La Veranda.

Eggs Benedict served in La Veranda

After breakfast, we sat on the back deck outside La Palette and waited for our tag color to be called for disembarkation. Paul Gauguin Cruises does something else that is admirable: guests who sign up for the week-long Internet/WiFi package get to keep using the Internet until 11:59am. Many cruise lines shut down the WiFi accounts at midnight the night before. We were walking down the gangway by noon, ahead of schedule. Getting off the ship was very organized and orderly.

Rickee disembarks M/S Paul Gauguin in Papeete

In a tent near the end of the gangway, all of the large luggage (that was retrieved from the hallways the night before) is organized by luggage tag color, making it simple to find your bags. Next the luggage is loaded into a waiting truck that will take it to the hotel. A representative from the Shore Excursion department is on site to help should any problems occur.

Luggage is organized by tag color

With hand-luggage in tow, we walk down to the cruise terminal exit where a bus is waiting to take us on our local tour of Papeete before dropping us at our day-room hotel.

Fortunately, the bus was air conditioned because is broiling hot today and very humid. Our first stop was the home of James Normal Hall, author of many famous novels including Mutiny on the Bounty.

A guide took us on a tour of the place, which is actually a replica of James Norman Hall’s Tahitian home. The guide pointed out interesting facts about Mr. Hall's life and his children. You know, I guess I have been on so many of these kinds of tours that I sort of tune everything out. I just walk around on my own, look at the pictures on the wall, and wait for the bus to leave. I know I am not going to remember any of the information the guides disseminate. At my age, my "hard drive" is full. In order for me to remember anything new, I would have to throw out something else that I already know.

The next stop on the tour was at a lighthouse, where it became clear that the object of this tour is to just kill time until the hotel is ready for us to check in. The final stop was at some sort of scenic overlook. Bottom line: there is really nothing to see in Papeete! I think a better option, which the cruise line does offer, would be to skip the tour, go directly to the hotel and just hang out at the pool until time to check-in. When we do finally get to the hotel around 2:15pm, check-in is really hectic and not all of the rooms are ready for us.

Check-in is hectic at hotel

The post-cruise day-room hotel is the Tahiti Pearl Beach Resort, which may sound luxurious, but trust me, it is not. Paul Gauguin Cruises offers two hotels for post-cruise day rooms, with the other being the Intercontinental. Trust me on this, opt for the Intercontinental. The Tahiti Pearl Beach Resort is in a state of disrepair. One of the first things you see when you drive into the circular drive in front of the hotel is big chunks missing from the thatched roof over the lobby! This property really does not live up to the standards we have become accustomed to for the last seven days aboard m/s Paul Gauguin.

When we finally do get our room keys (by 3pm), we go to our "Premium" room, which honestly was not too bad. It was a two-story, large room with a nice large balcony. However, the A/C in our room never did get the temperature below 80 degrees. We decided to spend our time at the pool, which also is pretty nice. However, they were out of towels at the pool, and the pool attendant asked for a "towel card" which was supposed to be issued with our room key at check in but was not. To his credit, he did eventually bring a towel to Rickee but not without her guarantee that she would not take the frayed and worn blue towel home with her since she had not been issued an "official" towel card!

A nice pool at the Tahiti Pearl Beach Resort

We did not eat at the hotel, but I did try ordering a rum punch at the pool bar. Nobody at the bar spoke English, only French. I tried to describe a rum punch, but the bartenter just started making his own concoction, which ended up tasting like a Margarita. There were about five slices of muddled lemon in the bottom of the glass and it was filled with ice, so I only got about three straws full of drink. The price? $14 (US)!

When we checked in, we were told that check-out time was 7pm and that we had to have our luggage in the lobby by that time, even though the transfer to the airport was not until 9:10pm. We later learned that other guests were told they could stay in their rooms until 8pm. I wish we had known that! Nevertheless, we did enjoy a beautiful scene on our balcony as the sun set behind Moorea in the distance.

Sunset from our hotel balcony

Our luggage was transported to the airport in a separate truck and was waiting for us when we arrived. The pre-arranged transfer to the airport (bus) arrived right on time at 9:10pm and by 9:30 we were checking in for our 11:59pm flight to LAX on Air Tahiti Nui. All along the way there was a representative from Paul Gauguin Cruises with us to answer questions or provide assistance. I will spare you the details of our overnight flight to LAX, and connecting flight to DFW. That tale is for another blog and another day. Suffice it to say that the Air Tahiti Nui flight had one of the most uncomfortable airline seats we have ever occupied, with little to no leg room, in the center section of an old airplane.

Watch for our full review of m/s Paul Gauguin coming to CruiseReport.com soon.

Day 1 - Fly to Tahiti and Embark m/s Paul Gauguin

In spite of every effort by American Airlines to prevent us from making our 4:30pm departure on Air Tahiti Nui, we somehow arrived at LAX with only about 15 minutes to spare. The 45-minute wait for our luggage at baggage claim had us fearing that we might miss the flight to Tahiti. Rickee decided to walk over to the Tom Bradley International terminal to get us checked in while I waited for our luggage at baggage claim. The last time we took an international flight out of LAX, the line at security (TSA) took over an hour! Once Rickee made it to the Air Tahiti Nui desk, she texted me that a Paul Gauguin Cruises agent was there to reassure her that we would make the flight, no problem.

Paul Gauguin Cruises Agent

Not many cruise lines provide an agent to meet guests at an airport of departure. In fact, I can't think of another one right off hand. I have to tell you, it was very reassuring to have an advocate at the airport.

The flight from LAX to Papeete takes close to eight hours. And, no matter how hard we tried to use our American Airlines miles to upgrade to Business Class, we ended up in Economy. The seats are cramped, and quite uncomfortable, but there is a nice touch-screen entertainment system in the back of each seat with a decent selection of on-demand movies and games.

Air Tahiti Nui Economy Class

ATN does provide each seat with a pillow, blanket and small amenity kit. Meal service begins within an hour after takeoff and included a choice of fish or beef curry.

In-flight menu

I ordered the Beef Massaman Curry which, I am sorry to say, was inedible. I love curry, but everything in this dish tasted off, even the rice. I ate the chicken and rice salad and a piece of bread and sent the rest back.

Beef curry

To their credit, ATN does offer complimentary wine and spirits with dinner. They even offer a sparkling wine, which tasted quite nice.

About two hours before landing, there was another snack service, this time featuring a cold pasta salad with cheesecake. Overall, the service was good throughout the flight. Attendants routinely walked through the cabin offering water. Even though the flight was an hour late taking off, we did land on time in Papeete, Tahiti, at around 10:30pm. As we enter the open-air airport, we are greeted by Tahitian musicians before we line up at Immigration. A Customs form and an Immigration form were handed out on the flight, so we had them completed before we arrived

Immigration and Customs forms

Since the flight was full, the wait in line to clear Customs and Immigration took about 40 minutes, after which we collected our soaking wet (it was raining when we arrived) checked luggage and fought the substantial crowd to get outside the airport where a Paul Gauguin Cruises sign greeted us. The cruise line representative checked for our names on her list, then placed a fresh flower lei around our necks and guided us to the waiting bus.

Rickee gets her lei on

By the time we arrive at the pier, it is close to midnight. The first sign of 5-star service is when an attendant grabs Rickee's hand luggage to carry it up the gangway for her. We walk aboard on Deck 5 and are invited into the lounge where we are greeted with a glass of champagne. Check in is quick. A swipe of our passports and our photos are taken for security, then we are given our stateroom keys. A stewardess is waiting for us to escort us to our stateroom.

We are completely exhausted. By the time we unpack our luggage it is nearly 1am, and that is 5am at home! We quickly unpack and get into bed. We have to be up in time for the 8:30am muster drill. More details to come...