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It took me 26 hours, three flights, and a time change of 12 hours to get to my French Polynesian cruise in one of the remotest parts of the world. It was brutal, and so how did it go once there – and do I recommend putting yourself though all that? I explore all of this in this video
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0:00
it took me 26 hours three flights and a
0:03
time change of 12 hours to get to my
0:06
cruise it was brutal so how did it all
0:08
go once there and do I recommend putting
0:10
yourself through all of that let me
0:12
start with the very best bits in case
0:15
you don't know it took so long to get
0:17
there because French Polynesia is in the
0:20
Pacific halfway between South America
0:22
and Australia it has 118 Islands
0:25
stretching over a staggering 1 200 miles
0:28
that's 2 000 kilometers it's very very
0:31
remote without a shed of Doubt one
0:33
enormous highlight of the cruise was the
0:35
phenomenal and unique scenery across
0:38
those islands I was absolutely Blown
0:40
Away by what I saw with volcanic soaring
0:42
mountains lushly covered with vegetation
0:45
beautiful coral reefs surrounding most
0:48
of the islands powder soft beaches
0:50
teeming sea life and ocean the color of
0:54
which is totally mind-blowing on my poor
0:58
Gorgan Society Islands Cruise out of
1:00
Tahiti I saw huani Taha Bora Bora and
1:05
Maria and one lasting memory is how
1:08
undeveloped and pristine all of them
1:10
were a stark contrast to the Caribbean
1:13
islands that I visited on numerous
1:15
cruises all had pretty low population
1:17
even the famous iconic Bora Bora has
1:21
only 10 000 residents across the island
1:24
there's no big Resorts crammed along the
1:26
beaches overwater Bungalow resorts are
1:29
much more common
1:30
there aren't even Cruise docks on the
1:33
islands other than at the key on
1:36
vacation Port of papayetti on Tahiti so
1:39
we tended to and from the ship on every
1:41
single Island surrounded by that
1:43
incredible incredible scenery but what
1:47
also really struck me was just how clean
1:49
it was there wasn't plastic and rubbish
1:52
strewn all about it was spotless and
1:56
they were not packed and busy with mass
1:59
tourism and busy cruise ship calls more
2:01
on that later as to why another plus of
2:05
exploring the society islands is how
2:06
close they are to each other with
2:08
surprisingly little sailing for example
2:10
from Taha to Bora Bora was only about
2:13
three hours and about one and a half
2:15
hours to sail for morea to papieti and
2:18
so there were actually some overnights
2:20
which were great because they allowed
2:22
exploring and appreciating some of the
2:24
islands in much more depth this included
2:26
for me Bora Bora Maria and of course
2:29
papietti there is though some downsides
2:33
about all of this to come but let's keep
2:34
going on the highs the second big plus
2:37
for me was that the best things to do on
2:40
the island were active and those
2:42
overnights meant being able to do
2:44
multiple activities
2:46
of course many were water-based with
2:49
excursions including snorkeling scuba
2:52
diving catamarang rides flow Riders one
2:56
big highlight for me anyway was in Bora
2:58
Bora where I snorkeled with sharks and
3:01
Rays obviously not dangerous sharks and
3:04
then through an incredible car Coral
3:06
Garden that was packed packed with fish
3:09
on land I went on several e-bike tours
3:12
like riding through pineapple fields and
3:15
up to the Belvedere Lookout which is
3:17
really high up a mountain on Maria I
3:19
also cycled 27 kilometers right around
3:22
the islands in huani and then about 32
3:25
kilometers all the way around Bora Bora
3:28
they're also great hikes to do for
3:31
example I hiked up Magic Mountain in
3:34
Maria that's a equivalent about going up
3:37
something like 55 stories of a building
3:40
up high stunning incredible views
3:43
even just going to the beach meant
3:46
snorkeling opportunities because there
3:48
were reefs there were raised there were
3:50
fish everywhere we went across the
3:52
islands one downside was that unlike
3:54
other cruising regions I've been to I
3:55
quickly discovered if I wanted to
3:57
self-explore I needed to plan ahead I
4:01
quickly found there were no or very very
4:03
limited taxis places to spontaneously
4:06
hire a car a bike or tour operators
4:09
waiting to sell tours and trips when I
4:10
got off the tender boats that just
4:12
didn't happen so I and others on the
4:14
trip if they want to self-explore found
4:16
it was best to pre-book something online
4:19
a day or two before report to make sure
4:21
the taxi the bike the hire car or a
4:23
local tour guide was waiting I did
4:25
notice they seemed to be relatively few
4:27
health and safety rules here when on
4:30
tour so unlike other regions where our
4:31
cruise I wasn't asked to sign loads of
4:33
waivers before snorkeling or e-biking
4:35
nor was I given or acquired to wear a
4:37
life vest when snorkeling and so on a
4:39
bit of a surprise one thing I liked
4:41
about the islands is that all of the
4:43
tender drop-off spots there was a local
4:45
market and unlike most Cruise regions
4:48
like say the Caribbean or Alaska it was
4:50
all handmade handcrafted items although
4:54
they were rather costly a topic I will
4:57
also return to later the third real high
5:00
for me were poor golgan's Private Island
5:02
and Beaches they were special secluded
5:05
and absolutely stunning places
5:08
in Taha we spent a day on porgoggan's
5:11
private island called Motu Mahana this
5:15
is a beautiful little island we had
5:17
magnificent barbecue lunch there we
5:20
could go kayaking snorkeling swimming or
5:23
just lays about the on-board Entertainer
5:26
is called Les garganz played Polynesian
5:27
music they showed how all the coconut
5:30
tree is used they ran dancing classes
5:32
and even how to make a kind of a head
5:33
Garland the Specialists of the day by
5:36
the way was actually attitude because
5:37
one of the guests chose here to propose
5:39
to the girlfriend which of course caused
5:41
lots of excitement it was also the poor
5:44
Gorgan private Bora Bora beach which was
5:47
stunning and a really beautiful special
5:49
experience now talk about the line
5:51
itself's pros and cons in a bit but
5:54
before that there is a much more General
5:56
point about the line and the ship one
6:00
massive highlight and a must I found is
6:02
choosing to cruise in French Polynesia
6:05
on a small ship like I did and on one
6:07
that specialized is in the area now the
6:10
three main lines with ships based for
6:12
summer all of the Year within French
6:14
Polynesia are pork organ with 330
6:17
passengers wind Style with wind spirit
6:19
which has 148 and star Breeze with 312
6:22
and aranui a part ship part freighter
6:26
which carries 230 guests going on a
6:29
small ship was best for two key reasons
6:34
first since shutdown French Polynesia
6:36
have outlawed Mega Ships coming through
6:38
the region at all they also have
6:41
severely limited the islands that larger
6:43
ships of up to 2 500 can call on and if
6:47
you're coming to the region of course
6:48
you should plan to visit the most iconic
6:51
island of all Bora Bora now that can
6:53
only be done on a small ship as they now
6:56
allow a maximum of 1 200 passengers per
7:00
day then of course the other benefit of
7:03
being on a small ship besides things
7:04
like easy embarkation never waiting for
7:07
lines always getting a table no crowds
7:09
waiting to go off on excursions crew
7:12
getting to know your name and your likes
7:13
was that the islands did not get swamped
7:17
by Cruise passengers and as all the
7:19
islands are tender ports there was no
7:21
waiting ever around it was easy to
7:23
basically head to and from the ship on a
7:25
whim I chose portugalgan as they are so
7:28
intertwined with the region and have
7:29
been sailing and based here all year
7:32
round for 25 plus years now since 2019
7:35
they've become part of the French Cruise
7:37
Line ponante
7:38
a highlight was that much of their crew
7:41
was French Polynesian and instead of an
7:44
entertainment team they have that local
7:47
Troop that I mentioned earlier called
7:48
Les gangans this group ran daily
7:51
immersion into the culture with
7:52
Polynesian language dance and craft
7:55
events they met and greeted us on the
7:57
islands when we got off the tenders they
7:59
put on some local dance shows in the
8:02
Grand salon Lounge they were really busy
8:04
all the time that they did also run the
8:07
daily Bingo on top of all those kind of
8:09
immersion things as well now they
8:11
probably weren't the slickest
8:12
Entertainment Group you're going to find
8:13
on a cruise line but it felt authentic
8:15
genuine and it was local I also liked
8:19
that Paul gagan brought other local
8:21
polonies performers on several of the
8:24
nights they had a Polynesian themed Gala
8:26
night as well another reason I chose
8:28
pork organ is their ownership certainly
8:30
when I went was also designed very
8:32
specifically for the region with a very
8:34
shallow draft meaning it can maneuver
8:36
into the islands with Reef all around it
8:39
which some of the bigger ships can't now
8:42
that design does have a downside though
8:43
because when setting there was quite a
8:45
lot of movement much more than most
8:47
passengers expected even when swells
8:50
were pretty small there were four other
8:52
highlights and best things about Paul
8:53
galgan for me as well and these are them
8:56
first it was a rather luxurious and
8:58
pampering this is important because this
9:00
trip was to celebrate being with my
9:02
partner for 20 years although the ship
9:04
is old built in 1997 it's been
9:06
beautifully updated by panont second for
9:09
me the cabin we booked of Veranda Suite
9:11
it was a great size for a small ship and
9:14
had a very comfy feel to it and a decent
9:17
sized bathroom they're the regular
9:19
Veranda cabins are a little bit tight
9:21
especially when some told me they were
9:23
traveling say with a child or a teen
9:25
sharing with them it got a little bit
9:26
cramped and tight third of all we had
9:28
amazing food and also by the way there
9:30
were many inclusions like drinks Wi-Fi
9:32
and gratuities in terms of dining we had
9:35
the following choices love Aranda or la
9:37
grill for about a breakfast and lunch
9:39
with lunches themed each day by a
9:42
different part of the world of course
9:44
including Polynesian for dinner we had
9:46
letter the main dining room with open
9:49
seated dining or we could book club
9:50
Veranda which became a chica a la carte
9:53
restaurant or LA Grill on some of the
9:55
evenings which became more of a steak
9:57
and fish kind of menu all the
9:59
restaurants by the way had a wide
10:01
vegetarian section on the menus which
10:02
was rather surprising the fourth thing
10:05
that I liked about Paul gagan was the
10:07
passengers and the diversity
10:10
I knew it would be kind of a vibrant
10:12
adventurous and active crowd of people
10:15
the average age I was probably 50s I
10:19
would guess but it was a really wide
10:20
range from kind of kids right through to
10:23
70 and Beyond because there were many
10:25
multi-generational families groups of
10:28
friends and even a cycling tour group
10:29
was on board the nationality mix was
10:31
really diverse to the Americans
10:33
Canadians French Italians Brazilians
10:35
Australians and Brits it was all those
10:38
groups were well represented there were
10:40
by the way a few solos though they do
10:43
offer low or no solar supplements on
10:45
some sellings but there weren't many
10:46
solos it's more of a kind of couples and
10:48
groups experience so while these highs
10:52
made the long trip and jet lag start to
10:54
seem fine there were some lows I also
10:57
had to talk about and consider before
10:59
making a final call on whether this was
11:01
all worth it before I do that I wanted
11:02
to mention that as I do on all my trips
11:05
now I posted four video updates during
11:07
this trip showing what was happening and
11:10
answer on the go questions posted by my
11:12
patreon patrons to find out more on how
11:14
to get those exclusive Patron videos
11:16
updates while I'm on upcoming trips go
11:19
to patreon.com tips for travelers of
11:23
course one key downside is the one I've
11:25
touched on with the time it takes to get
11:27
there and the time difference the
11:29
struggle to make sure jet lag does not
11:31
negatively affect the experience is a
11:34
big one now a key consideration when
11:36
most of those French Polynesian cruises
11:38
are seven nights long
11:41
while it's 26 hours traveling and 12
11:44
hour time difference from Europe that's
11:46
the most extreme I guess it's still at
11:48
least 15 hours from East Coast USA with
11:51
a seven hour time difference it's an
11:52
eight to nine hour flight from the west
11:54
coast and a three hour time difference
11:56
so the downside I found is I really
11:59
needed to build in time before and
12:02
afterwards to make sure that I was in
12:04
the zone could appreciate it see as much
12:06
as possible and importantly be ready for
12:09
the very busy schedule once on the
12:10
cruise this is key because it's likely
12:13
to be a once in a lifetime trip and you
12:15
need to pack so much and you need to be
12:17
on the ball and ready now I'm glad that
12:19
I've built in Priest days in papieti and
12:22
a post-crew state in Bora Bora for that
12:24
reason I wish I'd consider instead of
12:26
doing the classic seven night Society
12:28
Islands Cruise it was doing one of the
12:30
10 to 40 night cruises that go further
12:32
afield to the to the tour Martis and the
12:35
marquez's islands to see more maybe this
12:38
next downside should have been the first
12:39
as it's huge low cost first it's really
12:43
expensive to even get there with limited
12:45
flight options so probably it's got to
12:47
be like ETA itinui or Air France if
12:49
you're coming out of Paris and Europe by
12:51
Los Angeles or now also via Seattle for
12:54
you United flights there from San
12:57
Francisco but Airline choices are very
12:59
very limited and and of course because
13:02
of that and the distance it's really
13:04
costly so for example looking at June
13:06
next year I went in June an economy
13:08
flight would cost two thousand six
13:10
hundred dollars it's about two thousand
13:11
pounds from Europe six thousand dollars
13:13
four thousand seven hundred pounds in
13:15
business from the West Coast it's at
13:17
least 1 600 returning economy and about
13:20
three thousand six hundred dollars in
13:21
business the cruises are also crazy
13:24
expensive evening considering those
13:27
inclusions for example repeating my
13:29
seven night Paul galgan Cruise in due
13:30
next year in the cheapest option a
13:33
portal only cabin will cost at least
13:35
nine thousand dollars for a couple for
13:37
seven nights that's 640 500 pounds per
13:41
person per night for the comparison
13:43
Windstar in their portal cabin with
13:45
similar all-inclusive rate would be
13:47
around seven thousand dollars for a week
13:49
for a couple that's five hundred dollars
13:51
four hundred pounds per person per day
13:54
so really really expensive the
13:56
excursions are extra and pricey the
13:58
snorkel tour for example I mentioned
13:59
earlier in Bora Bora was 145 dollars per
14:02
person and out and about things are
14:04
expensive too I was paying like at least
14:06
six dollars for a can of Coke in the
14:08
craft market prices were Hefty some
14:11
simple hand craft wooden boxes we liked
14:13
were going for 200 bearing in mind both
14:17
of those downsides I was very aware that
14:20
weather could rule it all as having
14:22
cloudy wet and windy days would not be
14:24
great because that would mean activities
14:26
were canceled they would be less
14:27
enjoyable and you know spend all that
14:29
money to go to a rainy place not great
14:31
French Polynesia is in the tropics so
14:33
rain and wind are common that's why
14:35
although I could go any time of the year
14:38
I went in June uh June to September is
14:41
considered the best time to visit
14:42
because it's the driest and the
14:45
temperatures are too warm but by the
14:47
definition not too warm is 25 to 20
14:49
degrees Celsius that's about 77 to 82
14:52
degrees in Fahrenheit the rainy season
14:54
by the way is from November to April
14:57
that's a peak rainy season and I really
14:59
didn't want to spend all that money and
15:01
all that time to go in the rainy season
15:03
we actually had one day white out by
15:06
Massive rainstorms in Bora Bora and if
15:08
we didn't have that post day to enjoy it
15:10
I would actually felt pretty aggrieved
15:12
although by the way usually it doesn't
15:14
rain for long periods of time but if
15:15
like me you want to get the most of your
15:18
money I recommend stick to what is the
15:20
rather short four-month Prime season so
15:23
considering the best and the worst sides
15:25
of cruising French Polynesia did I
15:28
regret it well if I could get the money
15:30
together
15:30
I would actually go again but as I said
15:34
I would do maybe a little bit
15:35
differently like the longer Cruisers
15:36
going beyond the society Islands or try
15:39
that aranui half ship half freighter
15:42
which goes to some of the more remote
15:43
Islands however if this is a bucket this
15:46
Cruise isn't appealing to you why don't
15:48
you watch this video where I count down
15:50
what I think are the 11 mustard cruises
15:53
in the world and actually there you'll
15:55
also find out where French Polynesia
15:56
ranks in that ranking see you over there
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