Paul Gaugin Cruise – Society Islands, French Polynesia

If ever there’s the trip of a lifetime experience …. this is the one – a cruise around the Society Islands in French Polynesia on the Paul Gaugin cruise ship. Everything about this trip was spectacular and I cant praise the cruise staff enough. Their hard work and high standards were fabulous. It was just the most amazing trip ever!!
We flew to Tahiti with Air Tahiti Nui from Paris via Los Angeles. Although its a long flight Air Tahiti exceeded my expectations, not only with the on-board entertainment but the good level of food, drinks and service. We had a 2 hour stopover in LA which helped break the journey but it was nowhere near as long as I thought. As we arrived in Tahiti quite late in the evening we overnighted at the Interconntinental Hotel which is only a few minutes from the airport. This is a beach resort and boasts the only sand bottomed swimming pool in the area. The rooms are very spacious with air conditioning and the majority of them overlooking the gardens and the ocean.

The next day we boarded the Paul Gaugin. Having only done one cruise before in my life I was apprehensive but my mind was soon put at rest by the Gaugin girls playing local music and handing out the flower lei’s – it was such a warm, friendly welcome. The ship is quite small and only accommodates 332 people so you do get to meet other guests and finding your way around is a lot easier. The staff are amazing and so helpful and most of the cabins have a balcony so you can imagine the view when you wake up in the morning and pull the curtains back.

My cabin was on Deck 7 and I was amazed at how well and thought out the space was with loads of storage. I also had a sofa and table in the cabin with flowers and a bottle of wine on ice, DVD player and plasma TV, even a bowl of fresh fruit which was replaced daily. Meals onboard are on an All Inclusive basis so you dont have to worry about paying for drinks which are all branded. Aleisha in the Piano Bar makes the most amazing cocktails. I recommend a white chocolate Martini. The ship has 3 restaurants. L’Etoile is the main restaurant on Deck 5 and there’s Le Verandah on Deck 6 which is the French Restaurant and Le Grill on Deck 8 in the open air which is excellent for watching the world go by. The food is top quality with excellent wines and drinks so be prepared to put on a few pounds. At 5pm every evening a fresh plate of canapes are delivered to your cabin.

The Paul Gaugin mainly sails during the night so you arrive at each destination in the morning. The islands we visited were Raiatea, Taha, Bora Bora and Moorea. Bora Bora was completely different to what I had imagined but the scenery was spectacular. I was very surprised to find out theres only one main road on the island which is at sea level and goes around the base of the mountain covering 19 miles. I’d always imagined it was a lot larger than this. During our stay I attended a lecture on Captain Cook and the Mutiny on the Bounty which was extremely interesting and gives you an insight into the conditions and hardship that the crew endured during their voyages. Later that day I hired out the DVD called ‘The Bounty’ which features Mel Gibson and all about Captain Cook and his voyage to these islands. In the opening scenes you can see the ship sail into Cooks Bay and a shiver went through me as I looked out of my window to see exactly the same picture which was showing on the film. I had to pinch myself to check it was real.

Every day there was entertainment on board for those who didnt want to do shore excursions so there’s no chance of being bored. The ship also have their tenders (small boats) which take you to and from a remote island so you can spend the day snorkelling and swimming. On one of these trips to Moorea we swam and stroked the stingrays and snorkelled with lemon sharks. There’s evening entertainment every night including a Polynesian evening where local people come on board to sing and show you how their make their gorgeous lei’s and crafts.

My week aboard went so quickly and before I knew it we were back in Papeete at the Intercontinental Hotel in preparation for our flight home. This trip was definitely the trip of a lifetime for me and I would love to think that, maybe one day, I will go back and experience the Paul Gaugin on a different itinerary. I cant wait……

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