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Name: John Diddams
Email: djjd69a@prodigy.com
Age: 58
Occupation: Physician
NumberOfCruises: 12
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Radisson-PaulGaugin
SailingDate: May 16, 1998
Itinerary: French Polynesia
FoodDiningRoom: 97
CruiseDirector: 94
CabinComfort: 96
FoodRoomService: 90
CruiseStaff: 96
CabinAmenities: 98
FoodLidoDeck: 85
DiningRoomService: 99
CabinQuietness: 95
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 87
ShoreExcVariety: 92
FoodVariety: 95
DeckService: 90
ShoreExcValue: 90
GoodForHoneymoon: 90
CasinoStaff: 92
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 30
LoungeService: 97
TenderService: 92
GoodForSeniors: 97
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 85
WheelchairAccess: 80
ExerciseFacilities: 90
EntertShowLounge: 85
OverallPortsofCall: 98
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 80
CruiseActivities: 87
Casino: 83
AirSeaProgram: 90
MedicalFacilities: 90
ShipCleanliness: 99
EmbarkDisembark: 96
DiscoNightclubs: 80
DeckSpace: 95
Stabilization: 89
ShopsOnBoard: 85
SpaceRatio: 95
OverallCruiseValue: 90
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 26 May 1998
Time: 17:47:48
Remote Name: 32.100.182.35
Remote User:
Comments
PAUL GAUGUIN May 16-23: PERSONAL DATA: 58 y.o. physician. Experienced cruiser, diver and
world traveler with love of fine wine and dining. ATTITUDE GOING
IN: We were in French Polynesia 'Island Hopping' 3 years ago and had a fantastic trip.
Have also been on a dozen or more cruises around the world. Expecting
the best of both worlds with this combo. TRANSPORTATION: AOM from LAX. Very crowded in
coach. DC10 with 10 seats across (3-4-3) instead of the usual 9 and
less than usual leg room. In-flight food usual poor airplane fair. PRE-CRUISE: 3 days in
Tahiti. Beachcomber Park Royal. Great 3 days to adjust to the time
difference in a beautiful setting and to see Tahiti. Highly recommended! People that
stayed at Bora Bora also thought it was well worthwhile. People that came
right from flights to cruise were beat the first few days by dinner (7pm) and often missed
the evening entertainment. CHECK-IN: Very smooth and efficient.
Suggest signing up for excursions ASAP after check-in as some book up fast. If you are not
sure about a tour, sign up. At most, you will have a 10% penalty if
you cancel by the day before the tour; if you wait an hour it may be sold out. Tour desk
opened at 4PM. CABINS: Very nice. Modern and roomy with lots of
storage space. Stocked refrigerator and liquor. Soft drinks and beer were replaced as
used. Hard liquor was not replaced. SHIP: Modern and very nice. You
never felt crowded. Not super huge and lavish like the new super-ships, but very ample.
PASSENGERS: There were about 12 newlywed couples, most others
were in older age group. (60+) DINING: The main restaurant was wonderful! (L’Etoile)
Food was prepared to order, perfectly! Each dish was artistically
presented, perfectly cooked, and the wait staff were delightful. We luckily were seated at
a table with a great waiter the first night and tried to get him thereafter.
The Maitre’D held the table for us when we let him know our wishes for the rest of
the cruise. (We tipped him) You could make reservations for the special
“Italian” or “French” night in “La Veranda”. In my opinion,
don’t bother! We unfortunately did. You got to try many dishes, but they were
over-cooked and
hurried in service. There was no art in the presentation. It was like eating everything
there was to offer in a huge buuuffet. In fact, the waiters came around with
large steel trays with overcooked everything and plopped the stuff on your plates. No
different than a buffet, except they brought the stuff to you rather than
you walking through the buffet line. Stick with the main restaurant and have a great
dining experience! WINE: Wine included in the meals were a white and red.
The white was usually a Sauvignon Blanc. Most S.B.’s were light, fruity and simple.
What most people could drink easily. The red varied. On two nights the house
wine was a Fetzer ‘94 North Coast, Barrel Select, Cabernet. Rated by Wine Spectator
“88”. Very nice, full bodied and intense for a bottomless glass wine! But
folks used to generic screw cap wines preferred the lighter offerings on other nights.
There was also a suggestion on the menu for wines to purchase ($15-55)
for those of us really into nice wines. They were really reasonable, essentially retail
market price. Also, there was a wine list you could ask for. It had very
reasonable wines ($15-60) of good quality, so it was possible to get something acceptable
for most tastes. CASINO: Still no approval for slots. They are working
on that. $10 one time charge paid to government to play. EXCURSIONS: Poor to excellent.
Some of the most appealing listed in the “Shore Excursion Guide”
were not offered because of weather or tides. Best we had was the Lagoon Safari on Moorea
and Stardust Sailing on Raiatea. We did the Waverunner on Bora
Bora, but would not do it again. Some who liked speed and excitement seemed to go for it,
but I thought it was not really what French Polynesia was all about.
People seemed to like the Jeep Safari trips. We did a shark and ray feeding on a trip 3
years ago and it was really memorable, but folks doing the one here on
Bora Bora only saw 2 sharks? We saw dozens and were awed 3 years ago. Why was this trip
not good in that respect? DIVING: French Polynesia offers some of
the best diving in the world! DON’T GO ON THIS CRUISE IF YOUR MAIN PURPOSE IS TO
DIVE!!! Three years ago we dove and it was the best diving I ever did, and
I am a fairly experienced and advanced diver. The dive staff were not prepared, did not
know the dive sites, and despite there claims for safe practices, did not
follow them!!! We had one outstanding dive and that was one that was out-sourced to a
local dive operator. The boat dive staff desperately needs the help of
locals! Overall, the dive experience was the most disappointing aspect of the whole
cruise! It couldn’t compare with the dives we did three years ago when we
stayed on the Islands. RECOMMENDATION: If you want to experience some of the greatest
diving in the world, arrange with local dive operators to meet you on
the first tender to shore. They will likely know the time of that (Usually 8:30). Go with
them, not the ship’s staff, if at all possible. (Maybe with time things will get
better, but they have had 5 months!) The cruise staff seemed to be willing to make calls
to local operators, but I did not test them on that offer. MARINA
PLATFORM: OK. We used it a few times. Windsurf, Kayak and Water ski available in selected
ports. Did not see anyone windsurf, but other two were active. No
lessons. You had to know how. ENTERTAINMENT: Good. Some local groups performed. A
children’s dance group was totally delightful. I thought the cultural talks
were very good and enlightening. Solo performances by the cruise director and social
director were surprisingly good. Don’t expect the Broadway type
extravaganzas you get on the big boats. DISCO: We tried it 2 nights. About 20 people
starting at 11:30. They claimed that was the most ever. DJ left something
to be desired. His selections were loud, but not all that danceable. Not the usual disco
selections that make you jump right up and dance. TIPPING: None
expected. We liked our waiter, he helped make the trip special, and we had him most
nights, so tipped him like on any other cruise, and he really appreciated it.
Also tipped the Maitre’D because he knew we liked the waiter and saw to it that the
table was saved for us. OVERALL IMPRESSIONS: For a cruise, it was one of
the better of the dozen or so I have been on with respect to food, service,
accommodations, etc. For seeing French Polynesia, I think you get a much better
flavor of the islands and peoples and overall beauty of the South Pacific by staying on
the islands themselves, having done both now. The cruise offers the
convenience of easy planning. You don’t have to research resorts, restaurants,
flights etc., but you get more of the flavor of the ship (which is nice), than of the
Islands (which are even better). WOULD I GO AGAIN?: Probably not, but I enjoyed it except
for the disappointing diving. QUESTIOINS: E-mail
<djjd69a@prodigy.com>
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