Fantastic Fiji with Paul Gauguin Cruises

With one ship dedicated to Polynesia all year round, nobody knows the South Pacific better. One of our top advisors recently explored Fiji, Bora Bora and the Cook Islands with the cruise line that perfected it.

One of Bon Voyage Travel's most experienced advisors Julie Farrell recently visited Fiji aboard Paul Gauguin Cruises and provided this recap.

If I had to pick a favorite thing about this cruise to Fiji, it would be…well, EVERYTHING!

The cabins were lovely. Very nicely appointed with plenty of room, good amenities, great storage and ample lighting. The service was one of the best that I have ever had on any cruise line. Excellent attention to detail, unmatched service and "name recognition" among the staff was amazing from the start.

As a host for this cruise, I received a behind the scenes tour from the staff and every one I worked with were all wonderful, extremely helpful and accommodating every step of the journey.

There were so many interesting ports of call on this itineray including Bora Bora, a beautiful and exotic region with its blue lagoons and crystal clear water. It was there that I had an incredible experience swimming with the stingrays!

Taha was a day on the beach which was so fun and beautiful beyond words. We just spent the entire day on the beach and had a wonderful private barbeque. Cook Islands have a very interesting history and we just happened to have a woman from the Cook Islands on board with her husband, who was one of the guest speakers. The Cook Islands are very remote and pristine and the natives were lovely people.

Even though I had been to Fiji before, I enjoyed all three ports of call we visited there. Suv-Suv was the most quaint and had the most local color. The Fijian people are not quite as friendly and soft spoken as the Tahitian people are, so experiencing the different cultures was a really interesting part of the experience.

On board the ship, I found all of the classes that Paul Gauguin offers very interesting. I was quite impressed by the level of diversity that the young employees exhibited. They ran all of the activities for the ship and included crafts, music, seminars and dance. The cuisine and overall service was excellent, and all of the dining rooms are quite lovely. The food and tropical drinks were absolutely wonderful, and it was so nice to have open bar all day long! The shore excursions were very well organized and the ground operators and tour guides they used were great. Everything was extremely efficient and timely.

I really believe this is one of the very best cruise lines out there and is not-to-be-missed if you want to experience Polynesia in laid-back luxury. The cabins were beautiful, the food was excellent and the service was to die for. I don’t have one negative thing to say about the entire cruise. I am ready to go again!

**Some things you really don’t want to miss if you take a similar trip are: **

• Going in one or two days early and staying at The Inter-Continental Hotel in Papeete in an over the water bungalow is an experience not to be missed!
• If you stay in Suva, Fiji be sure to stay at one of the upscale hotels that they offer post cruise – The Westin was a great choice.
• I would highly recommend swimming with the manta rays!
• Take a power strip with you for your cabin; although they had two 110 plugs, only one was working. Sometimes these things happen, so it never hurts to be prepared.
• Take a pair of water shoes for the all-day beach experience and swimming with the rays.
• Do not miss a meal - they are all locally sourced and absolutely delicious.