We sailed the Paul Gauguin on an 11-day Marquesas itinerary on December 2, 2006. This was our second trip on the PG - we did the standard 7-day itinerary in December 2005.

Overall Impressions
We were very satisfied with the PG last year and I think this year just about everything was a notch better. I think the food overall was a little better and bakery and dessert items were quite a bit better this year - not that they were bad before. I love the size and the casual elegance of the PG. Casual dress and open seating for dining are big pluses. I think the crew and the service are outstanding. As returning passengers, there were many familiar crew members and quite a few of them remembered us from a year prior as well. The crew is extremely friendly and helpful. Service was nearly flawless. On both of our two PG trips, we have gotten to know crew members much better than we did on the Mariner. Perhaps this is because of the smaller size of the PG, but I cannot say enough about the friendliness of the PG crew. Captain Zupan and his senior officers are friendly and accessible �€“ they ate lunch most days in the open air grill. We received two dinner invitations �€“ one to dine with the ship�€™s doctor and another with two of the ship�€™s lecturers. The watersports program and marina is a big advantage of this ship �€“ very convenient to waterski, scuba dive, or take a kayak out from the back of the ship. Overall the trip exceeded our expectations which were pretty high since we had a wonderful trip one year earlier.

Every staff and crew member is great but here are some of those that really made our trip special: Waiters Elpidio, Joselito, and Junar; Le Grill headwaiter Noel; bar staff Kelly, Daisy, and Randy; and sous chef Grant.

About the weather and the seas �€“ I�€™d read some reports of very rough seas on Marquesas sailings. We enjoyed very smooth sailing the whole time. December is rainy season in French Polynesia, but we were lucky with the weather. We had a few showers and short downpours, but nothing that got in our way.

Scuba Diving
On our first PG cruise, we enjoyed the snorkeling in French Polynesia very much so we became certified scuba divers earlier this year. The PG's marina is very convenient for scuba diving. The staff takes care of all your equipment - you just have to walk to the marina and get on the zodiac �€“ couldn't be easier. The staff leads the dives in Bora Bora and Moorea. Dives in Rangiroa and the Marquesas were offered with outside operators. We did three dives - all dives were one tank dives, about 45-50 minutes and about 60 feet. Whether the dive is operated by PG staff or outside operators, there will not be more than 6 divers per divemaster. All dives were done from zodiacs.

Our first dive was Avatoru Pass in Rangiroa. Though this was with an outside operator, we felt the divemaster, Rene, was excellent and very helpful. We had not dived for about 8 months but Rene got us comfortable and helped us as needed. This was a great dive with a huge diversity of marine life. We saw black-tip sharks (about 6-8 feet, I�€™d say), stonefish, large schools (jack), and lots of large and small tropical fish.

Next was Tapu in Bora Bora. Another nice dive �€“ I�€™d say the quantity and diversity of marine life was a bit less than Rangiroa but still very nice. Our last dive was Shark Gallery in Moorea. Here we saw a large lemon shark, but the visibility was a bit less than at the other sites.

Ports
Rangiroa �€“ an atoll with a huge lagoon. Water sports are outstanding in Rangiroa �€“ this is the place to dive, snorkel, and water ski. Two tenders are offered �€“ one to a beach and one to a small village. First we went to the beach �€“ we had to walk a ways to find a decent sandy beach. You could snorkel from this beach which was OK �€“ the water was clear and there were small reef sharks there. Grant waterskiied from the ship�€™s marina. The ship overnights here �€“ the following morning, we did our first scuba dive, then we took the tender to the small village. There is really not much here, but it was interesting to walk through the small village and see how people live. As we sailed away at noon, we saw dolphins off the bow of the ship.

Hiva Oa �€“ the high peaks and ridge lines of Hiva Oa are a stark comparison to the flat beach and palm trees of Rangiroa. We received a very nice greeting at the pier from a group of local musicians, and every passenger received a unique fresh flower lei greeting. We took the ship�€™s excursion to Taaoa where we toured an archaeological site. The site was very interesting and the tour was guided by the lecturers from the ship (Dr. Bob Suggs and Mark Eddowes) but the group was quite large and it always takes time to move a large group of people. I did not feel that this excursion was a very good value for the cost, but there are not a lot of options for touring Hiva Oa. I do not regret doing it as we got to see and learn about Hiva Oa, but if a private, English-speaking guide could be arranged, that might be a better option. Following the excursion, we walked through the small village of Atuona. We bought a very nice wood carving and a piece of painted tapa cloth here. There are excellent wood carvings available in the Marquesas �€“ better quality and price than what we saw on Tahiti island later in the trip. Hiva Oa has a Gauguin museum which we did not visit, as well as the cemetery where Gauguin and Jacques Brel are buried.

Nuku Hiva �€“ the landscape is very dramatic with beautiful peaks and high ridgelines. Some parts are very green, other parts are more arid and brown. We had arranged a private guide here, which worked out very well. Again, there are only a few English-speaking guides so it�€™s best to arrange in advance. Our guide, Tomas, was not quite fluent in English but did very well. Our full-day private tour did not cost much more than the ship�€™s 3-hour excursion, and we saw much more and could move at our own pace. First we toured the Taipivai Valley, the setting of Melville�€™s �€œTypee.�€ (This is where the ship�€™s tour went as well.) We saw some nice viewpoints, including a view over the beach where �€œSurvivor Marquesas�€ was filmed. Tomas lives in Taipivai and took us to see his house and his family, and then his mother�€™s house where he picked fruit for us. It was very interesting to get this personal insight into life in the Marquesas. Many of Tomas�€™ siblings and children have moved away, but he is very happy with his life in Nuku Hiva. We went to an artisan market where a nice display of fruit was available for sampling. (This is where the ship�€™s tour ended.) Next we went to Kamuihei, a very interesting archaeological site. There are petroglyphs here �€“ pictures of fish, turtles, etc. We visited another archaeological site, Hikokua, where we saw an interesting fertility tiki among other things. By now we had crossed the mountains to the other side of the island, where we stopped at Hatiheu, a beautiful oceanfront village, for lunch at a local restaurant where we enjoyed some Marquesan style food. Next was a long drive back on the bumpy dirt road to Taiohae, the port, where we visited Rose Corser�€™s interesting museum and shop. Rose is an American who moved to Nuku Hiva many years ago, where she and her husband built a hotel. She has put together a nice museum with art and artifacts of the Marquesas. We saw the Cathedral which features large wood carvings and stones from the various islands of the Marquesas. There was an artisans market at the pier and we had a great local dance performance on the ship.

Bora Bora �€“ the lagoon and the colors of the water were as spectacular as we remembered from our prior visit. We did a scuba dive here then took the tender to the village of Vaitape. As it was Sunday, most of the stores were closed. After lunch, we took the tender to the motu (beach) which was great! This is a very nice beach where the PG sets up beverage service and kayaks. We enjoyed the afternoon on the motu and took the last tender back to the ship.

Motu Mahana �€“ of course we took the first tender over and the last tender back. The first tender in the morning did leave about 15 minutes earlier than scheduled, so it doesn�€™t hurt to check a little earlier than the posted time if you are eager to get there. Motu day is outstanding and we were not disappointed! Nice chairs for relaxing �€“ great food and drink �€“ and activities to keep you busy if you like. Grant snorkeled and waterskiied. Dena relaxed!

Moorea �€“ we did our last scuba dive in the morning. The ship was anchored in Opunohu Bay this year �€“ we�€™d been in Cooks Bay last year. We did not feel like doing much �€“ wanted to relax on our last full day of vacation. After diving, we took the tender to shore and walked around a bit. There were some stalls with crafts and t-shirts set up, but not much more in this immediate area. Grant waterskiied twice this afternoon. Andy, the instructor, thought he was getting pretty good! Moorea has much to offer, but we opted to take it easy this time.

Papeete �€“ the morning we arrived back in Papeete, we walked to the market. The market is fun to see �€“ there are beautiful flowers and arrangements, fruits and vegetables, and fish and meats. There are also lots of souvenirs to buy. After disembarkation, we rented a car downtown and drove around the island of Tahiti. After leaving the city of Papeete, we saw a lot of nice scenery including a �€œblowhole�€, black sand beaches, and cave/grottoes.

Activities
This itinerary has three full days at sea. We enjoy relaxing and doing nothing so we were looking forward to the sea days. The staff and crew went all out to provide activities on the sea days as well as throughout the entire cruise. The enrichment lectures were excellent �€“ we had two experts on Polynesian archaeology, history, and culture (Dr. Bob Suggs and Mark Eddowes) as well as a Cousteau Ocean Futures Society naturalist, Estelle Davies, who was excellent as well. The Gauguines offered numerous activities such as crafts, cultural activities, dance lessons, language lessons, etc. Games such as Trivia, Name that Tune, and scavenger hunts were offered. Galley tours, bridge tours, and engine room tours were offered as well. The culinary and bar staff offered cooking demonstrations, cocktail demonstrations, napkin folding, and more. On one of the sea days, the staff put on a Country Fair which was a lot of fun. Each department set up a game booth for the passengers to play. It was fun to see the crew interacting with the passengers a little more informally, and to see some of the staff such as housekeeping, culinary, etc. out on the deck! Needless to say, with all of these activities we did not get bored and I did not finish as much reading as I had planned.

All in all, it was an outstanding trip and we hope to fit in another visit to beautiful French Polynesia on the PG in the not-too-distant future.