Papeete, Tahiti

After 7 days sailing across the Pacific, we arrived at Papeete,Tahiti.

Our ship had a last minute itinerary change which rearranged the order of stops in French Polynesia. We are still here for a week, but nstead of starting in Raitea, we started in Papeete, Tahiti. We were greeted with a Taire, official flower of Tahiti, and this tradition Polynesian music group.

Papeete is a large city and is not the best face of the AMAZING French Polynesia. There is city noise, city traffic, and while the beaches are extremely nice, they do not compare to the waters off Moorea, Ta’aha, and Raiatea .

Papeete is the place for shopping while in French Polynesia as the other islands have limited supplies. There is a wonderful international market steps from the cruise ship. The hours are not extensive and be sure to go in the morning for the best selection of flowers. Amazing bouquets for $10. There is a bar upstairs and a section selling great fruit and vegetables. A couple T-shirt shops and, of course, pearls. Us cash is accepted everywhere I went, although the exchange rate was a bit steep.

Cruise flyer on Papeete

There are lots of people onboard who followed my live report from last years cruise. I ran into one couple as we were getting bacl on the ship who askws me to tell you that I wasn’t exaggerating when I warned of the heat. It’s so hot here that the cruise line felt it necessary to leave these in the cabin

Last years flowers ($10). I brought them onboard. For some Reason the selection just wasn’t as good this year (file too large to upload on ship internet, will have to wait).