Summary:
Our cruise started in Papeete Tahiti after we had enjoyed a two day stay in Los Angeles on the way out to break our journey and a three night stay in the Intercontinental Resort Tahiti prior to embarkation. Whilst travelling out for the cruise we started to be aware of the Coronavirus spreading around the world rather quickly, however, we were committed to the holiday and there was no travel advice from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office that would have allowed us to cancel even if we had wanted to. Embarkation in Papeete was effortless and we were settled into our balcony cabin in record time. Having sailed with Oceania three times previously, we were quite used to the layout of the ship but were most impressed with the fantastic changes to the cabins and communal areas from the recent refit and upgrade. The cabin was beautifully presented and well thought out with an abundance of stowage space for all our clothes. Dining throughout the cruise in the Main Dining Room was a delight as were our visits to the two speciality restaurants of Polo Grill and Toscana. We ate most lunchtimes at the Terrace Grill and loved the outside seating, superb choice of food and impeccable service. As for the cruise itself, we departed Papeete and enjoyed calls at Moorea, Fakarava, Nuka Hiva and Rangiroa before the trip was cut short due to the first Coronavirus case being discovered in French Polynesia. Planned visits to Bora Bora and Raiatea were called off and we sailed back to Papeete instead for the final three days of the cruise. Let’s be honest, there are worse places to be berthed and we did receive a 50% future credit from Oceania for our troubles. Throughout the cruise I cannot praise highly enough the efforts the ship went through to maintain the highest of hygiene standards onboard, the measures were extremely reassuring and thorough throughout. Disembarkation was quick and well organised and we managed, despite a cancelled Virgin flight from LA to Heathrow, to get home as planned one day before the USA ban on the UK kicked in. We have been self isolating since. For those thinking of doing a similar trip, we can thoroughly recommend French Polynesia and Moorea in particular. However, be very careful when planning your journey home as you disembark early in the morning in Papeete and flights out are not until nearly midnight. Our advice is to book a hotel for that day which many had failed to do on our cruise and they were stuck with luggage for a very long day. Finally, ships tours remain extremely expensive but we managed to arrange locally at a fraction of the cost with little trouble.