Cebuana in France : Why Going on a Cruise is a Good Idea

Due to my husband's line of work, we've been moving around different parts of the French soil a little too often. Back in 2012 we were in a French island in the Caribbean, a year later we were in Brittany (Bretagne) -a region in the western part of France and now we're in Tahiti, the South Pacific. I'm not at all complaining, on the contrary, it's a great pleasure to discover the different parts of this beautiful country. Living here is a wonderful experience, it's something that I never had ever imagined, I didn't even know this part of the earth exists (I must have learned it in school but I just don't remember that part of my learning....it happens..lol). However, since the French Polynesian archipelago is such a secluded place, everything here is very costly and....far. My husband is assigned here for a span for three years in which we're half-way done.

Tahiti is a small island, three times smaller than Cebu (the island where I'm from the the Philippines). Most communities here live in the coastal areas, only very few of them are in the hills. As a matter of fact, they don't even have roads crossing all around the island. They have a main road surrounding the island and a road which crosses the interior part of the island but it's not really being used, only island tours and a few locals use this road. If you're like me who isn't into surfing, diving, paddling and all other aquatic activities then you may have a tendency to get bored. It is pretty common for people here to travel to New Zealand, Japan, the US, South America, Australia and Metropolitan France. If they can afford a trip to any of these countries they'd definitely do it just to experience and see something different. We would've wanted to do one of these trips if only I'd never be bothered to apply for a visa at each time. I'm proud of being a Filipino but sad over the fact that my Filipino passport don't make me feel "free" enough to go where I please. Having to renew my French visa (titre de sejour) annually is already enough of a stress and trouble (if I may say) for us, let alone requesting for another visa! This actually made my husband and I decide on taking our first cruise.

It was a wonderful eleven-day cruise within the French Polynesian archipelago, so no need for any visa when we arrive in our different ports of call. Since everything is costly here, a domestic flight from one Polynesian island to another can sometimes be more expensive than a flight to another country, so discovering some of these -even farther- islands is a beautiful chance.

We embarked the MS Pacific Princess in Papeete on a beautiful Sunday afternoon and from the moment of embarkation until the last minute of our stay, everything was just hassle-free. Since it's our first time cruising, we were mesmerized by their organization of things, you check-in, they take care of your luggage the same way when checking-in in a hotel then give you individual key cards with your names printed on them and these key cards will actually serve as your "credit card" on board so you won't have to worry about bringing a lot of cards with you while you go about your different activities in the ship.

Shortly after checking-in, we were all excited about having a tour around "our home" for the next eleven days. Getting on the ship gave us a feeling of being in a different country. Everyone spoke English, there's a good mix of tourists, there's a feel of being in a different culture and the ship's crews are all friendly, professional, welcoming and polite. Our stateroom was at the 7th floor with a beautiful picture window for memorable views and was surprisingly spacious. It had a closet large enough for our vacation clothes, a vanity set, center table, couch, a private bathroom with shower and other amenities common in hotels like TV set, phone, fridge, air-conditioning etc.. It was rustic but well maintained, clean and nice.

The MS Pacific Princess became famous when it appeared in the romantic comedy anthology TV series The Love Boat. With today's really huge cruise ships, she falls under the small cruise ship category though it really isn't that small. As we toured around we discovered the restaurants, the cabaret lounge where they hold evening shows, the cozy Pacific lounge with a bar, the library, the main pool and the panorama buffet. Though the ship isn't new it still holds its elegance, it gave us the impression of being taken back in time, especially the interior design.

Everything was included in the package that we paid except for alcoholic beverages and the daily tips of $11.23 per person. The food was very delicious and it can be dangerous if you over-indulge since food is available from six in the morning until eleven in the evening. Every night they'd give you the following day's schedule so you'd be able to plan ahead in case you wanna join an on-board activity that they propose such as table tennis "friendly" competitions, free dance lessons, cooking shows, a comedy show at night etc..they have various activities designed for various group of guests. Even though around 85% of the guests are retirees there was never a point that we got bored and it's actually something that has to change, one shouldn't wait for his retirement before getting on a cruise, not necessarily the luxurious ones...in today's world it's rare not to have enough choices may it be about the price range or the destination.

Since we're residents of the French Polynesian archipelago my husband already has some local contacts so he made arrangements and bookings for the excursions in almost all of our ports of call even weeks before the beginning of our adventure. He didn't do it for Moorea - an island next to Tahiti that we often visit, so, we can say we know the island well enough to pay for a guided tour; Bora Bora - where we planned on spending our day at the beach which also is free of charge and Raiatea - where we planned doing a short trekking which won't necessarily need a guide, thus, again free of charge.

The idea of cruising is already something wonderful in itself but cruising in the South Pacific seas? That's beyond wonderful if you are someone who loves the tropics, the laid back islands, pristine white sand beaches and crystal-clear-and-marine-life-rich lagoons! For us, it was heaven, this place is a little piece of paradise. Away from pollution, overpopulation, terrorism and migrant crisis just to name a few. Aside from the three previously mentioned islands (Moorea, Raiatea and Bora Bora), we also had the pleasure to go and enjoy the islands of:

Huahine where we did an island tour including a visit to a pearl farm.
The grandiose Nuku Hiva of the Marquesas where we did a guided tour which included a short trekking. It's a mountainous big island so you'll have really fascinating views of the ocean.
The awesome Rangiroa where we spent a day at the famous "blue lagoon" and the name really speaks for itself, the different shades of blue and the black fin sharks swimming with you were stunning and the snorkeling at their natural aquarium was simply unforgettable.

The eleven days went by really quick and though it's cliché to say but as stated in the ship's slogan, we came back new!

Yes, the price isn't low but considering the experience that we had and that everything is expensive at where we are, it was actually worth every penny. So, why going on a cruise is a good idea? Well, with what you paid you were taken to different places while enjoying the comforts of being in a starred hotel. Each day, you open your eyes to a different scenery. You can be eating your breakfast with a marvelous view of the ocean and spending your lunch at a local restaurant really far from where you had last night's dinner. Take a break, go on a cruise while you're still young and enjoy it even more! As for us, we can't wait to try it again, we're hooked! ^_^