I remember leaning over the rail of our balcony, tropical breezes blowing, listening to the strains of "Bali Hai", while gazing at the island of Bora Bora, framed in the Pacific sunset. With light orange clouds ringing her distinctive spired peak, she looked just like she did in the movie South Pacific...an exotic, dramatic and romantic vista with few rivals on earth.
It was one of those moments that you just want to freeze for eternity to draw upon when the world is black and white cold.
And there were so many more moments like this in our journey through these unbelievably beautiful islands. For this reason we picked Tahiti on the Paul Gauguin as the winner of Oceancruises "Ultimate romance cruise". We liked it so much, that we decided not to go home and just stayed on board for the same trip!
Most staterooms on the Gauguin have balconies, which is a big benefit over other ships we've tried which ply these waters. Additionally, the crew is more European in feel, a bit more upscale, and very, very attentive.
One day, for example, we didn't join the others and had a four hour lunch on our favorite spot on the deck beside the Veranda restaurant...very continental. The crew stayed right with us, even though they were closed, even suggesting some cheeses and other wines or port to try until our friends finally returned by skiff to join us for the cocktail hour!
You won't get that on the bigger ships.
There is so much to see and do, or nothing at all, which is what we opted for often! Sometimes just sitting on the balcony, listening to music, soaking up the sights and smells of the most beautiful tropical blue waters in the world was enough...maybe playing a bit of scrabble, or reading a book while sipping a cool one. |
Contemplating what it must have been like when the ship the "Bounty" and Captain Bly arrived, while planning which of the gourmet restaurants we would dine in that night. Or sometimes doing nothing but responding to the urge to hold each other.
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That's the kind of trip it was.
We hiked the islands, jet skied, did a couple of tours, dove to our hearts content, kayaked, explored some uninhabited cays, worked out, bought pearls, swam a lot, and learned about an amazing, underappreciated culture.
We made friends from all over the world, enjoyed extraordinary cuisine, danced, gambled a bit, and enjoyed wonderful entertainment. We laughed, played and napped like children.
I relaxed so deeply that I found myself just nodding off while watching the swaying of the palms on shore, imagining what it must have been like for Fletcher Christian.
What more can you ask for.
Bruce Milne is an advisory board member to Oceancruises.com. He is uniquely qualified to write on such topics as he is one of the worlds leading yachtsmen as owner of CEO Expeditions, a firm which has a growing fleet of luxury super yachts that provide "Expeditions to the Extraordinary" for private parties. |
