Polynesian Dreams on the Oceania Regatta
7/29/2025 to 8/18/2025

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Page 1 – Pre-Trip in Honolulu, Embarkation, Ship
Page 2 – Ship (Continued), Cabin, Activities, Entertainment
Page 3 - Ports of Call: Nawiliwili, Kauai; Kailua-Kona, Hawaii
Page 4 - Ports of Call:    Nuka Hiva, French Polynesia; Rangiroa, French Polynesia; Raiatea, French Polynesia; Bora Bora, French Polynesia
Page 5 - Ports of Call:   Bora Bora, French Polynesia - Day 2; Papeete, Tahiti

Ports of Call (Continued)

Nuka Hiva, French Polynesia

After 4.5 days and 1,961 miles at sea, we arrived at Nuka Hiva in the Marquesas Islands. In the 20 years since my first visit, I had forgotten how mountainous and lovely it was from the water.

The Marquesas are very remote islands and sparsely populated. Very few cruise ships visit, so any visit is special. On one of the flights home, I watched a video about the Marquesas. Their main lifeline to civilization is a supply boat that comes from Tahiti every three weeks with supplies.

A small yellow motorboat was coming our way. It was the pilot boat. They pulled up alongside and the pilot jumped onto the Regatta. The view of the actual jump was obstructed by the lifeboat.

As we got closer to the island, it got even prettier.

We were greeted by singing, drum playing and a little girl handing out flowers to everyone as they left the tender dock.

On my first visit to Nuka Hiva, I wanted to use a highly rated tour guide, Jocelyne, with Jocelyne Henua Ennana Tours (jocelyne@mail.pf). She was already booked, so I used a different one who is no longer in business. This time I booked her far enough in advance. Below is a photo of Jocelyne with her husband I took later in the tour.

With the ship leaving from Kona instead of Hilo, we left port 5 hours earlier than the original itinerary, but we also arrived 2 hours later in Nuka Hiva, 11:00 AM rather than the original 9:00 AM. As a result, we would have a shortened tour and not be able to have lunch at the cute restaurant all the guides go to on the beach, Yvonne’s.

Our group of six were on the first tender and ready to start the tour. Since there would be a second vehicle also joining the tour with six people, we had to wait for them to get a tender. We had about a 20-minute wait before we could get underway. We were in Jocelyne’s van, and the other group was in a truck with benches in the back. We were going to change vehicles at the halfway point.

At our first stop at the Mont Moake scenic viewpoint, both vehicles emptied and gathered around Jocelyne as she told us about the island, what we were seeing and where we would be going during the tour. It was a lovely view of the bay where we were anchored.

We could also look across the water at another Marquesas Island, Ua Poa, in the distance with tall mountains.

The first thing I noticed as we were driving were the paved roads. Everywhere we drove had smooth paved roads. Twenty years earlier, there were mostly dirt roads and very rough ones.

We next went to the Comptroller Bay viewpoint. Another lovely place. It was the site of the 4th season of the TV show Survivor.

We took a group photo there.

As we continued, we drove through very dense jungles. It is not a place you would want to get lost in. Most of the island is undeveloped.

On the way to our next stop, Jocelyne told us to watch out the left side of the van to see a waterfall. She said that she would slow down but couldn’t stop due to the narrow curvy road. I aimed my camera in the direction and finally found it, but only got one decent shot. I was lucky to get it.

We next stopped at another lovely overlook, Hatiheu Pass. There were so many scenic outlooks on this tour. Such a dramatic landscape.

We were supposed to change vehicles, but the group in the truck said they wanted to stay on the truck. We didn’t mind since we enjoyed being with Jocelyne and the air conditioning. With the weather being in the low 80’s, it was probably pretty comfortable in the truck.

On the way down to the valley, we stopped at an old religious site. Next to the parking lot was huge, gorgeous banyan tree.

Jocelyne walked to the religious site where she told us about what we were seeing and what happened there.

We next drove down to Hatiheu Village along the beach, where we had a comfort stop and Jocelyne gave us some lemonade. I liked the decorated walkway along the beach.

The restrooms were next to the church.

We had a nice view of the large stone peaks we saw earlier from above.

On the way back, I was able to get a different angle of the waterfall. I liked it, since it showed the surrounding area better. I would have liked to see the whole length of the waterfall.

For our last stop, we went to a local crafts shop. They had lots of lovely handmade items. I purchased some items during my last visit to the Marquesas.

As we were sailing away, Nuka Hiva looked quite lovely in the distance.

The next day would be another sea day as we cruised 567 miles to Rangiroa. It would be our last sea day.

Rangiroa, French Polynesia

If I didn’t know there was an island in front of us, I would have barely seen it. It is a very flat island. There are no mountains with the highest elevation being just 39 feet. It is the second largest atoll in the world. The atoll is a big ring made up of 415 motus in a flattened elliptical shape. The circumference is about 120 miles and there is a land area of 66 square miles. The main attraction is underwater.

I took some photos of the island as we came through the channel to show how narrow the island is.

We took a ship excursion that would give us a snorkeling experience in the tropical waters. It was called Snorkel the Aquarium Garden. There were two boats with 6 snorkelers on each for our tour. This is what the boats looked like.

They had snorkels that could be used, but they didn’t have fins. They said we wouldn’t need them. We had our own snorkels, but they should have had fins for everyone. One couple did bring their own mini-fins. The area we were snorkeling in was quite pretty.

I purchased a waterproof case for my iPhone so that I could get some underwater photos. I had tried it out in our development swimming pool, and it worked great. Very waterproof and the controls worked with no problem through the soft plastic body. Knowing what I know now, I should have stopped using it at as soon as I realized that the controls didn’t work very well under the water. I wasted way too much time trying to make it work on three days of snorkeling, rather than just enjoying the beauty around me. These are the only photos from Rangiroa worth putting in the review and they don’t show the beauty or variety of fish and coral we saw.

After lunch, we decided to take the tender back to the pier and just walk around the beach and see what there was near us. When I visited this island 20 years earlier, there were vans with signs offering free visits to a pearl farm. We did that then and it was a most enjoyable tour of the island. We didn’t buy any pearls then, but it was a nice experience. There were no tours of any kind being offered this time, other than through the ship. The beach was lovely. We had a nice view of the Regatta.

The overwater bungalows are very appealing. They are also very expensive. We would see lots of them on the next three islands.

As we walked along the beach, I wished that I had left my bathing suit on so that I could enjoy the beautiful clear water.

Looking at Google maps, there didn’t seem to be anything to visit nearby. We asked a cruiser who was coming back from the road if there was anything up the road. He said there was a bank about 3/4th mile away. We passed on going to “town”.

Raiatea, French Polynesia

Cruising into Raiatea felt much more like we were visiting a tropical paradise.

A big plus of Raiatea is that they have a dock, so we didn’t have to tender again.

The shopping area along the dock looked cute with the grass roofed huts, but as we got closer, we could see that some of them were in need of repair.

In the morning, we had another ship tour, Taha’a Coral Garden Snorkeling. There were two boats with six in each boat. This company had fins and snorkels for everyone that needed them. Thank goodness. We would be taking about a 30-minute ride to a motu close to the island of Taha’a just north of Raiatea. It is much less populated and commercial. As we headed there, it was very cloudy, and it started to rain. I was so hoping for a sunny day to make the snorkeling so much better for Cathy. Surprisingly, before we arrived the skies were blue and the sun was shining brightly, which made the water so gorgeous.

When we arrived at the motu we had to walk from the boat to the motu avoiding the rocks on the ocean bottom. We then walked along the motu beach to where we again walked across more rocks to get to where we would start the snorkel. Our guide told us that we would snorkel in kind of a semicircle to where we would end at the boat. That made sense.

This was some of the best snorkeling I’ve ever done. Such clear water, so many fish and beautiful coral. I was fascinated by the many blue lipped clams on the coral. They were so pretty. I spent way too much time trying to get my iPhone to take photos, but it kept doing things I didn’t want it to do. It was most frustrating, but just wonderful snorkeling. I didn’t get any useable photos on the swim.

We then moved the boat to a different section of the motu and repeated the process. Once again just an outstanding experience. This time I did get some decent photos.

I took some photos of our two awesome guides. They were so helpful to Cathy and me. They gave us an outstanding snorkeling experience.

On the way back to the dock, we saw a stingray swimming next to a wine bottle. It was probably French wine since we were in French Polynesia.

The ride back through the gorgeous turquoise waters was such a treat. It is what memories are made of.

After lunch we went back ashore for some shopping or whatever. We enjoyed the decorations along the dock.

We wanted to see if they had any t-shirts like our snorkel guides were wearing. We found very few touristy t-shirts there or on any of the islands. One thing we did find was a bank. We needed to get some French Polynesian Francs to use for Taxis in Papeete when we got off of the ship and to get to the airport the next day. The fellow that we talked to the previous day, who went to the bank, was surprised that there were no ATM fees added to his cash withdrawal. When I got mine, it was also withdrawal fee free. That was a nice experience, plus, the exchange rate was just what it was on my currency app. After looking around some more, we returned to the ship for the rest of the day. It had been a wonderful day in Raiatea.

Bora Bora, French Polynesia – Day 1

It was only 83 miles to Bora Bora. Our approach was quite nice with the sun rising. The large mountain in the middle, Mount Otemanu, is certainly the focal point. It is 2,385 feet above sea level and has never had a successful ascent to the top. It is because the volcanic rock is rotten and the long vertical rock climb to the summit is too dangerous. This photo doesn’t show the sheer cliffs on the other side of the mountain, but I did get some photos from the other side later in the day.

We booked a ship tour, Best of Bora Bora & Lunch At Bloody Mary's. A few months before the cruise, Oceania notified us that Bloody Mary’s was closed for renovation, and we would have lunch at a different restaurant. I am surprised they waited so long to tell us, since I read about it months before when researching excursions. I assumed that they knew something I didn’t. I guess they didn’t. The tour included a half day of snorkeling and a half day of a 4X4 tour around the island. The 25 people on the tour were broken into two groups so that with both groups meeting at the restaurant for lunch, with one group snorkeling in the morning and the other in the afternoon. We got to snorkel first and then do the land tour in the afternoon. Once again, the snorkel boats were broken into two groups of 6. It was cloudy as we headed out, but still pretty.

We passed a boat that looked like it was made from concrete. Quite unusual looking. I believe that the guide said it was a trash collection boat.

We came to the Conrad Hilton overwater bungalows. They looked quite nice. Our guide directed our attention to the large one on the end. He told us that it was $10,000 per night.

From there, we could see the unclimbable sheer cliff sides of Mount Otemanu.

When we got to the snorkel location, a shallow area where there were several other boats and lots of snorkelers, we were told we didn’t need the fins there. The problem was that they didn’t have any snorkels for those that didn’t bring any. Really? I felt so sorry for the folks that hadn’t brought them. They just had a nice boat ride.

This was a most interesting snorkel, since they were feeding the sting rays and reef sharks. We jumped into the water and watched the action around us.

Since I visited Stingray City in Grand Cayman a couple times, I didn’t need to pet them. But Cathy had never experienced it. Although my iPhone was giving me problems, I was able to get a photo of Cathy petting one.

We then moved to a real snorkel location, which was very nice, especially since the sun had come out. The underwater photos didn’t come out that great, but they give you an idea of the beauty. I was pleased that I was able to get a couple blue lipped clams shots. Not the best focus, but it shows what they look like.

I couldn’t take enough photos of the amazing water color. It is breathtaking.

The mountain was now in the sun also making it look much nicer.

We pulled up to Le Gecko restaurant at around 11:40 AM. The other group had not yet arrived. Lunch was supposed to start at noon.

I walked around taking photos of the interior and the road entrance.

The views from the dining areas were great.

The other group arrive around ten minutes after noon and buffet service started shortly thereafter. The plates were set out with a scoop of rice, a tiny portion of salad and a small piece of bread. The protein selections were some barbecued chicken and some extremely crispy fried fish. Below is what we were given for lunch on a ship excursion costing $339 per person.

It was unacceptable, especially since we were originally supposed to be dining at the famous Bloody Marys. Everyone we talked to was disappointed with the lunch. There was no reason to complain to the restaurant. They were doing what they were supposed to do. When we got back to the ship, I contacted destination services to let them know that the restaurant served an unacceptable meal and that they should address it for future excursions. I didn’t want a refund, but I hoped that others would have a better experience. I probably should have addressed it with the GM but figured that I could just discuss it on our survey. We have yet to receive a survey.

After lunch it was time to board the 4X4 trucks for the drive up the mountains. We had a very good and informative guide. But I didn’t write down his name.

We drove up a very steep dirt road to Amanahune. It is an incredible scenic overlook location because there are views to both sides of the island. On one side there are two differerent areas to view from. All are gorgeous.

We then went to the other side of the mountain. Beautiful in a different way.

I took some photos of the road as we were descending to our next destination.

After coming down the mountain, we stopped at Matira Beach. Wow, what a gorgeous beach. If we had stayed any longer, I might have jumped in the water. It was so tempting.

Our guide then drove us to a different spot to see a cave in the side of a mountain.

We parked right in front of the house he was raised and still lives in. His dog even came out to say hi to him.

Close to his house was another dirt road we needed to take to a different scenic outlook. It was a horrible road and very steep. I took the below photo looking back at what we had just driven up. This is the good part, but you can see the drop off down below.

We had to walk up a very rocky path to get to the viewing spot near the large rock. The views were nice, but it had gotten cloudy again.

One of the spots we were supposed to visit on the tour was to see were several artillery canons that were installed on the island during WWII. We were told that we couldn’t get through the road due to construction work. We did get a view of them in the distance. I have to blow it up to show them.

On the way back down the mountain, we had to back up to let some ATV’s go by.

Our last stop was at a pareo factory. They showed us how they make them by folding the cloth and dipping sections into different color paints. They then lay them out to dry and put metal fish images on them for the sun to bleach the images onto the fabric.

Across the road from the factory was a small beach with a nice view of Mount Otemanu.

It had been a very full day with a mostly good tour other than the lunch. We were ready to relax before dinner. We only had one more day of the cruise. From the ship, we had a view of Mount Otemanu with the sun shining on it, unlike what we saw in the morning.