OUR HONEYMOON PICS AND REVIEW - Tahiti, Bora Bora, Raitea, Bora Bora Cruise Line, Le Taha'a
We had a fabulous time. I'll start out with the good part: The best part of the trip was a week long cruise we took on Bora Bora Cruise Line. It is a yacht and there were only 18 passengers!!! The service was phenomenal - everyday they had so many fun activities planned for us. We would take tenders out to isolated beaches where the crew had set up blankets and pillows and had snorkeling gear and canoes and volleyball nets setup. Some days we even had breakfast and dinner on the beaches. We would arrive on the beach and right when we pulled up the crew would pop a bottle of champagne or have a special tropical drink ready for us. One day they set up a 'floating bar' in the ocean - THAT was awesome!!! We went on waverunners in Bora Bora as part of an excursion off the cruise ship - soooooo much fun. We also rented scooters on the island of Raitea and had a BLAST. We met a great couple from Scotland - we were so happy to meet them because there were no other English speaking couples on the cruise. The other couples were from Belgium, France, and Spain.
The Intercontinental in Tahiti is a nice place, but Tahiti itself is not great. Just a place to stay overnight on your way to the other islands. The service at the Intercontinental was horrible - Jeremy and I got a real attitude from the staff there. Maybe it's because we are on NYC time, but the service was slowwww, expensive, and the food was bad. We paid $80/PP for a brunch one morning and we were not told about this until we had to pay. MAke sure you ask about the cost of everything!!! I once paid $25 for a glass of wine!! Cheeseburgers, etc. are at least $20 - everything is VERY expensive.
We stayed at Le Taha'a's Private Island and Spa. It was a long journey to get there, and while it was beautiful, I really expected a higher level of service considering what we were paying. This is the type of place that celebrities often go to, and I was just often surprised at the lack of customer service. Also, I was very upset when an expensive white hat I purchased for the trip 'disappeared' from my room. I called the concierge and housekeeping, etc., and almost nobody could understand English and I FINALLY got it back the day we left. Housekeeping had accidently sweeped it up with the sheets. I kept thanking the concierge for finding it, and then I asked myself, 'why am I thanking these people for losing my hat and annoying me?' - they never once apologized for the inconvience. Not cool for almost $1,000 night! I was dissapointed in this place.
A side note: it is next to impossible to get water served to you at meals unless you specifically ask for it, and then it takes the waiters a good 20 minutes to get it to you, and then you're charged $10 for a bottle. Ice is rare. DH got smart and started collecting ice from the ice machines and we melted our own water to save money!
After we left the cruise, we went to the Hotel Bora Bora. DH's family had taken him here 15 years ago and we kept hearing how since it is the oldest hotel on the island, it has really great service. Well, about the only thing notable at this place is the snorkeling. It is the last hotel in the world built on a reef and there are soooo many beautiful fish. We would take loafs of bread into the water and fish would just surround us - it was truly amazing. The service at Hotel Bora Bora blows. I just couldn't believe how I had kept hearing out great the service is....not true for us AT ALL. And let's not talk about the $130 mani/pedi that was 3 hours long and the worst experience of my life. I think another reason why we were dissapointed in the Hotel Bora Bora is because we had REALLY bad weather while we were there. 3 out of the 4 days were the most intense storms I have ever been in - like I couldn't even walk towards the rain...I had to 'back up' and walk...it was crazy. Also, we went to Bloody Mary's one night and DH got really bad food poisoning and was throwing up from the time we left the restuarant and then all night, so that put a damper on things. The last night there was a traditional Polynesian entertainment show on the beach and they called all the young guys up and DH had to throw a javelin at a coconut and then they had a 'strong man' contest, where they rolled these big rocks up onto the beach and then all the guys had to lift it up individually. I'm proud to say DH lifted both rocks :) That was a fun experience, and they also had a fire show.
We were ready to come home - all in all, we were there for 17 days. The cruise and the excursions were amazing, but the service at certain resorts and the prohibitive costs of things did put a slight damper on things. But, we met two great couples and enjoyed our time together as husband and wife thorougly. Enjoy the pics, and please let me know if you have any specific questions!!
Honeymoon Pics
The Intercontinental in Tahiti is a nice place, but Tahiti itself is not great. Just a place to stay overnight on your way to the other islands. The service at the Intercontinental was horrible - Jeremy and I got a real attitude from the staff there. Maybe it's because we are on NYC time, but the service was slowwww, expensive, and the food was bad. We paid $80/PP for a brunch one morning and we were not told about this until we had to pay. MAke sure you ask about the cost of everything!!! I once paid $25 for a glass of wine!! Cheeseburgers, etc. are at least $20 - everything is VERY expensive.
We stayed at Le Taha'a's Private Island and Spa. It was a long journey to get there, and while it was beautiful, I really expected a higher level of service considering what we were paying. This is the type of place that celebrities often go to, and I was just often surprised at the lack of customer service. Also, I was very upset when an expensive white hat I purchased for the trip 'disappeared' from my room. I called the concierge and housekeeping, etc., and almost nobody could understand English and I FINALLY got it back the day we left. Housekeeping had accidently sweeped it up with the sheets. I kept thanking the concierge for finding it, and then I asked myself, 'why am I thanking these people for losing my hat and annoying me?' - they never once apologized for the inconvience. Not cool for almost $1,000 night! I was dissapointed in this place.
A side note: it is next to impossible to get water served to you at meals unless you specifically ask for it, and then it takes the waiters a good 20 minutes to get it to you, and then you're charged $10 for a bottle. Ice is rare. DH got smart and started collecting ice from the ice machines and we melted our own water to save money!
After we left the cruise, we went to the Hotel Bora Bora. DH's family had taken him here 15 years ago and we kept hearing how since it is the oldest hotel on the island, it has really great service. Well, about the only thing notable at this place is the snorkeling. It is the last hotel in the world built on a reef and there are soooo many beautiful fish. We would take loafs of bread into the water and fish would just surround us - it was truly amazing. The service at Hotel Bora Bora blows. I just couldn't believe how I had kept hearing out great the service is....not true for us AT ALL. And let's not talk about the $130 mani/pedi that was 3 hours long and the worst experience of my life. I think another reason why we were dissapointed in the Hotel Bora Bora is because we had REALLY bad weather while we were there. 3 out of the 4 days were the most intense storms I have ever been in - like I couldn't even walk towards the rain...I had to 'back up' and walk...it was crazy. Also, we went to Bloody Mary's one night and DH got really bad food poisoning and was throwing up from the time we left the restuarant and then all night, so that put a damper on things. The last night there was a traditional Polynesian entertainment show on the beach and they called all the young guys up and DH had to throw a javelin at a coconut and then they had a 'strong man' contest, where they rolled these big rocks up onto the beach and then all the guys had to lift it up individually. I'm proud to say DH lifted both rocks :) That was a fun experience, and they also had a fire show.
We were ready to come home - all in all, we were there for 17 days. The cruise and the excursions were amazing, but the service at certain resorts and the prohibitive costs of things did put a slight damper on things. But, we met two great couples and enjoyed our time together as husband and wife thorougly. Enjoy the pics, and please let me know if you have any specific questions!!
Honeymoon Pics
