Log In | Customer Support   
Home Book Travel Destinations Hotels Cruises Air Travel Community Search:  
Search

Search CruisePage

Book a Cruise
 - CruiseServer
 - Search Caribbean
 - Search Alaska
 - Search Europe
 - 888.700.TRIP

Book Online
Cruise
Air
Hotel
Car
Cruising Area:

Departure Date:
Cruise Length:

Price Range:

Cruise Line:

Forums
 >  Cruise Talk
 >  Rail Talk
 >  Air Talk
 >  Destination Talk
 >  Hotel Talk

Buy Stuff

Reviews
 - Ship Reviews
 - Dream Cruise
 - Ship of the Month
 - Reader Reviews
 - Submit a Review
 - Millennium Cruise

Community
 - Photo Gallery
 - Join Cruise Club
 - Cruise News
 - Cruise News Archive
 - Cruise Views
 - Cruise Jobs
 - Special Needs
 - Maritime Q & A
 - Sea Stories

Industry
 - New Ship Guide
 - Former Ships
 - Port Information
 - Inspection Scores
 - Shipyards
 - Ship Cams
 - Freighter Travel
 - Man Overboard List
 - Potpourri

Shopping
 - Shirts & Hats
 - Books
 - Videos
 - Reservations
 - Vacation Specials
 - Web Deals

Contact Us
 - Reservations
 - Mail
 - Feedback
 - Suggest-a-Site
 - About Us


   Cruise Travel - Featured Profile

Welcome to this month's Featured Ship Profile. Each month we publish an objective review of a different ship to help you find the cruise that's right for you.


MS Paul Gauguin


MS Paul Gauguin

TravelPage.com Rating:Four Stars
Operator: Radisson Seven Seas Cruise
Year Built / Last Refurbished: 1998 / 2001
Length / Tonnage: 513 / 18,800
Number of Cabins / Passengers: 160 / 320
Officers / Crew: French / International
Operating Area: Southern Pacific from Papeete

Review by Christopher E. Smith, TravelPage.com, Associate Cruise Editor

I once visited the most beautiful chain of islands in the world- the lush and beautiful islands called French Polynesia. That was eighteen years ago and even now the siren song of Tahiti, Moorea and Bora Bora whispers to me daily. TravelPage.com Cruise Editor Mark Goldberg yearns for the icy cool beauty of the summer Arctic, but I want to go to back to Tahiti...Only time and money seem to separate me from these island enchantresses...they were expensive to visit when I went there in 1980 and they aren’t any bargain deal now....unless you are on a cruise. And now there is Radisson Seven Seas’s MS PAUL GAUGUIN waiting to take me away on one of her weekly circuits of French Polynesia...Run, I tell myself...don’t walk...BOOK this cruise...You should, too...and if you are a first time visitors, expect to begin a life long love affair with the South Pacific. Everything you have read about these islands is true..from the sweet smell of the air, the inviting ocean, the languid pace....the lush, tropical beauty of these islands...a sure fire tonic for the world weary.

Not only does the allure of these islands tug at me...the PAUL GAUGUIN is one magnificent little ship. There isn’t a cabin in her I don't like. Every one of them is outside, each of them measures at least 200 square feet and quite a few measure a lot more...Every cabin has a bathroom with bathtub...and amenities for each cabin include bathrobes for each passenger, a hair dryer, a TV complete with VCR, safe, phone and the ever important stocked refrigerator....ALL this on the ship AND French Polynesia too...This is MY idea of heaven on earth and honestly...it’s as close to heaven as I want to get for years to come!!!

PAUL GAUGUIN has everything you’d expect a modern cruise ship to have...lounges, casino, gift shop, a gym and spa....but at 16,000 tons, she’s modest in size...yet she has quite a pedigree...Built in France, she is registered in France, too, and has European officers and staff trained in Europe....and so she will be casual in that upscale sort of way. Active vacationers will like her for her facilities...she has equipment for divers, snorkelers, windsurfers and so on.....but after an hour or so in Polynesia, my hat is off to anyone who has the energy for such sports.....I like to look at the islands from a deck chair on board ship and from a hammock ashore.

The ports? From Papeete, the PAUL GAUGUIN takes in Raiatea, Tahaa, Bora Bora and Moorea....and trust me, there’s plenty of time spent on each island to really get to know them. And the locals? Some travelers don’t do well with the French Polynesians....and if you are a Francophile and insist on speaking the highest class of Parisian French, it’s just possible that your welcome in Tahiti may be slightly hostile....the French government has, over the years, made some questionable decisions regarding this paradise. And when you go ashore, do not expect to achieve any satisfaction from any inhabitants you may disagree with by threatening, bullying, and carrying on...service and attitudes in Polynesia are a world away from our frenzied ways...sometimes service in this paradise is lax or nonexistent. So don’t bark! Instead...do what I did when I was there...Smile and adopt the attitude that everything will attended to in time....and I’m in French Polynesia, so I’m in no rush...This .works like a charm. By the way, bribes won’t and don’t help.....tipping isn’t part of the culture.

So if the travel gods are listening, I’ll soon have a seat on Air France to Papeete.....and the pessimistic side of me is already dreading the flight home, always a time for me to struggle with having to leave Shangri-la and having to come to grips with day to day reality.

VACATION & CRUISE SPECIALS
Check out these great deals from CruisePage.com

Royal Caribbean - Bahamas Getaway from $129 per person
Description: Experience the beautiful ports of Nassau and Royal Caribbean's private island - CocoCay on a 3-night Weekend Getaway to the Bahamas. Absorb everything island life has to offer as you snorkel with the stingrays, parasail above the serene blue waters and walk the endless white sand beaches. From Miami.
Carnival - 4-Day Bahamas  from $229 per person
Description: Enjoy a wonderful 3 Day cruise to the fun-loving playground of Nassau, Bahamas. Discover Nassau, the capital city as well as the cultural, commercial and financial heart of the Bahamas. Meet the Atlantic Southern Stingrays, the guardians of Blackbeard's treasure.
NCL - Bermuda - 7 Day from $499 per person
Description: What a charming little chain of islands. Walk on pink sand beaches. Swim and snorkel in turquoise seas. Take in the historical sights. They're stoically British and very quaint. Or explore the coral reefs. You can get to them by boat or propelled by fins. You pick. Freestyle Cruising doesn't tell you where to go or what to do. Sure, you can plan ahead, or decide once onboard. After all, it's your vacation. There are no deadlines or must do's.
Holland America - Eastern Caribbean from From $599 per person
Description: White sand, black sand, talcum soft or shell strewn, the beaches of the Eastern Caribbean invite you to swim, snorkel or simply relax. For shoppers, there's duty-free St. Thomas, the Straw Market in Nassau, French perfume and Dutch chocolates on St. Maarten. For history buffs, the fascinating fusion of Caribbean, Latin and European cultures. For everyone, a day spent on HAL's award winning private island Half Moon Cay.
Celebrity - 7-Night Western Mediterranean  from $549 per person
Description: For centuries people have traveled to Europe to see magnificent ruins, art treasures and natural wonders. And the best way to do so is by cruise ship. Think of it - you pack and unpack only once. No wasted time searching for hotels and negotiating train stations. Instead, you arrive at romantic ports of call relaxed, refreshed and ready to take on the world.
Holland America - Alaska from From $499 per person
Description: Sail between Vancouver and Seward, departing Sundays on the ms Statendam or ms Volendam and enjoy towering mountains, actively calving glaciers and pristine wildlife habitat. Glacier Bay and College Fjord offer two completely different glacier-viewing experiences.
|  Home  |  About Us  |  Suggest-a-Site  |  Feedback  |  Contact Us  |  Privacy  | 
This page, and all contents, are © 1995-2006 by Interactive Travel Guides, Inc. and/or its suppliers. All rights reserved.
TravelPage.com is a trademark of Interactive Travel Guides, Inc.
Powered by TravelServer Software