LUXURY CRUISING
Discovered by Captain Cook in the
1790’s and enshrined in legend by the eclectic works of Paul Gauguin himself, the Society Islands of Polynesia are blessed with a close proximity to each other. Thus, Paul Gauguin is able to offer a series of overnight calls at some of the most beauti- ful, inaccessible idylls on the planet without compromising on service, comfort or style. Throughout the ship, three main restau-
rants produced consistently superb cuisine for 330 passengers that were right up there in terms of quality with many of the top- end luxury ships.
At the stern, a beautifully laid terrace
was just the place to breakfast on lamb chops and crepes with hot chocolate sauce
as we swung idly at anchor off Moorea. The upper deck restaurant on the lido seemed most popular as a breakfast venue but, in truth, you were sumptuously fed and spoiled no matter where or when you ate. Mediocrity was simply not on the menu anywhere on board.
While the ship is highly styled, dress codes are smart casual throughout, a blessed relief in the heat and humidity of the region. Service on board was never less than exemplary; hotel manager Freddy Strohmeyer has nurtured a hospitality department on board that has raised the bar on service to the level of an art form as exquisite as any of Gauguin’s own works.
T
he result is a remarkably relaxed and carefree vibe on what is a very port-intensive voyage, one that goes
a huge way towards making the Gauguin cruise experience so memorable. The islands of Polynesia have a beauty that is almost heartbreaking, but few things beat dropping anchor in the shade of Mount Otemanu one clear, starry night. For anyone who has seen South Pacific, this is the fabled Bali Hai immortalised in the song of the same name. The vast, tombstone-like basalt obelisk
loomed over us as a gigantic full moon hovered directly above it. For a few min- utes, most conversation came to a halt as people drank in the amazing view. Ashore, the islands are a mass of lush, dense foliage in a thousand shades of green, rolling back into a seemingly end-
less hinterland. Cockerels strut everywhere between shanty houses, while smoke from numerous local fires fill the air at intervals. This was even visible at night. Huge wooden tikis stood on rickety
wooden piers as they had for decades, while local fishermen hauled stout, multi- hued canoes out of the water and the women prepared the catch. Footpaths are hit and miss out here, and traffic nothing like as excessive as in much more devel- oped cruising regions. There are no skyscrapers, and most tour-
ist life revolves around a clutch of high end luxury hotels that flank the water’s edge on Tahiti, Bora Bora and Moorea. The pace of life is slow, in a kind of soporific, smiley way. The smells, sounds and sheer lustre of
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