Paradise found for Polynesian cruise passengers after detour to Marquesas Islands in storm
In 2018, I travelled solo to the French Polynesian islands. By day I surfed, snorkelled, sailed and swam, stopping only to sleep in an over-the-water bungalow on stilts.
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On my final night, I lay on my belly, face peering through the glass-bottomed hut as neon fish darted between pylons and coral gardens.
That is when I vowed to return some day to this living postcard with my husband.
Recently, that day came to fruition by means of transport we vowed to never experience: a cruise ship.
Obviously not all cruises are created equal, but the thought of being 'landlocked' with hundreds of strangers in a floating hotel just wasn't our style. For us, cruise ships checked all the wrong boxes. But then there was Windstar, a cruise line of six yachts that accommodate no more than 342 guests.
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For roughly US$8,000 per person a 12-day Tahitian cruise included round-trip by air to Papeete, pre- and-post cruise accommodation at Hilton and Intercontinental Tahiti Resort, ground transfers, and of course the sailing experience.
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