We chose this cruise ship firstly because of its destinations (Tahiti & French Polynesia) and secondly because we liked the idea of a smaller boat that offered the feel of a "private yacht" without being surrounded by thousands of other passengers, and we were not disappointed. We had high expectations from the start and all of our expectations were far exceeded. We don't think we could ever go on a large ship after our Windstar experience.
The ship itself is stunning, especially at "sail away" time each night when the sails are hoisted to an amazing piece of music.
Embarkation and disembarkation went very smoothly, and even when sign-on started to get busy the staff suggested we could have lunch upstairs first and then sign on later - with embarkation commencing at 1 pm we certainly did not expect to be provided with lunch.
We loved the cabin and were very pleased with the size and the beautiful ensuite. We had the most forward cabin starboard side on the lower deck which put us in close proximity to the diesel generators which run all the time, but the gentle hum of the engines wasn't annoying. We had 2 flights of stairs to get to the lounge area but it gave us a chance to wear off some of the great food.
We stayed 2 nights at Tahiti Pearl Beach Resort prior to cruise which was OK. They say it is 5 star but we found it to be far from that. The place is obviously in the throws of being updated and some of the areas badly need it. We were put on the 5th floor of a building where the elevator was broken but at least we had terrific views back towards Moorea.
Just did private walk around town followed by some snorkelling beside the jetty, which was quite good with lots of fish and different types of coral.
Walked through nice little town along lovely waterfront to town beach.
Not much to see at town - really need to hire a car to drive to more locations.