Luxury cruises
Bora Bora, Moorea and the Society Islands from a yacht that stays a while.
Few places suit a small ship better than the Society Islands: the distances are short, the lagoons are the point, and a yacht that anchors for a day and a night at Bora Bora or Taha'a gives you water time that a hotel cannot match. It is a couples' destination above all — honeymoons, anniversaries, the big birthday.
The flight is long. We always build in nights in Tahiti or Moorea, and often Los Angeles or San Francisco on the way.
Highlights
Planning figure for a typical week in a veranda suite. Final price depends on sailing date, ship, suite and availability.
Start PlanningOlder children and teenagers who dive and snorkel; otherwise a couples' trip.
For a milestone anniversary, extraordinary; the flights are the only hurdle.
Best cruise lines here
French small ships and a true polar icebreaker, with a children's programme in the summer holidays.
Butler-served suites, serious destinations, and one of the strongest expedition fleets afloat.
Small, sociable, quietly luxurious ships, with a sister expedition fleet.
Food-led, country-club casual ships of around 670 to 1,200 guests at an accessible luxury price.
How to choose
Derived from our own ratings of the lines above, not from brochures.
Ponant, Silversea and Seabourn are small-ship; Oceania Cruises is mid-size. Smaller ships reach the smaller harbours in French Polynesia; larger ones carry more for children and more dining choice.
Ponant and Oceania Cruises keep it relaxed. Ask us which suits the party before anything else.
Ponant rates highest with us for families here; Seabourn and Oceania Cruises are effectively adults-only. Children's facilities vary more than brochures suggest; we will say which ships really have them.
Silversea, Oceania Cruises, Ponant and Seabourn lead on food in our experience of French Polynesia sailings.
Connecting suites, different activity levels, dining that works for everyone, and transfers that suit grandparents and toddlers alike. The best family suites go first, so start early.
Further reading
Our own planning notes: who a ship suits, how many cabins to book, when to go.
Why a ship is one of the easiest places to gather a family for an occasion, what we can arrange on board, and the ships that do celebrations with grace rather than a cake and a song.
Good to know
Around 20 to 24 hours from London via Los Angeles or Paris. We break it with a night on the way and a few nights in Tahiti or Moorea before boarding.
Don't spend thirty hours comparing forty ships, cabins, dates, flights and hotels. Give us five minutes and we'll narrow it down to what is worth considering.