Crusing The Society Islands, French Polynesia

The Society Islands…jagged mountains, white sand seashores, over-water bungalows, tropical forests, sounds of ukuleles, and smells of gardenia…it’s a honeymoon dreamland. However too typically, {couples} fly from Tahiti to Bora Bora and miss the unbelievable islands in between! Conserving with the seafaring custom of Polynesia, a small ship is palms down one of the simplest ways to discover this gorgeous archipelago, so we joined Windstar Cruises for a Society Islands honeymoon journey! Not your typical boat (there’s solely a handful on this planet), the Wind Spirit is a four-masted, motorized crusing yacht that rides the breeze to extend pace, cut back gas, add romance, and honor the artwork of crusing. Plus, there have been lower than 100 individuals on board and simply as many employees (together with their spa specialists, mixologists, water-sport crew, and James-Beard-Basis-trained cooks) so we knew we’d be in good palms throughout our seven-day crusing. See the place we went, what we did, and why we fell in love with yacht life within the Society Islands.
 

MSY Wind Spirit

In Tahiti’s Papeete harbor, we noticed the MSY Wind Spirit with its six sails, picket railings, and pointed bow, and received giddy for the week forward. It appeared extra like a basic tall ship than the cruise selection and simply our pace. On the finish of the pier and pink carpet, Captain Lubo and Basic Supervisor D’Souza had been ready to personally welcome us aboard. With our baggage already delivered to our room, we got down to discover the 4 decks throughout this 360-foot-long ship. Two eating places, a lounge, espresso bar, library, health middle, spa, boutique, watersports platform, pool bar, sundecks, and 73 staterooms, it had all the things {couples} (learn: no little youngsters allowed) might need whereas preserving a small footprint. We reached our room and our “butler” Yadi was there to present us a tour of our nautical stylish house with a queen mattress, seating space, ample storage, sound system, mini bar, and spacious toilet. He left us with a bottle of champagne to toast our keep and tell us he was out there for something we wanted.
 

Setting Sail

Getting dressed for dinner, we heard the cinematic track “Conquest of Paradise” come on the loudspeaker. That is the sound of Windstar’s signature sail-away when everybody gathers on the highest deck to look at the sails unfurl and lift a glass to an incredible day and people forward. We went upstairs, waved goodbye to Tahiti basking within the sundown glow, then to dinner on the unbelievable Amphora restaurant. Windstar is the official cruise line of the James Beard Basis, which signifies that every day’s menu options recipes by the muse’s award-winning cooks and is ready to their five-star requirements. We sat down at a comfy crescent sales space below the glow of a Murano glass chandelier, and Chef and 5x cookbook creator Darin Epp got here to our desk. He knew we had been vegan with out us saying a phrase, and had a protracted record of suggestions for a scrumptious plant-based meal. He ready a tofu that was the closest factor to sea bass we’ve had since our pescatarian days and a Thai-inspired “Bang-Bang Cauliflower” that introduced us again to Bangkok. As we ate the final chunk of our clever dessert and swooned, Darin stated, “Simply wait till Friday…I’m creating an eight-course vegan dinner for you.”
 

Mo’orea: Straight out of Moana

We awakened with the solar and out of our porthole window we noticed the plush inexperienced and jagged peaks of Mo’orea taking pictures out of the ocean. I shortly received dressed, grabbed a cappuccino and pastry on the espresso bar, and went to the highest deck to look at arguably French Polynesia’s most lovely isle draw nearer. All of the islands listed here are volcanic in origin however, being among the many youngest within the chain (at 2 million years outdated) Mo’orea has nothing weathered about it with sheer cliffs, skinny bays, and a hanging silhouette. To assist visitors discover and revel in every island, we might take the Windstar tender to enterprise out on our personal (lease bikes, store the native markets, go to museums, and so forth.) or we might join a myriad of excursions—from scuba diving to picture safaris. For an excellent cultural and geological overview, we did a improbable tour to Belvedere Lookout’s sweeping vista, the oldest European church within the South Pacific, the Gump Analysis Station for sustainability science, and the sacred Polynesian ruins of Marae Ti’i-rua. Within the afternoon, we went dolphin and whale watching with certainly one of French Polynesia’s premier marine biologists, Dr. Michael Poole, whose analysis and advocacy has resulted in a lot of the nation’s laws defending these marine mammals. We realized all concerning the fascinating spinner dolphins and this newly found humpback breeding floor, then noticed each species in motion! When the time got here for the Wind Spirit to unfurl its sails and depart Mo’orea, we had been already planning our return.
 

Raiatea: The Coronary heart of the Polynesian Triangle

The Islands of Tahiti are the middle of the Polynesian Triangle which stretches from Hawaii to Easter Island to New Zealand, and the island of Raiatea is on the religious coronary heart of all of it. It’s additionally dwelling to unbelievable scuba diving and the nation’s solely navigable river (Windstar provides each of these excursions), however its true star is the UNESCO World Heritage Website of Taputapuātea. This historic marae advanced is the place chiefs, clergymen, and warriors from throughout the Pacific would journey by way of canoe to collect for an important ceremonies. Our native information Tara picked us up, and her ardour for Polynesian tradition was infectious. She regaled us with tales of her childhood spent chasing land crabs and climbing tropical fruit timber. She made stops at a small-family “copra” (aka dried coconut) operations and black pearl farms to assist us perceive these staples of the nation’s economic system. Finally, she walked us by means of Taputapuātea for a tour that gave us a deeper appreciation of Polynesia past French borders. To high off our day of cultural immersion, the ship invited a neighborhood troupe onboard to show conventional dances, floral-crown making, palm-frond weaving and set the tone for that night time’s Tahitian BBQ below the celebs.
 

Taha’a: The Vanilla Island & Motu Mahea

Crusing from Raiatea to Taha’a, the colour of the water appeared to impress. Shifting into the shallower depths, navy blue light to teal to turquoise over the white sand. We had reached “The Vanilla Island,” the place 70% of French Polynesia’s famed beans develop. An area tour boat pulled as much as our anchorage with a ukulele musician, setting the nice island vibes for our day. We walked down the principle road of charming Taha’a and will odor the vanilla within the air, combined with hibiscus and gardenia from the gardens of the few thousand inhabitants. We arrived at a family-run plantation and received the lowdown straight from the vanilla farmer’s mouth. The bean comes from a hand-pollinated flower, takes 9 months to develop, dries within the solar for six weeks, then cures for 2 months earlier than it’s the vanilla we all know and love. After the 101 course, we walked the plantation and sampled all kinds of vanilla merchandise, contemporary from one of many most interesting producers on this planet. On the way in which again to the ship, we made a seemingly harmless snorkel cease solely to understand it was teeming with blacktip reef sharks and stingrays! By no means had we seen so many sharks, however we took the information’s phrase that they had been pleasant and jumped in. It was an unbelievable expertise and we’ve got all our fingers and toes to point out for it! For lunch, fairly than return to the ship, the Windstar group introduced a full-on BBQ feast, water sports activities, and therapeutic massage tables to the personal island of Motu Mahea for a day of enjoyable.
 

Actions Aboard The Wind Spirit

We aren’t the kind to sit down nonetheless very lengthy, so we appreciated that tons of actions may be discovered on board. The Wind Spirit’s water sports activities platform had all the things from kayaks, to SUP boards, trampolines, and even wakeboards with a pace boat to zip you round. Additionally they had fascinating packages all through the day, from cocktail-making classes to Polynesian storytelling, reside music (we cherished our resident musician, Alex Mel!), and the large employees expertise present. And once we did need to sit nonetheless, it could possibly be in a sizzling tub or solar chaise watching the islands go by.
 

Bora Bora Bliss

The subsequent morning we awakened and noticed Mount Otemanu framed completely in our porthole…we had reached the legendary Bora Bora. Since everybody desires to know this honeymoon isle just a little higher, we anchored in its lagoon for 2 days and received whisked away on an outrigger sooner or later and a dive boat the subsequent. Skimming alongside the water, we handed palm-fringed islets, over-water bungalows, and a lot marine life! We jumped in for a number of snorkeling classes within the coral gardens bursting with colour and tropical fish. For lunch, we stopped on Pitu Island, the place our guides had a formidable unfold of conventional meals (Poisson cru, taro root, coconut bread, plantains, and poe pumpkin for dessert). No plastic plates right here, they hand-wove palm fronds for eco-friendly serving platters. We ate at picnic tables with the water lapping and curious rays swimming at our ft. To high it off, we left the island with new Tahitian abilities and souvenirs—from studying to open coconuts with a stick with tie-dying materials for pareo (local-style sarongs). Watch our Instagram Reels from our time in Bora Bora or see extra footage on this Facebook gallery.
 

Diving French Polynesia

French Polynesia is known for scuba diving, but in some way there are only a few liveaboard outfitters. Windstar turned out to be the most effective of each worlds, with all of the luxuries of a cruise AND all of the dive store connections across the islands. We dove in Bora Bora and Raiatea and possibly ought to have added Mo’orea, the marinelife was so unbelievable. Swimming alongside vibrant coral with faculties of manta rays, numerous blacktip reef sharks, big Napoleon wrasse, and extra tropical fish than we might presumably record, we received one thing method higher than a liveaboard.
 

Renewing Our Vows!

With romance within the air and our Tenth-year on honeymoon on the horizon, what higher place to resume our vows than a crusing yacht in Bora Bora! The Windstar crew reserved the bow of the ship for our ceremony, embellished it with tropical flowers, and met us of their most interesting maritime apparel. We walked down the aisle to our authentic marriage ceremony track (“Perpetually” by Ben Harper) to fulfill our officiant, Captain Lubo. Surrounded by palm-fringed islets, sheer mountains, and water in each shade of blue, we recited our authentic vows, lower the cake, and toasted to the wild romance of our ten years collectively. So as to add to the celebration, that night time Windstar threw a personal island occasion, with an elaborate Polynesian feast and cultural spectacular. The Tahitian dance troupe placed on an unbelievable present—from drumming and fire-throwing to hip shakes at unfathomable speeds. We clearly knew this soiree wasn’t only for us, however it was such a big day that it felt that method.

Huahine: The Backyard Isle

Crusing to our final cease within the Societies was bittersweet, however Huahine’s twin islands had been too fairly to let melancholy get in the way in which. Huahine Nui is the bigger of the 2 isles with historic fishing villages, artisan markets, sacred marae websites, whereas Huahine Iti has been left largely wild. We’re all about nature so we joined the e-bike tour round Iti. In simply three hours, we pedaled 18 miles by means of the mountains, barely breaking a sweat, and nonetheless needed to time to cease at a formidable marae advanced, take photographs of the island’s beautiful bays, and stroll its white sand seashores. Again onboard, surrounded by beautiful mountains, we observed that we had been the one ship within the bay…and it had been like that each one week. The Wind Spirit was nimble sufficient to navigate the smaller coves and all the time make us really feel like we had every place to ourselves. With bathing fits on and a pair of Hinano beers in hand, we soaked up the solar and the serenity.
 

Society Islands Honeymoon and Past

Our final 24 hours aboard, we dined, danced, and laughed with new pals like there was no tomorrow. Everybody was in good spirits as a result of all of us felt we made the fitting transfer for this once-in-a-lifetime journey. Certain, we might have flown to a couple isles and stayed in an over-water bungalow for our Society Islands honeymoon, however this archipelago is completely meant to be explored by small ship. Hugging these beautiful shorelines, snorkeling distant corners of the reef, beachcombing personal islands, exploring with native guides, and eating like kings was all performed seamlessly and with out spending a fortune. These spread-out and dear islands may be difficult to navigate by yourself (belief us, we spent seven weeks in French Polynesia) so it simply made sense to wrap up our transportation, lodging, and eating into one fairly bundle. That could possibly be stated of many cruises, however Windstar is totally different in that it nonetheless embraces native tradition, fosters journey, and provides visitors a ton of independence, all whereas having unbelievable employees on the prepared. We need to give big props to the Wind Spirit crew. They knew visitors by identify, remembered dietary quirks, turned something (be it cappuccino foam or bathtub towels) into artwork, tracked down misplaced cellphones an island away, and made us really feel comfortable, be it below sail or strolling down the aisle.

Our solely remorse shouldn’t be taking an extended journey on the Wind Spirit. There’s a 10-day version of this itinerary that features the Tuamotu Archipelago, with its 76 atoll islands, legendary diving, and distinct Polynesian tradition. That stated, we’d simply go wherever with their crusing yachts and crew…the place to subsequent South America, the Caribbean, Europe? Till subsequent time, Windstar…many thanks and bon voyage!

Wish to see extra of our photographs and movies from our Society Islands journey? Check out our Instagram Highlight reel.

Notice: Windstar Cruises invited us to be their visitors on this Society Islands crusing and compensated us for our storytelling. As all the time, all opinions are our personal…we had such an unforgettable journey!