Aranui 5 is a small passenger-freight ship that sails its way around French Polynesia. Photo / Lionel Gouverneur
Aranui 5 is a small passenger-freight ship that sails its way around French Polynesia. Photo / Lionel Gouverneur
A room with a different kind of view: Helen Van Berkel checks out the suites aboard Aranui 5, a passenger-freight ship serving French Polynesia
Location: The Aranui 5 is a passenger-freight ship that plies the Tahitian archipelago. My room was on Deck 9.
Style: A boutique cruise ship carrying a maximum of 230 passengers, the Aranui combines an essential freight service with an intimate passenger experience as it sails through the Marquesas, to Pitcairn and to the Tuamotus on different cruise schedules.
Perfect for: Exploring a unique but often-overlooked part of the world (by Kiwis anyway).
Price: The ship has a large number of cruise options but prices on my cruise ranged from about $5711 (plus a fuel charge) to $17,553 for the three-room presidential suite. Discounts are available for early bookers.
First impressions: At 126m long, the Aranui is a small, trim vessel in comparison with other ocean liners. The boarding process was quick and efficient, and was accompanied by ukulele-strumming musicians. What I first thought were over-effusive greetings for some guests were later revealed as genuine: many of my fellow passengers were repeat cruisers, so have got to know some crew members. Some cruisers had already booked for yet another trip. I took that as a very good sign.
Rooms: I had 19sq m of space and a balcony in my ninth-deck premium suite. A couch area and a wall-mounted screen let me entertain new friends for movies screened during the journey. My view changed every day and I liked to lie in bed at night with the sliding door open so I could hear the ocean sliding by. My superking-size bed gave me plenty of space to starfish in my sleep and my bathroom toiletries were regularly refreshed.
Bathroom: I had to make sure I closed all the doors properly – the banging of the unsecured door woke me up more than once when the swell got up during the night. But the shower was of a satisfying temperature and pressure and the luxury of someone else washing and folding my towels never got old.
Food and drink: The meals aboard the Aranui are incredible. Day after day the chefs produced culinary marvels out of the galley: smoked duck breast one day; filet of beef with morel sauce another. Lunch and dinner were served with French wine and between meals, there was coffee and sometimes cookies in the lounge, plus cocktails in the bar and snacks on the pool deck.
Facilities: Wi-fi was very expensive after your free allocation of data and access was patchy, if possible at all. I gave up fairly quickly. The Aranui offered spa treatment and a unique souvenir of a traditional tattoo — as well as the usual fridge magnets, beach bags, shirts. We all watched with interest as a young couple each got a tattoo and it grew from simple lines to a fully-fledged tattoo as the cruise progressed. The bar was a popular meeting place for cocktails and rumours before dinner. Karaoke was a great way to reveal to other passengers your lack of singing talent while being blown away by the talents of others — our onboard doctor could have sold tickets. However, I remain unconvinced that Summer of 69 is the Canadian national anthem.
What’s new: The Aranui’s itinerary regularly changes among the scattered archipelagos of French Polynesia, which is one of the reasons it’s so popular among return cruisers. Expert lecturers also often travel aboard: ours was Pauline Reynolds, a multi-great-grandchild of the infamous Fletcher Christian. She gave a number of fascinating lectures about the overlooked Polynesians — particularly the women — who accompanied (possibly unwillingly) Christian and the Bounty mutineers to Pitcairn Island.
In the neighbourhood: All day, every day the mighty Pacific rolled by under our feet. We threaded our way through the remnants of volcanoes that have eroded from the fantastical peaks of Moorea to the pearl farms of Mangareva and the tiny atoll of Anaa. Our cruise took in the Gambiers, the Tuamotus on its way to and from Pitcairn Island. TV screens in the stairwells showed where we were at any given time – mostly in the middle of the vast blue Pacific Ocean. At night, an array of stars wheeled above us, casting their own light in a world unpolluted by city lamps.
Family friendly: The story of the Bounty remains a fascinating tale to this day and some older teenagers may be fascinated by the trip but it is more suitable for adults. Although the social aspect of the cruise added to the magic, this is no party ship.
Accessibility: The Aranui has no wheelchair-accessible rooms and those with extremely limited mobility would find it difficult to access the tender that took us ashore on day trips. Having said that, a number of people on board used mobility devices and the staff were on hand to provide assistance. Some motorised options were also available ashore to help those who struggled.
Sustainability: The Aranui provides a valuable service, delivering essential supplies and a vital transport link to some of the most remote communities on Earth. To minimise its carbon footprint even as it provides an important service, it carefully manages the air conditioning onboard, sorts and recycles the rubbish and all onboard lighting is LED. It also collaborates with Polynesian experts to fight rats in the Marquesas Islands to protect the endemic birds and prevent the spread of invasive exotic species to the archipelagos.
