|
I recently had the
opportunity to cruise on the m/v Tere Moana sailing from St Maarten
to some of my favorite islands. The Tere Moana, formerly the Le
Levant, began service for PG Cruises in January 2013 after an
extensive revitalization.
 This
90 passenger ship is truly like sailing on a private yacht, not a
mini cruise ship. The 60 international crew members provide a very
high level of personal service in all departments. The L’Etoile
main dinner restaurant features the cuisine of 2 Star Michelin Chef
Jean-Pierre Vigato owner of the Restaurant Apicius in Paris and is
the high point of every evening.
The new interior of
the ship is elegant yet relaxing and comfortable. The 45 staterooms
are superbly done. Eight of the staterooms are 298 sq. ft.
including the balcony, and the balance are 194 sq. ft. with huge
picture windows. These cabins are honestly quite big for a ship of
this size. One thing I really noticed and enjoyed was a for real
king size bed, which can be converted to twins, and the great
bedding. Each cabin has an oversize flat screen TV, DVD player,
iPod docking station, safe, vanity area with both 110v and 220v
outlets, more than ample closet and draw space, umbrella, waffle
robes, slippers, fresh fruit and flowers and a mini bar that stocked
daily. The new décor is pleasant and light. 24 hour room service
is also available. The extensive bathroom products are from the
L’Occitane collection.
The Main Lounge, "Le
Salon" will accommodate the entire ship and is the
 focal
point for cocktails pre and post dinner. In the evening the lounge
has live piano music and an occasional crew show or local
entertainment. On my cruise most passengers seemed just to enjoy
meeting new people and sharing travel experiences. As the Moana is
basically a non-smoking ship there is a nice outdoor lounge area aft
of Le Salon for smokers. All bar beverages are included except for
some really top shelf brands. The service was impeccable.
Dining is provided in
two dining rooms. Each one can hold the entire ship. Breakfast and
lunch are primarily buffet style served in La Veranda which has 66
inside seats and 26 outside seats. At night this venue converts
into a Steak House format and can be taken over by groups for
private dining. The buffets are extensive for both breakfast and
lunch with a daily changing action station preparing the Chefs daily
featured items.
 Evening
dining is in the 90 seat L’Etoile. The décor is quite elegant
featuring light wood tones. The cuisine is contemporary with a
French touch. The a’la carte menu features various selections for
each course and of course the normal standbys as well as vegetarian
dishes. Their brochure claims they offer 5-Star international
cuisine and I must agree as the food was fantastic as was the
quality of all of the various products involved. Dinner is
definitely the daily highlight on the Moana.
This small yacht also
offers a swimming pool and pool bar which is large enough to do a
deck dinner for the entire ship. The Sun Deck has a large
whirlpool-Jacuzzi so there is more than ample deck space and lounge
chairs for the guests. The spa is a small one treatment room
operation, next to the fitness center which has 5 machines. The
Library is cozy and is also is the internet center with 4 terminals.
What also makes Tere
Moana unique is her ability to do unusual itineraries. Her stern
tender boarding makes for very stable and easy tender operations
most ships don’t have. Our cruise visited Tortola, Jost Van Dyke,
Virgin Gorda and tres chic St Barts among others. Other than
Tortola these ports are off limits to the big ships and are not
glorified shopping malls. They offer a real taste of the Caribbean
with un-crowded white sand beaches, water sports, quaint beach bars
and restaurants and local handy crafts. No pushy taxi drivers and
people trying to get you into jewelry store here!
The Tere Moana
operates in the winter months in the lower Caribbean and Central
America. 
The summer months she will be in the Med. Of course she is an ideal
ship to charter for groups up to 90 guests but they will also take
groups up to 20 cabins. The ship is workable for groups with
several areas for private functions; however a meeting would be a
challenge. A very unique area for a group cocktail party is the
very large deck surrounding the bridge.
The Tere Moana is
owned and operated by Paul Gauguin Cruises who own the 312 passenger
Paul in Tahiti and the South Pacific. For years the Paul Gauguin
has been an award winning 5 star ship. If you have not done Tahiti
there is no better or more economical way to visit this fantastic
destination than on the Paul Gauguin. For those who have not been
there it is not Hawaii or the Caribbean it truly is it’s own unique
destination and should be on everyone’s “bucket list”.
Now for the bad news
Tere Moana has been discovered and is wildly successful. Our first
charterer came back and booked 2 more cruises. There is limited
group availability in 2014 and 2015. In 2015 there are actually
only 2 charter dates available at this time and 2016 is filling-in
nicely I am told. So if this ship sounds interesting you need to
act quickly for the foreseeable future. |
