French Polynesia Master
I thoroughly enjoyed my time on the French Polynesia master. Our cruise director was Mark Nadeau, and he really went out of his way to make sure the guests were well taken care of.
Cabins are quite large and comfortabe. Dive guides are very good, although you need to understand they operate under "french" rules, which means no diving away from the group, everyone surfaces together, and dive depth limits. However, this did not really limit our diving at all, and guests who had a higher air consumption were given larger tanks.
Marine life sightings were amazing, especially at Fakarava and Rangiroa, including many many sharks, schools of fish, and a couple of manta rays. Hard corals were amazing in some places. Friendly dolphins at Rangiroa were one of the highlights of the trip. People do need to understand that the reefs are not full of colorful sea fans or soft corals like Indo-pacific reefs, they are rockier and more barren but still beautiful in some areas.
Food was fairly good, and served buffet style. The dining area is a little cramped but it works.
Given how remote the islands are, how expensive French Polynesia is, and how amazing the marine life is, I considered this trip to be a very good value. Given the effort to get there, I'd recommend the 10 night trip.
