Paul Gauguin, reviewed honestly

Who Paul Gauguin genuinely suits

Guests who want the definitive French Polynesia holiday and are willing to fly a long way to get it. The m/s Paul Gauguin was purpose-built in 1997 for year-round Tahiti, Bora Bora and Moorea service, with a shallow draft that reaches lagoons larger ships simply cannot enter, and the line owns its own private islet, Motu Mahana in Taha'a, used exclusively for an all-inclusive beach day.

When you'd be better off elsewhere

Anyone wary of single-ship risk. There is one ship, so an unplanned maintenance issue has nowhere to move you to, and flexibility on your dates matters more here than on a line with a fleet to fall back on.

What the ships are actually like

One ship, deeply specialised rather than broad. Onboard Polynesian hosts, Les Gauguines and Les Gauguins, teach Tahitian dance, music and language throughout the sailing, a genuine cultural feature rather than a token gesture.

It's a destination specialist first, a cruise line second

You have probably not heard of this line, and that says nothing about it. Paul Gauguin is barely marketed in Britain because it does one thing in one place, and the people who go there already know.

What that one thing buys you is a ship purpose-built in 1997 for exactly these waters, with a shallow enough draft to enter lagoons the larger ships have to admire from outside, and a private islet at Taha'a that only its own guests ever set foot on. The Gauguines and Gauguins, Polynesian hosts who sail with the ship, teach the dance, the music and the language all week. None of that is a themed evening; it is the crew.

The cost is the obvious one. It is a very long way to Papeete, and there is exactly one ship. Go anyway, if French Polynesia is the thing you have been picturing for years. Nothing generalist gets close.

What the fare covers

Usually in the fare

Meals and room service
Beer, select wines and spirits, soft drinks, bottled water and hot drinks
Entertainment, lectures and watersports equipment
Wi-Fi
A day at the line's own islet, Motu Mahana, and access to its private beach in Bora Bora

Costs extra

Premium liquors and specialty wines
Most shore excursions
Spa treatments
Flights, which the line sells as a package

Read from the line's own website, October 2026. What a fare covers varies by sailing and by fare, so check your booking.

Tips and gratuities

Gratuities are included in the fare, so nothing for tips is added to your onboard account.

Spa and boutique services are separate.

Checked against the line's own website, October 2026.

Where Paul Gauguin sits

Class

Luxury, on our ladder from Mainstream through Ultra-Luxury.

A sample sailing

m/s Paul Gauguin, 7 nights: Tahiti & the Society Islands, round trip from Papeete, guide price from £4,800pp.

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