I went diving with Hemisphere Sub (HS) in Raiatea and Fluid Diving (FD) in Papeete. The timing of the cruise ship arrival did not work out for diving in Moorea, so I did a snorkel tour through the cruise ship. More on that in a minute. The visibility was very low at both locations, so I don't have many usable photos to share. The reefs at both islands are really browned out and dead, and there was a mix of wrecks and reefs. Water temps ranged from 82-86 degrees.
You will tender at the Raiatea port. The tender operation was really poorly managed by Celebrity, so give yourself plenty of time to get to the pickup spot, which is a 3-minute walk to the town square. The email communication went smoothly. They will drive you to the marina where you'll do all the paperwork and get rental gear. All the rental gear is included in the cost of the dive. What was available for the ship's arrival was a 2-tank dive, meeting at 1 p.m. The guide found a beautiful resident yellow seahorse, which made the dive worthwhile for me. I have no complaints about this operator. I felt safe and well taken care of, and I enjoyed it.
In Papeete, the ship is docked, not tendered. This was a bit of an ordeal to get off the ship and find the meeting location for FD because the signage is poor. If you don't speak French, it's impossible to get directions. I was using Google Maps, but it wasn't taking me to the right location. It's about a 10- to 15-minute walk from the time you step off the ship. They offer round-trip transportation to the marina for $30 USD. It's about a 20-minute ride. I recommend doing this, as the taxis are very expensive, $60 USD round trip, The drivers are rude. They take USD but at an inflated exchange rate. Otherwise, you'll need the local currency. Email communication was a bit difficult through the whole process. I had all my own gear, but they have gear to rent. The wreck we dived was nice and had schools of fish hanging around. The latter part of the dive, I saw 10 turtles and lots of juvenile blacktip and whitetip sharks under the reef ledges. For what I saw, I enjoyed the diving and it is a well-run operation.
Moorea is a tender port. Again, Celebrity did not run this well. I took the cruise ship tour that was called "Coral Garden and Lagoon Snorkeling" or something like that. There is no coral in the coral garden. It's waist-high water and a sandy bottom. There's no fish either. The cruise ship charged $150. Luckily, I had onboard credit to use. I ran into other people that did the same tour booking on their own for $25. The cruise ship tour operator was lousy, and it was a cattle boat. Be aware that this is a popular tour, so the lagoon is packed with boats and a couple hundred people. Blacktip sharks and stingrays are swimming around in the lagoon in waist-high water here, too. Except for the massive crowds, I enjoyed swimming with the sharks and stingrays. There are lots of vendors shoreside that offer tours, too. Jeep tours, walking tours, and boat tours are available as well as a small open air market with handcrafted items as soon as you reach the island.
I'm glad to have had the opportunity to try diving in French Polynesia, but this is not a destination that I would plan for a dedicated dive trip. I'm happy to get in the water whenever I can, though.