Our experience on the Paul Gaugain last week (7 day cruise in the Society Islands):
First, we enjoy cruising, so we picked this because we heard it is a great cruise, not because it's a dive cruise. Second, I'm a newbie diver (18 dives). I certified because of the cruise, but got hooked on diving (but that's another story).
First the cruise -- we got spoiled by Regent on our Alaska cruise and will probably not cruise on any other line. Regent is one of the "high end" lines; you pay more (maybe), but you get what you pay for. Unlike other cruise lines, everything except excursions is covered -- you don't pay for every soda or every glass of wine. No tipping -- in fact it's not allowed. I'm not a big drinker, but I enjoy a single-malt scotch before dinner and a couple of glasses of wine with dinner -- it's very nice not to have to pull out my room card every time I ask for anything but a glass of fruit punch. When I compare what we spend on Regent with the other three cruise lines we've been on, there really isn't much difference.
The ship: Paul Gaugain is relatively small (320 passeengers max). On the larger Regent ships (about 600 passengers), you're drowned in luxury, the Gaugain is merely comfortably luxurious. The food is outstanding (you can read those opinions on the cruise boards). It is very laid back -- no jackets, ties, etc. It is just right for Tahiti; when we cruise Alaska or Europe we're looking for wildlife or learning history -- Tahiti is for relaxing; there's sun, sand, water, friendly people and not much else (and fortunately not too many tourists). My wife doesn't dive, but there were interesting tours (snorkeling with rays and small sharks), and she likes laying in the sun reading or knitting.
The dives: generally this is not a dive cruise (there are exceptions -- like last month), but they have a great program. There are several dives arranged from the ship; they also schedule dives with local operators. You can get all of your equipment from the ship (no extra charge) or bring your own. Dominique, the divemaster, goes out of his way to help arrange a busy dive schedule if you want that. As mentioned elsewhere, if you bring your own equipment, they rinse and store it for you so it's ready for the next day's diving. I'm not sure how they get everything dried out overnight, but I wish I could get my wetsuit to dry out that fast! Don't forget your C-card; they do check it before they'll sign you up for dives. I kept it with me each day, but no one (including the outside operators) checked it after that first day). I think they trust that Dominique had checked it. Dives were $90 each - about $10 more expensive than dives with the Padi operator (Top Dive).
Water was warm (78 degr) and many dove in swimsuit. I brought myt 3/2 mm full wetsuit and was glad I did. I'm not cold diving in the Puget Sound with a 7 mm wetsuit, but I found the 3 mm suit comfortable . (The ship will provide shorties). The ship has 80 cu ft aluminum cylinders (yoke only). The outside operators could accomodate by DIN reg, but I was happy I brought my yoke converter. Outside operators have Nitrox, the ship air only.
Visibility was typically 80 - 100 feet. On some days the surge from wave action was considerable; it took some getting used to. Lots of sharks (black tip and lemon), barracuda and a very friendly sea turtle, coral and lots of small tropical fish. I can list the specific sites if someone’s interested.
This has gone on long enough about generalities. Suffice it to say that I'd go back in a heartbeat. We have a lot of other parts of the world we want to see (and to dive); but I hope to get back here and would easily do it on the Paul Gaugain again.
