We love sea days. They’re when we catch up on life, answer the emails, and feel like regular people for a minute. We love port days just as much, because that’s when we explore somewhere new or revisit a favorite. So when we sailed the 18-night Celebrity Solstice voyage from Honolulu to Auckland, we figured we had the balance covered.
Then Jody had an idea: what if we got off the ship for a couple of days and rejoined it later?
Where the Idea Came From
Last year, on our 67-night sailing from Vancouver to Sydney, we heard about a couple who left the ship for a few days and met it again down the line. That stuck with Jody. When this itinerary put us in Papeete, Moorea, and Raiatea in a row, he saw the opening: why not skip ahead to Bora Bora?
It had been 14 years since our first visit, and we knew we loved it. The water is stunning, the mountains are even better, and a mai tai on the beach with that view is hard to beat. So Jody started planning. He found a hotel and, most importantly, locked in a table at our favorite restaurant in the world, Villa Mahana. We made that reservation in November 2025, eleven months before we sailed.
The Nerves (Michelle Here)
I’ll be honest: this made me nervous. The what-ifs kept piling up. What if the ship had to change course for weather or an emergency? What if one of us got hurt and had to fly somewhere else, with all our belongings still on board?
Luckily, none of that happened. What actually rattled us was disembarkation day in Papeete. Here’s something worth knowing: French Polynesia has the ship collect everyone’s passports before arrival and hold them until you leave the area. Since we were leaving the ship, we needed ours back, which meant clearing immigration onboard first. Jody had called Celebrity months in advance to arrange this, and we also told the concierge in the Retreat Lounge once we boarded. Even so, immigration didn’t let us off until an hour later than planned, and we had a 9:30 flight to Bora Bora. We made sure to be first in line, and we were, but the security staff hadn’t been told we were leaving. That cost us another five minutes and sent us running through the cruise terminal to find a taxi.
We found one, the drive was about ten minutes, and the check-in line was short. We reached the gate with 20 minutes to spare. Lesson learned: if you try this, contact the ship well ahead of time and again once you’re aboard, and plan for more buffer than you think you need, because passport clearance can take longer than expected.
Landing in Bora Bora
The beauty hits you the moment you land. A water taxi carries you across turquoise water to the main island, and then a taxi takes you to your hotel. We stayed at the Royal Bora Bora. The higher-end resorts were sold out, so we weren’t sure what to expect.
Our room wasn’t ready when we arrived, so we went straight to lunch (and, of course, mai tais). Two drinks later, we claimed lounge chairs at the small beach area and napped to the sound of the waves.
A couple of hours later, the room was ready. The hotel doesn’t have overwater bungalows, but it’s new, spotless, and well maintained, the staff was friendly, and the mattress was very comfortable. The only complaint: a rooster that started at 4 a.m. and crowed every 20 seconds for two hours straight. Yes, Michelle counted.
Dinner at Villa Mahana
Villa Mahana is a small, intimate restaurant with only a handful of tables each night, which is why we booked so early. We didn’t land the best table (the terrace overlooking the patio, where we sat 14 years ago), but we got the second best, a private room.
The meal was even better than we remembered. We started with champagne mixed with mango, plus fresh sourdough and banana bread baked in a banana leaf. We saved the banana bread for breakfast the next morning. The first course was seared ahi tuna with vanilla oil, potatoes, and lime over mixed greens, and it was our favorite part of the night. The dressing, topped with real flowers, was perfect. Next came mahi mahi with curry and banana in a mango sauce, served with smooth mashed potatoes. After that came a Tahitian vanilla beef fillet and a sorbet, and every bite was fabulous. Dessert was banana flambé with old island rum and Tahitian vanilla ice cream. It finished things off beautifully.
One tip: the menu can change, so what you’re served may differ from ours. Check the restaurant’s website for current details.
Snorkeling and a Reopened Favorite
The next morning we ate our banana bread and headed out on an all-day boat and snorkeling excursion. We swam with blacktip sharks, stingrays, manta rays, and spotted eagle rays, and we explored a coral garden. Lunch was a Bora Bora barbecue on a motu, with fresh vegetables that tasted amazing.
That evening, we went to Bloody Marys, a spot we remembered from our first trip. We learned it had been closed for three years and was just having a soft opening. We went early for drinks at the new resort, which is gorgeous, and we plan to stay there next time. The cocktails were craft and made with care, and they brought us olives and taro chips. We wandered the deck before dinner at 6 p.m., and the meal matched the drinks.
Getting Back to the Ship
The next morning we took our time. A taxi took us from the hotel to the dock, where we caught the water taxi to the airport. The airport is tiny and has no security. You check in, then wait to board. Our flight was 30 minutes late, but we had plenty of time.
It was very windy that day, so the 18-minute flight to Raiatea was bumpy and a little sketchy. Once we landed, we grabbed our luggage and headed to the taxi stand. At the dock, Celebrity security made a quick call to confirm we were coming back aboard, and once we were cleared we stepped right onto the tender. It was very smooth, and Jody’s advance call clearly paid off.
So, Was It Worth It?
Yes, it was.
Some people would say you’ve already paid for the ship, so why leave? When you’re sailing past an amazing destination, you don’t have to cross half the globe to get there. From Nashville, reaching Bora Bora means roughly four and a half hours to the West Coast, around eight more to Papeete, and a short island hop of under an hour, plus layovers. That adds up to about 24 hours of travel, one way. Being a short flight away from it mid-cruise is a different story.
Would we do it again? Maybe. What we know for sure is that we want to take a trip just to Bora Bora, and we won’t wait another 14 years.
Have you ever stepped off mid-cruise and rejoined later? We’d love to hear how it went.