In the afternoon of April 9, 2013, the m/v Tere Moana was cruising on her transatlantic voyage between St. Martin, F.W.I., and Lisbon, Portugal, when the ship’s officer on watch alerted Moana’s Captain Mathieu LeBrun that a distress call was received on the radio from a private sailing yacht.

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A recent addition to the Paul Gauguin Cruises family is Cruise Director Steve Wood, who is currently sailing on the m/s Paul Gauguin.

Steve was born in Christchurch, New Zealand, and graduated from aeronautical college to pursue a career as an air traffic controller, then decided to move to Australia to study singing, acting, and dancing.  He has toured in many musical theater productions over the years throughout Australasia.

In this post, we are excited to bring you new photos of our 90-guest m/v Tere Moana.

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^{m/s Paul Gauguin}

For the 15th year in a row, we are thrilled to announce that the readers of Condé Nast Traveler magazine have voted the m/s Paul Gauguin one of the “Top 20 Small Cruise Ships” in its annual poll for 2013 of the “Top 100 Cruise Ships in the World.”  Thanks to everyone who voted for us. We are truly honored.

It was late afternoon on December 29, 2012, and the sleek and stylish m/v Tere Moana glistened in the sun at the Galisbay Pier in Marigot, St. Martin, ready for her official christening ceremony.

In French Polynesia, coconuts are a staple of traditional cuisine. They provide refreshing coconut water and coconut meat and can be used in a variety of dishes. The meat can also be used to make coconut milk.

Currently sailing on the m/s Paul Gauguin in French Polynesia is Cruise Director Michael Shapiro.  Michael is a favorite with guests, whether he is performing onboard, sharing his expertise about French Polynesia and the South Pacific, or simply mingling with them.

One of French Polynesia’s most famous dishes is Poisson Cru. If you sail with us on the m/s Paul Gauguin, you can enjoy a culinary demonstration of this traditional Tahitian dish on our private islet of Motu Mahana in Taha’a. The demonstration is led by our Tahitian hostesses Les Gauguines. Here’s a recipe for this local favorite.   

Our goal is always to provide our guests with an extraordinary cruise experience. We’re heartened when guests tell us that they’ve always wanted to cruise with us because of our stellar reputation.  And, we are delighted when they tell us after their voyage that this was the best cruise they have ever been on.  We are always looking at ways to make Paul Gauguin Cruises even better, from the m/s Paul Gauguin’s recent multimillion-dollar renovation to the launch of our new ship, the m/v Tere Moana this December.  

This year we introduced a special 10-night Tahiti Hotel-and-Cruise Package designed for those who wanted a longer stay in Tahiti at a great value. The package includes a 3-night pre-cruise stay at the InterContinental Tahiti Resort & Spa with daily breakfast, a luxurious 7-night Tahiti & the Society Islands cruise on the m/s Paul Gauguin, roundtrip airfare from Los Angeles, and transfers.