One of the world’s most beautiful spots is getting easier to visit

One of the world’s most remote and beautiful destinations is getting ever easier to visit by cruise ship, yet it’s bound to remain an exclusive holiday.

A few years ago, it seemed that cruising in French Polynesia was off the boil. Bora Bora hit the headlines in 2022 when it banned cruise ships carrying more than 1200 passengers from visiting the island, citing worries about overcrowding and pollution. Overall visitor numbers of any sort were also capped.

Bora Bora from the air.Credit: Oceania Cruises

But in 2023 French Polynesia announced a plan to double tourist numbers in the French territory by 2033, and assured cruise lines that large ships would still be welcome in some ports. A new three-level cruise terminal is now about to open in Papeete.

French Polynesia is the perfect cruise destination: it has more than 100 scattered islands of unsurpassed beauty that are otherwise difficult to access. Many are uninhabited. It remains an exclusive destination, with 261,813 tourists in 2023, of which 43,815 were cruise passengers.

Expect that number to rise, and more ships to visit. This year Windstar Cruises increased its capacity in French Polynesia by replacing WindStar with larger ship Star Breeze, and introducing a new 14-night cruise to the Marquesas Islands.

The company is expecting two ships to be operating in French Polynesia from 2027, allowing it to operate a greater variety of itineraries.

In 2025, Oceania Cruises will operate two ships – Nautica and Regatta – on its most extensive South Pacific season, the focus of which will be a season of 10-day sailings from Papeete. Itineraries will also link French Polynesia with New Zealand and Hawaii.

The company’s shore excursions include the likes of off-road driving in Moorea, a visit to a vanilla plantation in Raiatea, and sailing Bora Bora’s lagoon by catamaran.

Aranui Cruises recently added the Austral Islands to itineraries.Credit:

Silversea meanwhile will operate its first full summer season in French Polynesia in 2026, when the 392-guest Silver Whisper will home port in Papeete, making 17 voyages between April and September.

Seven-day cruises will concentrate on the Society Islands (Moorea, Raiatea, Huahine and Bora Bora) while 14-day journeys will also take in the Tuamotu and Marquesas Islands (Fakarava, Nuku Hiva, Fatu Hiva, Atuona, Tahuata and Rangiroa).

Ponant is also extending its French Polynesian cruises by home porting Le Jacques-Cartier in Papeete from September 2026 to March 2027. It will operate expedition-style cruises, while Paul Gauguin, which has sailed in French Polynesia for 25 years, will continue sailing more traditional ocean journeys.

Local line Aranui Cruises, which has been operating in the region for 40 years, has also ramped up its French Polynesia product for a bumper year in 2026. The mixed freight and passenger vessel Aranui 5 offers a unique alternative to regular cruising, and is now adding unique itineraries as well.

Five-day cruises will visit the Tuamotu atolls Mataiva, Makatea and Anaa, while 13-day voyages head to the remote Austral archipelago, where Aranui 5 will visit all five inhabited islands. Aranui also has itineraries that focus on the Marquesas, taking in more of the islands than any other cruise line.