Customer Reviews

Cruise Hawaii & Tahiti

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a fair DVD travel video that looks at Hawaii and Tahiti. It spends about 10 minutes on each island giving a quick overview.

It seems that this product falls short in both video quality and what they highlight.

The quality is at time 'good' and at others to be rather 'poor', washed out and muted. I checked various shots from the DVD aginst other material and found dramatic differences in the richness and color. Having lived in or vistited all of the Hawaiian Islands, I noticed this problem the first time I watched the DVD.

Their choice of what they covered is also aimed at a 65+ viewer, lots of glass bottom boats, churches, and 'educational' tours. Light on the beaches, surfing, adventure, and FUN!

On Hawaii (the Big Island), they never show you any of the great Kohola beaches and resorts! Not Hapuna beach, Mona Kea beach, or A-beach, all great beaches! This is what most visitors spend much of their time at, not the Painted Church or the Jager reserch center.

The half of the DVD dealing with Tahiti has better video quality and seems more helpfull.


Overall score: C
Video quality: D-/C+ Sound/Music: C- Enjoyment: C
Commintary: C- Knowlege of Subject: C- (Hawaii)/ B (Tahiti)

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Despite the title "Cruise Hawaii & Tahiti", the DVD actually tells you nothing about cruising the islands. For me, that was OK because I didn't care about that; if you do, you will be disappointed.
However, if you are looking for a comprehensive description of sights worth seeing, this is a good DVD.
I have only previously traveled to The Big Island, Oahu, and Kauai. For each of those islands, the DVD did a great job of covering all the highlights I had seen, and some besides.
The DVD also covers Lanai, Molokai, and Maui in the Hawaiian chain.
It covers Tahiti, Moorea, Huahine, Raiatea (and quick mention of Tahaa), and Bora Bora from the Society Island chain of French Polynesia, and Rangiroa in the Tuamotus.
Since I haven't been to any of those yet (I'll have done that after this Fall), I can't vouch for how thorough they were covered, but based on the three islands that I can compare to, I think they've done a good job.
The DVD does not cover practical travel tips, such as transportation, hotels, dining, currency, and such. If you want one of those, go check out the Globe Trekker series.
---- UPDATE ----
Have returned from my trip to Tahiti, Moorea, Huahine, Raiatea, Taha'a, Bora Bora, Maupiti, and Rangiroa.
Looked at this DVD again after returning home, and can confirm that it does a pretty good job of covering the sights in the Society Islands and Rangiroa (but, as stated before, no practical traveler info).