Troubles in Paradise

I read the Arthur Frommer column on French Polynesia (“Price Is Right for Polynesia,” On a Budget, April 26) with some nostalgia, and a grain of salt. In 1994, I spent a month touring the Society Islands there.

Some observations:

I would recommend that anyone considering a visit buy a good guidebook and do some studying. It is a very expensive place to visit. The “charm of a French accent” that Frommer mentions means hoteliers, restaurateurs, etc., who are arrogant, condescending, rude and unfriendly. Also, November to April is cyclone season.

The Cook’s Bay Hotel is, indeed, spartan, but the most likely disappointment for travelers is the lack of a beach in Cook’s Bay. By contrast, the Moorea Village hotel, which Frommer mentions, is on the beach on the island’s east side.

Tahiti is costly and provides less of interest to tourists than the other islands. Fiji, the Cook Islands, Samoa and Tonga offer much lower costs for those seeking a South Pacific vacation--especially Fiji.

PHILIP R. MARSHALL, Playa Del Rey

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A friend and I have just returned from a trip to Polynesia, which included stays in Samoa, Fiji and Rarotonga, and ended with a cruise from Rarotonga to Papeete aboard the World Discoverer.

Although the fact is nowhere mentioned in their advertising or brochures, Society Expeditions, which owns and operates the World Discoverer, is a German company. The officers and hotel crew of the ship are German, and on our cruise about 80% of the 120 passengers were German while only 24 were English-speaking. The assistant tour leader and some other staff were English-speaking, and they provided good support to us.

However, the overall atmosphere aboard was distinctly different from that on the various American-operated small ships on which we have traveled. Readers might want to consider this.

ALVIN BEATTY, Culver City