What do Seabournites think of Ponant?

We are just off my first Seabourn cruise and are interested in an itinerary authored by Ponant, particularly the L'Austral.

Having had a pretty nice first cruise with Seabourn, we wondered what those used to Seabourn would say about the Ponant experience, particularly with the the L'Austral-class ships?

Many thanks!

Awful, sorry.

Took the best suite on Le boreal and it was tiny, a bathroom with a mini tub and glass screen through to the bedroom area!

We experienced surly,rude service. Very varied food quality and rubbish wine (the included stuff) of which there were one red one white, same all week.

We wanted a decent table in the restaurant having paid for the two best suites on board,but were told they were resereved. So, we asked to reserve one and were told we couldnt reserve! Full of this kind of behaviour.

No entertainment at all. Lots of no's, used to yes on Seabourn. No toiletry replenishment in suite.

I won't go on, lest to say that in order to get on it seemed one had to be french.

However, this aside it still wasnt good enough. Pretty ship though.

Don't waste your money.

We have sailed on Ponant and Seabourn , Ponant is rubbish you cant compare it to Seabourn at all, check out my review and others on Le Soleal .Bad service awful food and average drinks.No entertainment and yes a very nice ship with small cabins certainly not suites.

I sailed on Le Ponant (sailing yacht) many years back. The food and service was horrible. Not a luxury experience at all.

There seems to be a consensus. Ponant ships do look terrific on the outside but as with people it's what's inside that counts!

In April we sailed for a week on Le Soleal in Japan, in conjunction with a Tauck organised tour. The ship was very sleek and stylish. The suite was smaller than Seabourn; the bathroom small but functional, although it would be difficult for some people to dry themselves inside, well stocked with l'Occitane toiletries and with a separate toilet. Our main issue was in the main dining room, where there was no allocation of tables by the Maitre Di or staff, so you were then forced to walk past all the tables, looking for one without a 'Reserved' sign. We seemed to choose the 'invisible to staff tables'. We then dined in the buffet other nights, where we were able to find others from the tour to dine with. The food was quite good there. Although I speak French, and we have visited France many times, we felt that it could be difficult if we were on board as a couple, independently, to find dining companions, unlike Seabourn, where we are always able to make friends. It didn't matter so much as it would if we were on a leisurely cruise, but we this time had long days in port on tour.

Tea and coffee was available in urns in one of the lounges all day. Bar service was limited and sometimes difficult to achieve.

On two evenings, there was entertainment in the form of a dance troupe of five, performing extremely challenging choreography to recorded music; one evening the theme was 'Tableaux de Picasso'. Very avant-garde. The Cruise Director also sang one evening.

By the way, the safety drill was very thorough, in view of the fire and evacuation of Le Boreal last year, and finished with all passengers walking outside to the appropriate tender. I appreciated the serious way it was conducted.

We would only choose a Ponant ship if the itinerary was exceptional for expedition style cruising.

I had a suite which was twice the size of a normal ponant room and still thought it was tiny. The bathroom was even tiny,think half size tub etc. Very surprised you think the room was similar in size to SB. I thought the normal cabins were miniscule.

I said "smaller" not "similar". Specifically, I would say about 2/3rds the size of Seabourn.

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Thank you call for your input, and Kiwicruzer for the detailed review elsewhere.

After consulting Mrs. Notjaded, we have decided to ditch our Ponant plan. We just can't fathom dealing with all the issues described in the negative reviews. While we have had wonderful times traveling about France and the rest of Europe, we have had some very poor experiences cruising on an Italian-owned line. The comments on this thread mimic those earlier experiences (some of which are culture-based) and have helped us decide to pull anchor and consider another way to navigate the desired itinerary.

Thanks again!

PS: Wripro--LOL.

Thank you call for your input, and Kiwicruzer for the detailed review elsewhere.

 

After consulting Mrs. Notjaded, we have decided to ditch our Ponant plan. We just can't fathom dealing with all the issues described in the negative reviews. While we have had wonderful times traveling about France and the rest of Europe, we have had some very poor experiences cruising on an Italian-owned line. The comments on this thread mimic those earlier experiences (some of which are culture-based) and have helped us decide to pull anchor and consider another way to navigate the desired itinerary.

 

Thanks again!

 

PS: Wripro--LOL.

Thanks. And good decision!

Hi Jaded, good decision, I could go on for 3 pages re our experience on this cruiseline, I actually travelled with another couple and met many others who very disappointed in Ponant.

Hope you find a great cruise.

Read your review, Kiwi ... never heard of a cruise line that makes passengers wait until 5pm to board, much less a high-end cruise line that makes passengers wait in the tropical heat all afternoon with no shelter, refreshments or baggage storage. What an inhospitable start!

I recently read that Oceania staggers boarding times based on you cabin class. Goodness!

Read your review, Kiwi ... never heard of a cruise line that makes passengers wait until 5pm to board, much less a high-end cruise line that makes passengers wait in the tropical heat all afternoon with no shelter, refreshments or baggage storage. What an inhospitable start!

Hapag-Lloyd does not permit boarding before 4pm.

However, it does forward one's boarding/key card with the pre-cruise documentation, and does not request a credit card until 2-3 days before disembarkation.

Embarkation/check-in is divided into channels by deck number, so it is very smooth.

I recently read that Oceania staggers boarding times based on you cabin class. Goodness!

Unless you bribe someone. Oceania was very much like Vegas in that regard.

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:mad:

Ponant does not compare to SEABOURN.......Ponant is a big zero all around.

We have done 10 cruises with Seabourn but our last on Sojourn left us disappointed. We feel each cruise has been a little bit less exciting than the previous. We can not decide if it is us getting a little tired of the same thing or if things are changing. We have tried 2 river cruises with Uniworld and 2 with Windstar. We knew each experience would be different and had prepared for that and we have enjoyed them. We are now going to try Ponant, perhaps against our better judgment. They are doing the Kimberley (outback Western Australia) August 2017 and it is an area we have wanted to do. Friends who have sailed on Seabourn have also sailed on Ponant and they were not disappointed. Time will tell what we think of it but we are really looking for something else. Ponant have told us English will not be a problem and the expedition team will be locals. As I say, time will tell, but we will go with an open mind.

We have done 10 cruises with Seabourn but our last on Sojourn left us disappointed. We feel each cruise has been a little bit less exciting than the previous. We can not decide if it is us getting a little tired of the same thing or if things are changing. We have tried 2 river cruises with Uniworld and 2 with Windstar. We knew each experience would be different and had prepared for that and we have enjoyed them. We are now going to try Ponant, perhaps against our better judgment. They are doing the Kimberley (outback Western Australia) August 2017 and it is an area we have wanted to do. Friends who have sailed on Seabourn have also sailed on Ponant and they were not disappointed. Time will tell what we think of it but we are really looking for something else. Ponant have told us English will not be a problem and the expedition team will be locals. As I say, time will tell, but we will go with an open mind.

Please report back with your Seabourn-laced review!

To others who mentioned Oceania boarding time by class of cabin. Yes it is listed as boarding at different times per cabin class (as is such a lot of travel) but my own experience is that this is treated in a lax manner. You can basically board when you arrive at the terminal - earliest I have been there is about 11.30am -although you have to stay in public areas (and have lunch if you wish) until your suite is ready. Not only have I cruised on Oceania myself, I know quite a few others who have done so, some frequently, and being avid cruisers we discuss all this stuff in detail. None have ever particularly stuck to a set time, as it is so often travel dependent. I have even arrived later than I intended and watched others in large numbers board earlier than their boarding time, as they outnumbered the possible available suites if sticking to the written times.

In fact, all of the boarding experience was pretty much the same as took place on my Seabourn cruises and my Silversea ones. Arrive, join the queue (or no queue) and board.

Please note, I am not cheerleading for any cruise line here and my experiences once afloat on these lines were variable in quality -but that is a long story or three. Just telling the Oceania boarding situation as I and some pals have found it.