My husband and I were on B2B cruises in October and November. We love the PG and these cruises were our 8th and 9th on the ship. We also sailed on Renaissance and Tahitian Princess in FP. As always, the service was fantastic. I cannot say enough about the servers, bartenders, and housekeeping staff. They were exemplary. We had a couple of changes that were made at the last minute. The captain felt that the weather in the Cook Islands was going to be rough, so he changed our itinerary to the Tuamotus. Safety first! The second change was not using the Bora Bora Motu. They said that the 'beachers" used for wet landings were not in use because of engine issues. That was not true. They were used for landings on Motu Mahana. Because of our B2B cruises we were to be on Bora Bora for four days. Ponent substituted a free buss shuttle to Matira Beach. Matira is beautiful but does not compare to the Bora Bora Motu. This decision was not handled well.
The food was great as always and the service in the dining rooms was on point. As an example, when we were seated at our table flutes of champagne appeared. Overnight in Bora Bora, my husband and I had the private Marina dinner at the back of the ship. It was lovely. For an older ship it was in decent condition. The cosmetic changes made during the last dry dock were well done. However, the bathrooms need significant updating.
This was our first time on the PG since Ponant took over. There were definite changes that we noticed:
- No flower arrangements in our cabin, just one flower in a vase
- No chilled sparkling wine waiting for us in our cabin
- No daily snacks brought to the cabin
- No nightly canapes brought to our cabin by our butler
- No "Block Party" to meet and greet the other passengers on our deck
- Deserts in the dining room were underwhelming. Often desserts consisted of a small scoop of ice cream with some chocolate sauce. Usually there was
one "special" dessert offered.
After sailing on the PG under Regent, Beachcomber, ( Richard Bailey), and most recently Ponant, Ponant suffers in comparison.