10987654321

We did this in 2022. In a nutshell, we were not impressed as it was not up to what we had experienced once before on Ponant. Our only previous cruise on Ponant was Le Boréal to the Antarctic in 2018. I don't know if we were very lucky, but that cruise was sensational - excellent guides, great itinerary, good food and beverage, sights and animals way beyond our hopes. This experience swayed us to book the NW passage. Unfortunately, Russia upset their neighbours so we went this way instead of the Northeast which we really wanted. If you have done previous Antarctic or 'ice' sailings before, you will possibly be disappointed. The majority of Canada is barren desert which is not scenic. There are some good spots, but we were expecting an Antarctic-like experience of snow and ice and it is not like that. Animal sightings are very few. We did see polar bear on land on 2 landings along with some whales but it was not like the Antarctic where you nearly get sick of seeing penguins. We saw more polar bears on the front porch of the Canadian villages than in the wild. The landings prior to Canada are good - bit of variety, mainly docked landings and a good start. Over Canada, the landings were all in intuit communities and they are very repetitive. Ponant may say don't bother taking money - ignore that, the locals will all have trinkets and things to sell, but at a high tourist rate price. They want USD as well. We missed the most important site on the entire NW passage - Gjoa Haven - due to 'operational issues'. The expedition leaders' ego prevented any other guide from going ahead of him, so we sat in a bay waiting for him to finish Ponant promotional filming by crew before we could go and watch a polar bear feed on shore. We didn't miss it, but we also didn't see as much as we could have. And that sums up the cruise. It was poorly organised, poorly crewed and poorly delivered. The expedition leader decided that a fast vertical hike was appropriate for the first Canadian landing of guests on a 5 star ship, local beer was not delivered to the ship and when it was they charged for it. We left port late due to 'difficulties' and we could not enter Canada for 12 hours as the correct paperwork wasn't submitted. Acceptable on a 2-star, first time cruise start up, not on an experienced, 5 star line who know how to charge. Crew were below par, communications were woeful and we had some interesting issues. One guest complained about the public announcement advising the Northern Lights were in view at about 1am, so the Captain stopped announcements - but didn't tell the rest of the ship. What you won't find out until you are on the ship - the USA will not allow non-US made and crewed vessels to land, so the 5 days across Alaska will be a drive by and all at sea. 2 exercise bikes and one treadmill broke, so time on both was limited to 30 minutes each. Some adhered, some did not. Some just gave up and wrote it off as what the cruise was turning into. The landings were mainly interesting but the villages all pretty much fade into one, and Canada just showed how the Inuit live and treat their environment - which is not with care or respect and you can expect to walk around skidoo's, boats and their various parts and household rubbish whilst walking the village. Unlike Antarctica there's no natural spots where you can beach a zodiac and clamber out, this was very much focussed on settlements (who also required payment for us landing and in some cases hadn't received payment from Ponant when we rocked up). Food and drink were good quality and seemed to be plenty of it but the wait staff were all Asian and some struggled with English. It made for some hard meal-time ordering. The expedition leader also had poor English; he was very hard to understand with nearly a comedy-like accent. I accept we are on a French ship and need to adjust and accept but this was nearly farcical for a 5 star ship that I just sheckled over $60,000 for. There are some threads on CC about this cruise, and whilst you would hope we got the dud crew on this one, the actual itinerary we took was not 'great' and I would not do it again. Like I said up front, we had a phenomenal first trip on Ponant to Antarctica and we really expected to have this again, but Ponant blamed Covid on lack of quality crew, suppliers not supplying and a whole lot of other factors but their own bad organising. If you've done the rest of the world and this is the last trip, do it. If not then depending on what you want to do on a cruise (wildlife and adventure, or eat. drink and watch). I would hope this was just a bad one-off experience so you might want to do more research on this cruise, or possibly Ponant. I can't see us going back to them based on this experience.

I need me a code too, for a May 2024 river cruise. Message me the deets and I'll use it. Plan to book by the end of Feb 2023.

@highplanesdrifters I would say this is a good decision. I’d be happy to do Antarctica again, with or without Ponant. I would advise knowing whom our expedition leader was and avoiding a cruise with him but. When the expedition guides are complaining about the expedition leader without prompting there’s an issue.

This cruise was 29 nights as it was supposed to leave from Tromsø, but with the last minute change in route I guess it was easier for Ponant to keep it departing from there rather than start from Iceland, so we picked up 5 additional days at no cost to us.

That's a good question, and one I asked myself over the last parts of the cruise. We booked this as the Ross Sea cruise was cancelled, and we desperately needed a holiday. It was originally the Northeast passage, which morphed into the NW passage when Putin decided to play up. I didn't research the cruise much at all, apart from looking at the stops, which all sounded good on paper. I think the cruise can be split into 2 halves (and even termed as that by Ponant on board); an excursion cruise incorporating Iceland and Greenland and an expedition covering Canada. So... the NW passage. I think this cruise is suited to folks who are interested in the actual sea history of the achievement of making a journey across the top of the world rather than a wildlife type trip. To travel the NW passage was a commercial need to reduce shipping time and cost, and the wildlife and scenery wasn't a consideration. Sure, they did map the lands they saw but Amundsen just wanted to get from A to B. A classic example of how Ponant missed the point is at one landing there was a monument at Gjoa Haven that is actually photographed in the brochure but was never mentioned to passengers so we never saw it. With the exception of one guide (see further down) the history was glossed over. I will admit I expected to see more of an Antarctic experience with snow and ice the dominant landscape. This is not the case on this cruise, and we had 3 days of a polar desert with nothing but rocks to view. Wildlife has been hunted extensively, and there is not a lot of land-based animals. We did see Polar Bears on 8 occasions, including 3 in a sheltered lake area, along with 2 Arctic Foxes. Birds were plentiful and followed the ship, and we did see migrating flocks. The Northern Lights were seen 4 nights, with 1 night being the best of classic forms and colours. The other nights were 'sheet' colours across the whole sky. Unfortunately we missed visiting Beechey Island which contains graves of original expedition members so I don't know what else was there. Whales, seals and Narwals were also low in number (someone thought they saw a Narwal but not confirmed). The communities we visited were very much remote. Powered by generators, mainly fishing or hunting with little commerce. The amount of rubbish throughout the villages was an eye-opener. Iceland: We missed the original harbour stop due to weather so went to Reykjavik. Just another small city so no attraction for me. Greenland: Beautiful fjords, villages and scenery. We did see traditional culture at most villages but mainly they are very basic huts and houses with skidoo's and quadbikes for transport. Sleds were about along with dogs but this was the end of summer so not being used. We did a walk to a glacier and a bay full of ice which was good, but I think the optional boat cruise to the front of the ice trying to roam the sea's freely would have been better. There was a better walk to observe the ice but for us this was not explained and we were 'guided' to the boardwalk. Again, a missed opportunity. Some villages had museums detailing the history of their patch and some were very informative. Mostly these were included so I don't know what the cost of admission was. Canada: By far the biggest chunk of time. Again, small villages mainly focussed on fishing and hunting and a lot of debris scattered about. Skidoo and quad bikes abounded. Here the villages had local craft for sale, in varying volume and type but the one common factor was high pricing. I got the feeling they saw cruise ships in the area as full of rich people so they priced accordingly. Some people offered more reasonable money which was refused. Some accepted lower amounts but by and large we were the cash cows. $300CAD for an alabaster sculpture of a polar bear about 3" high is not value to me. The locals did put on shows, but to be frank only one was something I felt was of value. This may have been due to Ponant stuffing them around (one village elder did apologise for the poor show as they only received payment and confirmation of the visit days prior) but it's a case of seen one, seen them all. A few villages demanded that local guides accompanied us. The expedition leader stated that this was new and he felt unwelcome as a result but it did mean we couldn't roam about freely to see live as it is lived. I didn't feel unwelcome however and I thought these villages did as good as others. But, the villages by and large held no history relating to the NW passage and were there due to natives living there for sustaining life by fishing and hunting. Alaska: So what they don't tell you on the box is that USA requires all boat landings to be done by USA-made zodiacs/boats, and to be piloted by US citizens. So as a result we did no landings in the US and spent 5 days at sea. That was boring. Landings not at villages: We did a few landing at sites which were not qualified or explained the significance of, so we basically did hikes to view the view and to observe the fauna. There were expedition guides who thrived on the flora and fauna and got a thrill out of it, but for me it was meh. One highlight was spotting an Arctic Hare as it scooted across a far away field. I missed it. Would I do it again? No. My bent is wildlife and wild landscapes, so Antarctica was my dream. The NW passage was nothing special for me, with scenery that was not spectacular; I have seen similar in non-ice regions. Perhaps if this cruise was cheaper, or not billed as an 'expedition' I may have different feelings about it. The trip was also devoid of ice - we had to divert for about 12 hours North to reach the sea ice pack - so the sense of challenge or loss/triumph in making the first crossing wasn't there. Due to the change to go NW instead of NE, we received an extra 5 days from the original. 2 of these were getting to Reykjavik from Tromso and I guess 3 across Alaska. Being a small ship there's not a lot to do, except watch birds and hope to spot a whale. So yes, this was boring especially the last days. There we a couple of gaps were we travelled and didn't stop. Due to the length (we travelled 6,600NM) I suppose this couldn't be avoided but it did make for no fun. Would I do it on a better ship product? Perhaps. I think what this trip needs is a focus on what the journey is, and if the history and sites were intertwined into the cruise then it could be good. I'm all up for a story and if the drama, excitement and facts were a theme then it could be a success. Like I said, the original goal was to seek a new trade route and there was nothing sexy or romantic about it and travelling in a 5 star ship for 29 days doesn't compare. We didn't get stuck in ice, we didn't go with natives to hunt our first kill, no one got scurvy and no one challenged the captain (although we prolly should have :))

Well, we are back home now. Having met a number of passengers on the travel home, the general feeling is that this was a very poor effort by Ponant and most intend to write letters of complaint to head office. One couple we spoke with had done over 15 cruises and this was the worst of them. Others decided against booking another cruise on board based on current performance, despite intending to. As noted by myself and Gogo65 there were too many little issues to ignore, which snowballed into a high level of dissatisfaction on the whole ship. There were some standouts; Anton in the deck 6 bar won the popularity vote for his service, ability and personality. In fact, when he hit the catwalk during the fashion show, the entire audience gave him a cheer and shouts. No one else got that. Karl in the restaurant made friends by delivering outstanding service and remembering passengers likes and dislikes and making the effort to accomodate meal requests, which he usually achieved. Alex the bar manager stunned with his ability to knock up a sexy drink from memory and his desire to improve the bar standard. If you are on the next Le Boreal cruise in Ushuaia then you are in for a treat to have them on board. Standouts were seeing 8 polar bears in their natural environment and cruising through ice to drink champagne. The Northwest Passage is an entirely different environment to Antarctica and I will admit to thinking they would be similar but we had 3 days of a polar desert with nothing but rocks. Hopefully this was just a glitch in Ponant SOP and we were the unlucky ones who experienced it.

11am today the Captain announces 2 cases of Covid have been identified and that we should all wear face masks and wash hands. 1pm today the hand sanitiser machine at the entry to the deck 6 restaurant wasn’t working. I had to tell the Maître d. Sigh.

We have spoken to him about issues early on, and have submitted a 4 page feedback form. There have been improvements to the service since the feedback request so they are listening and making changes.

I may have not explained the issue well. Regardless of the type of coffee I asked for, I ended up with 2 coffees and a confused waiter. I don’t see how you have aligned chocolate on a cappuccino to my comment either. That is an Australian variation and I do not expect to see that on any Northern hemisphere coffee. On the other hand, the French bar tender (who has become the favourite for a number of guests) fully grasps how we wish to have our coffee made and delivers every time. Again, a small issue that contributes to the whole.

I think we have an unusual situation and not relevant to Antarctica. We have discussed this and the Antarctic cruise was full on, with 2 landings per day and lots to see and do. If there were any knit-picking moments we didn’t notice them and we are still raving about it 6 years later. I suspect this cruise has a lot more sea days and we are seeing more ‘issues’. I would do Ponant to Antarctica again tomorrow.

I have also found the staff to be exceptional, on our one other cruise which was to Antarctica. I agree, that English is a second language for most service staff, but you miss my point; at this price point and marketing level I expect that my requests in English are understood and acted on. What you do not know about the coffee is I asked the waiter to go and find waiter X (name suppressed for privacy 👍) as he knows how I prefer my coffee. Not only did he not do as I asked he proceeded to deliver me something totally different to what I wanted. If I were on P&O I would write it off to the level of cruise I was on. But I am not, I am paying many tens of thousands of dollars for this cruise and my expectation is in line with that sum. All these little things are creating a bigger issue and this is a disappointment to a large number of passengers. As Gogo said, there is a lack of coordination that to us mere passengers is inexplicable. Another knit-picking example. At Fort Ross there is a historically important cairn of stones that contained a letter confirmed that Franklin had died, and which finally forced his wife to accept he was dead. From the beach there is a great vista up towards the cairn, making a really good photo opp. But, all day we had an expedition guide standing directly in front of it on polar bear surveillance duty - spoiling the photo opportunity. When I arrived up there I mentioned to him that he was blocking the view and if he moved to one side it would be better. His response? I am here to spot polar bears and have to be here. No care that he has up to 80 clients wanting to record their visit. There are multiple examples of this knit picking that are happening daily. How about the expedition leader refusing to allow other Zodiac’s in front of him, as he had the ship photographers with him and they wanted clean shots (to sell to us passengers) of a couple of dead Beluga whales on the lagoon floor, preventing us from approaching a polar bear feeding on the beach? I am paying for them to be there and I have my own pro photo gear which I am using to get pictures, and I do not appreciate having to wait whilst someone uses a borrowed GoPro to get underwater shots. We could bring this up to Management, but if the bear had left and we didn’t get the shots we did get then that comes back to basic awareness of why they are here, and how the experience to the paying guests could be improved.

Currently on Le Boreal completing the 29 day north west passage cruise, sub-titled ‘in the steps of Ronald Amundsen’ We elected this cruise as we had an excellent Antarctic cruise in 2018 and the Ross sea trip was cancelled. Sadly this cruise is not meeting the same level as the 2018 journey. The biggest issue is Ponants communications, both from land offices and on the ship. It’s not up to par for a cruise at this price level and marketing blurb. There are a lot of opportunities for them to offer information on the journey we are on and the sights we are seeing. Virtually all the expedition crew are bird specialists and only one more general knowledge on board. This makes for challenges providing us with quality presentations on the area’s we are in. The expedition leader has made a poor impression, with his first on-land excursion turning into a marathon walk fest that basically upset all and caused him a reprimand from Head Office, according to the gossip. The walk briefing was not delivered in a easy, medium and hard appraisal but in a short, medium and long format. I was personally told by the expedition leader if I wanted to stop the relentless surge forwards to take pictures and enjoy the view I should have joined the medium walk. My response was I was on holiday not a boot camp. The staff facing the passengers have a poor grasp of English and it can be hard to receive the food and drink you request. Yes, this is a French ship and the French language and passengers receive priority over the English; but Ponant have made substantial efforts to capture the Australian market and on this cruise the English speakers outweigh the French. Perhaps due to the pandemic quality staff are difficult to get but at this pricing when I ask for a cappuccino I do not expect to receive a express and a long black at once. Logistics are proving a problem as well. Leaving Tromso was delayed due to paperwork; We were delayed entering Canadian waters due to incorrect paperwork and we were prevented leaving Pond Inlet due to paperwork. I sense a trend here, I am hoping they have their act together for entering the USA. The food in both the grill and restaurant is warm at best - the steamed veges were steamed about 30 minutes prior to serving so they were hot at some point but not when I got them. Meat is not cooked past rare, so you need to up your steak selection by one grade. I have had basically rare lamb and beef so far. Last night I watched the chef attempt to cut the roast beef eye fillet, which required a lot of sawing. On arrival at he table I need to engage saw mode to cut the meat, which was medium on one side and rare on the other. The bread is the signature dish here - always greasy, crusty on the outer and to-die-for on the inside. Desserts win the prize as well, crafted nicely. Breakfast has not seen a variation in weeks and I am pretty much down to buttered toast at this point. Alcohol has been a fizzer. I am a beer drinker and enjoy local ales. Due to the locals agent not able to supply local beer in Tromso we waited until Greenland to obtain some. But, a currency conversion glitch meant that they paid over 5 Euro per bottle, so the delightful passengers are charged €2- per bottle. Not sure how their lack of planning causes my wallet to ache. Plus, all the beer I have looked at is expiring this month, so the cynic in me thinks it has been sitting in the ship for the past 2 years whilst it was laid up. Cruddy booze, anyone? So, we are not as impressed with Ponant as we were. A lot of issues could be blamed on Covid but missing the stop at Beechey Island which was an important part of Amundsen’s travels is not the most professional way to conduct this expedition. Subsequent stops have been small locales which I am struggling to see relating to the cruise description. I think myself and Gogo65 are the only CC contributors on this cruise but it would be great to see the French version to see if it matches ours. But, we did see big white fluffy things close up and all issues were forgotten 😊

What Gogo said ☹️

Last night we all appeared to have been given a survey of the cruise so far, and how it could be improved. With only 6 lines to reply it appears they don’t really want to hear the answer.

And we have both passed our ‘Rona tests with negative results. Now one last night with the music festival just started to keep us awake with anticipation. And to hijack the thread, we are staying 2 doors up at the Scandic Ishavshotel which is quite pleasant with an inner harbour view. No free dinner or tasty cakes but