We are doing our first Ponant cruise in June. It’s a Smithsonian expedition sail from Glasgow to Bergen. For context, we’ve done two Lindblad cruises in the past, Glapagos and Iceland. Perhaps swayed by the word expedition, we booked this cruise as Lindblad didn’t have a similar itinerary. However, I’m now having some concerns I hope people can help with!
Most of our party (extended family) is very active. I enjoy the luxury aboard cruises, but it’s not as crucial for others. Lindblad was a great line for us, as it had very active options for some and more relaxed options for others! Specifically, there was almost always an excursion option that was quite active - Galapagos was different, of course, but there was always snorkeling or kayaking. Iceland had several very intense hikes of 5-10 miles with lots of elevation gain:
I was rather surprised when we got the excursion list from Ponant and the most active excursions are a 4 mile flat walk and an e-bike tour (with no option for regular bike)
This area has some of the best hiking in the world. I’m really surprised there aren’t options for those who like to exert themselves. I’ve compiled a lot of resources so, hopefully, we can set out on our own several days, but, frankly I’m nervous. The older folks in our group will be happy, but we have several who would rather chew off a limb than take a bus tour.
Any thoughts or suggestions about making this work!