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If anyone is sailing soon, I am interested too!

Thanks, PG is probably a better fit but it does not have a sauna/steam room and the price point can vary quite a lot. I think we are also better suited for the casual vibe of windstar. I think I may have over exagarated using "americanized". What I meant is the food seemed more american focused from what I could see: the breakfast photos I saw was donuts, bagels, etc.. some french pastries but maybe not the level of french food we got on ponant (for good reasons, every line has it strength). It is not necessarily to say it is not good, but more than being already in the US all year round, there was a fun factor to see typically french items as part of the menus. French galettes, cider from brittany, duck main courses, foie gras, typical seafood at the buffet, etc.. It was fun for megiven I grew up in France. It was like being home and away at the same time. The Windstar menu looks very good but also very comparable to what I could find in our area in the US. I think at this point we are leaning Windstar if we can get a good deal, and if not maybe we will wait and see if we can do the ponant cruise in the future but that is a whole other price point :-).

Thanks! i am leaning towards windstar for a few reasons but the americanized food vs french food is really a big downside for me. Lack of real balcony as well.

Thank you! I am currently weighing my options between Paul Gaughin and Windstar. I like the starbreeze better but I am partial to extra dose of french food. I have been on a cruise with ponant and really liked the food. So I am hesitating. However, windstar seems to have more sailing and options for last minute discounts as well, which may be more hepful for us. The lack of real balcony and sauna (for both) was a bit disappointing but the watersports marina seems really fun and the ambiance too.

looking to take my second cruise (1st was with ponant) with windstar. in 2025 ideally but does not have to be. I am wondering if there is a best time to book to get better pricing? or any specialized agent that gets extra incentives? I usually work with an agent that is part of virtuoso, but I dont think they specialize in cruises. Currently looking at thanksgiving 2025 .

are the 2025 late november dates released cause i couldnt find any?

Hi all, looking to take my second cruise (1st was with ponant) with pg. in 2025 ideally but does not have to be. I am wondering if there is a best time to book to get better pricing? or any specialized agent that gets extra incentives? I usually work with an agent that is part of virtuoso, but I dont think they specialize in cruises. Currently looking at thanksgiving 2025 as our preferred date, from what I can tell it is not released yet. Also wondering if the ponant promos apply to PG cruises (referral discount, and anniversary discount). If you know about the same for windstar I am also interested, as I am still hesitating.

@Webb Pierce I could not message you here (the functionalitty is disabled) but I emailed you (hotmail account).

yes it is apparently the same people. I think their ocean cruises are quite new, not many reviews although some are existing.(https://www.emeraldcruises.com/yacht)

Interesting, I liked the food on the ponant cruise and I was wondering what other luxury cruises look like. We did have a caviar tasting and a pata negra tasting, we also had lobster and foie gras. Are you thinking they day to day menu was not fancy enough to qualify for a luxury cruise? or the choices?

Hi! I just sent you an email.

https://www.cruisetradenews.com/ponant-acquires-paul-gauguin-cruises/ I am looking at the options available and I think there is already a bunch of good options all with their personnality, so i do think we will find something. Ponant was one of them but it is very french (i dont mind but some in the group may) so i was just trying to identify competitors. Emerald azzura looks promessing. Looking at the pool on much bigger ships, i was surprised they didnt look that much bigger so in comparison the luxury cruise pool look better ahah! thanks everyone

I think thats ponant now, so not really. I did find emerald and it looks kind of fun. or the celebrity flora but the food doesnt look great and the pool is tiny.

Hi all, I am looking at galapagoscruises and I am wondering if anyone has tried the Celebrity Flora and Silversea Origin of either of these two and the ponant cruises. Mostly wondering about the food level on the cruises and whether there is a huge gap between flora vs origin that justify the pricing difference. I am adding ponant because this is my only frame of reference and I was very happy with the food quality. Not a big fan of super american/casual menus, and enjoyed a lot of the more french leaning food on ponant. Thanks everyone!

Thanks! i looked at Hapag Lloyd, it looks interesting and definitely a bit cheaper but most of the cruises are 12+ days.

Hi all, I took my first cruise with Ponant and really loved it but I am looking for alternatives to compare that may fit my group better. Friends are looking to come with us so we would be a group of 6-9, early 40s. I loved the tropical expedition with ponant because we felt like in the middle of nowhere, in nature, being at places that we would not usually access. I really the zodiacs taking us to different islands/beaches and I am not looking to go visit towns. Although given our group, a bigger pool would be ideal so we can actually swim on board. I do want a smaller ship, (<600, ideally <300 but it seems for a bigger pool you need a bigger ship). Any suggestion of cruises to consider?

Is Ponant consider luxury? some of their cruises are no single supplement.

I am not sure if Ponant is considered luxury but I took my first one last fall and when they offer the no single supplement that could be an option. The food was really good and the tropical expedition plus small size of the ship made it really special. Now, the pool was basically useless (too hot and tiny) but we sawm in the sea/snorkeled so it wasnt a big deal.

Interesting! i worked with thrm.on board and they were willing to provide my partner with a refferal bonus and stack the anniversary bonus plus the 10% off promo at the time. It couls be that the status match is much more generous too, or it may have been a fluke!

Sounds good. FYI, i have found Ponant often will stack promos so double check if you can benefit from both status match and referral. you never know!

Oh thats too bad! I am glad you hace a contact. Weird the email didnt go through, i will try again but i checked and the address looks right. I tried DM ing you here but it is disabled. I hope you have a fantastic trip!

Just contacted you!

Happy to refer anyone to ponant ($600 discount), just DM me or respond here!

I did not but will mention that mosquitos were everywhere and bit us through clothing. definitely pack a bunch of spray to go and to spray under clothing. Not all spray can be use under clothing.

Hi everyone, I just came back from my first PONANT cruise and I would be happy to refer anyone. I can vouch for the company, the experience was truly remarkable/fantastic! I will be doing a trip report but feel free to message me for a referral!