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Ponant Le Lyrial


caviargal
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Cross posting here, in the hopes of a reply.

 

We are just a few weeks out from our Ponant cruise and there is so little information available here and on the internet in general.

 

I am very interested in the quality of their onboard internet. I have to keep in touch as I am a small business owner. I have no problem paying for their pricey internet, but need to be sure I will have a decent connection at least some of the time.

 

Also, my carrier does not offer a calling package with Ponant. If I use my cell for calls, do they slap on a roaming fee as well to ride their satellite? I cannot get a straight answer from the cruise line.

 

We are doing the Adriatic and I am looking into a MiFi rental if the onboard internet quality is not up to a good standard.

 

For clothing, I am assuming resort elegant would be appropriate, similar to what we would wear to a resort on the beaches in the south of France? For the Captain's receptions, does my husband need a sport coat?

 

TIA

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The following is one reviewer's comment on the ship's Wi-Fi:

 

'Be Wary of the Wi-Fi: It's expensive, unreliable, and uses an archaic login/password system. Avoid it or use it sparingly — no matter how much you want to stay in touch with people back home.'

 

<sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>https://www.shermanscruise.com/ships/le-lyrial

 

 

The Berlitz Guide in respect of the sister ship Le Soleal describes the internet connection as being slow, and expensive.

Edited by English Voyager
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The following is one reviewer's comment on the ship's Wi-Fi:

 

'Be Wary of the Wi-Fi: It's expensive, unreliable, and uses an archaic login/password system. Avoid it or use it sparingly — no matter how much you want to stay in touch with people back home.'

 

<sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>https://www.shermanscruise.com/ships/le-lyrial

 

 

The Berlitz Guide in respect of the sister ship Le Soleal describes the internet connection as being slow, and expensive.

 

Thank you! I will bring my own.

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Clothing:

Resort casual and elegant are both fine. There is one captain's reception where you can whip out your best resort outfit, no American style evening gown or cocktail dress was necessary. If this is your husband's only occasion for a jacket, don't bring it. Best shirt and trousers are good. I saw high end materials like cashmere, but nothing truly formal. As you probably know, French men's "uniform" is a fine dress shirt (no tie) with a cashmere sweater draped over their shoulders. Ponant advertises "a family ambiance". Enjoy your cruise!

 

We skipped the second reception on our b2b and ate in the buffet restaurant. It was a China/Japan cruise.

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Clothing:

Resort casual and elegant are both fine. There is one captain's reception where you can whip out your best resort outfit, no American style evening gown or cocktail dress was necessary. If this is your husband's only occasion for a jacket, don't bring it. Best shirt and trousers are good. I saw high end materials like cashmere, but nothing truly formal. As you probably know, French men's "uniform" is a fine dress shirt (no tie) with a cashmere sweater draped over their shoulders. Ponant advertises "a family ambiance". Enjoy your cruise!

 

Thank you! I was never considering packing anything formal, and assumed a dress I would wear to dinner at an elegant resort would be fine. We are spending a few days in northern Italy pre-cruise and DH will very likely pack a sport coat for this trip.

 

Since there is so little information about the line from actual cruisers, your first hand comments are very helpful.

Edited by caviargal
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There are only 11, and more than half of those are for Antarctica, others for charters, etc. Also, very few are recent and barely addressed my questions. I hope our cruise is better than what I read overall.

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The reviews by English speakers are probably negative because their expectations were not met. Ponant is a line with mostly French passengers. On our cruise, some of them did not quite understand that English speakers were on board as well. The staff went out of their way to accommodate English speakers, especially the bilingual cruise director and the bilingual hotel director.

 

Passengers with previous international experience should be able to cope with the negative aspects of certain behavior patterns. caviargal, I am sure, can easily handle the French. :cool:

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Passengers with previous international experience should be able to cope with the negative aspects of certain behavior patterns. caviargal, I am sure, can easily handle the French. :cool:

 

Out cruise is a partial Tauck charter with more than half of the ship booked by their group.

 

I have spent a good amount time in France and, while not a Francophile, the international passenger make up aboard is not a concern. I am curious to see how they handle smoking as compared to non European lines.

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The balcony on l'Austral is a fortress with a sturdy door and high metal railing, built for arctic storms. No smoke wafted in. There may have been smokers on the outdoor terrace of the buffet restaurant, but I don't remember any.

 

According to our waiters, the kitchen will add hamburgers and drop venison when Tauck is on the ship.

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The balcony on l'Austral is a fortress with a sturdy door and high metal railing, built for arctic storms. No smoke wafted in. There may have been smokers on the outdoor terrace of the buffet restaurant, but I don't remember any.

 

According to our waiters, the kitchen will add hamburgers and drop venison when Tauck is on the ship.

Deck 3 cabins balcony are made of metal, from deck 4 up, they are not.

We loved our Le boreal cruise and have booked another on Ponant, we are laid back Aussies, so we are most likely easy to please....

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We loved our Le boreal cruise and have booked another on Ponant, we are laid back Aussies, so we are most likely easy to please....

 

How true, we love hanging out with laid back Aussies, even went with APT on a Mekong cruise. :D

I speak French and would do another Ponant cruise, but my husband is not interested. They have an itinerary in southern French Polynesia that no one else does and they are building more luxurious expedition ships.

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How true, we love hanging out with laid back Aussies, even went with APT on a Mekong cruise. :D

I speak French and would do another Ponant cruise, but my husband is not interested. They have an itinerary in southern French Polynesia that no one else does and they are building more luxurious expedition ships.

On our Ponant cruise, half were English speaking, the other half French, of the English speaking, approx 60% were Aussies.

We have booked on Le Champlain, one of there new ships, can't wait to see it, particularly the blue eyed lounge, looks amazing!

Would love to do either a French Polynesian or Papua New Guinea cruise on ponant too!

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