Jim_Iain - First Non-Celebrity Cruise in 22 year - Ponant vs Celebrity Comparison

[theopup]

Nice looking cabin, well appointed. Enjoy your new journey 

[TPCRUISER2]

 Wishing you and Iain a wonderful cruise! Looking forward to hearing about your ports and ship!

[Jim_Iain]

12 hours ago, alfiemom said:

Jim,

 

Bon voyage to you and Lain.  My grandparents had a jewelry store in one of the buildings downtown and both parents were born there.  It’s been many years since I visited the lakeshore and was shocked to find you were boarding a “cruise ship” in Milwaukee.  Is it doing the Great Lakes or up and out the St. Lawrence to who knows where,

Most of the ships are doing Milwaukee to Toronto and beyond.  The Ship I'm on just finished a Reykjavik to Toronto and the Toronto to Milwaukee and now returning to Toronto.   The next cruise is Toronto to Boston. 

 

Milwaukee is a beautiful City with lots of arts and festivals during the summer.

[PANIN36]

22 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

Vien -- good seeing you.  

 

I was really surprised Milwaukee doesn't have many interesting doors in the areas we have been.

 

Will be quietly following, not just for all your beautiful photos but also for the travel tips and interesting tangents. Your posts always bring out the best of the CC community 😊

[Jim_Iain]

11 hours ago, Stem to Stern said:

Bon voyage fellas!  Don’t forget to buy some fudge on Mackinac Island.  Remember to watch your step while walking around. 😁

I will check out the Fudge... 1st time to hear it is special.   We arrive in Mackinac Island at 1:00 PM

[Jim_Iain]

10 hours ago, theopup said:

Nice looking cabin, well appointed. Enjoy your new journey 

 

It is a little tight but extremely well thought out and full utilization of every inch.   Later I will shoot a picture of the Bathroom.   They have a separate toilet from the Shower and Sink that is nice. 

 

In many ways it has the same Natural bleached driftwood tones as the newer ships and that went through Revolution.  

 

Difference

 

While Ponant uses the same color pallet as Celebrity the design is well thought out  and functional.    No kitch!     All furniture is very comfortable and functional.    In lieu of a desk chair they have a cube the easily fits under the desk.     They have a nice makeup mirror and the desk area has nice lighting.

 

Power supplies are nicely placed with 1 220v and 1 110v on each side of the bed as well as a USB plug.  The room also comes with a Bose wireless speaker.

 

On the TV wall they have additional 220v and 110v and USB power outlets as well as one on the floor for housekeeping.    Additional 2 USB's on TV.

[Jim_Iain]

11 minutes ago, PANIN36 said:

Will be quietly following, not just for all your beautiful photos but also for the travel tips and interesting tangents. Your posts always bring out the best of the CC community 😊

Thanks.. feel free to not be quiet and jump in.   I learn so much from other CC members.

[Jim_Iain]

 

Differences -

 

Embarkation is a reminder of the past.   Unlike Celebrity and many of the other lines that have switched to a virtual Muster, Ponant still has a live drill.    All passenger first met in the Theater for a 30 minutes briefing followed by instructions to return to you cabin and retrieve you life jackets.    There were staff in the hallway to make sure it was properly put on and they you met at one of the 2 muster stations -  We had the main dining room.   The drill took an additional 20 minutes

 

 

 

Edited September 12, 2023 by Jim_Iain

[Jim_Iain]

Back tracking-  a couple parting pictures of Milwaukee.  
 

 

 

 

 

[Jim_Iain]

Back aboard and a couple pictures of Le Bellot 

 

Infinity Pool

 

 

Entertainment in the lounge

 

 

Multi purpose Bar also serves continental breakfast. 
 

Dining Room

 

 

 

[Jim_Iain]

I will be posting the Dinner Menus on the Ponant Board.  Link in signature.  

[Pantheral]

 Jim,

 

I hope the two of you have a wonderful day on Mackinac Island!! I know that the Grand Hotel is a special place for you and I hope you experience it in all its beauty. Oh, and by the way, the rest of the island is wonderful as well 😁 

[Jim_Iain]

15 minutes ago, Pantheral said:

 Jim,

 

I hope the two of you have a wonderful day on Mackinac Island!! I know that the Grand Hotel is a special place for you and I hope you experience it in all its beauty. Oh, and by the way, the rest of the island is wonderful as well 😁 

Really looking forward to it.   Excursions tickets were at our door this morning. 
 

 

[SHIP TRAVELER]

21 hours ago, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

 

Hi, Phyllis!  Good to see a post from you.  Hope all is well.

Yes, all is well,  I sneak a peak at your "Sillie" roll call with Schmoe regularly. LOL

[Jim_Iain]

Technology Differences -

 

Internet Speeds -   Le Bellot definitely doesn't have StarLink  and the internet is similar as Celebrity pre-StarLink.

 

Ponant

 

 

Celebrity

 

TV-   Both have nice Samsung TV's but the one on Ponant is much larger than those in Sky Suite and below.    They are the same size as CS and above.

 

While Celebrity has their ports unlocked the ones on Ponant are locked down and haven't been able to hack into turning it off but only tired for a couple minutes.   They do use HDMI 1 so easy just to unplug the ships connection and plug in your HDMI Device.

 

I tried to see if I could stream YouTube Tv and I can pull up a program but not enough bandwidth to watch a show.  

 

This morning I tried out connecting to Zoom and had no problem at all.  

 

 

Edited September 12, 2023 by Jim_Iain

[miched]

2 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

I will check out the Fudge... 1st time to hear it is special.   We arrive in Mackinac Island at 1:00 PM

It is nothing special.  Over hyped marketing.  Same as you get at any tourist town that has fudge shops.  
 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

[Stem to Stern]

2 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

I will check out the Fudge... 1st time to hear it is special.   We arrive in Mackinac Island at 1:00 PM

Our Story - Original Murdick's Fudge (originalmurdicksfudge.com)

[MikeMary4449]

2 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

It is a little tight but extremely well thought out.

All furniture is very comfortable and functional.   

Question: Can you see the TV from the sofa or only from the bed? 

[Jim_Iain]

Iain made a Fudge Brownie brownie before we left.    It was so rich you could only eat a small sliver at a time.    Somehow it was disappearing quickly.

[Jim_Iain]

9 minutes ago, MikeMary4449 said:

Question: Can you see the TV from the sofa or only from the bed? 

yes but not straight on.   It tilts to about 35 degrees.  Very similar to Sky Suite

 

as you can see sofa is a bit small. 
 

 

Edited September 12, 2023 by Jim_Iain

[MikeMary4449]

1 minute ago, Jim_Iain said:

yes but not straight on.   It tilts to about 35 degrees. 
 

Thanks, Jim.  Definitely not as good as if sofa and bed were on the same wall across from the TV.

[Jim_Iain]

I turned on VPN and Logged onto YouTube TV and it streams really good so maybe the ship just doesn't like my FireStick.  

 

 

[hcat]

thanks for updates and comparisons..

nice calm colors...and laid  out well.but agree it is smaller than what u have been used to on X.  We are going to be back to an Inf Balc in AQ Class on Ascent but always find a way to manage our space efficiently!

 

 The pool looks  not up to X quality   but you are lake cruising not in the tropics.  Do they have a workout room, sauna or place for massages?

 

How smooth is the water you are cruising through.? Any sea life/ birds?

[Jim_Iain]

9 minutes ago, hcat said:

thanks for updates and comparisons..

nice calm colors...and laid  out well.but agree it is smaller than what u have been used to on X.  We are going to be back to an Inf Balc in AQ Class on Ascent but always find a way to manage our space efficiently!

 

 The pool looks  not up to X quality   but you are lake cruising not in the tropics.  Do they have a workout room, sauna or place for massages?

 

How smooth is the water you are cruising through.? Any sea life/ birds?

Things are definitely smaller but only about 150 passengers all suites. 
 

They do have a SMALL gym.   They also have massage, spa and beauty salon.  Will have to check on Sauna. 
 

[Jim_Iain]

The seas are relatively smooth.  We had some movement overnight.    
 

Seas were 4 feet last night and currently around 2 feet and very smooth.   Interesting that the ship uses Windy on the navigation channel

 

Edited September 12, 2023 by Jim_Iain