AussieBoyTX

Ponant does have an air program. I haven't found the pricing to be great, but you do get protection if the flight is delayed. Your TA should be able to give the details to Ponant for a quote..

What link are you looking at? At this link, it indicates testing is not required as of September 22, 2022: https://fr.calameo.com/read/000132423a39f38f50497?authid=TqZVdP5hFUMG Over the summer, boarding was around 4-5 pm, but that could change, of course.

Nothing exciting like that! I was thinking Quilmes or the like. “Local,” not local.

Heineken draft and cans seems to be the company standard. We've always had at least one other beer offered that was generally something "local" -- but I couldn't promise what it is.

For sure. Everyone offers the north pass every day. If the current is inbound, it's particularly striking because you start the dive in what feels like blue water and after a short while you see the reef rising up below you as you drift into the atoll.

That's the classic cruise and you'll have an excellent experience! Once you get to the hotel in Buenos Aires, you'll find that Ponant has all the details taken care of of you.

Sure, happy to help -- which cruise are you taking?

I echo the advice on certifications and logbooks. Every operator I have been with in French Polynesia has taken these very seriously and some people missed out because they didn't have the necessary qualifications or currency. Fakarava diving is world class and I would dive over the other alternatives on the island. IMO, Fakarava's south pass is a top 10 dive and if you can find someone who will guarantee taking you there, I would do that. The dive requires CMAS ** or PADI Rescue (Advanced + Deep isn't enough for this dive). Since you're in Fakarava all day on this itinerary, you have enough time to do it. I last did the south pass right before Covid and Dive Spirit Fakarava was doing the south pass every day at the time. Fakarava's north pass is also great, if that's what you can work out. Marquesas is also supposed to be great and I would dive, unless there was a particularly interesting Jacques Brel or Paul Gauguin (the artist, not the ship) excursion. Diving in the Society Islands has always been "meh" for me. I just do it to get under water. If you do the Tuamotus and Marquesas diving, you'll find Bora Bora and Moorea underwhelming. I agree that one a day is enough for me.

Since I'm thinking about it, this cruise is targeted to French-speakers (You may have to switch to the France site to see it, as it's not on the English-language sites): https://www.ponant.com/mediterranee-grande-croisiere-culture-du-figaro-ex290523-1 And this to English-speakers: https://us.ponant.com/australia-australia-s-iconic-kimberley-er140424-12

Le Commandant Charcot has a room to keep your gear, but not the other ships. I assume you could access that area whenever you wanted. On the Sisterships, your boots are left on a mat outside your stateroom and your parka you keep with you inside. The parka is very high quality and has a hood. It was actually too warm for the temperate conditions we had. Also, the parka on Charcot is at least slightly different. The one we got had faux fur around the hood.

Yes, unless otherwise indicated, all Ponant cruises are French & English. The French officers & senior staff all speak French fluently (obviously?) and English to some extent varying from Fluent to something well less than that. Hotel staff are mostly sourced from East Asia and though some speak French, pretty much all of them speak English. The hotel staff who are not from East Asia appear to be mostly French. Cruises targeted to a specific market are clearly marked if they will have announcements in French-only or English-only.

Okay, now that I've looked at the specific cruises... Dakar to Santos is a cool itinerary that I'd like to do, but it's unfortunately not listed as an Ocean Voyage. Also, note that because of the Napoleonic theme, they have four lecturers on board (two speak English) and the entire cruise will work like a normal cruise -- you will get excursions at Ascension and St. Helena, there will be entertainment, restaurants will be operating as normal, and so on. And assuming we're talking about the same cruise, you'll be in St. Helena for almost three days. https://us.ponant.com/transatlantic-napoleon-bonaparte-history-and-heritage-ly141023-12 So, that means if you paid for the Dakar - Santos cruise (starting at $13K or so USD), then yes, the Malaga to Dakar is free. I was excited for a moment and was ready to come along with you! The cruises eligible for the offer will have "Free Ocean Voyage" in the header:

1. Absolutely. Almost all hotel crew speak English better than French. 2. Generally yes. If the ship is full, it’s possible to be offered a table for four in Gala nights. This only happened once for us. 3. Yes, if the ocean voyage is on the list, it is free (plus taxes). Just be aware that Ponant doesn’t make any commitments on entertainment, restaurant variety and so on. There might also be maintenance on the ship going on and the possibility of arriving at the destination early — you won’t be kicked off the ship, but might feel like the cruise is over. On the bright side, you might get to hear the crew band and other crew performances and who knows what else might happen?

I thought it was "winter comfortable" -- I usually wore a fleece, but it wasn't so cold that I couldn't wear shorts.

As of November, it was either one. For piece of mind, I’d get the PCR at home.

Success in the North American market is important to Ponant's success, so I expect they will apply what they've learned on Le Paul Gauguin to the rest of the fleet. I think it's possible to deliver the important things Americans and French are looking for on the same ship -- it just needs to be figured out.

Here’s the summary I wrote of our recently completed cruise on Le Paul Gauguin directed toward Ponant cruisers. If you’re interested, you can find the complete daily comments here: We researched cruising on Le Paul Gauguin carefully before deciding to book — not only what our friends told us (from pre-Ponant days), but also reviews and careful reading of the PG website — so our expectations were set and we were not negatively surprised by any aspect this cruise. it is clearly a different product with a different target market and it appears that Ponant is committed to keeping what makes the Paul Gauguin experience special. While the product differentiation is clear in the North American market with the separate pgcruises.com website, I think there’s work to do in the rest of the world where Paul Gauguin cruises are marketed on Ponant’s websites and, apparently, travel advisors don’t fully understand the difference. Our French friends, who are way more high-end cruisers than we are, were “appalled” that breakfast & lunch were basically buffet-style and probably had dinner at La Veranda every night they didn’t eat ashore. But that’s not to say that the food is bad. From our perspective, there were items that were very well prepared by any standard — especially at Le Grille, which doesn’t even have a full galley that I could see, which was able to produce coconut prawns fresh and hot from the fryer and main dishes that looked freshly prepared without heavy sauces or oils to cover any deficiencies. La Veranda also had a fine upscale experience and some of the dishes they offered could compete with a Ponant menu. I really don’t want to beat on l’Etoile any more, aside to say that serving 100 people a complex menu is difficult and serving 200+ all at once is substantially more difficult for any team on land or sea to execute. This crew did better than many. I do think a French-flagged ship should be required by law to serve a “real” baguette. Maybe it’s just us, but after trying once, we didn’t really eat any of the breads or pastries during this cruise. Housekeeping was okay, but on Ponant, we’re used to knowing not only our room attendant who knew when and how we liked the room serviced and what to stock the minibar with, but all the other room attendants on our deck. We also missed the pillow menu. We never really saw our Paul Gauguin room attendant and communicated with her via notes. Laundry on the other hand was excellent and was usually same-day service! La Boutique felt very expensive compared to on Ponant, even with our substantial Ponant Yacht Club discount, so we only bought a Christmas ornament. Same with the spa services, but I have no idea how busy the spa was or how fair other guests considered the prices. I think we all enjoyed the entertainment and having something substantial and worthwhile going on all day, whether hosted by Les Gauguins / Gauguines, the Cruise Director or the other performers on board, there wasn’t much time without something to do. Although we enjoy the dancers / entertainers onboard Ponant ships, Paul Gauguin has a more substantial investment in entertainment and we enjoyed the change of pace. As we mentioned earlier, the interesting excursions were sold-out before we even boarded the ship, so we didn’t take any. A disadvantage of a ship this size visiting islands with limited infrastructure is that the islands can only handle so many visitors at once. Certainly not the 309 guests we had on board. So, if you’re cruising during a holiday, investigate the available excursions and book while you’re still home. I expected scuba to be targeted to beginners and wasn’t surprised that proved to be the case. I do think the whole scuba process would benefit from clear communication on what forms and doctor approvals are required and receiving the forms from guests before the cruise. The shipboard registration experience was much more time-consuming than I expected, with us actually missing a dive opportunity in Huahine because of it. On this cruise, diving was just something to do, so aside from not getting to dive at Attitavki (which I could have organized privately had I known), I was okay with the experience. However, if these were bucket list locations like Tuamotus or Marquesas, I would have been deeply disappointed! Having Captain Marchesseau on board was a huge surprise and benefit and his sail-aways at Attitavki and Taha’a were spectacular. Crew members said these weren’t common and were a great value-add for us. Of course, we also enjoyed his numerous sailing stories and having his family along to join us was a treat. Our teen loved the invitation to the “Captain’s Daughter’s Table.” The private island at Taha’a was gorgeous and it was a great way to spend Christmas. We enjoyed the iced rum drinks in coconuts along with the drift snorkeling just off the beach. The ship is old, but it’s well laid out and comfortable, rarely feeling crowded. Here’s hoping there are upgrades in the upcoming dry dock that will further improve the guest experience on board. So, where does that leave us regarding Le Paul Gauguin? Generally, we’re not itinerary repeaters, so although we enjoy French Polynesia, can’t see ourselves being regulars on the ship. There’s always the possibility for joining for the Marquesas in the future, but Marquesas would be bucket list diving for me, so I’d be extremely nervous about committing. However, the new two-week “Islands of the Marquesas and Tuamotus” itinerary looks good, so we we’ll see. Probably what would be more appealing to us to get our Jacques Brel & Paul Gauguin experience would be an expedition cruise aboard one of Ponant’s 184 guest Explorer-class ships (e.g. Le Laperouse) with minimal excursions replaced by naturalists & historians leading small group expeditions. And replace the typical entertainment and activities with some loaned Gauguins / Gauguines. We respect the love that many have for the Paul Gauguin experience and hope that Ponant will preserve the experience. As I said before, it seems like this is the case and the comments we heard from very experienced Paul Gauguin cruisers were positive. Still, I think there’s room for some improvements that will make the experience more familiar to Ponant cruisers, without detracting at all from the current experience.

We researched cruising on Le Paul Gauguin carefully before deciding to book — not only what our friends told us (from pre-Ponant days), but also reviews and careful reading of the PG website — so our expectations were set and we were not negatively surprised by any aspect this cruise. it is clearly a different product with a different target market and it appears that Ponant is committed to keeping what makes the Paul Gauguin experience special. While the product differentiation is clear in the North American market with the separate pgcruises.com website, I think there’s work to do in the rest of the world where Paul Gauguin cruises are marketed on Ponant’s websites and, apparently, travel advisors don’t fully understand the difference. Our French friends, who are way more high-end cruisers than we are, were “appalled” that breakfast & lunch were basically buffet-style and probably had dinner at La Veranda every night they didn’t eat ashore. But that’s not to say that the food is bad. From our perspective, there were items that were very well prepared by any standard — especially at Le Grille, which doesn’t even have a full galley that I could see, which was able to produce coconut prawns fresh and hot from the fryer and main dishes that looked freshly prepared without heavy sauces or oils to cover any deficiencies. La Veranda also had a fine upscale experience and some of the dishes they offered could compete with a Ponant menu. I really don’t want to beat on l’Etoile any more, aside to say that serving 100 people a complex menu is difficult and serving 200+ all at once is substantially more difficult for any team on land or sea to execute. This crew did better than many. I do think a French-flagged ship should be required by law to serve a “real” baguette. Maybe it’s just us, but after trying once, we didn’t really eat any of the breads or pastries during this cruise. Housekeeping was okay, but on Ponant, we’re used to knowing not only our room attendant who knew when and how we liked the room serviced and what to stock the minibar with, but all the other room attendants on our deck. We also missed the pillow menu. We never really saw our Paul Gauguin room attendant and communicated with her via notes. Laundry on the other hand was excellent and was usually same-day service! La Boutique felt very expensive compared to on Ponant, even with our substantial Ponant Yacht Club discount, so we only bought a Christmas ornament. Same with the spa services, but I have no idea how busy the spa was or how fair other guests considered the prices. I think we all enjoyed the entertainment and having something substantial and worthwhile going on all day, whether hosted by Les Gauguins / Gauguines, the Cruise Director or the other performers on board, there wasn’t much time without something to do. Although we enjoy the dancers / entertainers onboard Ponant ships, Paul Gauguin has a more substantial investment in entertainment and we enjoyed the change of pace. As we mentioned earlier, the interesting excursions were sold-out before we even boarded the ship, so we didn’t take any. A disadvantage of a ship this size visiting islands with limited infrastructure is that the islands can only handle so many visitors at once. Certainly not the 309 guests we had on board. So, if you’re cruising during a holiday, investigate the available excursions and book while you’re still home. I expected scuba to be targeted to beginners and wasn’t surprised that proved to be the case. I do think the whole scuba process would benefit from clear communication on what forms and doctor approvals are required and receiving the forms from guests before the cruise. The shipboard registration experience was much more time-consuming than I expected, with us actually missing a dive opportunity in Huahine because of it. On this cruise, diving was just something to do, so aside from not getting to dive at Attitavki (which I could have organized privately had I known), I was okay with the experience. However, if these were bucket list locations like Tuamotus or Marquesas, I would have been deeply disappointed! Having Captain Marchesseau on board was a huge surprise and benefit and his sail-aways at Attitavki and Taha’a were spectacular. Crew members said these weren’t common and were a great value-add for us. Of course, we also enjoyed his numerous sailing stories and having his family along to join us was a treat. Our teen loved the invitation to the “Captain’s Daughter’s Table.” The private island at Taha’a was gorgeous and it was a great way to spend Christmas. We enjoyed the iced rum drinks in coconuts along with the drift snorkeling just off the beach. The ship is old, but it’s well laid out and comfortable, rarely feeling crowded. Here’s hoping there are upgrades in the upcoming dry dock that will further improve the guest experience on board. So, where does that leave us regarding Le Paul Gauguin? Generally, we’re not itinerary repeaters, so although we enjoy French Polynesia, can’t see ourselves being regulars on the ship. There’s always the possibility for joining for the Marquesas in the future, but Marquesas would be bucket list diving for me, so I’d be extremely nervous about committing. However, the new two-week “Islands of the Marquesas and Tuamotus” itinerary looks good, so we we’ll see. Probably what would be more appealing to us to get our Jacques Brel & Paul Gauguin experience would be an expedition cruise aboard one of Ponant’s 184 guest Explorer-class ships (e.g. Le Laperouse) with minimal excursions replaced by naturalists & historians leading small group expeditions. And replace the typical entertainment and activities with some loaned Gauguins / Gauguines. We respect the love that many have for the Paul Gauguin experience and hope that Ponant will preserve the experience. As I said before, it seems like this is the case and the comments we heard from very experienced Paul Gauguin cruisers were positive. Still, I think there’s room for some improvements that will make the experience more familiar to Ponant cruisers, without detracting at all from the current experience.

As far as I saw, the smokers of all types were pretty good about keeping to the deck outside La Palette on Deck 8. The area is actually much larger and much nicer than the “ashtray of shame” provided on Ponant — with the exception of the super luxe cigar lounge on ale Commandant Charcot — I almost passed out when I went in to check that out. 😉 The dives were just “something to do” this trip, so aside from Cook Islands, I wasn’t really disappointed or all that surprised. I had more empathy than anything for the guides having to deal with keeping their guests happy. If they were bucket list dives like Tuamotus or Marquesas, I’d have a completely different view. Yeah, Triggerfish have a way about them. I’ve seen a Titan bite before, so I’m cautious around them and was really surprised to see them come over the rise at me.

Tuesday was our final day in Moorea and it began with a surprise cruise between Opunahu Bay and Cook’s Bay. Our Captain decided there was no reason for us to have the same scenery two days in a row, so he fixed that problem by moving us over to a fresh view! Sometimes I think things like this and those sail-aways the long way actually happen all the time and are played as surprises for the guests — but a crew member said this was new to him and I’m inclined to believe him. I went diving again at 8 and 10. The dives were more-or-less at the same locations, meaning we had a long Zodiac ride back to where the ship was a couple of hours earlier. The first dive was a bit of a cluster — we had two Zodiacs, sixteen guests and four guides taken to the same site. As usual, most of the guests are novice divers, but we had several having their first (and only) dive this cruise. This made for a pretty crazy dive with the guides preoccupied with keeping the guests safe and stable and actually with the right guide. Several of the guests blew through their air quickly, ending the dive for all of us, despite attempts to send the guests low on air to the surface and letting the remainder spend a few more minutes below. The four of us with plenty of air remaining decided to stay on the bottom and wait for the substantial backup above us to clear and begin our trip to the surface a few minutes later. Still, this was the shortest dive of the trip, by far and I ended with a half tank remaining. As for what we saw — more turtles than yesterday, which was nice. The second dive was surprisingly not well attended (I guess people realized there were no sharks at “Shark Gallery”) and two of us shared a guide. This made for a pleasant dive — most interesting was some surprisingly aggressive Titan triggerfish that came right at me while I was videoing a swimming turtle. Amazingly, I got that on video (and also amazing they didn’t take a bite out of me). We also saw some racks that looked like they were used for growing coral, so that was interesting. After dives, we had an Italian-themed lunch at La Veranda. We agreed the lasagna was surprisingly good, as was the veal Milanese. Our afternoon was fairly relaxed, but also fairly busy as we answered questions from new friends who were trying to figure out what to expect on the Ponant cruises they had booked. As our day finished in Moorea, we had the Farewell Party and got to thank all of the crew members who had made our trip memorable. We also got our scuba logs stamped by the guides. The French take signed logs more seriously than I do, but might we as well have a few dives that are actually attested to in our logs. The ship then set sail for Papeete and we made an effort to pack during the short crossing. Dinner at l’Etoile was heavily promoted to us as “Prime Rib Night,” but we decided to keep our reservations at Le Grille to try their second menu again. We were delighted to find that because of the beautiful weather at Papeete, we were able to eat outside with a view of the city. A gorgeous way to end the day and the other guests, most of whom were French, agreed. Our final show was with the famous “O Tahiti E” group for one final set of Polynesian dance and music. Then we finished packing, put out our bags before midnight and went to bed. Wednesday was another beautiful morning and I enjoyed my final coffee at La Palette and breakfast at La Veranda. We liked that independent guests don’t have to leave until ten (and, it appears, really can’t leave much before that, as arranged transport has priority) and used the final minutes to complete the comment card left in our room. At ten, we disembarked, leaving the key and key holder behind — no picture key card to keep as as a souvenir here — expecting to give a last goodbye to our cruise director and some others with whom we regularly interacted, but there was, actually, nobody but porters to take our baggage. So, so long, crew of Le Paul Gauguin and think you for this memorable trip!

(I forgot to mention that we ended Christmas Day with a lovely engraved shell waiting for us in our cabin. It will be perfect for our Christmas tree!) Boxing Day began with a short sailing into Opunahu Bay, which I watched with my coffee from the deck outside La Palette. We went scuba diving at 8 and 10 at sites just a few moments away from the ship. We dove both before in 2018 and although popular with all the dive operators (there were several other dive boats already moored), I didn’t think either dive was remarkable and the highlight was the dolphins that were porpoising near the ship. On the first dive, we did see a couple of sleeping turtles, which was good, along with plenty of attractive fish. The second dive was at the unfortunately named “Shark Gallery” — a location that really doesn’t have sharks and we were fortunate at the good shark sightings in Bora Bora. The highlights were a swimming turtle and a pufferfish that didn’t immediately go into hiding. Back on the ship, we had lunch at La Veranda and enjoyed the American-themed lunch. The tacos were a hit with us, but we’ll still hit our local Tex-Mex on the way home from the airport. This evening was packed with Polynesian-themed activities, but before that, we had the Captain’s “Repeater’s Reception,” held on Deck 9 as there were so many repeaters, we all wouldn’t fit in the Captain’s Lounge. There were maybe forty guests attending — most had been on Le Paul Gauguin multiple times — and yes, I did hear correctly — the one couple was on their thirteenth Gauguin cruise. There were a few Ponant frequent guests as well — and we knew most of them… Aside from a mysterious man who wore various MSC-themed shirts, I kid you not, every day of the cruise. Well tonight, he had a Ponant polo shirt on in honor of the reception! I had a few moments to speak with Captain Marchesseau about his experience with the pirates who captured Le Ponant in 2008 and held her for ransom. In the books I had read, Marchesseau’s early interactions with the pirates paved the way for the successful release of the crew and Le Ponant herself. We also sold (and have seen the Ponant Options) to several guests — too bad we can’t earn referrals on “Multiple times on Gauguin, but first time on Ponant” guests. Lolz. After the reception, we began Polynesian Night with local musicians playing pre-dinner music over happy hour at both the Piano Bar and La Palette. Les Gauguins / Gauguines were in their formal wear and you could get your photo with them if you wanted. There were also local mamas demonstrating how to make leis and had complementary leis for all guests. All restaurants were featuring a Polynesian dinner, which we chose to enjoy at La Veranda. I had Poisson Cru “the most popular South Pacific dish”, a fish & shrimp bouillon, mixed green salad, beef tenderloin and chocolate fondant. We also tried the lobster, which Captain Marchesseau promised was locally sourced and pumpkin gnocchi. All were delicious. After dinner, Moorea Swing Boys performed a local community show that was very well received and after that, the Santa Rosa Band performed at La Palette. Disco was offered at La Palette and my Agent I assigned to the task can report that a member of the band was DJing tunes for four guests. I consider this task now completed.

Things were serene until the Titan triggerfish came to visit... https://youtu.be/tRAuMDCVCp8

Safe travels! The weather has been perfect and is forecast to stay that way.