Forgive me if this has been discussed, I'm wondering if anyone has used this service at the airport for testing before a cruise? We have appointments on the day we arrive in Ft Lauderdale-two days before our Celebrity Cruise.  They asked for return flight info-it took our info without any problem. Just making sure this is a safe choice? Thanks for the help!

On 3/24/2021 at 2:38 PM, wwinfl91 said:

My wife and I like the sizes of the Pontant fleet and the line gets good reviews for its food and service. But we are both American English speakers and neither of us speaks or understands French. Would we be comfortable on a Pontant cruise?

Thanks

We were on a Ponant Cruise, Costa Rica to Panama in January 2020 and loved it! We just booked our second cruise with them, Lisbon to Barcelona 10/2022. I don't speak nor understand any French & it was not an issue at all! Everyone on board was lovely, we were able to converse in Frenglish with the other passengers & in English with the crew. I think the small ship cruise experience is perfect for those of us leery about a giant ship!

We’re currently on Le Dumont-D’urville.  The ship is beautiful, staff kind and welcoming , delicious food and wine. The guests are 50% American, 50% French with a smattering of other nationalities. If you’ve booked a future Ponant cruise, get ready for an amazing time!

No, our flights we booked using points from Delta. 

Just watching the Seven Seas Mariner-it looks like they will be spending the day today in Colon...I'm going to see what they do...

I have contacted my TA who is from my Platinum Credit Card, she's of no value, needless to say I'd never use her again!!! 

13 hours ago, HappyInVan said:

 

Yes.

 

Should you be in port during civil unrest, don't get off the ship. Cancel excursions as early as possible.

 

The problem is, that this is the port where we are to disembark! We've hired a private driver, but question his ability to ride through town to get us...and then get us away from there! 😓

3 weeks from today my Ponant cruise ends in Colon. I just received this notice and wondering how/if it will effect us?

Our Ponant Cruise ends in Colon in 3 weeks & we just received the following notice. Should I be concerned? Would Ponant change the itinerary?

2 minutes ago, schnapperin said:

Might be able to help with the embarkation question since I did it a month ago in Montevideo for an Antartica cruise.

 

Our times had been 4 to 5 pm and when I showed up at 4 pm there was already a bit of a line ahead of me. But from what I gathered it might be possible to arrive half an hour earlier, not like showing up a couple of hours before. 
 

The process was super easy, telling name and room number, a quick check if my bag had a label, going trough immigration and then leaving the bags before boarding a bus for a super quick bus ride.

 

A handhake with the captain later, they simply swapped my passport for the room key, a quick picture stop and of I was shown to my room - probably 5 minutes in total? Luggage showed up 30 minutes later, and we had a life on board welcome at 5.30 pm

Thank you! I was thinking of getting to the port at 3:30-that should work perfectly!

Jazzbeau,

I promise to leave a review, although it won't be anywhere as detailed and wonderful as yours!

Will you be spending any time in Auckland? If you're a foodie, I have a great restaurant experience (it only has 6 seats) that I recommend-we were there in October. It's called Pasture. Expensive-but worth it! 

Thank you for your beautiful review! I'm wondering about embarkation. Our docs for our LE DUMONT-D'URVILLE January 23, 2020 cruise say boarding is 4:00 to 5:00 with a 6:00pm departure. What time did you arrive? Thoughts about trying to board a bit earlier?

On 12/14/2019 at 6:18 PM, HappyInVan said:

Hi,

 

My departure from Puerto Morelos is a month away. Still not able to book the excursions online. When can we book the excursions? Any problems encountered?

 

Thanks

 

 

I had the same problem, so I called Ponant. I was told that there was no way to reserve an excursion online. She said to just call back with the excursions that we would like & the customer service rep can add it to your booking. I'm going to call today with our choices for our 1/23 Costa Rica/Panama Canal cruise. 

On 8/23/2019 at 9:00 AM, parischris said:

Frankly, the way your post is written means that you will most likely hate travelling with Ponant. They are proudly French - announcements are in French first and English second and they won’t change that because their English passengers consider it ‘boring and annoying’. There are many reviews from people with similar concerns that felt ‘slighted’ as English speakers. The perception that the French are treated better or ‘told more’ is a common complaint. It is purely perception - as an Aussie who has done more than 7 expeditions with Ponant and who can understand the French announcements, it has no basis. My last trip with them had announcements from the naturalists in three languages to accommodate a small group of German speakers. 

 

An APT or A&K charter on one of the Ponant ships might suit you better as they are exclusively English speaking, although the Captain, officers and reception staff will still be French. 

We're booked on our first Ponant cruise-Costa Rica through the Panama Canal this coming January. We're looking forward to getting away from the large, overcrowded English only ships! After all, we're traveling on a French cruiseline-they don't have to make announcements in any other language, but they do! We can't wait for a new experience!

Depending upon the ship...we did British Isles a few years ago in a window suite on the Caribbean Princess. You're giving up a balcony for a wall of windows-which for us in the cooler climate wasn't a problem at all. You'll have plenty of space for 3 and all the fantastic perks of a full suite! It may even be less expensive than the mini-suite. The Sip & Sail promo came out after we made our reservation & Princess automatically gave it to us! You're going to love your cruise!

1 hour ago, Sup_Devil said:

Just an update... Still zero response from my PCC. Sent several emails.. No response. Called him directly. No answer and voice mail box is full. Honestly not sure what to do at this point. I would dispute the charge on my credit card but I only used cruisenext certificates for the deposit. 

I cancelled my Cuba cruise-yesterday (Sunday.) My PCC doesn't work on Sunday. Apparently the PCC's all work in teams, so there is always someone for you to speak with. Call the regular NCL number & tell the reservation person who answers that you want to speak with your PCC's teammate. Good Luck!

9 hours ago, herdingdogmom said:

Your explanation is how the future credit worked for us.  Our 50% credit covered 80% of the base fare of the future cruise we booked.

 

This does bring up a good point regarding your original post.  Where do you think you would want to go on the future cruise?  If you are looking for inexpensive cruises, you will likely end up with the same Bahamas itinerary you will be taking this time.  May make more sense for you to take the full refund now and book a longer cruise with a different itinerary.

It was a Mother/Daughter Cruise, and yes, Cuba was the only reason to take the cruise. I do like to cruise-she's not a big fan. We were looking for a sightseeing/educational experience without her having to take too much time from work. We can sit by the pool or swim in the ocean within a short walk from home. That being said, I believe if we cancel, she probably won't take a much needed break from work. 

Maybe we're saying the same thing, I'm not sure...

9 minutes ago, mistercy said:

Getting 50% back, this would mean you would get 479.50 per person back now, and that same amount in a 50% off credit on your next cruise, which means you would have to purchase a cruise valued at 959 or above to get your (half) full 479 back..

No, I don't think that's correct. It's not 50% off a second cruise, but that same 50% from the original cruise towards a second cruise, in another words, if we find a cruise that costs $479.50 per person, it will be free (plus tax and port charges.)

2 hours ago, C cruise said:

 that isn't the way it was worded...I still think its 50% on this one and another 50% on a future cruise

 

Yes. As far as I understand...I paid $959 per person for a balcony room, plus taxes port charges and fees, Cuba Visa, etc. I'm expecting to get $959 plus tax and the total cost of the Visa back now. I'm expecting that I will have a credit of $959 towards my next cruise. Am I incorrect?

It's 50% back now and that same amount as a credit towards another cruise before the end of 2020. So you can go on another (inexpensive) cruise for not a whole lot of money!

Good question! Mostly taking valuable time off from work to not do what we planned.  We live in Florida near beautiful beaches, so sailing to the Bahamas doesn't have the draw that Cuba did. The other side is simply taking time off to sit on the ship & enjoy the experience...alot to be said for that...but then we go back to taking time off again and not having the learning experience that we were looking for!! ARGH!!!

We're at an impasse-not sure what to do. Given the option to sail at half price and a future cruise discount OR cancelling the cruise. I'm curious, which choice are you taking and why?

Still no word from NCL...only that our 7/15 NCL Sun cruise won't be going to Havana! I realize they don't have to offer anything at all, but I'm praying that they offer some kind of OBC, some refund for the change in ports or do the "right" thing as it seems Carnival has done. I've never sailed with NCL before, I guess the way they handle this will make me decide if I ever sail with them again!

31 minutes ago, travelingtink said:

 

Yes MSC. The captain said that since we embarked in the US we could not dock in Havana. As bad as I feel for myself, it’s worse for all the non US citizens on board that are now affected by this. 

Agreed-bad for the non-American's and even worse for any passengers who thought they would be visiting relatives in Cuba. Have they offered you a refund or any compensation yet? I'm scheduled on the NCL Sun for 7/15...waiting to hear of our fate.

Just watching the NCL Sun heading to Havana...that might be the last cruise ship docking there for some time to come...

We're sailing on 7/15! We're booked in a balcony BC near the forward elevators, but thinking of switching to one closer to the aft elevators. It looks like aft may be a little more convenient to restaurants, etc. Any thoughts one way or the other?