Pengawin3

EJL2023, 

Thanks so much!

Anyone have pictures of a balcony cabin with the beds separated? Many times it's just a few inches of a gap. Trying not to be crammed in with my sister. On Paul Gauguin, we moved one bed closer to the balcony and put the couch between us. It was a brilliant setup. Granted, I wrangled the furniture myself that trip. Not sure if I'm capable anymore 😕 🤔

We're on Vista. Deck.9, concierge cabin A3 or A4. 

Thanks!!!

We were booked on the 8/28 cruise, but I canceled in July, b4 I reached 30 days out, and got a refund. Granted, we were only in for around $4500.

I just "KNEW" they weren't sailing, but after 3 rescheduled trips, wasn't interested in, 1: being their expensive guinea pig,  and 2: ending up with a useless cruise credit. 

I love the ship, itineraries and crew, but Ponant has made a mess of this. I watched it crumble on the Tahiti to Fiji trip in 2019. Once the Ponant rep boarded on Aitutaki, it all changed. And not for the better. ☹

On 6/1/2021 at 11:56 AM, MrRandal said:

 

We are scheduled to sail on Sept 25th, the PG's 3rd cruise after restarting. It was scheduled to be an 11 night Cooks/Society cruise, but I don't see any possibility of the Cooks opening up, so it will probably be changed to a 10 or 11 nigh Society/Tuamotus trip. We are on standby, not certain what we should do. We have a number of reasons why this would be the perfect time for us, and really not that concerned with the itinerary change. I do know, according to the PG website, our cruise is about 90% booked. @Pengawin3 I was really hoping you would take your trip and report back here with glorious reviews. 🙂

Well, fortunately we're only around $6k in, depositwise, on this sailing. Just not comfortable traveling under these circumstances. Sorry I won't be able to report back. 

I just want my $$ back! We booked this in 2019 while on the Tahiti to Fiji cruise. 

If anyone is interested, I'm giving up cabin 767! 😁

We've moved this trip 3 times already. It seems ludicrous to return to cruising with this long and costly trip. Marquesas...

Okay, I'm starting to feel the need to postpone this sailing, YET AGAIN. 

I'm not down with being the Guinea pigs for a return to cruising. Especially not at $25k!!!

And PG has yet to show me they are truly a 5 star line. So many hoops to jump through and little to no help from this luxury line. ☹

Anyone else thinking the same?

Tahitianbigkahuna, what's your best guess as to the August 28th 2021 trip actually sailing?

TIA

We're all vaccinated and hoping our August 28th cruise is a go. Not really sure why they would choose a full, 14 day sailing to start, but keeping our fingers crossed!

We've moved this cruise 3 times already. 

Is anyone familiar with Polar Latitudes?

We are looking at them for March 2022 Antarctic. 

They are no longer sailing Hebridean Sky. Probably due to new rules. 

We haven't booked yet. Still looking at Quark, also. 

Thoughts? It's for my 60th birthday. 

On 10/25/2020 at 6:04 PM, SWFLAOK said:

We were on the same cruise as Pengawin3, and we felt the same way about the change onboard. We were on the tender where the Ponant rep joined the cruise in the Cook Islands. We found him arrogant, and his focus,while waiting for the tender, was looking for new customers on Ponant ships. One couple was interested in the Antarctic cruises that they offer. When he asked the rest of us if we were interested in that, we all said no. We like it warm and tropical, and that's why we were headed to Fiji. After his presentation to employees onboard, some of them expressed how worried they were, and did not expect to have jobs in the future. At that point, we were already booked on the Fiji to Bali cruise in April 2020, and hoped that the change in ownership would not ruin that cruise. As it turns out, Covid19 did that instead.

It may well have been me who was asking about Antarctica! I recall a conversation with the Ponant guy about just that! Arrogant is a great description of his attitude. Meanwhile, my parents thought the Ponant rep was a very sweet man. Crazy!

Check out Polar Latitudes for small ship Ice Breakers that are pretty luxurious! They are sailing the Seaventure for 2021-2023, replacing the Hebridean Sky.

We are looking to book the March 2022 Adventures in Antarctica. Have it on hold right now. 

Want to see a great trip? , then head over to YouTube and look at Kara And Nate's trip from February 2020 with Polar Latitudes. 

A trip of a lifetime IMHO. :)

1 hour ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

 

That's sad--can you articulate what the shift was?

Wendy, it was a shift in tenor, demeanor of crew and management. Less concentration on the guests needs/experience and more on the "optics".

Was everyone on their best behavior and trying to reach perfection? Yes, BUT, the focus was on impressing the new owners, to the detriment of the paying guests.

It was like the king had arrived, and the peasants be damned.

Based on how they are treating customers now, it showed plenty!

As a former director/stage manager, I grasp how "back of house" problems can affect the front. I'm sure it was stressful for the crew. It shouldn't have seeped into the guest experience. Certainly not at their price point!

Ponant/PG has screwed up, royally! As a 50+ night PG customer, I'm not impressed with the  new owners handling of all of this. It's unacceptable and shortsighted. 

Not sure how they'll survive. 

UPDATE:

Cabin 767 and the full aft set of cabins are available since there was NO DRYDOCK!

Moved our Marquesas cruise, yet again, to August 2021 and booked 767!

Hopefully the pandemic will be over next year. 

We, too, have over 50 nights on the PG. Have moved our Marquesas cruise twice now. Fortunately I never made final payment, but I have been advised it's my final time I can move the date.

Now, this seems restrictive during a pandemic with no foreseeable end date. They have thousands of my dollars, and a loyal customer...for now! Time will tell. So happy you and others have had refund success!

 I thought I saw photos of the upgrades.

I will certainly ask about 767 b4 going forward!

The important part is the country is only open to RESIDENTS, so far.

Not contacted? Inexcusable! We moved our cruise to the Aug 29th Marquesas from March 2021. No aft cabins then, either, and no upgrade or bonus. 

Sticking with deck 7. 

Cindivan,

My info on those forward deck 7 cabins is from a family who were in one on our 2017 Fiji to Tahiti cruise. She complained many times about the anchor noise and rough ride. Granted, we were in some high seas around the Cook Islands.

I'm thinking PG wants the fan tail for suite passengers. 

Sorry you got whammied by this change too. 

13 hours ago, Larro9 said:

We were in aft cabin 765 a few years ago...zero noise day or night from la palette...zero cig smoke and zero soot...I will miss the serenity of the aft cabins more than having a cigar lounge, or now two 20k suites.  If you have never cruised in an aft cabin, you have no idea..pengawin:  thanks for the update on dry dock improvements

I'm with you, larro9! I was really looking forward to cabin 767 for my big 60th birthday cruise!!☹ I still feel PG should throw in some OBC too. Or a laundry package! For all our disappointment. 

Again, a butler is not a perk I wanted or need. 

Sadly, no hot tubs will be added. It's the one thing I wish were added to the ship.

Here's the dry dock lowdown from corporate:

Overview

During The Gauguin’s two-week drydock, refurbishments in the ship’s public areas, staterooms, and suites will take place along with regular ship maintenance.

Ship Refurbishments

• New furniture
• Refurbishments of the staterooms and suites
• Modifications/refurbishment of the public spaces
• Environmental upgrades including advanced water treatment and energy efficiency systems
• Steel work
• Deck and engine upgrades
• General preventative maintenance
• Equipment replacement

We were able to visit 767 after our Tahiti to Fiji cruise in September and found it to be exactly what we wanted from a cabin. Great placement, good size, huge balcony, aft view, and a real walk in shower!! Disappointed it'll be gone, but taking the upgrade. 

2 hours ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

 

Please tell me what the great whoop was about the aft balconies.  Standard-sized cabins, pretty well?  Larger balcony I think?  I've spent about 9 weeks on the PG, and my two weeks in our B cabin was great, trust us, you'll love it.  In terms of fares, they are giving you a big upgrade, for free.

The big whoop was that we love the fan tail! Also 767 is the largest of the aft cabins, priced same as category C, so it was a deal on top of it all! Walk in shower. Large cabin. Large balcony. Unique. 

I totally get that deck 8 is an upgrade. The captain's suite would be an upgrade too, but I would turn it down due to being so far forward you'll have a bumpy ride AND have to endure the constant anchor noise at every port. 😁

What's acceptable to one isn't necessarily a great deal to another. 

On 12/28/2019 at 10:40 AM, Larro9 said:

Yes, they upgraded us all who were booked on pg cruises past June 2020, but it is not the same in any way or form...we booked 1.5 years ago for a 10/2020 cruise to get that specific cabin....we were on the boat in 2015 and were in 766...aft cabins will be missed ! ..I honestly don’t need a butler ....

I am feeling your pain too! A cookie cutter cabin is no substitute for 767.☹

On 8/8/2016 at 5:34 PM, Kamfish642 said:

Can anyone give me their experience with aft cabin 767: good and bad? Thank you.

Cabin 767 will be gone after the 2020 dry dock. The 5 aft cabins will become 2 suites. I picked the cabin specifically for its unique layout, shower and location and got an email December 31 saying I am moved to a cabin on 8 now. Not really happy about it.

Thanks, all, for chiming in.

A little background:

This would be my 5th cruise with PG, so I know it'll be great.

I have little choice in the matter now, since 767 will no longer exist, but I think my disappointment is valid and they should do more for us. Throw in some obc, something. That cabin would sell, regardless. I booked ONLY because 767 was available, the itinerary was on our list to do, AND it's over my birthday.

We've spent close to $50k on trips with PG; I expect better care and customer service than their take it or leave it attitude.