Compagnie Du Ponant

[Mike2131]

What a beautiful modern ship design, with highly effective stabilizers too. Perhaps that's why we were so terribly disappointed with the erratic food and service quality aboard Le Boreal on a December 2010 cruise to the Antarctic (an A&K Charter). I've been on 20 cruises, from lower quality megaships (Royal Caribbean) to small luxury vessels (Sea Goddess, Seabourn) and the food on Le Boreal ranks at the bottom -- in quality of ingredients, variety of offerings, food temperature, sanitary practices of servers, flexibility of the kitchen, repetitious standard wines, and limited serving hours (both dining room and room service).

 

Perhaps the quality was better when the ship launched, before corporate cut-backs took effect. I split my time between France & Canada, and understand the language, culture and cuisine of both countries. In my opinion they've stripped the French savoir faire out of this ship.

I always hate to see this type of initial post because history has taught us to look critically at the poster's agenda. I also know first impressions are always hard to overcome (we would not sail again on Royal Caribbean for free) so I hope you post a full review.

 

Ingredients are always a challenge in remote locations and ultimately ships may find themselves at the mercy of suppliers if fresh items are perhaps not quite up to par. That said, food is always subjective but I would not expect A&K or Tauck to offer their clients a substandard cruise. Did you speak with the A&K personnel aboard? Did you visit with the maitre 'd regarding problems you encountered?

 

It seems you enjoyed the ship (hopefully Antarctica and the excursions as well) but just had a problem with the restaurant. Is that accurate or is there more that a full review would clarify?

[Mike2131]

What a beautiful modern ship design, with highly effective stabilizers too. Perhaps that's why we were so terribly disappointed with the erratic food and service quality aboard Le Boreal on a December 2010 cruise to the Antarctic (an A&K Charter). I've been on 20 cruises, from lower quality megaships (Royal Caribbean) to small luxury vessels (Sea Goddess, Seabourn) and the food on Le Boreal ranks at the bottom -- in quality of ingredients, variety of offerings, food temperature, sanitary practices of servers, flexibility of the kitchen, repetitious standard wines, and limited serving hours (both dining room and room service).

 

Perhaps the quality was better when the ship launched, before corporate cut-backs took effect. I split my time between France & Canada, and understand the language, culture and cuisine of both countries. In my opinion they've stripped the French savoir faire out of this ship.

Once again, it is sad to hear of your poor experience. We sailed on the Silversea PA II in June and have upcoming cruises on the Celebrity Xpedition in May 2011 and the new L'Austral in December 2011. Given the direct booking fares for L'Austral (less than half of the Tauck or A&K fares) we are expecting much more of a Celebrity type experience than that aboard Silversea. I hope the deficiencies you encountered are sorted out by then.

[bellebaby]

Thank you for posting a review of your recent sailing. We, too, hope the difficulties you experienced are rectified on future sailings.

 

B

[keltic]

In june food was fine. Much better than in my Silversea sailing last november. And price was three times lower in Le Boreal. Standards have lowered, probably and I have realized about it compared to my previous Le Levant and Le Levant cruises, but not as the worst experience as far as I am concerned.

[Mike2131]

In june food was fine. Much better than in my Silversea sailing last november. And price was three times lower in Le Boreal. Standards have lowered, probably and I have realized about it compared to my previous Le Levant and Le Levant cruises, but not as the worst experience as far as I am concerned.

Expectations also play into impressions. We are really looking forward to the Antarctic next year. As you noted (and we saw before we booked), the price is significantly lower than Silversea, Tauck, and A&K. We are looking for good, solid food and service, but not expecting gourmet cuisine and white glove service. Somehow, that aspect of an expedition cruise is not quite as important - and that is quite an admission from someone who definitely enjoys excellent food and wine.

[jordancorp]

Let me provide more details about our experience aboard Le Boreal (Antarctica, December 2010, with an A&K charter).

 

As others have suggested, one's impression is often related to one's expectations. My expectations were high. The Ponant website promises "in the dining areas, our gourmet cuisine is worthy of top fine dining restaurants". Even though we would be at sea for 12 days, I knew how Seabourn had (on several of our past cruises) managed quite admirably in this situation.

 

We encountered three main problems.

1. Under-trained and under-managed staff. This included busboys who scraped and stacked plates as they cleared them, servers with poor sanitation practices (e.g., handling the 'eating end' of cutlery they placed), and servers who could not process basic requests with the kitchen (e.g., fish cooked medium rare; two appetizers in lieu of one starter and one main). Some of the bar staff were so inexperienced they couldn't identify bottles of basic name-brand liquor on the shelf to mix drinks on the ship's cocktail list.

2. Some mediocre ingredients. Even previously frozen beef, fish or smoked salmon can be tasty if it's high-grade to start with. Many of their products were not high grade to start with. I don't know what a chef could do with mushy, watery frozen vegetable combos. And I don't know why fresh carrots, potatoes and root vegetables couldn't be used instead. It's nice that they offered some cheeses, but for a "French cuisine" ship, they were of the most ordinary types.

3. Limited sit-down menu options. Perhaps there was a miscommunication between Ponant and our A&K charter, but for the first two days all breakfasts and lunches were served buffet style -- in both restaurants. Enough people complained, that limited table service was (re-)instituted in the main restaurant. At dinner in the main restaurant, there were 2 or 3 options for each course and very little room for substitutions.

 

More broadly there was a general indifference to customer needs. One night there were probably 40 passengers in the bar when it was the designated time to close (it just closed). One morning my partner was ill and the sheets needed changing -- a request through the designated channels took 3.5 hours for a response.

 

This is an elegantly designed boat. What a shame it's now owned by people who run cargo/container ships.

[laurelhollow]

Jordancorp - assume you were on the cruise just before ours. We embarked on December 19th.

 

Agree wholeheartedly about the food. Awful! There were the occasional high spots - just not enough to overcome the dreaded 'what's the reasonably edible option today.' There was a lovely braised lamb one day and the fish had two winners (sardines and hake) out of the 2 1/2 week expedition. Mostly it was overcooked fish and chicken. The beef, when it wasn't just overcooked, was dry and tasteless (and yes there was one braised beef that was nice). The lamb was usually gristly and tough. One night I dined in the sit-down venue because they had Osso Bucco on the menu. Lovely sauce, meat needed another hour and a half in the oven.

 

In addition, the combinations of food were exceedingly strange. Still remember the day they had carrots available next to the spaghetti with tomato sauce. And, hey - one day they had canned mixed vegetables on the steam table.

 

I understand that choices and options can be limited on an expedition cruise. From what I heard on ship, A&K had responsibility for the dollar amount spent on the food. Poor chef had to make do with what he got. Don't think he'll make a great candidate on Iron Chef. :) However, at these prices the quality of the food was inexcusable.

 

Anyhow, the expeditions were glorious!!!! Antarctica is such an incredibly special place and the sights so amazingly difficult to describe in adequate detail - let alone the massive scale of everything that one must see to believe - that it was a major disappointment that the food was so poor. The servers and busboys were all lovely. Must have gotten intensive training while on your cruise. :) All of my bunch thought they were very attentive and quick to please. And yes, there were some language difficulties. Decided to take it all with good humor.

 

Personal opinion is that the fault was with Ponant. Not sure what their problem was but 'bottom line' keeps repeating in my head.

 

Holly

 

What a beautiful modern ship design, with highly effective stabilizers too. Perhaps that's why we were so terribly disappointed with the erratic food and service quality aboard Le Boreal on a December 2010 cruise to the Antarctic (an A&K Charter). I've been on 20 cruises, from lower quality megaships (Royal Caribbean) to small luxury vessels (Sea Goddess, Seabourn) and the food on Le Boreal ranks at the bottom -- in quality of ingredients, variety of offerings, food temperature, sanitary practices of servers, flexibility of the kitchen, repetitious standard wines, and limited serving hours (both dining room and room service).

 

Perhaps the quality was better when the ship launched, before corporate cut-backs took effect. I split my time between France & Canada, and understand the language, culture and cuisine of both countries. In my opinion they've stripped the French savoir faire out of this ship.

[Mike2131]

Let me provide more details about our experience aboard Le Boreal (Antarctica, December 2010, with an A&K charter).

 

As others have suggested, one's impression is often related to one's expectations. My expectations were high. The Ponant website promises "in the dining areas, our gourmet cuisine is worthy of top fine dining restaurants". Even though we would be at sea for 12 days, I knew how Seabourn had (on several of our past cruises) managed quite admirably in this situation.

 

We encountered three main problems.

1. Under-trained and under-managed staff. This included busboys who scraped and stacked plates as they cleared them, servers with poor sanitation practices (e.g., handling the 'eating end' of cutlery they placed), and servers who could not process basic requests with the kitchen (e.g., fish cooked medium rare; two appetizers in lieu of one starter and one main). Some of the bar staff were so inexperienced they couldn't identify bottles of basic name-brand liquor on the shelf to mix drinks on the ship's cocktail list.

2. Some mediocre ingredients. Even previously frozen beef, fish or smoked salmon can be tasty if it's high-grade to start with. Many of their products were not high grade to start with. I don't know what a chef could do with mushy, watery frozen vegetable combos. And I don't know why fresh carrots, potatoes and root vegetables couldn't be used instead. It's nice that they offered some cheeses, but for a "French cuisine" ship, they were of the most ordinary types.

3. Limited sit-down menu options. Perhaps there was a miscommunication between Ponant and our A&K charter, but for the first two days all breakfasts and lunches were served buffet style -- in both restaurants. Enough people complained, that limited table service was (re-)instituted in the main restaurant. At dinner in the main restaurant, there were 2 or 3 options for each course and very little room for substitutions.

 

More broadly there was a general indifference to customer needs. One night there were probably 40 passengers in the bar when it was the designated time to close (it just closed). One morning my partner was ill and the sheets needed changing -- a request through the designated channels took 3.5 hours for a response.

 

This is an elegantly designed boat. What a shame it's now owned by people who run cargo/container ships.

I will make one small point though. From what I understand the Bremen and Hanseatic are extremely well regarded despite being owned by Hapag-Lloyd. JMHO.

[bellebaby]

Jordancorp - assume you were on the cruise just before ours. We embarked on December 19th.

 

Agree wholeheartedly about the food. Awful! There were the occasional high spots - just not enough to overcome the dreaded 'what's the reasonably edible option today.' There was a lovely braised lamb one day and the fish had two winners (sardines and hake) out of the 2 1/2 week expedition. Mostly it was overcooked fish and chicken. The beef, when it wasn't just overcooked, was dry and tasteless (and yes there was one braised beef that was nice). The lamb was usually gristly and tough. One night I dined in the sit-down venue because they had Osso Bucco on the menu. Lovely sauce, meat needed another hour and a half in the oven.

 

In addition, the combinations of food were exceedingly strange. Still remember the day they had carrots available next to the spaghetti with tomato sauce. And, hey - one day they had canned mixed vegetables on the steam table.

 

I understand that choices and options can be limited on an expedition cruise. From what I heard on ship, A&K had responsibility for the dollar amount spent on the food. Poor chef had to make do with what he got. Don't think he'll make a great candidate on Iron Chef. :) However, at these prices the quality of the food was inexcusable.

 

Anyhow, the expeditions were glorious!!!! Antarctica is such an incredibly special place and the sights so amazingly difficult to describe in adequate detail - let alone the massive scale of everything that one must see to believe - that it was a major disappointment that the food was so poor. The servers and busboys were all lovely. Must have gotten intensive training while on your cruise. :) All of my bunch thought they were very attentive and quick to please. And yes, there were some language difficulties. Decided to take it all with good humor.

 

Personal opinion is that the fault was with Ponant. Not sure what their problem was but 'bottom line' keeps repeating in my head.

 

Holly

 

Hi, Holly

 

I asked you these questions over on our Roll Call because you posted a few items there today.

 

So sorry the food was disappointing....I hope it gets better as time goes by. At least I hope so.

 

Did you get any information about the mechanical problems that forced the cancellation of the sailing after yours?

 

Thanks.

 

Mary

[jordancorp]

On our Dec 9-19, 2010 cruise aboard Le Boreal, we had an engine problem for about 18 hours. The captain said one of the two systems were down. The ship functioned, but it was the roughest sea day of our trip, and would have been smoother at normal speed with stabilizers. Some people on Deck 3 had waves crashing against their windows (with some water into their cabins), and they had to close the upper-level restaurant.

[jordancorp]

Thanks Holly (LaurelHollow) for adding such clear descriptions, including some of the wonderful parts. The Antarctic can be positively magical; we were blessed with some clear weather. Many of the ship's staff were perfectly professional. Sometimes the food was fine; it was always plentiful. The stabilizers on Le Boreal (when activated) are remarkably effective. And the ship design (if have modernest tastes) is beautiful. I'll be interested to hear others' recent views who are not on A&K charters (paying the A&K premium).

[bellebaby]

I'll be interested to hear others' recent views who are not on A&K charters (paying the A&K premium).

 

Great observation... I'll be interested in the comments from those not paying A&K or Tauck premiums...

 

B

[keltic]

In case you´re able to understand Spanish, I recommend this nice review

 

http://www.infocruceros.com/component/content/article/352-el-triunfo-del-estilo

 

I remember the glorious salmon steak tartare, the Lobster Aspic, and the sinful chocolate cake. Baguette was freshly made, and Iles Flotant second to none. Moroccan Buffets delicious and Beef with Burgandy Sauce to be killed for. Of course all paired with french wines.

 

I want to remind that food tend to vary, and the artic expeditions are probably not the best places to samply gourmet food as logistics in ports are not as good as in first class ports. Long navigation days, and lots of frozen food. I would love to hear someone comparing two ships doing the same Antartica Route.

 

By the way, the cruise division in Ponant doesn´t have anything to do with CMA-CGM cargo division. Their maritime heritage comes from French Line (Compagnie Generale Trasatlantique), whose experience could match Cunard.

[laurelhollow]

Wow! That description of the food on your cruise bears no relation to anything on our cruise. The salmon was overcooked - no mention of tartar. The lobster that showed up in a couple of salads was tough and tasteless and extended with surimi.

 

Agree on the dessert side. Ile flottante is my favorite dessert and this one was well made. The chocolate cakes, tartes and tortes were all good.

 

Moroccan Buffet was non-existent and, had it been present, would have probably consisted of some tough, stringy lamb served with overcooked spatzle and a side of chicken paella.

 

The wines were consistently poor. On a level with plonk.

 

There was no excuse at the beginning of the cruise to have anything frozen or poorly prepared. Can understand after two weeks at sea that there might be difficulty with the concept of fresh but not after just leaving port.

 

Not sure why there has been such a turn-around in the quality of the food.

 

 

I remember the glorious salmon steak tartare, the Lobster Aspic, and the sinful chocolate cake. Baguette was freshly made, and Iles Flotant second to none. Moroccan Buffets delicious and Beef with Burgandy Sauce to be killed for. Of course all paired with french wines.

 

I want to remind that food tend to vary, and the artic expeditions are probably not the best places to samply gourmet food as logistics in ports are not as good as in first class ports. Long navigation days, and lots of frozen food. I would love to hear someone comparing two ships doing the same Antartica Route.

[seabourndt]

a great shame as this new cruise ship i was thinking of going on. hope things gettiung better.

dave

[jordancorp]

On our Dec 9-19, 2010 cruise aboard Le Boreal, we had an engine problem for about 18 hours. The captain said one of the two systems were down. The ship functioned, but it was the roughest sea day of our trip, and would have been smoother at normal speed with stabilizers. Some people on Deck 3 had waves crashing against their windows (with some water into their cabins), and they had to close the upper-level restaurant.

 

 

FROM TRAVEL WEEKLY

Compagnie Le Ponant informed Abercrombie & Kent that the 264-passenger Boreal must undergo "precautionary testing," resulting in the cancellation of the A&K’s Jan. 4 Antarctica cruise.

 

A&K chartered the 8-month-old Boreal from the French cruise company for its Antarctica season.

 

Passengers were told Thursday that the sailing (a 15-day trip to Antarctica, South Georgia and the Falkland Islands) was canceled, with A&K informing passengers that it had been notified that morning of the mechanical issues.

 

"We regret the disappointment, but safety is our first priority," A&K spokeswoman Pamela Lassers said. “Abercrombie & Kent has more than 20 years of experience operating safely in Antarctica, and we are committed to providing the best expedition cruise experience."

 

Ponant was vague about the ship's problem.

 

Officials in Ponant’s Miami office said that the cruise line’s Marseille headquarters only informed them that during routine maintenance and safety testing, technicians on the Boreal found "some signs of wear and suggested some parts be replaced and that additional tests be run."

 

Ponant did not specify what parts the 8-month-old ship needed nor what tests needed to be run. The line did say that if the ship had been sailing in any other part of the world, the parts would have been readily available and the work easily could have been done during the cruise.

 

"[Ponant] made the decision to replace the parts in Ushuaia prior to any problems arising while in the remote Antarctic region," said Terri Haas, Ponant's chief commercial officer.

 

She added that the decision to cancel the fully booked cruise was a difficult but precautionary measure "in the interest of our guests' safety."

[seabourndt]

i was hoping to try out the BOREAL i saw this sampler 3nt in april emailed ponant and got a 200% single price double in french. at £2,000!! i certainly would not be booking!! a great shame!

dave

[Mike2131]

i was hoping to try out the BOREAL i saw this sampler 3nt in april emailed ponant and got a 200% single price double in french. at £2,000!! i certainly would not be booking!! a great shame!

dave

I think I would have to pass on that as well. That's what I call crazy money.

[keltic]

Single suplement starts from 30%, and it´s variable.

 

I have to get onboard again to check if things have deteriorated that much. I wonder if the ship when chartered the standards are not the same as in the regular sailings.

 

There´s a huge discrepancy in terms of food, and I don´t know what to think.

[laurelhollow]

Single suplement starts from 30%, and it´s variable.

 

I have to get onboard again to check if things have deteriorated that much. I wonder if the ship when chartered the standards are not the same as in the regular sailings.

 

There´s a huge discrepancy in terms of food, and I don´t know what to think.

 

 

When you find out please post. It just seems so bizarre that this well known french line that has a history of fine cuisine can deteriorate so badly in other venues.

 

Just have to say - all the soups were good. Sadly, the rest of the choices sucked. Not what this line wants to hear.

[jordancorp]

Single suplement starts from 30%, and it´s variable.

 

I have to get onboard again to check if things have deteriorated that much. I wonder if the ship when chartered the standards are not the same as in the regular sailings.

 

There´s a huge discrepancy in terms of food, and I don´t know what to think.

 

It's hard for me to imagine that when passengers on A&K charters are paying an average premium of 20% OVER regular full fares that the standards would be lower, but I will welcome the perspectives of experienced travelers willing to pay Ponant to see for themselves.

[sfeldma2]

Can anyone tell me about the Antarctica sailing. On the 10 day trip, how often and where do you get off the ship. Is there a problem because of the large number of people and a 100 person limit per excursion (something I read online and I am assuming is true.) Thx

[Mike2131]

Can anyone tell me about the Antarctica sailing. On the 10 day trip, how often and where do you get off the ship. Is there a problem because of the large number of people and a 100 person limit per excursion (something I read online and I am assuming is true.) Thx

If you check the company site you will find the itineraries posted. They are always subject to change due to weather and sea conditions. As to the 100 person limit on a landing, I believe that is the case and one reason why you smaller capacity vessels (or restricted passenger count on slightly larger vessels) permitted. I also suggest you check the CC member reviews and Antarctic board for additional information.

 

We will be sailing on the new L'Austral for a 10-night Antarctic cruise in December and can't wait.

[sfeldma2]

Thanks. We too are looking at a December cruise on L'Austral. I have looked at the website and it gives the itinerary. For some stops, it has a link to view details about the port and for others it does not. It is not clear to me from the site that you get off at all stops. So, I am still hoping to hear from someone who has done the cruise. Maybe we will see you in December. Thx

[Jacqueline]

Not the best website. I was thinking of giving them a try, but the more I read, the less comfortable I am. One of the things I really like about cruising is the level of service (even on the mass market lines). Not willing to take a chance until there is more positive feeback.