Le Austral

[Mike2131]

Our family is going on the Dec 21? Are you on that one? We have done Antarctica two years ago with Silversea (the Prince Alberta - now know as the Explorer). We absolutely loved it but their prices are soooo crazy now. Figure we will try a new cruise company. This is one time the ship is not that important (or the food for that matter). The destination is like no other!!

We are on the sailng before yours (the 12/10-12/21). We were on the PAII in the Arctic late last June and loved the ship and the destination. We agree about the crazy prices and found the L'Austral well priced. The current price for our cabin is now full brochure - $3,000 pp higher! We would not be onboard if we had faced that fare plus the air.

[zippylucy]

We're booked for Sept. 6th cruise to the Dalmation Coast. Would be interested in others' experiences on this ship.

[bellebaby]

Ship Facts: L'Austral Review

 

Disappointing cruise

 

We have just undertaken a cruise on L'Austral from Venice to Croatia and back to Venice. We were very excited to go on such a brand new ship. We stayed in a normal cabin while our friends booked the owner's suite. Hopefully they will write their review but they spent many hours talking to the hotel manager about things that were unacceptable. For me the outstanding point was that it was like walking into an old age home! There were no children or anyone under 50 years of age. I would recommend anyone younger to check first what the composition of the cruise passengers is like.

 

The cabins are very small and the double bed occupies most of the room. Our room had only a shower and no bath. Service levels in general were not great. While the food was generally very good the service in the main dining room was shocking. The few waiters could not cope and we waited very long for our food. We eventually booked dinner in the buffet restaurant on deck 6 to avoid the long waiting. The 2 nights that there were cocktail functions before dinner with the captain and then dinner for everyone in the same restaurant were chaos. Also the Tauck group seemed to get preferential bookings at dinner and special functions where bars were closed for their functions. I found that totally unacceptable as I was a fully paying passenger!

 

Croatia is beautiful but my impression was that the excursions off the boat were very expensive. We took one cycling excursion near Dubrovnik which cost Euro 75 per person and which was certainly not worth that amount. We ended up renting cars on our own in the other locations and definitely saved money doing that.

 

All in all for me the cruise did not live up to the expectations created the brochure and I probably will not go on another Ponant cruise.

 

 

I keep hoping the reviews at least show improvement... So far, that is not happening. Sounds like the food was OK, but service is still lacking. The cabin comments are not a concern, but the comment about preferential treatment for Tauck groups does. We are booked on a sailing that has a Tauck group. We're still looking forward to experiencing Antarctica.

 

B

[keltic]

Well interesting issues why this person considers the experience dissappointing. Cabins are big. I have been in the Le Boreal. Slowness in service, perhaps on a new ship in the first sailings. I have waited a lot in my Silversea experience and it´s not a premium as L Austral vs Luxury in the case of Silver Cloud.

 

Showers?. Yes, but what a showers...huge. With an stunning glass which allows you to have a shower while you are watching the sea, with daily light. Lovely L Occitane products, vs boring and bland Bulgari.

 

The age of passengers makes the experience less enjoyable?. It depends.

[Ritzy]

travellingyogi, my family will also be on the December 21st sailing to Antarctica. I'm excited to find someone else who will be there too! We are not picky eaters, nor are we accustomed to fancy service, so we're not too worried about the not so glowing reviews.

[bellebaby]

We're reviewing L'Austral later this year -- have heard generally marvelous things about the line and so looking forward to it.

 

In the meantime, our UK correspondent was on hand last night for the launch of L'Austral and let's just say, a family-oriented gala event it was not. Her report is quite amusing! It's here: http://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/blog/?p=2784

 

Carolyn

 

Carolyn Spencer Brown

Editor in Chief

Cruise Critic

 

Hello.

 

Have you sailed on L'Austral yet?

 

Looking forward to your review.

 

B

[CDreamer]

We were also on the June 2011 Venice-Dubrovnik-Venice cruise on L'Austral. I apologize that this is long, but I'd like to be fair in my review since I know some of you are interested in hearing about this ship. A little background: my DH and I prefer smaller boats and have sailed on the Paul Gauguin, Windstar, and Sea Dream (8 times).

 

L'Austral is beautiful, new, clean, & contemporary, and our particular cruise had around 210 passengers on board. Here are some of the pros and cons (as my DH and I saw them):

 

Check in:

Pros: Check in went very quickly. Were greeted by the Captain, crew, and the spa staff on the way in. After surrendering our passports and having pictures taken we received our ID cards. From there we were shown to our cabin on deck 4. The whole check in procedure took about 15 minutes.

 

Cons: none.

 

Cabin:

Pros: Contemporary, attractive cabin w/ separate toilet and shower areas (a plus), nice "rain" shower with good water pressure.

 

Balcony had 2 chairs, a small table, and high side privacy walls so we never saw our neighbors. Only con about the balcony was that the front panel was solid, not glass, so it was hard to see over it if you weren't standing up or under 5'6" and sitting. Still, it was nice having the 'open' feel of a balcony.

 

Cons: Bed was a bit hard (for me) and pillows and comforters were synthetic not feather/down (which I prefer). They did place a comforter under the fitted sheet and that did make it a bit more comfortable, so the staff tried hard to please (that should be a Pro).

 

Staff/Capt:

Pros: Majority of the staff was friendly, competent, and responsive. Capt has an open bridge policy so you can tour it anytime.

 

Cons: One crew member in the main dining room went on my report because he had a real attitude and wasn't afraid to show it. That said, he was the only one who was the least bit confrontational.... the rest of the crew were pleasant and helpful.

 

That said, with a large group on board it sometimes stretched the crew a bit thin... but overall, we felt the crew did their best to keep up with most passenger requests.

 

Food:

Pros: 2 separate restaurants: one with a buffet setup (which required reservations); one a dining room with a sit down menu. Dress was dressy/casual. 24 hour room service w/ a limited menu was also available.

 

Cons: While some of the dinners were good, we were somewhat underwhelmed with the creative flair, flavor, and presentation of some of the meals. I wouldn't say the food was BAD - just thought it lacked a bit, esp since this is a French ship!

 

Excursions:

Pros: Their two large tenders were brand new and, because of their bigger size, quite stable - even in rougher waters. Speaking of stable, we rarely felt any movement on L'Austral.

 

L'Austral had good local guides for the excursions we took and our walking tours only consisted of 7-12 people (thankfully Taulk Tours, whose passengers took up half the boat, made their own arrangements!).

 

Cons: None. This is one area where L'Austral shined....

 

Entertainment:

Pros: L'Austral has a nice big theatre that was used for nighttime entertainment, the initial welcoming talk and fire drill review, disembarkment procedures, etc. (Thankfully, any other announcements were made in the hallways and public rooms; not in the cabins!).

 

Movies were always available on the TV, versus having to use DVDs. You could purchase WiFi in blocks of time, rather than just for 24 hours.

 

Cons: WiFi didn't work if we were docked.

 

L'Austral had a piano player and singer perform during cocktail hour and sail aways, and also provided nightly entertainment in their main theatre after dinner (we didn't go to these shows since they weren't for us, so can't comment if they were good or bad).

 

Passenger mix:

Cons: As mentioned in a previous post, our cruise had a much older demographic (we're in our 50's). Nearly 1/2 were Tauck Tour passengers; the other 1/2 mainly French couples. People didn't seem particularly active or engaged with other passengers (outside of their own groups), so that was a bit of a disappointment. Fortunately, we weren't there to make friends - this was a month long trip for us and this cruise was more about the destination(s) than the journey, although we were looking forward to being on this new ship.

 

Summary: We enjoyed L'Austral and the itinerary, but felt a lack of connection between the larger group on board, individual passengers, and the crew (even though the crew was friendly and did try hard). This left us kind of flat.

 

While we're not completely turned off to L'Austral per se, we would certainly take some friends along with us next time since it is our perception that large groups like Tauck (who has a wonderful reputation) can really influence the overall experience you have while on board this beautiful ship.

[keltic]

Great. I am boardin tomorrow and it´s essentially what I felt on Le Boreal last year. I am sure, it´s even the same unprofessional guy I have also met last year. :-)

[CDreamer]

Great. I am boardin tomorrow and it´s essentially what I felt on Le Boreal last year. I am sure, it´s even the same unprofessional guy I have also met last year. :-)

 

Well don't let one bad apple spoil your cruise. The rest of the crew we had were nice and seemed to do their best to make passengers happy.

 

If you go to the spa for any nail treatments ask for Morgan. She's really friendly and does a great job! Also, Herry the waiter was really fun to interact with.

 

Have a great time and if you get a chance, please report back.... would be interested to hear how your trip went.

[bellebaby]

Great. I am boardin tomorrow and it´s essentially what I felt on Le Boreal last year. I am sure, it´s even the same unprofessional guy I have also met last year. :-)

 

Hi, Keltic

 

Have you returned from your L'Austral sailing? Any thoughts you'd like to pass along?

 

Thanks.

 

B

[plano mom]

My husband and I are also booked on the Sept. 6 L'Austral cruise from Venice to the Croatia via the Dalmatian Coast. We are going on a Tauck tour.

[bellebaby]

My husband and I are also booked on the Sept. 6 L'Austral cruise from Venice to the Croatia via the Dalmatian Coast. We are going on a Tauck tour.

 

Hi, plano mom....

 

Would you mind posting your thoughts when you return? I'd love to hear your observations about the ship!

 

B

[zippylucy]

My husband and I and another couple just returned from the Sept. 6th cruise. We cannot say enough about the trip. The ship is beautiful, very minimalist, sleek and efficient use of space. We didn't use all the drawers in our small but lovely cabin. The food was wonderful, as was the impeccable service. We weren't interested in tours (and btw a Tauk tour was on this ship and we didn't notice any preferential treatment...hardly knew they were on board) so got off the ship every day and explored on our own.

 

We loved that the ship was small and could get into all ports but 2 without a tender. Although we did not partake, bike tours, kayaking and rafting trips were offered at various ports. The passengers were older, I'd say average 60, so don't know how many participated.

 

Over all, I'd say our experience was like being on a private yacht. I've done several transatlantic crossings, including the SS France and while a different experience, ours on L'Austral was equally enjoyable.