Le Ponant/Tauck Questions

[chrism23]

If I may impose.  I am scheduled for a Le Ponant/Tauck Cuba cruise 1/18-29.  I have read horrible reviews of the beds in the cabins-most too hard. True?  Second. Somehow my previous reviews got deleted  but I am not a newbie.  5 Silversea cruises all reviewed at length and one Cunard.  I am vey concerned about cabin size, 150 square feet is probably about the size of a Silversea Silver Suite bathroom.  Lastly, we just booked because of a cancellation, and I really haven't had a chance to research as I usually do, the question is this, we are booked in cabin 4 on the Antiqua Deck which only has 5 cabins.  Are these worse in some way? Than the Marie Galante Deck where nearly all cabins are located.  Sorry for the length.  Thanks for any help. 

 

chrism

[Host Jazzbeau]

We haven't sailed on Ponant yet [have two cruises booked over the next two years] but would not book on Le Ponant because we are not interested in a sailing yacht as the sailing machinery takes away from passenger space – and the space per passenger is about 1/2 that on Ponant's new luxury yachts.  What I do notice from the Le Ponant brochure is that the cabins on Antigua deck are actually larger than those on Marie Galante [though still very small].

[Geezer Cruiser]

As someone who was on a Ponant-Tauck cruise earlier this year, the cabin did seem small, but I'm chiming in to lower expectations on the food. 

 

[cruising cockroach]

12 minutes ago, Geezer Cruiser said:

As someone who was on a Ponant-Tauck cruise earlier this year, the cabin did seem small, but I'm chiming in to lower expectations on the food. 

 

 

The French TripAdvisor site seems to indicate quality of an upscale canteen.  I'm starting to lower my own expectations.  It ain't going to be one Michelin macaroon quality!

[Geezer Cruiser]

Buffet proved a FAR better option than the dining room. 

 

[TrulyBlonde]

I just returned from Le Lyrial cruise to S. Georgia and Antarctica 3 days ago. After Thanksgiving, I will provide our opinion on Ponant. The Good, Bad, and the Ugly.  

[caviargal]

We sailed on Le Lyrial 18 months ago.  I posted a detailed review when we returned.

 

We found the food ok to good in the MDR but not very varied and it was quite heavy.  I was able to request lighter preparations of some dishes.

 

We did not like the buffet for dinner as tables were cramped and the reservation policy annoying.

 

Cabins were comfortable but ours was very noisy.

 

Service was abrupt to rude at reception.  They NEVER went out of their way to offer any information or to answer questions with anything more than a yes or no.  We noticed that the French passengers were treated with far more warmth and interest.

 

There was a large Tauck group aboard and IMO having their own cruise managers made it a far better experience for them overall.  We sat with a few at dinner over the course of the cruise and they were generally happy.

 

Loved the size of the ship.

 

We would not cruise again with Ponant.