Review of Ponant Antarctica with National Geographic Nov 2019

[schnapperin]

Hi,

so i‘m back since a week from Ponant‘s first Antartica cruise in cooperation with National Geographic (not been on sale in the US) on Le Lyrial (19 th Nov to 9th December) and would like to give a short recpap:

 

About the itinerary:

- The trip included original 1,5 days on the Falklands, 3 days on South Georgia, 2 days on South Orkneys and 3 days on the Peninsula (with 2 days planned on South Shetlands Islands and 1 day at Necko Harbour/Paradise Bay). 

 

But because of expected wind & swell for Volonteer Point we skip this stop and won a full day & full three days in SG (which would have been only 2,5 days). For the South Orkneys we also skipped one day- so we had a full 5 days at the Peninsula.

 

- We had been extremely lucky with the weather, calm sea and wonderful weather in FI (15 C), SG (up to 10 C) and two days with blue sky (and up to 5 C) at the Peninsula, a snowday at Deception Island and a wind & foggy day around Gerlache Strait.

 

The sea was extremely calm all the way until the Drake, but since they couldn‘t use the stabilizing system around the PI it could be a bit more rocky, also on two nights we had to do a quick change in course because of some ice (which let to everything shifting in the cabin). 

 

-> it was clear that climate change was a reason for it and everyone felt for the chicks in SG who tried to cool them self standing in water.

 

- The Drake passage was announced as a more calm (3 to 4 m waves) but the first moment it rolled in all directions because of an unusual strong east wind, so even with just 4 m waves we got some nice splashing bow pictures - and only 40% showed up on the Farewell Dinner ..and the ship was super quiet. We left Half Moon Bay on Friday evening and passed Cape Horn Sunday Morning at 6 am - and docked in Usuhuai at 3 pm (ship was cleared 20 min. later).

 

The excursions:

 

- We were split into 4 color groups which rotated with the time. Ponant splitted the around 80 french speaking passengers in two groups, one english speaking (49) and the Chinese speaking (51) in another one. Sometimes it would be one french / one non-french after 15 or 30 minutes or both french / non-french groups (guess depends on staff free time)

 

- Shack Rocks: we spend 30 minutes going extremely close around them and saw so many birds flying close up our heads - from that night on all window curtains were closed from sunset to sunrise

 

- Falkland Islands: Grave Point & West Point for penguins & albatros and some rare dolphins. We had enough time for both stops, including some time for a longer relaxing afternoon tea at West Point. It was a bit more crowded at the Albatros Colony with the last group waiting a bit longer for their turn.

 

- South Georgia: 2 landings again per day, with Salisbury Plain, Fortuna Bay on the first

 

Grytviken: we stayed over night in the bay and we had an 7am start for an short presentation from Sarah from the Museum about the whaler station and the efforts they did with rats and deer - it was done so at the same time the checks could be carried out from the Gouvernor with the hope to be able to disembark at 7.30 am (we didn‘t changed times in SG), and then we had an check first from the team before the Gouvenor assisted checked eveeyones boots, backpack bottom and trouser. The weather was brilliant but turned after 2 hours and I was happy I still wore my warm parka & a beanie. There was an opportunity for two guided tours (general and later a technical tour) or a short 2 hour hike up. Also we were told we could walk to Hope Point but should be carefull because of the aggressive fur seals at the research station since there wouldn‘t be any staff, but we found not pnly a group of penguins there but also some helpfull staff. I didn‘t do the tours but watched the interesting movie in the back room at the post office. We were told it could get crowded in there so I posted my cards from the ship (2 € each plus 2 € for the cards) but there was not much of a line and they accepted pounds, euro and doller and even the credit card reader worked. Stamps were around 0.75 £ - and they had some cards starting at 0.5 £ but wasn‘t a huge fan of those.

 

The shop at the museum was stilly stocked, a bit hit had been the Antartica / Penguin beanies ( also sold on the Ponant shop) but with £ 45 or 55 it was a bit to pricey for me (but is part merino)

 

St. Andrew‘s Bay on the afternoon (after a feeding group of humpbacks stopped us for a bit), we could‘t get across the river because of a very strong current. So we got a landing of 1 hour & 20 min zodiac cruise along the colony back to the ship. Our NG expert waited for us at the end of the short walk and explained a bit about the glacier retreat, how the river is unique and what the hills around are telling science.

 

Next and final day we did Gold Harbour in the morning, again a nice day and then windy & wave conditions for the 1 hour Zodiac Cruisealong Cooper Bay in the afternoon. then the fog lifted and we took a detour to some impressive icebergs around the entrance of Drygalski Fjord- and a surprise ship cruise until the end of the Fjord.

 

- South Orkney: Because of ice we couldn‘t reach Orcada Station and the weather was to bad for a zodiac cruise during our way around the whole island (they had Plan B and C spots but both didn‘t work) , but the weather turned when we arrived at our afternoon stop Signy Island (one hour Zodiac tour) and we had blue sky and a few clouds.

 

- Wedell Sea (1 plus day) with a landing at Heroina Islands - even the captain helped to clear the small landing space from ice and the zodiac drivers had a difficult time to get from & there. Our expedition leader & her Assistent basicilly dragged everyone up from 30 to 60 cm up to a small icefield above the rocks. Because of the tide coming in we only had around 20 minutes there but everyone was gratefull we could land. It was impressive to see so many Adelie penguins which felt a bit like SG. In the afternoon we headed to Dusk Bay for the first sea ice (sadly they couln‘t find any stable enough for a landing) 

 

- Next day First Point (1,5 hours and the first time I didn‘t stepped out on my balcony because of the intense smell of the colony) - we saw some whales and four different kinds of penguins (well one pair of Macaroni) and it was lovely to watch the broken up ice crashing at the beach. Deception Island in the afternoon, first a a ship cruise around Whalers Bay and then a 2 hours to hike a loop from Telefon Bay. The hike down was a lot more difficult since they had to close an easier return and everyone needed to walk down a very steppy hill - with bare ice under. But the whole team helped everyone down and apparently nobody got hurt.

 

- Lamaire Channel crossing in the morning - and to be fair there was a lot of ice and an huge iceberg at the end so nobody thought we would be able to make it - but we did!

 

Port Charcot zodiac cruise (1 hour) because of to much snow for a landing (One zodiac saw a mink whale) with the small penguin colony and a lot of iceberg watching and then back via Lamaire (were we experienced how large the wave could be when a small pice crushed into a million pieces from the glacier& Neumayer Channel to Damoy Point. But fog & snow rolled in and there was to much snow & ice to do a landing. Instead we continued to Gerlache Strait (and spotted a group of orcas who stayed close for hours) where we (and 6-8 other ships) cruised until the early hours.

 

- Necko Harbour with blue sky and clear views around the whole bay. Landing time was about 2 hours with a small or higher loop to do in the morning (personal I choosed the smaller one and enjoyed watching the penguin highway) a surprise afternoon stop at Danco Island 1,5 hours (a sister ship gave up the landing during our morning stop and our expedition leader managed to snap it up when we only had the satellite connection. On both landings they organize spontaneous sea kayak trips(one hour). Afterwards Whilhelmia Bay ship cruise, our first perfect sunset (but it didn‘t got totally dark at night)

 

- Yankee Harbour (1,5 hours) in the morning and Half Moon Bay (2 hours) in the afternoon - we saw again a stunning sunset when we headed into the Drake Passage including two green flashes.

 

- Ushuaia: I have to admit it was nice to cruisepast Cape Horn and to see the Beagle Channel during daylight. Also a long walk in Ushuaia was great, manage to get some pesos(no ATM worked but I bought some dulce the leche and paid in € and got a great exchange rate) and to buy a local SIM card.

 

The time on land was enough and the rest of the time I used to watch the Penguins & seals and glaciers from my balcony with the binoculars- or started to look trough my pictures. With been up for sunset and waking up before sunrise on the landing days I have to admit I was happy about a bit of „downtime“.

 

About National Geographic cooperation:

 

- Everything was branded with both logos and instead of red we had yellow parkas (sadly the expedition teams red parkas didn‘t arrive so it was a bit more challenging for them), a reusable waterbottle and waterfilling stations instead of Evian bottles (but they were still been supplied at the Suites and the fitness center)

 

- One Sea Kayak session (only included on a NG trip) free of charge

 

- Binoculars to keep 

 

- 2 (we had three experts and two regional manager on bord). We had around 3 lectures from the glacier expert, 3 from the photoeditor (not that usefull) and two hands on lessions how to set up your mobil/camera and one of a sponsorship expert about the Antartica Treaty.

 

Aswell the opportunity to have dinner with them (sign up needed) and twice there were more informations about the glaciers on land / via the PA system during a cruise

 

- they also stepped in and helped the expedition team during the excursion but didn‘t had any outfit to spot them easily.

 

- It was the third ever cruise in cooperation and it was clear they still had some issues to work out - it would for example to have been great to hear more about the glaciers on South Orkneys during a recap or some Peninsula informations as recap to. To be clear our NG glacier expert was always up to answer questions on board, the zodiac or land and she often had also a map with her. Same goes for the sponsorship expert who loved to talk about the pro and cons when ever I saw him.

 

The expedition team:

 

- Team of 12 but that included also 2 sea kayak guides which helped out when ever there was no sea kayak happening. 

 

- For 3 members it was there first time in the Antartica - and we had a bit to many with the focus on whales & seals, so if you had a specific questions you needed to know would be the best to ask

 

- They all spoke english - not all also french 

 

- Lectures had been split into English and french( with a Chinese translation via headset. NG were only in english with one bilingual.

 

- biggest issue that as English speaking guest we missed out on a lot of lectures that the french had (because of NG but most of the french spoke english), like about the fauna in the FI, we never had a penguin lecture (just a bit about King behavior and breeding circle during recap). And we did mention that issue after we noticed it before FI.

 

- We had a recap each night during FI & SG which included the detailed briefing but during the peninsula we had the briefing during lunch break and no real recap until the first day on the Drake.

 

- Our Expedition Leader always welcomed us with a big smile on land and was also there to say goodbye.

 

- Dinners with 2 from the team were organized a few times for english and french speaking guests.

 

Le Lyrial / Cabin:

 

- Cabin 320 was perfect, it was not to close to the Zodiacs been lowered and still nearly in the middle between the lift up to Deck 6 or the main lounge /side alcoves at the reception area incase something was happening on the other side. Next time I would choose the right side because of SG (I had a lovely sea view during cruising)

 

- The Cabin was spacious for one person, lots of storing space and even one outlet next to the bed.

 

Room was done twice, even the water in my kettle / Nespresso was refilled both times, and they even a shower cleaning at the evening (timed perfectly during dinner), daily programm was always waiting on my bed around 9 pm with mostly cookies (one madeleine during officers night and macaroon on the second to last night). Also my bathrobe was changed a view times.

 

- The bathroom ventilation was so perfect I could easily wash my clothes in the afternoon/evening and everything was dry the next morning.

 

- Bath was well stocked with Hermes products (including conditioner and bodylotion) buth vanity kit was not replaced once during the 3 weeks (I used the tissues instead)

 

- As NG cruise the cabin was stock with an atlas & NG magazine.

 

- My trolley fitted without any issuses under my bag, and I did removed a tray/information booklet into my closet to gain a bit more space and moved the phone /glasses around.

 

Le Lyrial Food /Drinks:

 

- Opening times of the restaurant are limited and sometimes I wished they opened a bit earlier or stayed open longer (for example we did Lemair until close to 9am). My resolution had been room service for breakfast (they also served pancakes and waffles if mention as special wish) if I had a later disembarking time. 

 

- Room service also offered all dishes on the menu during the opening times of the restaurant and they even served some wine if ordered 

 

- Breakfast was usually the same with changing juice of the day, smoothie. For the first week or 2 we had even strawberry, raspberry and then it slowly moved to peaches, plums, pineapple and co. The last 3 days we only had fresh apple & melon - the rest was replaced by can food. Pancakes, Waffles, French Toast and eggs as one liked were to order at Desk 2 - also you could get espresso, cappuccino and herbal teas aswell. 

 

Only the yogurt option was a bit disappointed- it was ultra heated and more a dessert kind.

 

- Aswell there was a 24 hour coffee and tea station and an breakfast offer (croissants, yoghurt & fruits) in the main lounge.

 

- Lunch for me was always on Deck 6 with included a salad bar, chicken, hard boiled egg and a great selection at smoked fish, a fresh prepared dish (often they grilled) and the best - amazing french icecream/sorbets. I had lunch outside always apart of maybe 3 days. It could also get extremely busy if there was no outdoor seating.

 

- afternoon tea was often a miss more then a hit, we only had twice macaroons (laudee on the last full day on board), but the fresh prepared crepes were also great. A bit of an issue could also been, that we got our on shore time during that time and there was nothing left or the timing simply didn‘t work for us.

 

- Canapés & nuts were served in the main lounge during cocktail hour - and finally also on deck 6 if one asked

 

- Dinner could be 4 courses but an vegeterian amuse bouche, great soups and a lot of fish/beef/poultry as main - usually really great. Desserts were a nightmare - think only twice it was how I expected it to be, cheese choice was also surprisingly limited (but came with nuts, dates & figs).

 

On Deck 6 there were the same dishes, sometimes sushi, smoked fish, the salad bar and mash potatoes (french style) and vegetable on offer aswell as a daily fresh cut which often included pork.

 

- They rotates between 6 whites & 6 reds and 3 or 4 rose, the drink included were def enough but one could pay 20 € a day for all drinks (not sure about wine) which included a great selection of gin & rum aswell as Veuve clique from the magnum bottle - the champagne included was also extremely good.

 

- A bit disappointing was the fact that there wasn‘t anything special planned- for example after stepping food on the 7th continent, we only had during the first day mulled wine or hot cacao waiting for us - then it moved to beef & vegetables broth

 

- Opening hours of the bars were sometimes a bit short - just until 10.30 or 11 pm (even the captain was looking for a drink one night and was surprised to find it closed up) and weird hours during the day for the one at Deck 6 with the great View.

 

Random:

 

- Personal I felt the layout of the Outdoor space bot really great. At Deck 6 there was of course the spotlights, antennas & co who did restrict a bit the view.

 

- The top at Deck 7 is the staff area with a much better view then down below - there is also a staff area on Desk 4 at the heck. Have to admit a lot of guests used open doors to get into it for better pictures and even enough space for things like whale watching & Lemair and co. and simply mixed with the staff. 

 

- Open Bridge was just three mornings - one of them during the Drake Passage. Seen footage from the bridge it was def aometimes crowded with the naturalist team up there, so I totally understand that.

 

- Embarkation was from 4 to 5 pm and was done in like 5 minutes

 

- Disembarkation for the charter flight was well organized with the bags been out at 5.30 am, a full breakfast offer (including eggs fresh cooked) and bus times starting at 6.50 am for a 9.20 am charter flight. Luggage was not a big issue as they didn‘t check the carry on bags and where a bit more tolerant if check in was over the 23 kg limit. 

 

- Dress code was def more relaxed as expected, some dressed up for the three more formal nights (one each week), but lot less then I thought.

 

On landing days I usually wore my base layer and kn top a more nicer pair of lounge pants and a longer cardigan on top.

 

- Because of the warm weather I only wore a Icebreaker Merino 200 baselayer, Uniqlo Heatteach Thermal Legging and a merino tank top & Uniqulo Heatteach Turtleneck under my waterproof pants (non insulated but worked perfect) and the warm expedition jacket, a warm beanie, Merino buff and liner Merino gloves on land and twi pair of socks. 

 

Sometimes just the Merino 200 leggings and for zodiac rides usually a layer more.

 

- Ski googles were super handy for the more challenging zodiac ride and the snowfall at Deception Island.

 

After all a total fantastic trip and a lot of luck with the weather.

 

I will be posting instagram stories from xmas week up (in the highlights saved), if someone wants to see some pix & videos. http://www.instagram.com/lunchforone

 

Any questions, more then happy to see if I can help and a huge thanks to everyone here who helped during my research

 

Tina

[JayfromBNA]

Thank you for taking the time to review this voyage! I've yet to make the 7th continent, but it's on my bucket list.