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Qld13
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Hi

We are looking at a Ponant Cruise from Brisbane to Hobart in December and have a few questions.

What champagne do Ponant serve in the included drinks or up until the shutdown?

Does anyone have a copy/photo of the included wines and spirits?

Are cocktails included in the complimentary drinks?

Is the €20 drinks package worth considering?

Finally does anyone have pdf’s/photos of any recent menus?

 

Thanks in advance

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14 hours ago, Qld13 said:

 

14 hours ago, Qld13 said:

What champagne do Ponant serve in the included drinks or up until the shutdown?

 

Henri Abele (sp) seems to be the Champagne of choice.  For special evenings (e.g., Captain's dinner), Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin may be served.

 

14 hours ago, Qld13 said:

Does anyone have a copy/photo of the included wines and spirits?

 

Wines will be some lower-label, most likely French. Nothing top notch.  AFAIK, all spirits at the bar are included.

 

14 hours ago, Qld13 said:

Are cocktails included in the complimentary drinks?

 

Basic cocktails, yes.  There are some special ones that are extra € or require a drink package (there were trialling them 2 years ago)

 

14 hours ago, Qld13 said:

Is the €20 drinks package worth considering?

Finally does anyone have pdf’s/photos of any recent menus?

 

Only special events.   No standard menus.

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A few more thoughts:

 

My wife and I were on Le Soléal 2 years ago right around this time sailing non-stop from Honolulu to Maizuru, Japan.  With no annoying stops to cut into enjoyment of food and drink, we had many nights to talk with other passengers about the drinks package, at the bar of course.  The consensus was that, with what was on offer, there was no real need to spend more for specialty cocktails and the like..  There may have been some special pours that required extra payment but I am not much of a spirits/liquor drinker so didn't think much of those offerings.

 

I don't think the drinks package would have bought any better wines.  With the generous credits afforded to us (we got base level elite status just by booking our first two cruises before even setting foot onboard), we did buy a couple of better bottles of wine.  The complimentary stuff is perfectly fine for accompanying meals.  We did find the Henri Abell to be a bit acidic and tart.  We certainly had better (or at least equivalent qualtiy) Champagnes for €10-12 at Aldis and Lidls in France.  It is better than Costco's private label Kirkland branded Champagne though (~USD 28 a decade ago).

 

The food is very French (except for parts of breakfast) and is generally excellent.  Perfectly enjoyable.  The older class of ships will have an executive chef, a sous chef, a pastry chef and assistant, and a bread chef from France, assisted by a half dozen or so Filipino line cooks and other kitchen staff.  We actually lost the Executive Chef part way through our first cruise (on the back-to-back) and his replacement flow in from France was absent for part of the cruise for whatever reason (don;t remember if he disembarked at the final stop before heading to the U.S.).  The sous chef took over but he was disembarked at the end of the cruise and we had no executive or sous chef for the next cruise (the repo).  A senior Filipino line cook took over as acting sous chef.  The food was competently executed but it became a bit repetitive.

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We did Antartica in 2017 with Ponant, i wasn’t aware of an upgrade drink package, is that something new? We have €500 to spend on our Kimberley cruise, i wonder whether its worth upgrading, we certainly didn't feel like we missed out on our Antartica cruise (I remeber drinking grey goose so was pretty happy :))

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We sailed to amazing Antarctica on Le Soleal in 2019.  It was an incredible experience  and we loved the small ship Ponant experience.  The only disappointment was the quality of the included wines. We thought on a French ship the wines would be very good. That was not the case.  See pics of the included reds below.  The reds were very lackluster and the whites were not drinkable IMHO.  I am not certain the beverage package would provide anything much better.  We spent a few days In Buenos Aires before the cruise.  The wines were amazing there and they were so inexpensive.  We had expected the ship would be stocked with the local wines.  That was not the case.  

 

We found the included champagne, Henri Able, to be heads and shoulders above what is served on other lines.  And, sipping champagne on an ice flow with the ship tucked in behind us was a fabulous experience!  The included cocktails were plentiful and quite good; nice martinis, well drinks, and wonderful Manhattans. You could also add your choice of liquor to your coffee.  
 

The food was very good, no complaints.  Excellent variety including breakfast and lunch.  We loved the bread and cheese!!!  We did hear some frustration from passengers who had gluten free dietary restrictions.  Apparently, the menu was not well marked.

 

In the big scheme of things, the quality of included wines is a minor first world problem.  We would definitely sail Ponant again tomorrow.... if only we could!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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We did three wonderful Ponant in August/September last year and opted for the €23 premium drink package on all cruises. Whether it is worth the money obviously depends on what and how much you drink. We appreciate a good gin & tonic, and are not keen on the Gordon's gin included in the standard package. The premium package will give you access to better brands such as Hendricks.

 

During meals, the premium package makes no difference, but you get access to better wines and champagne served in the bars. 

 

There are also a number of premium cocktails priced at +/-€10, which you get for free with the premium package. However, premium cognacs are not included. 

 

We basically take the premium package for the convenience of being able to choose whatever we want without having to pay each time.

 

 

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  • 9 months later...
  • 4 weeks later...
On 4/4/2021 at 7:08 PM, Qld13 said:

Thank you for all your replies, any menus anywhere??

 

Yes - I took photos of most of the lunch and dinner menus when we were on board Ponant in September of last year. They are in my review/blog on these boards, starting with post #67.

 

Link to my blog is in my signature.

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