Will I like Ponant??

[Korimako]

I'm considering a Ponant cruise. How can I find out if it's for me?
What do you consider their pluses (or minuses)? I've only cruised with Crystal.
TIA

[AussieBoyTX]

Don’t know. Several of us have posted detailed trip reports. Perhaps after checking those out, that will help you with specific questions those of us who have sailed Ponant can try to answer / give our perspective. 

[cruising cockroach]

I like the small ships, enough Zodiacs to lift most pax, food (very French), inclusive drinks (though wine is pretty plonky except for special dinners) internet, lack of casino.  Ship small enough to get almost everywhere.  Oddly, the MDR can sit everyone in one sitting but you need reservations for the buffet.  t has French idiosyncracies as far as customer service goes.  Very popular with Australians.

[mauibabes]

Korimako,

totally different league, you might consider other options.  
Mauibabes

[Korimako]

Mauibabes - could you maybe explain why you think Ponant wouldn't suit me? I have almost zero cruising experience (only done one trans-Pacific many years ago) so I have very little basis for any sort of comparison. I had thought that being a smaller ship and French would be a plus???

[mauibabes]

Crystal would have been a totally different type of ship and cruise experience. While our most recent experiences have been with Oceania, I found the Ponant Expedition ships to be too small and lacked the breadth of amenities and dining mix.  We are used to many different dining options at every meal in a variety of restaurants and a much higher quality level of the products used, especially the meats and fish. 
while we have not sailed on Crystal, our friends have and they too were on our Ponant cruise so we had the ability to compare. 
We just need more size and breadth of ship and amenities and the small ship was just too small. 
 

Mauibabes 

[Korimako]

Thank you for the very speedy reply!! I wasn't really too bothered about replicating  the Crystal experience - maybe I shouldn't have mentioned it and just been a 'cruise newbie'. I don't have the expectations that someone who is a frequent cruiser would have or expect, so the lack of dining choices for example, isn't something I'd notice was different.
I noticed that on another post someone mentioned a 'Tauck charter'?

I have no idea what they meant!

 

[jpalbny]

Ponant is a French cruise line which sometimes partners with Tauck or Smithsonian, to charter a voyage. On those "Tauck Charters" or "Smithsonian Charters" the experience is probably different from a regular Ponant cruise. I suppose each has its merits and fans.

 

We have only done one Ponant cruise and it was not a charter. We very much enjoyed the small ship experience and found the food to be quite nice. I would agree that it's not up to Oceania standards based on our memory from those cruises - but we have not sailed on O since 2008 so our experience is quite dated.

 

I did a full trip report and AussieBoyTX has done a few as well. You might get an idea of the food offerings and the overall feel of the cruise from those, and maybe that will help you figure out if Ponant is a good fit for you. Agree w/ mauibabes though - if you're expecting the same amenities as a large ship, you will probably be disappointed. It's a different experience.

[Korimako]

Thank you for this information. I have read through all the Ponant reviews and agree that a cruise which has a North American charter element is definitely not what I'm looking for as it wouldn't necessarily have the French ambience that I AM looking for. So I'll keep looking and cross check for charters. I wonder if they advertise the Smithsonian/Tauck cruises on the French website? 

There's a new French cruising company starting up, might have a look at that.

Thank you all for your help.

[AussieBoyTX]

5 hours ago, Korimako said:

I wonder if they advertise the Smithsonian/Tauck cruises on the French website? 

Some clarification:

 

Tauck cruises are either whole-ship charters or block bookings and are NOT listed at all on Ponant's site. If you want to know if there might be Tauck guests on your cruise, you'd need to visit Tauck's website and try to cross-reference their offers against Ponant cruises.

 

Smithsonian cruises are not charters and do appear on Ponant's English-language sites. They do not appear on the French-language sites.

 

There are other cruises tailored for an English-speaking audience and they are clearly marked as such. (e.g. some Kimberley cruises). They also don't appear on the French sites.

[mauibabes]

First of all I hate being negative but let me say we have left Princess and Celebrity over the past years because they were substandard cruise lines but they did not purport to be 5 Star lines, just mass marketers. We found Oceania about 15 years ago and developed a passion for the Oceania family and their product. The “Finest Cuisine at Sea”  resonated for us and we truly enjoy their brand and service.  That said, now you understand where we are coming from when I share a few thoughts.

 

Le Bellot and her sister Expedition ships are too small and poorly designed to accommodate the guests. Even the Veranda staterooms on the R Class Oceania ships are larger and more comfortable and accessible than the Prestige level staterooms on Le Bellot. Dining on board is average even though one might expect the cuisine from the French Chef’s to be of a higher quality. Entree options are minimal and it would be easy to have an evening when none of the options interest our tastes. The food quality was lacking  and the portions were minuscule at best, and we are not big eaters due to our commitment to counting points compliments of Weight Watchers. The only entree that was always well prepared and of adequate size was the Grilled Salmon, everything else was basically B- to C- grade meals.  Deserts were very good and the pastries were normally B level.  Nothing was ever rated an A.  
 

Staff were hard working and very guest focused, they were just stretched too thin. 
i am sure Le Ponant has a following but we and our couple dozen friends will not be seeking out any Tauck or Ponant Small Ship cruises any time soon. We are not trying to be pretentious nor unnecessarily condescending, we are just making the point that this ship and tour was “Not our Cup of Tea”, to say the least. 
Regrets if we have offended the Ponant faithful, JMHO.

Mauibabes

[Fletcher]

You go on a small ship to get to seriously remote places - atolls like Aldabra, islands like Pitcairn or Wallis & Futuna, Tristan da Cunha etc or seriously immersive wildlife expeditions.  That's what small ships are all about so the lack of entertainment or multiple dining options or a huge variety of food doesn't matter. So forget all the chatter here about Crystal or Oceania.  They have nothing to offer people wanting to go on expedition cruises. 

[ex-hippie]

Fletcher - you are so right! We cruise based on itinerary. I see you were on the Silver Galapagos in 2019 - we did it in 2018 and it is still one of our best trips ever. I even preferred it to Antarctica (mostly because I got to snorkel up close to those juvenile sea lions!). We did Iceland/Svalbard this summer on the Silver Wind - great trip, too.

 

We will take our first Ponant/Tauck Panama Canal cruise on the Bellot in January. Tauck has the whole ship - the date doesn't show up on Ponant's site. We're doing it with Tauck because it's all inclusive - also includes a land tour in Costa Rica. We've travelled with Tauck before. We feel they offer a very comprehensive trip and have a well deserved reputation for quality travel. That said, their cruises are more expensive than the published Ponant cruises. There are no hidden costs; all excursions are included.

 

 

[PACruiser5]

Lots of information here but back to the original question from Korimako, will you or anyone else like a particular cruise line? The only reasonable answer is "it depends":

Where you want to go being the most important one. Many cruisers are loyalists to a particular line, there are certainly benefits and perks to that, as well as gaining familiarity to ships, staff and amenities. And there are some general characteristics you will read about if you scroll through the various line specific boards, things that people really like or don't.

 

Others move around, often based on the itinerary. Some lines have a specialty in an area, Paul Gaugin (part of Ponant) for example in the south pacific. We chatted with a cruise director on Silversea, who had worked on several lines, who was very candid that Silversea did this or that really well, but if you want to go to x, Seabourn (or whoever) does that better. 

 

And as Fletcher points out, there are some places you can only go on the small expedition ships, and yes you will not have some of the things you find on bigger ships. 

 

We are going to Antarctica, the Faulklands and South Georgia island on Ponant next month. You can't do that on Oceania (which I agree has great food). I know that the ship will be smaller and the cabins tighter than what we found on a recent Seabourn Venture polar cruise. We picked Ponant originally  because they have a great reputation in the Antarctic region - they have had numerous ships in those waters for years. Other lines do as well for sure, but the French cuisine was a positive! We will go with an open mind and are looking forward to the penguins and spectacular scenery. Which is why you go there anyway. Will let you know how it goes.

 

[mauibabes]

Believe me, we selected the Tauck trip on Ponant for all the same reasons.  It was our first Ponant cruise so it will be interesting to read your impressions on your first experience. We just expected much more out of Ponant. 
enjoy your fantastic adventure. 
Mauibabes

[highplanesdrifters]

On 10/26/2022 at 9:01 AM, PACruiser5 said:

Will let you know how it goes.

 

Look forward to hearing about your trip. 

[gogo65]

I believe Ponant do Antartica very well, as PACruiser mentions they have had multiple ships down there for many years. The price point in comparison to SS or Seabourn is very good, 20-30% lower. Yes the rooms are smaller and the food was average to good (probably more good than average but we aren’t foodies)

We loved our Ponant Antartica trip, we were exhausted every night after two landings every day, so dinner drink and bed was the routine. There was no need for entertainment as it is an expedition.

In saying that we thought Ponant was lacking on our NW passage trip this year, as there were many more sea days and really they needed to keep us occupied a little more (particularly when they cancelled some landings), the food was lacking as there was only one restaurant open, so the choices were way to limited for 30 day cruise.

We’ve done SS to Svalbard and Iceland in 2019, and I much preferred Le Boreal to the much older Silver Cloud. Food was equal between the two. Silversea was generally much more pretentious than Ponant where many more Aussies were on board so a much more relaxed vibe. We felt the expedition leader was much better on Ponant (in Antartica) than SS, and felt that the expedition was the priority on Ponant more than SS (things such as not stopping when a polar bear was sighted, not many hikes available, not waking you for sightings etc)

While we were disappointed with our NW passage cruise we would still consider Ponant based on itinerary and price. Looking at the South Pacific Paul Gauguin really comes across as the best, and we are still contemplating a PNG cruise and when itinerary and price are side by side, Ponant comes out on top.

 

Ponant do certain itineraries very well (the ones that a repeated year in year out-Kimberleys, Antartica, Svalbard, South Pacific), but I would hesitate to book them on a standard non expedition cruise, as I believe for that type of cruise food, service, amenities etc are much more important and potentially would look at SS, Seabourn or even Oceania. We would definitely consider SS for an expedition on their new ship but wouldn’t pay the price for the wind or cloud.

 

I guess I’m saying  don't discount Ponant based on a few average to bad reviews, we aren’t loyal to any brand and base our choices on itinerary, price and dates, I research and research before booking and know that going in I made an informed decision (good or bad!)

[65Mommy]

We found it is a more intimate feeling and you get to know all the other passengers well.  It is nice sometimes to not have a large crowd everywhere. The negatives are if you get some people that are nasty and you do not like, you will see them right next to you several times a day at meals and briefings.

 

The ship is also very easy to get seasick if it is rough weather.

[Catlover54]

On 10/30/2022 at 7:15 AM, 65Mommy said:

We found it is a more intimate feeling and you get to know all the other passengers well.  It is nice sometimes to not have a large crowd everywhere. The negatives are if you get some people that are nasty and you do not like, you will see them right next to you several times a day at meals and briefings.

 

The ship is also very easy to get seasick if it is rough weather.

 

The issue of being repeatedly stuck with people you do not like, for whatever reason, on a very small ship, is an important one.  I will add it is especially important if they are loud and obnoxious, rather than just boring and quiet with nothing interesting to say, since the former cannot be ignored.

 

We were on the expedition ship Crystal Endeavor around Iceland in 2021 (2nd cruise after it launched), with only 93 pax on board (it could hold around 220).  Unfortunately there was a large group (about 14-15) of an extended family with different cultural, relational, and acoustic standards (e.g., their teenagers thought it was just fine to kick at shore birds, and yell inane chit chat at each other in their language while an excursion leader was describing scenery). They repeatedly dominated the venues, and also the excursions (which were limited in number, without much option for private touring due to Covid, so the clan was hard to avoid).  

 

We complained, but it did put Crystal in an awkward position because the family contributed so much revenue to an already underbooked ship.  

We still loved the cruise (the scenery especially, but also the food), but it was a short cruise. The risk of being stuck with such a group on a long Antarctica sailing, on a tiny ship, is of some concern.

 

[highplanesdrifters]

On 10/28/2022 at 12:30 AM, gogo65 said:

I believe Ponant do Antartica very well, as PACruiser mentions they have had multiple ships down there for many years. The price point in comparison to SS or Seabourn is very good, 20-30% lower. Yes the rooms are smaller and the food was average to good (probably more good than average but we aren’t foodies)

We loved our Ponant Antartica trip, we were exhausted every night after two landings every day, so dinner drink and bed was the routine. There was no need for entertainment as it is an expedition.

In saying that we thought Ponant was lacking on our NW passage trip this year, as there were many more sea days and really they needed to keep us occupied a little more (particularly when they cancelled some landings), the food was lacking as there was only one restaurant open, so the choices were way to limited for 30 day cruise.

We’ve done SS to Svalbard and Iceland in 2019, and I much preferred Le Boreal to the much older Silver Cloud. Food was equal between the two. Silversea was generally much more pretentious than Ponant where many more Aussies were on board so a much more relaxed vibe. We felt the expedition leader was much better on Ponant (in Antartica) than SS, and felt that the expedition was the priority on Ponant more than SS (things such as not stopping when a polar bear was sighted, not many hikes available, not waking you for sightings etc)

While we were disappointed with our NW passage cruise we would still consider Ponant based on itinerary and price. Looking at the South Pacific Paul Gauguin really comes across as the best, and we are still contemplating a PNG cruise and when itinerary and price are side by side, Ponant comes out on top.

 

Ponant do certain itineraries very well (the ones that a repeated year in year out-Kimberleys, Antartica, Svalbard, South Pacific), but I would hesitate to book them on a standard non expedition cruise, as I believe for that type of cruise food, service, amenities etc are much more important and potentially would look at SS, Seabourn or even Oceania. We would definitely consider SS for an expedition on their new ship but wouldn’t pay the price for the wind or cloud.

 

I guess I’m saying  don't discount Ponant based on a few average to bad reviews, we aren’t loyal to any brand and base our choices on itinerary, price and dates, I research and research before booking and know that going in I made an informed decision (good or bad!)

Thanks for the great recap. 

As we are itinary driven so Ponant looks very attractive. Need to squeeze her in.  Just had a disaster on SS Wind and will never set foot on her again.  Reconsidering one of the 2 expedition trips we have booked on SS. Depends on how SS responds to its problems.  Bad reviews are rampant these days across all lines. To some degree it seems to be the luck of the draw. Just trying to weed out the known bad eggs.

[mskatiemae]

On 10/16/2022 at 3:57 PM, Korimako said:

Thank you for this information. I have read through all the Ponant reviews and agree that a cruise which has a North American charter element is definitely not what I'm looking for as it wouldn't necessarily have the French ambience that I AM looking for. So I'll keep looking and cross check for charters. I wonder if they advertise the Smithsonian/Tauck cruises on the French website? 

There's a new French cruising company starting up, might have a look at that.

Thank you all for your help.

Hi Korimako, I am going on Le Bellot in January to Central America, though not Tauck or Smithsonian or an alumni trip I could have booked. I was for awhile a bit terrified because my only language is American English. However I was convinced by a lovely French Canadian couple on my summer Baltic trip who loved their Ponant Antarctica voyage.

 

What I hope to enjoy is a relaxed set of people with no pretensions and great activities and scenery. I have enjoyed Crystal myself for ten years, and have to try other lines while they regroup.

 

I always look for value and the Ponant offers with no single supplement are quite numerous. I already deposited on a 2024 Arctic Circle cruise on Ponant.

[ex-hippie]

Just finished our Tauck Ponant Panama Canal/Costa Rica cruise on Le Bellot.

 

While we had a really great trip, it was more about the off ship experiences, which Tauck coordinates fully. There is a Tauck ship liaison who manages all of the excursions and I'm sure lots of other details. 
 

The entire ship (around 165 guests?) was a Tauck charter - all inclusive. We paid extra for NOTHING. The only thing one might spend extra on is special bottles of wine, the spa or the one boutique. Our tour included 2 nights in Panama City and 2 nights in San Jose, Costa Rica. Most of our onshore meals were included.

 

We had some really special and unique experiences which would have been more complicated to arrange on our own: visiting the rainforest, the biodiversity museum, a village of the Embera tribe, zip lining, hiking with a naturalist, snorkeling. 
 

It was a nice, cohesive group. While some people preferred to keep to themselves, others were more social. We were divided into 5 groups - we travelled together by bus when on land. Some folks opted to relax on the ship, while others were off 2x a day for sightseeing and adventure. 
 

About the ship:

 

Le Bellot is a petite ship. We had cabin 419 - rather small with a very small veranda. We spent very little time in the room. Plenty of storage with a good sized bed (queen/king?). Everything worked fine - room was serviced 2x/day.

 

Food: good but not memorable. Sometimes very good - seafood lunch at the outside grill was delicious. Enjoyed cappuccino is the mornings at the pool deck bar. Main dining room had better food and service than the grill at dinner, but these areas seemed understaffed. 
 

I believe that this ship and this cruise in particular was more about the whole experience. We learned a great deal about the Canal, the wildlife and culture in these two countries. Our tour directors were very knowledgeable about the area - we had daily briefings and lectures, including wildlife BBC producer Tim Martin. This was similar to expedition cruises we've done in the Galapagos and the Arctic on Silversea. Dress code was quite casual and became even more so as time went on.

 

We did not use the spa but we did go down to the Blue Eye Lounge for a timed visit. Very uneventful - the bar was closed. It's a quiet, meditative space. We went to the first night of musical entertainment. While the performers were talented, we didn't feel the need to return another night. We were tired after a whole day of outdoor activities, dinner, wine. 
 

I'm not sure I would book another Ponant cruise if it wasn't with Tauck. We like the way they organize the tours and vet the local companies. 

[Babcia7]

Thanks for your review!  We will be on Tauck's Venice and the Dalmatian Coast trip aboard Ponant's ship Le Jacques Cartier in August.  It will be our first trip with both Tauck and Ponant, so it was good to read such a positive experience.

[Jim_Iain]

Thanks for your review of Le Bellot.   We have booked our first Ponant cruise on her in September to the Great Lakes.  I'm learning more and more about Ponant on a daily basis -  some good and some not so good, but that was the whole reason to take an appetizer cruise to see if it is a match for us.

 

We specifically chose our particular cruise instead of a Smithsonian one but now questioning our decision as it appears our includes no tours and all tours will be additional.   Maybe I just don't understand how Ponant works yet as they aren't sending out any information and pricing until July/August.

[AussieBoyTX]

10 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

Thanks for your review of Le Bellot.   We have booked our first Ponant cruise on her in September to the Great Lakes.  I'm learning more and more about Ponant on a daily basis -  some good and some not so good, but that was the whole reason to take an appetizer cruise to see if it is a match for us.

 

We specifically chose our particular cruise instead of a Smithsonian one but now questioning our decision as it appears our includes no tours and all tours will be additional.   Maybe I just don't understand how Ponant works yet as they aren't sending out any information and pricing until July/August.

 

We took a Smithsonian cruise in Augus and summarized our thoughts here:: 

 

 

The Smithsonian cruises do have a premium price and I expect you'll still pay a bit less on your cruise, even if you take all of the paid excursions. Otherwise, aside from all Americans on board, all announcements in English-only and an extra crew member on board serving as a "fixer", the experiences are similar.