Three Questions about Ponant

[jimdee3636]

We're long-time cruisers but never on Ponant. We're looking seriously at Le Lyrial on a cruise in September, 2023 originating in Malaga. Three questions:

 

1. Do the crew members (waiters and bartenders especially) speak English?  

2. Can you get a table for two at dinner?

3. Is the "free cruise" offer for real? (On the Ponant site, they're listing under "Free Cruise" a 6-night, no port, Malaga-to-Dakar cruise. That cruise itself is actually not free, but it says that if you book that one, the "ocean voyage" immediately before or after it is free, except for taxes and port charges. The one immediately after it is a 20-night Dakar-to-Santos, Brazil transatlantic. The 6-night Malaga cruise is about $2000 pp, so the whole 26 nights would also be $2000 pp---only $77/day pp. As I say, is that for real?). 

 

Thanks for all insights and observations.

Jim

 

[AussieBoyTX]

1. Absolutely. Almost all hotel crew speak English better than French. 
2. Generally yes. If the ship is full, it’s possible to be offered a table for four in Gala nights. This only happened once for us. 
3. Yes, if the ocean voyage is on the list, it is free (plus taxes). Just be aware that Ponant doesn’t make any commitments on entertainment, restaurant variety and so on. There might also be maintenance on the ship going on and the possibility of arriving at the destination early — you won’t be kicked off the ship, but might feel like the cruise is over. 
 

On the bright side, you might get to hear the crew band and other crew performances and who knows what else might happen?

[parischris]

9 hours ago, jimdee3636 said:

We're long-time cruisers but never on Ponant. We're looking seriously at Le Lyrial on a cruise in September, 2023 originating in Malaga. Three questions:

 

1. Do the crew members (waiters and bartenders especially) speak English?  

2. Can you get a table for two at dinner?

3. Is the "free cruise" offer for real? (On the Ponant site, they're listing under "Free Cruise" a 6-night, no port, Malaga-to-Dakar cruise. That cruise itself is actually not free, but it says that if you book that one, the "ocean voyage" immediately before or after it is free, except for taxes and port charges. The one immediately after it is a 20-night Dakar-to-Santos, Brazil transatlantic. The 6-night Malaga cruise is about $2000 pp, so the whole 26 nights would also be $2000 pp---only $77/day pp. As I say, is that for real?). 

 

Thanks for all insights and observations.

Jim

 

The 20 night Dakar to Santos is 20 days and nights with no port stops (other than refuelling or restocking if necessary). So you'd need to be able to entertain yourself on the ship for 20 days, and if you're bored, you can't get off the ship until the next port, which might be 15 days away if you've had enough after 5 days. I'd happily do it but I also always have a backlog of photography to catch up on. 

Edited January 13, 2023 by parischris

[jimdee3636]

@parischris

Thanks for your comments, but there are actually two port stops that I find quite interesting due to their remoteness and historical significance: Ascension island and St. Helena island (the latter being famous as Napoleon's exile "home"). Although you're probably correct that the primary purpose of stopping at these places is refueling and/or restocking, it appears that the Ascension stop is for about twelve hours and the St. Helena stop about six or seven hours, so it should be possible to get off the ship, walk around, and have time to see things. 

Jim

[AussieBoyTX]

Okay, now that I've looked at the specific cruises...

 

Dakar to Santos is a cool itinerary that I'd like to do, but it's unfortunately not listed as an Ocean Voyage. Also, note that because of the Napoleonic theme, they have four lecturers on board (two speak English) and the entire cruise will work like a normal cruise -- you will get excursions at Ascension and St. Helena, there will be entertainment, restaurants will be operating as normal, and so on. And assuming we're talking about the same cruise, you'll be in St. Helena for almost three days.

 

https://us.ponant.com/transatlantic-napoleon-bonaparte-history-and-heritage-ly141023-12

 

So, that means if you paid for the Dakar - Santos cruise (starting at $13K or so USD), then yes, the Malaga to Dakar is free. I was excited for a moment and was ready to come along with you!

 

The cruises eligible for the offer will have "Free Ocean Voyage" in the header:

 

Edited January 13, 2023 by AussieBoyTX

[jimdee3636]

@AussieBoyTX

Thanks for correctly clarifying the "free cruise" offer, which I evidently misread on the website. The offer would also allow me to get a free Malaga-to-Dakar cruise if I were to book the previous Lyrial cruise, which is Civitavecchia-to-Malaga---not as exotic as Dakar-to-Santos but considerably less expensive.

 

In any event, thanks to you and the others who have posted.

 

Jim

[sailing canary]

20 hours ago, AussieBoyTX said:

1. Absolutely. Almost all hotel crew speak English better than French. 
 

So does this mean the onboard language is NOT French????

[AussieBoyTX]

1 minute ago, sailing canary said:

So does this mean the onboard language is NOT French????

 

Yes, unless otherwise indicated, all Ponant cruises are French & English. The French officers & senior staff all speak French fluently (obviously?) and English to some extent varying from Fluent to something well less than that.

 

Hotel staff are mostly sourced from East Asia and though some speak French, pretty much all of them speak English. The hotel staff who are not from East Asia appear to be mostly French.

 

Cruises targeted to a specific market are clearly marked if they will have announcements in French-only or English-only.

[AussieBoyTX]

Since I'm thinking about it, this cruise is targeted to French-speakers (You may have to switch to the France site to see it, as it's not on the English-language sites): https://www.ponant.com/mediterranee-grande-croisiere-culture-du-figaro-ex290523-1

 

And this to English-speakers: https://us.ponant.com/australia-australia-s-iconic-kimberley-er140424-12

 

[parischris]

10 hours ago, jimdee3636 said:

@parischris

Thanks for your comments, but there are actually two port stops that I find quite interesting due to their remoteness and historical significance: Ascension island and St. Helena island (the latter being famous as Napoleon's exile "home"). Although you're probably correct that the primary purpose of stopping at these places is refueling and/or restocking, it appears that the Ascension stop is for about twelve hours and the St. Helena stop about six or seven hours, so it should be possible to get off the ship, walk around, and have time to see things. 

Jim

So not an Ocean Voyage then - I didn't bother checking the itinerary. Ocean Voyage is another term for repositioning cruises - no excursions etc. 

[irvington]

I don't think I can swing it right now in terms of vacation time or $$, and sounds like it is a one time thing - but that Napoleon cruise sounds really cool.

[parischris]

3 hours ago, irvington said:

I don't think I can swing it right now in terms of vacation time or $$, and sounds like it is a one time thing - but that Napoleon cruise sounds really cool.

Not a one time cruise...expeditions just got started to both islands pre-COVID. It is incredibly popular with French travellers, so as long as Ponant can make the numbers work, they will be continuing to try to visit Ascension and St Helena post COVID. 

[jpalbny]

On 1/14/2023 at 7:50 PM, parischris said:

Not a one time cruise...expeditions just got started to both islands pre-COVID. It is incredibly popular with French travellers, so as long as Ponant can make the numbers work, they will be continuing to try to visit Ascension and St Helena post COVID. 

 

Good to know; those destinations look very interesting!

[Jim_Iain]

I hope you don't mind me jumping into your thread.    I'm just about to book my first Ponant and hoping one of the American Guests might help me understand booking direct with Ponant direct vs a travel agent.   I know that from our friends in Europe and Australia bookings don't work the same as in the U.S.   We are really wanting to try the Ponant product.

 

We travel extensively on Celebrity and have been using a agent that provides good refundable OBC's for booking.   Is this something that is also done with Ponant?   Just curious as my agent is really slow on giving me a quote and wonder if I either need to deal direct with Ponant or find a new agent.    Sorry I'm trying to stay within CC guidelines and only discussing Agent vs Cruise Line in  general.  

[Host Jazzbeau]

You don't really need a lot of OBC on Ponant because so much is included (at least for US customers):  open bar, gratuities, and $250 per person first-cruise OBC.  

 

I booked through my long-time TA to give her some income after the lockdown; no give backs, but if anything goes wrong I know she'll be there for me in a way that the cruise line rep wouldn't be.

[rutgers]

I booked thru an Internet travel agent.  They gave me back $1000.

 

[Jim_Iain]

Never mind my agent was finally able to get things worked out.  

[marieps]

I have a question about Ponant.  Do they have an air program?  We are doing Le Lyrial's Austral Loop in Feb 2024.  Delta's schedule is not open yet to BA and my TA did not mention Ponant air as an option.

[AussieBoyTX]

13 minutes ago, marieps said:

I have a question about Ponant.  Do they have an air program?  We are doing Le Lyrial's Austral Loop in Feb 2024.  Delta's schedule is not open yet to BA and my TA did not mention Ponant air as an option.

 

Ponant does have an air program. I haven't found the pricing to be great, but you do get protection if the flight is delayed. Your TA should be able to give the details to Ponant for a quote..

[marieps]

43 minutes ago, AussieBoyTX said:

 

Ponant does have an air program. I haven't found the pricing to be great, but you do get protection if the flight is delayed. Your TA should be able to give the details to Ponant for a quote..

Thanks for the quick response.