Excursions and Tenders Questions from 1st Time Ponant Cruisers

[summerclouds]

My husband and I will be on our 1^st Ponant cruise,  “From Malta to the Adriatric Coast starting May 29^th   As first timers we have a few questions regarding how excursions work on Ponant (our only previous cruising experience has been with Holland America (HAL))  We are English speakers and I understand Ponant provides an English version of the tour either with a separate group or with an English guide accompanying the combined language group.

 

Our 1^st port will be Syracuse, Sicily.  Our itinerary shows us as arriving “early morning” and departing “late afternoon”   I understand we will only be given times the evening before the port, though our Ponant consultant has indicated that it will probably be something like an 8:30 arrival and 5:30 departure (but emphasized that this could change)   

    

We are considering whether to book a Ponant excursion to the Archaeological Site & Ortygia which is listed as lasting 4 hours, but again with no actual time of day.  At the conclusion of the excursion, according to the Ponant description, we return to the port and ship.   Our questions are:

 

1.      Assuming the excursion ends a few hours before the announced on-board time, can we opt to not return to the ship, but continue to explore on our own, have coffee or eat lunch off-ship and find our own way back to the ship?

 

2.      This will be a tender port. 

         A. Does Ponant run the tenders continuously throughout the day?  Are they run on a specific schedule (for example, every half hour)?

 

        B. How far in advance of the on-board time would you advise we return to the tender pick-up point?

 

3. With the somewhat vague descriptions of arrival and departure times, how do folks handle booking 3^rd party local excursions outside of Ponant?  We would do this on HAL when there would be points of interest to us not covered by a HAL excursion.  Is this feasible with Ponant?

 

4. Are there things I should be aware of regarding Ponant excursions that I’m not thinking of? 

 

Sorry for so many questions and appreciative of any insight you can provide us Ponant newbies.

[AussieBoyTX]

Sounds like a fun cruise and we look forward to hearing about it! To your questions:

 

1. Generally, yes, you can opt not to return to the ship with the tour and if there's time, you can go back out. I'd make a point of letting the shore excursions manager know your plans and I'd let the Ponant crew member who is on the excursion with you know when you're separating from the excursion.

 

2. Generally, yes, Ponant runs tenders throughout the day. It will be in the program, but expect 1/2 hour intervals with the time of the final tender posted in the nightly newsletter, at the shore excursions desk as well as on a sign as you disembark. I guess I'd plan to be at the pick-up point a few minutes before the scheduled "last tender," depending on your confidence in your transportation to the pier. If things go wrong, call the ship (the number is on the back of your keycard) and tell them what's happened.

 

3. It is feasible. Generally, the ship is in port by 7:30 or 8:00, but people on excursions have priority disembarkation. Surely the 3rd party excursion providers have worked around Ponant's schedule before and they know what to expect.

 

4. One of Ponant's supreme advantages is they can get their excursions to must-do destinations way before larger ships, giving you a great advantage. These are places like Krka Falls, Croatia, Delos, Greece, Nordfjord / Briksdal, Norway. At all of these, Ponant can get their excursions to the destination as much as hours before larger ships, giving you an almost private experience. If any places like that are on your schedule, I'd take the Ponant excursion over any alternative.

 

 

[summerclouds]

Thanks, AussieBoyTX for your reply.  Most helpful.  

 

I have not written a cruise review before, having somewhat limited experience (two Holland America cruises) but I will give it a try when we return!

[Host Jazzbeau]

6 minutes ago, summerclouds said:

Thanks, AussieBoyTX for your reply.  Most helpful.  

 

I have not written a cruise review before, having somewhat limited experience (two Holland America cruises) but I will give it a try when we return!

Thanks.  If you post in the Reviews area of Cruise Critic, please also start a thread here with your review – many of us in the Boards community rarely read the Reviews!

[summerclouds]

Will do!