On Board Le Soléal — Alaska, Nature on a Grand Scale — August 18 - August 29, 2024

[AussieBoyTX]

Greetings from aboard Le Soléal, currently stationed at Harvard Glacier, College Fjord, Alaska!

 

This adventure has been an interesting mix of familiar pleasures and unexpected changes. Here are the key highlights:

 

• Return of Beurre Bordier and French Cheeses: This is our first Ponant cruise in over a year that wasn’t provisioned out of Australia. Free from Australian biosecurity restrictions, we’re delighted to have our beloved beurre Bordier and some French cheeses back on board.

• Impact of US Maritime Law: Due to US maritime regulations requiring US crew and equipment, this cruise couldn’t offer a typical “Expedition Cruise” with Zodiac landings. We were informed of this format change only a couple of months ago and are still uncertain about all the substitutions. However, we did receive parkas as part of the expedition experience.

• Anchorage to Seward: The cruise package included a night in Anchorage with a stay at the Hilton, which, like many hotels in Anchorage, is a bit rundown and not up to brand standard. The transfer to Seward was well-organized. It started with a city tour of Anchorage, which was complicated by the Anchorage Marathon, followed by an early lunch on the south side of town. The drive to Seward was scenic and included a detour towards Whittier to witness salmon spawning—a highlight of the journey.

• Boarding Experience: Boarding was seamless with no lines, a refreshing change. We were pleased to recognize familiar faces, including the Hotel Manager from our Tasmania cruise and our housekeeper from Antarctica. The Hotel Manager remains one of the best we’ve encountered on Ponant.

• Meeting the Commodore: Our favorite game of “guess who’s the Commodore” didn’t last long. He joined me for breakfast this morning and offered some excellent recommendations for future Ponant cruises.

• Flights and Arrival: Our flights to Anchorage on Qantas were uneventful, though the 20-hour layover in Vancouver was slightly inconvenient. As we’re always cautious about missing embarkation, we arrived in Anchorage two days early. This extra time allowed us to visit the opening day of the Alaska State Fair in Palmer, where we thoroughly enjoyed the craft exhibitions. Unfortunately, we were two weeks early for the weighing of the giant vegetables. We always look forward to seeing the 2000+ pound pumpkins.

• Starlink: This ship has been fitted with Starlink, which is welcome. Upload and download speeds are ~ 1.5Mbps.

 

Edited August 19 by AussieBoyTX

[jpalbny]

Welcome home! (on board a Ponant vessel). We all look forward to your reports. Weird about the expedition regulations; hope it doesn't mess with the experience too much.

 

Good news about StarLink - now we can all look forward to seeing more pictures. Enjoy your cruise.

[highplanesdrifters]

@AussieBoyTX

Always look forward to your reports.  Enjoy!

[jpalbny]

Hope you had a great cruise!

[AussieBoyTX]

First off, Le Soléal and her crew were flawless. It was our first time on this Sistership, and we have no complaints. The crew was familiar, with several staff members from previous cruises recognizing us, which was a pleasant surprise. Some of the highlights came from the captain’s willingness to change course or even stop the ship for a few hours as we were surrounded by humpback whales.

 

The ship’s provisioning matched the best we’ve experienced with Ponant, equal to Europe and noticeably better than our recent Australia cruises. We enjoyed a wide variety of fresh vegetables and fruits throughout the voyage—even on the final days, everything remained fresh. There was a good selection of Bordier cheeses, though sadly, my beloved reblochon wasn’t on board. The only thing missing was Nescafe coffee pods, which didn’t arrive in time for departure. Thanks to the excellent food and late sunsets, we often dined at the Deck 6 restaurant, enjoying golden hour views with our meals.

 

Aside from one miserable day that caused us to miss LeConte Glacier, the weather was extremely cooperative. Most mornings were cloudy but broke into warm, partly cloudy, or clear skies by lunchtime. The true showstopper, however, was witnessing the Northern Lights—twice! Being woken up in the middle of the night to see the aurora was absolutely worth it. The vibrant greens and purples dancing across the sky were breathtaking and an unexpected highlight.

 

The itinerary was very sea-centric, with minimal time ashore. We spent five days at sea and only one full day on land in Skagway. While the scenery was spectacular, the shore excursions became some of our trip’s highlights:

 

• Seward: Our bus driver took a detour, offering us the best salmon viewing of the trip.

• Elfin Cove: A tiny seasonal village, where we independently met halibut fishermen. Over fresh coffee, they shared their challenges with orcas and the fishing season.

• Skagway: The White Pass Summit train tour was scenic and informative. I’d gladly do it again and might consider the full-day Bennett Scenic Journey.

• Sitka: We took an afternoon “Sea Otter & Wildlife Quest” where we saw whales, sea otters, sea lions, porpoises, harbor seals, brown bears, and bald eagles. The tour, run by indigenous Alaskans, was well done and a highlight of the trip.

• Alert Bay: Just off Vancouver Island, we visited an indigenous community, where we learned about their history, saw performances in their tribal hall, and explored a fascinating museum.

 

Ponant’s Photography Ambassador, Cindy Miller Hopkins, was on board, which allowed us to relax a bit when it came to taking photos. While we did capture a few shots here and there, her professional photos will definitely be a nice addition to our memories of the trip.

 

While the ship’s entertainment was talented, it wasn’t really targeted to our demographic. There were two dancers, two singers doing track performances, a guitarist, and a concert pianist. I did enjoy the pianist’s afternoon sessions in the Observatory Lounge, where she performed modern classical pieces—a refreshing change from the usual classical fare.

 

Regarding the itinerary, Ponant adjusted the tour because of US maritime law, removing the “Polar Expedition” designation and replacing Zodiac tours with local boat tours. This likely worked in our favor, as the Sea Otter & Wildlife Quest was far more enjoyable than a Zodiac tour could have been.

 

We still got parkas, though…

 

The American Exploration Team didn’t add much value overall, and at times they felt disorganized or understaffed. However, I do want to call out two exceptional team members—Alain and Petra—who were enthusiastic and genuinely committed to making sure we saw all the sights. Their presentations were lively, and they consistently went above and beyond to enhance our experience.

 

That said, there were some missteps:

 

• At Sitka, a short hike into the forest had only two cans of bear spray for the group, so we all had to stick together at a slow pace.

• During whale sightings, the Exploration Leader repeatedly urged everyone over the PA to come on deck, but I was perfectly content on my balcony with an equally great view.

• The shore experience at Kake involved too many people trying to glimpse brown bears by the river. Had I known how disorganized it would be, I would have opted to stay on the ship.

• The evening briefings weren’t exceptional, but this did lead us to discover a TV channel showing everything happening in the theatre—allowing us to enjoy the presentations from the comfort of our cabin.

 

In summary, it was a beautiful cruise with an exceptional crew, but ultimately too sedentary for our tastes.

[AussieBoyTX]

[jpalbny]

Glad you're back on the boards - we missed you! Thanks for the photos Looks like the scenery was worth the trip and that's a great shot of the Aurora! I'm hoping that we see something similar on our OV coming up next month.

[highplanesdrifters]

Great report! Thanks for tsking us along. 

[JSR]

Thank you for your report. I enjoyed reading it. We have not been on Ponant yet but are considering trying them. 

 

Was the Sea Otter & Wildlife Quest tour through the ship? Or did you book it yourself and if so with which company?

 

Thank you. 

[AussieBoyTX]

2 hours ago, JSR said:

Was the Sea Otter & Wildlife Quest tour through the ship? Or did you book it yourself and if so with which company?

Ponant booked it and it was included with the cruise. We had two boats that were about half full, which was nice.