Ponant Europe - British Isles & Western Cruise Reviews

This was a make-up cruise following COVID cancellations. The itinerary looked interesting, included many places I'd never been, and I liked the starting and ending points. Also, there was no single supplement, something that Ponant offers a lot and I really appreciate that. As to how it went, I love Ponant for so many reasons, it's hard to narrow it down. I'll start with the ship, beautiful, ...

We chose this cruise for the interesting itinerary. We actually did a back to back, staying onboard for the next cruise around Svalbard in the Arctic. Friendly, helpful staff and a beautiful ship, but there were issues. Our bed was two cots with a mattress topper that was different heights. Not the normal bed for a 5th floor room. We could not put our luggage underneath. We always are able to do ...

We enjoy small ship cruising and desired to try a ship/cruise line new to us and we’re taken with starting on the Thames. The ship is new. The physical plant is excellent. The excursions are average to excellent depending on the sites and guides. We had two average and one excellent guide on at three excellent sites. The food is average. The service is impersonal. Waitstaff’s English is spotty at ...

DH and I are veterans of many "luxury" and a few non-luxury cruises, with no particular favorite line. We like to mix and match depending on itinerary, timing, and other factors. We wanted to combine a pre-cruise land trip to Ireland with a classical music cruise, and then a land trip in Scotland, where we would disembark. We booked this one-week port-intensive "Music in Celtic Lands" cruise ...

John and I were delighted to discover this one-off food- and wine-centric itinerary on the L’Austral. We enjoy the French ambiance, excellent food, and great wine onboard Ponant’s ships. This cruise promised more of the same by including a Michelin-starred guest chef, guest experts on wine and cheese, and special wine and gastronomic events. The Ponant Corporate Chef was also onboard this ...

We chose this cruise because of the destination of the Northern Scottish Islands. In addition, they in theory had a strong Covid protocol. The ship, the cabin, the crew, the food were all ok. Clear limitations because of the size of the ship. Less flexibility in dining, entertainment etc. but we expected that. What stunned us was that the ship was half booked wit a bus tour company called ...

This was a Smithsonian Journey and on a previous cruise we met a lovely couple and we became good friends. They had booked this trip and asked if we would consider doing so and enjoy a holiday together. Sadly this trip did not compare in any way with our previous experience while cruising with Ponant. The only special part was meeting our friends. Our cabin left a lot to be desired, ...

Great WiFi and easy to get on and off the boat, great butter and cheese...other than that is was like being on a geriatric prison boat. Same food everyday Extremely minimal service Small Dark rooms with the toilet separate from the sink. No bars to sit at No comfortable seating Morose staff Not enough staff 2 hours to eat each meal and then nothing else... Very little to ...

I am writing this following a April 2019 transatlantic crossing from Miami to Lisbon ( an itinerary to be repeated in 2020 ). This is a wonderful all inclusive experience as PONANT includes fine wines (including French champagne), alcoholic beverages, tips and even WiFi with no additional charge to the cost of the cruise. Cabins feature toiletries from Hermes and offer all the comforts one would ...

Le Champlain is a beautiful, small, expedition ship. We sailed on her from Cayenne to Lisbon-had a wonderful time! Only 43 guests on this voyage and 120 crew-the 11 day crossing felt like a party on your best friend's large yacht. Nationalities of the guests: 5 Americans; 5 Australians; 2 Canadians; 4 from the UK; 1 German; and the rest French. All were well-traveled and everyone mixed well. ...