Ponant

Luxury Cruises

Expedition Cruises

Cozumel

Panama Canal & Central America

South America

Costa Rica

Panama

Europe - British Isles & Western

Bahamas

Caribbean - All

Caribbean - Western

Europe - All

Baltic Sea

Mexico - All

Belize

Ireland

Very Good

Le Soleal

L'Austral

Le Ponant

Le Champlain

Le Boreal

Le Lyrial (Ponant)

Le Dumont d'Urville

Le Bellot

Lovely Cruise, Needs some Improvements

We wanted to see Maya sites and wanted to try Ponant. We have sailed on Cunard, Celebrity, Oceania, Windstar, Seabourn, Holland America and Viking - 20+ cruises in all, 6 on Seabourn.

I would say 80-90 percent of the passengers spoke French as their primary language. We enjoyed that.

The officers are French, the staff Indonesian or Filipino.

We were rather taken aback to see the captain and some officers having cocktails before and wine with dinner. I have never seen that before; some other passengers also remarked on this.

Our cabin steward was very good. The service in the dining room was spotty. I wonder if they needed more staff. Sometimes I had to get up and ask for someone to bring us beverages. Unlike any ship I have ever been on, they expect you to order the entire meal at once, including dessert. I find that I don't know if I want dessert until after I have eaten the intial courses. But that is a minor point.

The food was generally good, sometimes very good. Soups are good, but not served hot enough. Breads, as on all cruise linesI have been on, are very good. there was exceptional selection of French cheeses with descriptions of each cheese at the buffet. I tasted many types of cheese I have never had before. Excellent desserts, and the best ice cream I have had on any ship - intensely flavored, both the creams and the sorbets.

The ship is small and has very little space to stretch your legs. Our cabin on deck four was comfortable but tiny. Plenty of space for clothes, however. Furniture aboard, while fashionable and elegant, seemed to be designed for short people - the sofas and armchairs are too low, though deep enough. They do provide plenty of cushions to help one adjust.

The bar service in the main lounge was excellent. Ponant offers free alcohol, but only the basic brands. You have to pay quite a bit extra if, for instance, you want Hendricks gin in your martini. You do get high quality mixed nuts served along with your drinks, which is a nice touch. Why don't all premium lines provide them?

The outdoor pool is tiny, but we enjoyed it. It was a refreshing temperature and had a strong jet enabling a sort of "endless pool" experience. We usually "swam" twice per day. The gym is tiny with the usual stuff. I never saw anyone there. The sauna looks nice, but  too small except for a couple; one sauna for both men and women. Not my cup of tea, but the French, I think, don't mind. Might be nice in a colder part of the world!

There was a Paris Match (the sort of Life Magazine of France) theme to this cruise. There were about 10 people from the magazine on the ship running around, partaking in photo shoots in self-regarding poses. They seemed to be especially catered-to by the staff. I suspect it was all an advertising gimmick for Ponant. I don't see that their presence offered any benefit to the regular passengers.

We got to visit some terrific Maya archaeological sites. I thought the excursions were a bit overpriced. The guides were local, rather amateurish and occasionally contradicted each other's narratives of Maya culture. Would have been a lot better if there had been professional archaeologists/Maya historians to lead the tours. But I understand why they would use local guides as tourism is a huge part of the econmies of Mexico and Central America. A couple of the excursions included lunch. The food wasn't good at either one. On one excursion. we were taken 20 miles up the New River in a speed boat and most passengers were out in the rather intense sun for over an hour without any overhead protection. Not well thought out. That said, the river was nice to see. I thnk this was the first time Ponant has offered this cruise, and they hopefully will work out some of the kinks.

We generally avoid the shows on ships. Went to one which was silly and way too loud. They had a French classical pianist on the ship who I heard was quite good. The only child on the ship was her daughter who was an obviously bright and happy child, poised around adults, and carefully brought-up by loving parents.

Overall, I would say that Ponant delivers a good product in elegant surroundings. And it was fun to be immersed in a bit of France. I suspect we won't return to Ponant, except maybe the Paul Gauguin for a Polynesian cruise. I would say that Seabourn provides a superior experience with better food, drink, service and space, for a similar or even smaller price.

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