Ponant South America Cruise Reviews

We had such hopes for this trip. The ship & itinerary fit our needs on paper but in reality we were disappointed with the execution of this cruise. Not only did embarkation change from Puerto Morelos to Cozumel after booking our flights but the trip was advertised to include diving in Honduras. On boarded we learned Puerto Cortes was a dirty shipping port with no diving. The water was green ...

I was totally excited to be going on this trip with Ponant to Costa Rica. Afterall great destination, French wine and french food... what is there not to like. Well was I sorely disappointed. The wine was mediocre and limited variety. At dinner many nights there was only one red or one white. The food was good not great(except for the special nights) and some of the meals were downright poor. I ...

Everyone has different likes and dislikes. I’m going to summarize what we look for in a cruise vacation which we felt Ponant came closest to an overall exceptional experience and why. My sister n husband ( late 50s very active non drinkers) and my husband (70) and myself(62) - both drinkers and not super active wanted a Xmas holiday experience together. We didn’t want to travel too far from USA ...

Le Champlain is a lovely ship with only ninety-two cabins, 165 passengers and 115 crew members. We felt the on-board experience was excellent in almost every respect and were impressed that most crew members knew us by name, or at least by cabin number and preferences midway through the cruise. Ponant has had difficulties with the local Mexican government and they have been unable to embark ...

We chose this cruise because of our prior good experience on Ponant’s Le Lyrial, as well as the promise of an expedition cruise in the exotic Amazon on a new, small ship. We were not disappointed. Le Champlain is a beautiful boat, elegantly finished in light woods and simple decor. There is no bling, a huge positive for us. There is ample seating inside and out, and even below water in the ...

Chilean Fjords were on my wish list for several years. I chose Ponant because it seemed that the cruise would fulfil my wishes and because there was a special price offer due to a jubilee year and no single supplement. As a lone traveller this is important. I liked the fact that everything onboard was included in the price. Service was excellent and the staff discreet and friendly. The expedition ...

Pretty well everything about this voyage was great. The only concern I had was the obvious lack of experience from some of the expedition crew in their lack of ability and skill in operating the RIB's ( zodiac ). In saying that I was just a bit careful who I travelled with. But all of their lectures were great. And they were quite passionate in what they did in regards to the preservation ...

We chose Ponant for this trip because we were looking for a more intimate cruise experience. We have been on large cruise ships (3000+ passengers) and felt it was time for a more refined trip. One of the best things about being on a smaller ship is that the embarkation and disemarkation process. All of the crew members were courteous and professional. Also, there was rarely ever a line. Once ...

Hello: We did not like : * The shore embarkation and disembarkation on the Zodiac : "wet shoes" * The primary school- like disciplin : prohibited to walk out of the flaged pathways, swimming prohibited, etc … * The disembarkation timing, compulsatory and early in the morning (sometime departure at 6h30), no other possibility of disembarkation if one miss the departure. * The short ...

30 days all up covering three back to back cruises. What stands out above everything else is the impeccable dedication of the staff from Commandant Regis Daumesnil down to the humblest toiler, who would have to be the people who did the laundry. We never saw them but without them, it would have beeen a very different voyage. The Commandant was exceptional in many ways, in particular the ...