Photo Credit: JulieDCanter
Photo Credit: SuzeG
Photo Credit: SuzeG
Photo Credit: SuzeG
Cruiser Rating
Featured Review
Gastronomy, Vineyards & Grands Crus
"ITINERARY
Pre-cruise: Lisbon, Portugal
Cruise: Porto, Portugal; Vigo, Spain; Bilbao, Spain; St Jean-de-Luz, France; Talmont-sur-Gironde, France (canceled); Paulliac, France; Bordeaux, France
Post-cruise: Madrid, Spain; Ávila, Spain; Córdoba, Spain
REVIEW OF THE CRUISE
APRIL 8-10, 2023—LISBON
We have visited Lisbon five times previously on port calls, but this was the first time that we stayed overnight in the city.A small group of women started lobbying to skip the walking tour so that they would have more time to get ready for dinner...."Read More
cboyle
10+ Cruises
•
Age 70s
Filters
1-10 of 112 Ponant L'Austral Cruise Reviews
Review for a Baltic Sea Cruise on L'Austral
Texas travellers
10+ Cruises • Age 60s
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 ...
Read MoreSail Date: May 2023
Review for a Europe - British Isles & Western Cruise on L'Austral
Catlover54
10+ Cruises • Age 60s
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 ...
Read MoreSail Date: April 2023
Review for a Baltic Sea Cruise on L'Austral
cboyle
10+ Cruises • Age 70s
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 ...
Read MoreSail Date: April 2023
Review for a Arctic Cruise on L'Austral
AnnaK1
First Time Cruiser • Age 30s
The ship has been given a makeover and looks great! The team on board is very attentive. We were able to travel in serenity in a bubble of comfort. The food is of high quality and varied. We enjoyed ourselves from breakfast to dinner.
The expedition team accompanied us very well, the guides were all very interesting. They made us discover a multitude of marine species, fabulous birds... ...
Read MoreSail Date: June 2022
Review for a Antarctica Cruise on L'Austral
ncgirl2017
6-10 Cruises • Age 70s
Ponant was our second choice because our first line rerouted the ship we originally wanted because of the pandemic. Ponant was highly recommended and it proved itself to us. Covid took our first choice with Ponant, the Le Lyrial out of the running because of covid, but they had several ships running the Antarctic route and fit us on the Austral for the next day. L'Austral was captained by an ...
Read MoreSail Date: February 2022
Review for a Antarctica Cruise on L'Austral
doccair
6-10 Cruises • Age 70s
We had a generally great trip to the Antarctic. The combination of the Captain and the Expedition leader enabled us to have freguent excursions and landings despite difficult weather. Breakfasts and lunches were good supplemented by great breads and pastries. Dinnners were a dissapointment with the fish and meats not well cooked and often arriving warm. Deserts were also ...
Read MoreSail Date: December 2021
Review for a Antarctica Cruise on L'Austral
JulieDCanter
2-5 Cruises • Age 60s
We planned the trip of a lifetime to Antarctica on Ponant, impressed with reviews, the small size of the ship and everything French about it. We had no idea that the trip would be memorable in more ways than one. We had an amazing 15 days at sea, with highlights including stops along the Peninsula and South Georgia Island with surprise stops at the international research station (because a ...
Read MoreSail Date: February 2020
Review for a Arctic Cruise on L'Austral
PRL1314
6-10 Cruises • Age 80s
We chose the cruise to the Arctic because the ship was supposed to be small. I made a mistake and thought it was 128 passengers. It was 128 cabins. In the arctic and antarctic only 100 passengers can be on shore at any time so ships should be no more than 100 passengers to get the experience. All shore experiences except one were worthless wastes of time. More on that later.
We called Ponant a ...
Read MoreSail Date: June 2019
Review for a Transatlantic Cruise on L'Austral
SteamboatWillie118
10+ Cruises • Age 50s
First of all, on our many cruises we've never had such a warm and fuzzy crew, we felt like part of an extended family, and it was genuine. The crew actually bids to come back to the same ship because they like being around each other. We never witnessed grouchiness or tension among the staff, in definite contrast to the larger cruise ships we've been on in the past.
The service was hence over ...
Read MoreSail Date: March 2019
Review for a Antarctica Cruise on L'Austral
SuzeG
First Time Cruiser • Age 50s
My background being Hospitality, Housekeeping, PR and Compliance I felt the crew, Officers and the Captain acted in a very respectful and lovely manner along with creating a great atmosphere.
• The ship was a small luxurious one and I took into observation myself on what was available and what was limited especially regarding the trip to Antarctica.
• The restaurant staff were very ...
Read MoreSail Date: February 2019
