We are now one week into the cruise and I’m sorry to say that it doesn’t live up to its promotion.

On the positive side, the ship and its equipment are outstanding. The same goes for the cabins, the restaurants, bars, and all the people working there.

What’s bad is that expectations fostered by Ponant are not met: this maiden voyage was promoted as a uniquely adventurous expedition going all the way down to the Emperor Penguins. This promotion was misleading: as it turned out, at this time of the year, even an icebreaker cannot reach the areas where the Emperor Penguins abound. As a result, the cruise went as far as ordinary Antarctic cruises go in summer, and we saw only a couple of lonely Emperor Penguins and little other wild life. Read more