"The pastries, steak and burgers are great and some special orders are good but with those same mix of steamed vegetables.It's great to go to the bridge and watch the Captain navigate tricky channels while the passengers are cluelessly enjoying the views...."Read More
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1-10 of 16 Ushuaia (Tierra del Fuego) Ponant L'Austral Cruise Reviews
This is a journal of our February 27-March 12, 2024, “Exploring the Chilean Fjords” land/expedition package on the Ponant L’Austral. The package includes one night at a 5-star hotel in Buenos Aires, flights and transfers to/from Ushuaia, and 13 nights aboard the L’Austral.
We had cruised from Valparaiso to Rio de Janeiro around Cape Horn in 2011 aboard the Star Princess ...
Cruised to Antarctica but could not go to South Georgia due to bird flu and birds dying. The alternative given were well planned. It's great to go to the bridge and watch the Captain navigate tricky channels while the passengers are cluelessly enjoying the views. Got to see a whole of feeding frenzy from the water thus attracting tons of birds above, lots of pods of ocras, different species of ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
I chose Ponant based on the dates available, as well as a lower single supplement than I saw on other cruises that I researched. Ponant alsoninvluded the flight from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia which was a bonus. I spent a night in Buenos Aires after my flight from JFK, and met the Ponant team at the airport the next morning. The representatives were easy to find and I was quickly waiting in line to ...
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 ...
I have always wanted to go to Antartica, and Ponant ad for this Antartica cruise was in our Travel Paper. Price was really good. The flight from BA to ushaia was quite dreadful, coupleas were not seated together and far to much luggage allowed in cabin. The embarkation was seamless and very welcoming . The ship itself was pristine, hygiene incrediable, service form all staff inpeckiable, the ...
The cruise was amazing. These ships are superb and so smoothly do what they are designed for. Inc getting every out into the zodiacs often. The sights in Antarctica are stunning and the wildlife. Well humpbacks penguins galore and special sights like minkes up close in a zodiac. 6am rise for a pod of orcas and to top it off a blue whale in the weddell sea. The guides and the zodiac drivers did a ...
We chose this cruise because of the small ship size (220 passeners), the fact that it was spending 6 full days at the white continent and that it would be sending us ashore on zodiac rafts. We were very impressed with the friendliness and service by the staff at every level from dining to the excursions. We were very excited about seeing the majesty of Antarctica and the ship's captain and crew ...