BrisbaneGran

This morning I had a phone call from Ponant, to address some of my concerns. No idea how they found "the real me", so that shows good Customer Service! The lady assured me we would be sailing at 8pm. so I told her where to find the Port Authority site that said we sail at 6pm.......now she is confused as well!! LOL...... We wont miss the boat whatever time it sails......will be at White Bay quite early..... packing is almost done!

My wife and I travelled from Cairns to Sydney on L’Austral over new year in 2014-2015.

My memories of the ship are much in accordance with the review posted by Terry and Mike of their cruise on L’Austral’s sister ship.

I really enjoyed the French atmosphere and the small size of the ship. The food was quite good. The only slight problem was that our cruise was part of a longer voyage which meant that 75% of the passengers were French and had already been on the ship for some time. They were a bit cliquey and I think they weren’t altogether pleased when a lot of Australian and other English speaking passengers embarked at Cairns. But I think the barriers fell away a bit after the first few days.

One really annoying part of the cruise had nothing to do with Pinang but with the boneheaded Australian bureaucracy. Every time we mooored somewhere off the coast, the ship was obliged to play us the same long-winded and pompous message in both French and English warning us not to smuggle in contraband or harm the local flora and fauna. After the first repetition, this message became incredibly tedious.

I agree that Bio Security message gets a bit annoying after a while, but you would be very surprised how many people still ignore it, no matter how many times it is played! Recently we sailed across the Pacific from Vancouver to Sydney with HAL.....when we got to around FIJI those messages were played all the time, BUT there was still a huge amount of food confiscated at the gangway every day! Some people just don't listen, or don't think the message means them!

I think the cruise we will be on will be a majority of Australians.....I would prefer a more mixed group.....just over a week now before we get to experience Ponant for ourselves! Really looking forward to it!

I hear you on the safety issue, BrisbaneGran. A bit OT: I have been strongly considering doing an Antarctic cruise before I get too sick to tolerate the often wild seas down there, but even now I worry about potentially falling while getting in and out of a regular side-loading zodiak. Even though I do not fall now and can climb regular stairs, I have heard apparently you have to take a big step up sometimes, as much as 15 inches, into a wobbling zodiak boat, and that even with crew helping it can be a barrier for those who are not able to balance well and strongly on one leg with good thigh muscles to get up and on.

We can go with National Geographic ships that go to Antarctica that have nice stairs going right onto the zodiak from the end, but then those ships are so small they probably get tossed around a lot.

 

A long land based safari might be more doable as long as rest room opportunities, even if primitive, are available every 2-3 hours,.buppas I am both a safety nerd and not someone who likes holding others up, I may have to settle on just memories of our cruise ship excursions in South Africa and Namibia two years ago, and DH’s pictures, and maybe a return for more after I finish a couple other key trips.

we did the Antarctic cruise last year....TWICE, back to back. We decided that while we were there, make the most of it, as we will never get there again. There were a couple of times we opted NOT to use the zodiacs, as it was too rough, but most times we were fine. You have at least 2 crew members ON the dock to help get you into the zodiac, and an Expedition person IN the zodiac to grab you. Even with all that, my husband still managed to fall....luckily nothing broke, not even the zodiac! Don't think I heard of anyone else falling. If it looked too rough, we just didn't go...didn't happen often, usually the seas were like a lake. We also didn't have the Drake Shake at all, Drake Lake on 4 crossings! My main problem with Antarctica was the remoteness "if" something were to happen.......as we have seen just this week. We also had a person die on our cruise, that person would probably have survived if nearer a hospital. Its just something we of a certain age need to be aware of and do what is most comfortable for us! After saying all that, I am soooooo glad we went....it was the best cruise we have ever done!

I agree with this. Although we enjoyed our visit to Addo and to Tala this afternoon, there is no comparison to the time we spent in the Serengeti on a previous, non-cruise, trip.

I also agree with the last two comments, but time is catching up with us now, and a couple of health issues make safaris a bit too adventurous for us these days. I wish we had managed to do this a few years ago, but alas, just have to do what we can safely do now. I am so grateful we managed to do the Antarctic cruise last year. If we had left that any longer it would probably be out of the question too. I realise day trips are just a taste, but also hoping for at least one overnight, and we will be happy with whatever we get to see!

thank you so much for that review Terry and Mike. I have read through it once, and am about to go through it again, slower this time! We saw TWO Ponant ships in Ushuaia, this time last year and they look beautiful! Today I am still reeling from the terrible news that "our" Antarctic Captain, (Seabourn) has passed away just after leaving Antarctica for the final time this season. Its such a beautiful place but so remote if there is an emergency....so glad we didn't leave it any longer.....

We required an Australian passport to cruise from Melbourne to Sydney on Dawn Princess. I don't think it is Ponant being difficult, I think that is just the way it is and it's probably an Immigration Dept requirement.

 

I know we require them to sail from Broome to Darwin.

 

Do let us know how the cruise goes.

 

Cheers,

 

Sue

wow....I had no idea that other cruise lines were also insisting on this. I know of people who have done the 3 dayer type Aussie cruises, and didn't have a Passport at all.....well you learn something every day eh! Thanks for letting me know.....makes me feel a bit better. We are really looking forward to this cruise, and seeing what Ponant is all about. I actually know a crew member from Ponant, but he only works in Europe......he wants me to report back too!! LOL.... They have a couple of other cruises I like the look of, mostly the Sub Antarctic one, but I just don't know if we can handle zodiacs etc again......getting a bit long in the tooth for too much excitement....

We will be on that cruise as well and plan on visiting Addo Elephant Park from Port Elizabeth http://addopark.com/

We are staying on for the 12 day Cape Town to Cape Town as it has an overnight in Port Elizabeth, thus allowing more time for a visit.

we are doing the 12 days extra as well. So far no excursions are showing on the Seabourn website though.

We are doing this cruise next year, in the opposite direction. I would be very grateful if anyone can give me some idea of what overnights are offered, and approx. costs? We will never get to Africa again, so this will be only chance of visiting any Game Parks. The excursions for next years cruise are not available yet, so just some ideas of what we can hope for would be very appreciated.

Ship’s rumours but coming directly from a white uniform with gold bars (so perhaps somewhat credible): Seabourn is investigating what it would take to convert The Retreat on both Encore and Ovation into additional Penthouse Suites...

 

 

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EXACTLY what they did with the 3 Odyssey Class ships......and still didn't learn! So now I wonder how many suites they could fit up there, and how many extra passengers that would add?

Thanks Steve! I will post as many pics as I can, but of course it wont be the same ship....might give a bit of an idea though. This is classed as an "expedition" cruise too, so LOTS of zodiac rides! We did TWO trips to Antarctica last year, so don't know if we will participate in too many of the zodiac excursions. Think we have been there done that, didn't fall out or break anything, so might be time to let the younger ones have that fun! Will give me more time on board an empty ship to take pics!! I will be signing up for some internet, but the pics may have to wait till we get back home.

Our embarkation was in HongKong and yes, just between 4 and 5. I do not remember whether luggage could be dropped off before, but I think so. The cabin stewards had to take it to the cabins and our suitcases were there when we arrived.

White Bay isn't suitable to "drop off luggage"....too far away to be able to go anywhere else.....suppose we will just have to stay at the airport and have lunch there.....wish Id known Boarding times BEFORE I booked our flight!

I hope you won't repeat the experience of an Australian couple - Seabourn cruisers - who complained from the first five minutes we met them in the Austral's theater until the end of the cruise. Best get out your best Australian 'no worries' attitude on this French ship.

I certainly hope we don't have anything to complain about! I know other Seabourn people who really loved their Ponant cruise, so everyone has different ideas of what suits and what doesn't! I am really hoping that the problems so far are just the "on land Office people".....same thing happens at Seabourn.......also had many problems with Scenic, when dealing with their Office people......BUT, once on board the ships, everything is great! The ships crews make up for the lack of knowledge of the office staff........I still cant work out why on earth we have to have a Passport for an Australian Coastal cruise!!

Will be very interesting to see what time we actually get to "sail away" !

another complaint I have is the boarding time. We are not allowed to board until 4pm - 5pm. Seems very strange that a 200 passenger ship, cant be boarded much earlier than that! Even 2000 passenger ships board much earlier than that! How long does it take to clean and make ready, such a small ship? L'Áustral arrives at White Bay at 7am! Going to be a very long wait at the wonderful White Bay terminal! Can you even buy a coffee there yet? We were there not long ago, and they only had about 6 luggage trolleys, NO porters to help people etc etc....

Scenic is another one we are looking at as well! They are also building a second ship! There is certainly a market for the smaller ships!

My cruise doesn't start until March 6, but I always like to write a blog about all my cruises! Not usually in CC, mostly in Social Media.....however I have decided to also write in CC this time, as there seems to be very little information about Ponant, and as a small ship Cruise Line, I am sure there are many people interested in trying the smaller ships.

I have "seen" a couple of the Ponant ships, in the last couple of years......one in Sydney Harbour, and two in Ushuaia.....they are spectacular looking ships!

When we saw L'Austral was doing a 10 day Great Barrier Reef cruise, we decided this was our perfect opportunity to give it a try. (We live in Queensland, so was just an hours flight to Sydney to board this cruise.)

Our cruising history, is mostly Seabourn. We started on the ships with 200 passengers.....those ships were then sold and replaced with 450 passengers..... Seabourn is now about to launch its second ship of 600 passengers.....we have loved Seabourn, but getting bigger and bigger is not of any interest to us. We do like the idea of going back to a smaller ship......

Most of our pre cruise arrangements have gone fairly well, but I think there are a few things Ponant needs to consider, and make changes.

For example......we all know that whenever you travel overseas, you need to have 6 months left on your Passport! Our cruise is from Sydney to Cairns......all in Australia...... we shouldn't really need to have a Passport at all! (We are Australians).......BUT.... my Australian Passport expires in August, so I was told I would have to apply for a new Passport! For me to cruise up the coast of my own State of Australia, I actually LOST 6 months of my Passport!

When I first booked, I noted that I wanted my paperwork, all posted to me. Today I received an email to tell me to print all the stuff off myself.......luggage tags, itinerary, dress code, etc etc...... ok.....this I am quite happy to do with a Princess Cruise, HAL, P & O , Carnival etc etc.....but NOT WITH A LUXURY cruise!! Very disappointed.....I am used to receiving leather (or leather look) Luggage tags, and proper books outlining Itinerary etc.

After perusing all these "emailed" docs......I see that the Sail time of our ship from Sydney, does NOT correspond with the Port Authority of NSW! Last week I phoned Ponant and pointed out that their docs said we would leave Sydney at 8pm........ NSW Port Authority say we leave at 6pm!! I was assured it would all be correct by the time I got my paperwork.....nope.......its still all wrong! Who is correct? Ponant? or NSW Port Authority?

I have been really looking forward to this cruise.....I really hope I can write positive reports! I know I have a lot of fellow cruisers waiting to see what I think!

we will be trying Ponant for the first time in March. We are usually Seabourn passengers, but are looking forward to trying a smaller ship than Seabourn provides now. I usually blog during my cruises, but have no idea what the internet is like or what costs there are on Ponant. Can anyone give me a clue? We will just be in the Great Barrier Reef so I may also be able to use a Telstra dongle?

The QE11 will be opening as a hotel, very soon. Work has been going on for quite some time on both the ship and the Port.

We saw the QE2 docked in Dubai looking rather sad. This was 2 years ago.

as you said...that was two years ago.

You do know that I was posting ironically as the QE2 now sits abandoned somewhere in Dubai. What I was longing for was that as the last true ocean liner, (QM2 has the hardware of an ocean liner but QE2 provided the software as well) it was an experience sadly no longer available on the seven seas today.

You are wrong. The QE2 does not sit abandoned somewhere in Dubai.

We've twice landed on Norfolk Island - by zodiac on both occasions and at different locations. You need an expedition ship to get there, unless you fly of course.

 

I'm just off the Quest and happened to notice that in the new Seabourn brochure the Sojourn is scheduled to visit Tristan da Cunha and neighbouring islands Inaccessible and Nightingale. Anyone booked on this trip had better prepare for a major disappointment. I'd rate the chances of landing on Tristan about 5% and zero for the other islands.

I must admit I have never heard of those islands you mentioned so have just googled! Will be interesting to watch for those "landings". Can you tell me when this Sojourn cruise is? This year or next year?

It's a shame Buddha / God / Mohammed / Yoda didn't realise there were 159 Australians on board and make the wind / tide play ball.

 

At the risk of repeating myself there isn't much Seabourn can do I'm afraid. If alternatives exist the company will swing into action as we saw on Sojourn in the Caribbean but if not then the next port of call beckons.......

 

Henry :)

like they cant do much about including Mooloolaba in their itinerary?? Been there THREE times so far......NEVER been able to stop......Brisbane is about an hour south, docking is in a river....ALWAYS a safe bet......what's at Mooloolaba that is so special?? ummmm well there is a beach......

and this is what people are missing!! Beautiful place!

this is Kingston Wharf.....

we have watched landings at Kingston, done by the very experienced Norfolk Islanders.....and yes, there is a very narrow entrance, through very rough seas, but I don't know if its sand or rocks or reef, but obviously needs a lot of experience to get in and out safely. I somehow don't think the Seabourn Tender drivers would be quite up to the task, I know they are very good, but I doubt Norfolk would be one they could manage safely!

I would imagine that any Itinerary listing Norfolk Island as a stop, will never happen! The same as the Encore has had Mooloolaba on their itinerary THREE times so far.....but not once been able to stop there! Oh well, suppose its much cheaper to put in a Tender place, and not have to pay Port Fees at Brisbane eh?

A ship landing either people or goods at Norfolk is a big deal....it is advertised on the local radio, so everyone can go down and watch! Quite a sight! Would LOVE to see a load of Seabourners being unloaded and craned up to the very high jetty!!