Ness71

Latest notice for Australian passengers:

All our global teams are also mobilized in order to best manage the cancellation of future cruises, at least until April 19. You will be contacted personally by our employees who will offer you a Future Cruise Credit, valid over a period of 18 months to allow you to reschedule your cruise. 

Two days ago I feared I would lose my entire cruise fare, as well as all my other costs, so I will definitely accept a credit over the alternative I was facing. I just wish Ponant had called it sooner as it would have reduced some of the other losses. But I get it - they are a commercial enterprise trying to balance the needs of many, including crew.

Aussies are usually fairly relaxed about life, but we are seeing some extraordinary scenes, like normal people getting into supermarket brawls! We haven’t seen the worst of COVID-19 yet so stay calm and be kind to others. There are people a lot worse off than us. Stay well and thank you for your support over a very stressful weekend.

20 hours ago, luxury-lizard said:

Hello Ness71 - so sorry to hear of your situation - as a fellow Aussie also booked on a Ponant cruise from Cape Town to Durban then Durban to the Seychelles departing on March 17, I can certainly sympathise. This will be our first (and now probably last) Ponant cruise - they just don't "get it". We are already in Cape Town so even if allowed to cancel - not sure what we would do as we have an additional 8 days booked (hotels) in the Seychelles and 9 in Mauritius before flying home to Sydney (via Singapore).

 

Given the current situation I would not be surprised to see the Seychelles ban all cruise ships (like many other island nations - now even New Zealand) - who knows what would happen to your cruise then. I will post from time to time from our cruise.

If you haven’t already seen it Luxury-lizard, check out the crew post quoted at the end of this forum. I hope you can sort things out, and you stay safe on your journey home whatever you decide to do. 

14 minutes ago, Zeddog said:

Probably will in the next couple of days - thinking of their crew early is a good sign.  Many of them will return to poverty and no job prospects for many months.

Thanks for the update Zeddog. COVID-19 is going to affect those in the world who can least afford it. Low income earners, casuals, hospitality workers etc will be hit the hardest. Sad and uncertain times for everyone 😪. Stay well.

2 hours ago, djasinsk said:

I am on this same cruise.  Ponant customer service is clueless about this but the Seychelles announced on Monday the 9th that the port is closed to all cruise ships.  Sailing the ship will be impossible unless they totally change the voyage.  They are playing a game of chicken with their guests.  Most likely they will have to cancel the cruise and refund everyone who did not take a credit.  Hang tight and stare them down regarding this. 
 

we can pm about this if you like. 

Thank you for the reply djasinsk.  I am sorry you are in the same boat - figuratively and literally.

I wrote to Ponant as soon as I saw that Seychelles closed the cruise season. The response I received was “Please be advised that PONANT received an agreement with Seychelles Port Authorities to go ahead with this cruise as we are a small ship. So at the day of today, your upcoming cruise is going ahead as planned.” When I queried whether they might extend their terms to include postponement, the response was “...As your upcoming cruise is going ahead as planned, and not going to an affected area, the cancellation fees will be as per our normal terms and conditions.” This was on 11 March.

I am already devastated about missing a long-planned break that I desperately needed. Losing all the money just adds insult to injury... 😪 Fingers crossed common sense prevails, and Ponant comes into line with all other luxury cruise lines, otherwise they may end up with no passengers to fill those beautiful new ships.

Good luck everyone!

Hi Luxury-lizard - I too have accommodation booked in the Seychelles and Mauritius, but I think it is highly unlikely I will be going anywhere now. At least you are thousands of miles away from the ridiculous toilet paper shortage! Seychelles announced a closure of the cruise season several days ago, but Ponant did a special deal because of the small size of their vessels so at this stage your journey should still go ahead. I expect they won’t cancel because Ponant already has our money so even those of us who can’t travel have paid our way. More cruise lines today cancelled all cruises until the end of April so who knows what will happen in the next week or two. COVID-19 is such a moving feast. Whatever happens, I just hope you both stay safe and well, and enjoy the locations you can visit.

I am so disappointed by the response from Ponant re COVID-19. I have been planning and paying off my trip to the Seychelles, Madagascar and Mauritius for 18 months. My Dad passed away in 2018 and I now care for my elderly mother so I have been doing everything possible to keep her safe in the face of this virus. My travel insurance doesn’t cover pandemics, and Ponant insisted on going ahead with the  9 April departure and won’t even consider a postponement. I had no choice but to carry on with my plans - otherwise I would lose the lot. Australia yesterday recommended all o/s travel be cancelled and may yet move to a travel ban. If so, I will lose everything because I also have airfares and pre-paid accommodation, tours etc that won’t be refunded now. I could have salvaged something if Ponant had allowed me to postpone when I asked, but the response from Ponant was firm and very terse. It basically said the cruise will be leaving as planned and if you’re not on it, we’ll keep your money anyway. I also asked what would happen if I reached the Seychelles, developed a fever and was refused boarding and I was told it would be up to the captain and ship doctor as to whether or not I would forfeit the entire cruise fare. How unfair is that! If you are from Italy, China or Iran they will credit 115% of your fare without question. I am also concerned that Ponant has done a deal to be allowed into countries without COVID-19 when those same countries have closed down to all other cruise lines in efforts to protect their own citizens. The government might do the deal, but how happy will the locals be? Look what happened on Reunion Island with violent riots against cruise ship arrivals  - RI is also on our itinerary. The new serenity bookings look after new passengers, while the company leaves already loyal passengers out of pocket. I thought I had found the cruise line I wanted to sail with from now to my senior years, but friends who booked with Princess are being treated much better, with a full refund or credit on offer. If Ponant do not start behaving more ethically, and in line with other cruise lines, I will have no choice but to look elsewhere in future. When my dear Dad passed away, I had two future cruises booked, and I had to cancel them to look after Mum. One company sent condolences and repaid me the full deposit as a goodwill gesture - Ponant took the full deposit amount. I should have read the signs then...

Hi there

I went to a couple of restaurants in Moorea during my last stay, and the fine dining restaurant at the IC Moorea was by far the best. I had a really extraordinary meal there on the last night of my stay. Definitely go out with Dr Michael Poole. I was lucky enough to swim with two male humpbacks when I went out with Dr Poole. You are in deep open ocean though, so not for the faint hearted! I went with ATV which was right across the road from IC Moorea - had a great time. Hope this helps :)

Dr Michael Poole. I spent three weeks trying to swim with humpbacks, and the only time I actually got to go in the water and swim with them were with Dr Michael Poole. An experience to remember...