Sea Days on Ponant

We are considering a Ponant cruise in New Zealand, which starts with essentially 3 sea days (two sailing Dusky/Doubtful and Milford Sounds, one real sea day from there to Picton). DW is worried that she will be bored. What are sea day activities like on Ponant? [Especially for English speakers]. Also there will be a Tauck group on our sailing – will we feel left out and ignored?

I will let you know about sea days after our Oct 2018 Antarctica cruise out of Montevideo. We will have 3 or 4 just getting to S. Georgia Island. It was important to have this on our itinerary and worth the extra sea days to enjoy this area vs the usual.

As for Milford Sound etc. We spent a month in this region on Celebrity Solstice and we did get into Milford. However, weather dependent and you have to also realize you could miss that, as well. We disembarked in Milford Sound and took the inside tour they offered which was wonderful. The next port for passengers that did not opt for the tour was missed due to weather. Just an FYI.

I will let you know about sea days after our Oct 2018 Antarctica cruise out of Montevideo. We will have 3 or 4 just getting to S. Georgia Island. It was important to have this on our itinerary and worth the extra sea days to enjoy this area vs the usual.

 

As for Milford Sound etc. We spent a month in this region on Celebrity Solstice and we did get into Milford. However, weather dependent and you have to also realize you could miss that, as well. We disembarked in Milford Sound and took the inside tour they offered which was wonderful. The next port for passengers that did not opt for the tour was missed due to weather. Just an FYI.

Thanks. I had that Celebrity cruise booked for this October [but canceled], and was planning to take the overland excursion from Milford Sound to Dunedin – and had noted the warnings that if Milford was missed that would put paid to the entire overland excursion. OTOH the Ponant itinerary starts in Dunedin and plans to spend day 1 in Dusky/Doubtful Sounds and Day 2 in Milford – my hope would be that we will get decent weather on at least one of those [and Ponant doesn't need to offload pax for the overland trip].

I was hoping that you would have taken your Ponant cruise before I had to decide, because I value your opinions – but with Tauck reserving so many cabins the 2020 itineraries are already showing on Ponant's website with little cabins availability. Thankfully CC just moved all the Ponant threads into the new Ponant forum, and I was able to spend this afternoon reading a bunch of stuff I hadn't found before. The earlier reviews tend to have more negatives; lately everything is much more positive. Here's hoping for both of us!

Truthfully, if you fly all the way to NZ and don't do the inside tour to Dunedin you are missing out. This was one of the highlights of our cruise. More sheep than people but just beautiful and green and lamb shanks to die for. Also, Queenstown was a great stop. You don't want to miss all of this. Celebrity did a very nice job.

One last note: We saw Milford and it was lovely and as I stated prior, the guests that did not do inside tour missed Dusky Sound and it was pouring rain when they arrived in Dunedin. Lot's of sea days for them. This could be a potential problem.

I am excited about our first Ponant experience but for NZ and all it has to offer, I would go with the safest bet and use Celebrity. Just my opinion.

I'm on thin ice with this trip: DW has vetoed it every time up til now because of the length of flight between LAX and Sydney. So for us the 'safest bet' is Ponant because they are the only cruise that stays within NZ and allows LAX-AKL on both legs. But, taking your point, we could fly from AKL to Queenstown [rather than DUD], then get a land transfer to Dunedin to meet the ship – or was the more interesting part between Milford Sound and Queenstown?

I think the most interesting part was between MS and Queenstown. You could fly into Auckland and then take a flight into Queenstown and take a tour of that area. Beautiful mountains and gorges. They invented bungie jumping and quite a facility over the gorge. Really something to see.

Are you missing Sydney after traveling all of that way? We flew into Sydney and had time prior to explore and it is such a beautiful city and harbor. If you are going all that way, please don't miss it.

We flew from LAX to Sydney and home from Auckland. Yes, it is a long flight but I was surprised that it was actually not that bad. You leave at night and arrive into Sydney in the a.m. I would not do it in coach, however. Economy Plus or Business Class is the way to go. Tell DW that my biggest fear this year is having to cross the Drake Passage. I finally just said we must do it while still young enough and healthy. :) "Just Do It" and she will love NZ. One of the most beautiful countries we have been to.

Plan well, and what ever cruise you decide upon will be well worth the long flight time. Best of Luck!

I just checked Cruise Timetables and HAL, Princess, and Celebrity all have some nice itineraries out of Sydney. You can stay in a suite with lots of perks and see it all if willing to go that route. I would try to include Bay of Islands NZ when looking at ports. Quite lovely.

Lot's of options for you because I did check with Tauck and Ponant website and not much left for cabins. It is an expensive trip so make sure you make it the best you can for you and DW. :)

We snagged the last Prestige cabin (next category is 50% more :eek:). After combing through five NZ guidebooks, I'm content with what we will be able to cover on this Ponant itinerary.

Great...looking forward to hearing about your experience. What are your dates?

March 21-30, 2020

March 21-30, 2020

We were there in Nov. and it was beginning of Spring. Cooler weather and very green. Our trips have to coincide with ski season so after Thanksgiving until mid April is always a NO. Can't miss March Madness either. Other than those times, DH is happy to have me plan our great trips. :)

Hi,

You will find there's a big difference between Celebrity (I assume Solstice) with 2800 passengers and Ponant (Le Laperouse with 188 pax or Le Boreal with 260ish). Ponant will be able to go into coves and places Solstice can't, and you will be able to do excursions on the ribs - with Solstice only those doing the overland section will get off, otherwise it's just scenic cruising. Ponant will also be "all inclusive", whereas drinks etc will be extra on Celebrity. Ponant will focus on the exploration side of the trip, so you will be more connected with the wildlife etc.

If you do elect to go with Ponant and go via Queenstown (which I highly recommend) you can do Milford as a day trip to guarantee seeing it, and have the option of going in one of the directions by light plane, which is a brilliant trip!

I'm doing Dunedin-Dunedin including the sounds and the sub-Antarctic islands in March 2019 - I'll report back! :-)

Thanks kasr for the new update. We'll be on Le Laperouse.

Ponant recently announced a pre-cruise extension with 2 nights in Queenstown which will include most of the sightseeing of Celebrity's overland package, so now we have the full monty [and it's even more surefire than Celebrity, because we aren't dependent on getting into Milford Sound for the interior package and we won't miss Dusky and Doubtful Sounds if the weather cooperates]. Very glad we found this cruise. [DW says I can visit Australia with my 'next wife.' After 44.5 years of marriage she means in my widowhood, not divorce :D]

Thanks kasr for the new update. We'll be on Le Laperouse.

 

Ponant recently announced a pre-cruise extension with 2 nights in Queenstown which will include most of the sightseeing of Celebrity's overland package, so now we have the full monty [and it's even more surefire than Celebrity, because we aren't dependent on getting into Milford Sound for the interior package and we won't miss Dusky and Doubtful Sounds if the weather cooperates]. Very glad we found this cruise. [DW says I can visit Australia with my 'next wife.' After 44.5 years of marriage she means in my widowhood, not divorce :D]

Sounds great, you will love Queenstown, it's one of the best spots in the world to visit. Dunedin is nice too, it has a very Scottish feel and is very picturesque.

When is your cruise leaving Dunedin?

I’m sure you’ll love Ponant!

We did Ponant to Antarctica last year, like you i was concerned with sea days, while I’m happy sitting with a book, DH isn’t, he wasn’t bored at all, not that there were heaps of activities, but we did have a few lectures both days to keep him occupied. I’m not sure how the process will work with Tauck, but assume they will have dedicated lectures at set times and your lectures both French and English will be at other times, meals times etc should not be affected.

We have booked to go on La Champlain to the Arctic in August next year, again we have a few sea days but DH isn’t concerned at all.

I did Celebrity to NZ this year, we didn’t get to see the sounds due to a medical emergency, (Ive seen before but many were upset), they are worthwhile and agree that the pre cruise should be great. If i had my choice I’d do it with Ponant over celebrity...

I will let you know about sea days after our Oct 2018 Antarctica cruise out of Montevideo. We will have 3 or 4 just getting to S. Georgia Island. It was important to have this on our itinerary and worth the extra sea days to enjoy this area vs the usual.

 

 

 

We did this trip last year (out of Montevideo as well - easy for us as we live here!). I didn’t get bored on sea days as there is plenty to do: not least the compulsory safety and environmental briefings that you must attend before you can set foot on Antarctic land. We truly loved this trip of a lifetime, so much so that we are considering doing it again in 2019.

If you have any questions about either Ponant or Montevideo, just let me know.

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