Le Austral

[grabrush]

I'm considering a cruise along Croatian coastline on Le Austral in July 2011. I'm a first time cruiser and I can't find any information regarding this ship.My husband and I do not speak French and want to know if we will find it difficult to communicate with staff etc on board. Also any information about dining , accomodation etc would be most helpful.

[Mike2131]

I'm considering a cruise along Croatian coastline on Le Austral in July 2011. I'm a first time cruiser and I can't find any information regarding this ship.My husband and I do not speak French and want to know if we will find it difficult to communicate with staff etc on board. Also any information about dining , accomodation etc would be most helpful.

This ship does not launch until the Spring. Her sister ship is Le Boreal and currently sailing in the Antarctic. There are Le Boreal reviews on Cruise critic. Check out the company site and you will find renderings, Le Boreal photos, virtual tours, itineraries, fares, etc. We will be sailing on an Antarctic cruise on L'Austral in December.

[borbo]

We, too, are going on L'Austral this summer and want to hear from you about your December trip.

[jpver]

Find more info on their site:

http://en.ponant.com/

 

Le Boréal and l'Austral are two identical sister ships of 264 passengers.

 

They are flying flying french flag, belong to "Compagnie du Ponant" cruise line.

The compagnie itself is part of the biggest French container shipping line called CMA (Compagny Maritime d'affrêtment) - CGM (Compagnie Générale Maritime) who merged several years agoo.

[borbo]

Thanks for the site...I am most distressed to hear about the food, however. How is it possible for a French ship to have less than marvelous food????

[markscarls]

It is possible to take this ship on a Dalmatian Coast cruise with Tauck, an American tour company, in June and August. Then you would know that there would be plenty of other English-speaking cruisers (about half of the total) and American tour guides. That is what we are doing in early June.

We have done the same thing with two of L'Austral's sister ships. In both cases, the crew spoke English as well as other languages, so it wasn't an issue anyway.

We loved our earlier cruises and thought the crews were great. On Le Ponant the food was sensational -- A+. On Le Levant, it was somewhere between good and very good -- maybe B. Most dinners were very good but one or two were overly creative and just didn't work for us.

Tauck is a very good company. We have taken numerous tours with it as well as the two cruises. Tauck will have local tour guides lined up at each port, buses if necessary, and tickets reserved for the museums, churches, art galleries, etc. you will be visiting. You won't have to worry about any of this. It can save a lot of time.

You can check out Tauck's sailing dates and its itinerary on its web site. Its trip includes a tour of Venice, Burano, and Murano. I don't know if that is part of the cruise package if you don't book through Tauck.

[Mahogany]

:confused:I am booked on Le Boreal for Antarctica next December with A&K. Mike 2131 said he's going on L'Austral to Antarctica in December. Thought L'Austral's itinerary was to Asia. Did you book directly with Compagnie du Ponant?

[bellebaby]

:confused:I am booked on Le Boreal for Antarctica next December with A&K. Mike 2131 said he's going on L'Austral to Antarctica in December. Thought L'Austral's itinerary was to Asia. Did you book directly with Compagnie du Ponant?

 

Hello. We are booked on the same L'Austral sailing to Antarctica in December as Mike 2131. Yes, we booked directly with Compagnie du Ponant (via a travel agent). It is the Dec. 11th ten day sailing from Ushuaia. You should check-out the information on http://www.ponant.com. We'd love to have you joint us. BTW, I think Tauck has a block of rooms reserved on this sailing too.

 

B

[thomastoo]

We just returned from a cruise on LeBoreal. 104 French speaking passengers and 7 English. All the crew speak English and were most accommodating. Lectures were given in both languages and English tour guides for shore excursions. Last year we were aboard LeDiamant and it was 70% English.

We are told most cruises are at least 50% English because Tauck, AK and Grohagan Travel often book all or part of the ships. If one of those has not booked the ship then expect mostly French.

It is a beautiful ship and the crew is very friendly.

[borbo]

Thanks for the info Thomas, but my burning question concerns the food. Another post on the Le Boreal said the food was no spectacular. I am so hoping that a French ship would have excellent food.

[RicoPaz]

I just returned from a Ponant cruise aboard one of their other ships, Le Diamant and my advice is think twice. Our itinerary in Asia was affected by the disaster in Japan and the way the company responded has clouded my view of this company.

 

It's important to understand that the company is based in France and caters to French passengers. From the way the booking was handled, the US office must be one person stuck in a closet in Florida somewhere because both calls and emails were not returned. Aboard the ship the service is outstanding and the food is traditional french with few alternative choices. The crew all look very nice and smile all the time and at the same time seem to have little knowledge.

 

I would expect the new ship to be beautiful but I'm not sure the experience would be worth the high cost of the cruise. More than a few times I questioned, "why is an American aboard?..." and there is no reason to think it would be any different on any other Ponant ship.

 

I didn't not have a good experience, perhaps it would be different on another ship.

[Jade13]

I just returned from a Ponant cruise aboard one of their other ships, Le Diamant and my advice is think twice. Our itinerary in Asia was affected by the disaster in Japan and the way the company responded has clouded my view of this company.

 

It's important to understand that the company is based in France and caters to French passengers. From the way the booking was handled, the US office must be one person stuck in a closet in Florida somewhere because both calls and emails were not returned. Aboard the ship the service is outstanding and the food is traditional french with few alternative choices. The crew all look very nice and smile all the time and at the same time seem to have little knowledge.

 

I would expect the new ship to be beautiful but I'm not sure the experience would be worth the high cost of the cruise. More than a few times I questioned, "why is an American aboard?..." and there is no reason to think it would be any different on any other Ponant ship.

 

I didn't not have a good experience, perhaps it would be different on another ship.

 

Can you tell us more about your "not good" experience? Did you miss ports, etc? You said the service onboard was outstanding. So, what was the problem?

[RicoPaz]

Can you tell us more about your "not good" experience? Did you miss ports, etc? You said the service onboard was outstanding. So, what was the problem?

 

 

Sure.

 

The itinerary was to head to Shanghai and on to Japan. The tragic earthquake/tsunami/nuclear plant caused the itinerary to end in Hong Kong, and most all the passengers not only approved but were relieved. The irritation came when the captain told everyone one thing, then the office sent a letter to each passenger that said another, the guest relations person said various things and the cruise director didn't even know what to say about where the ship would go next, how people were to get home and what the financial situation for the missed ports and altered itinerary would be resolved. Several times we heard that "it was the weekend so nobody's in the office". So while the personal service on board was outstanding, the company back home was out to lunch. A better response might have been for the cruise line to say, "be patient, don't worry and we will take care of each passenger". Didn't happen, and the result was a caucauphony of French expletives.

 

Long story short, many of us made our own arrangements to disembark as soon as we could on our own and let travel insurance sort it out. The disaster occurred 3 weeks ago (?) and the company has yet to provide the appropriate response needed for the insurer.

 

Hate to be long winded but no matter how nice the crew is or how good the food is, one bad experience that could have been avoided made it an overall bad experience. How a company responds in an unexpected situation says a lot about them, whatever business it is. So I would say if you were booked with this company, be prepared.

[bellebaby]

Sure.

 

The itinerary was to head to Shanghai and on to Japan. The tragic earthquake/tsunami/nuclear plant caused the itinerary to end in Hong Kong, and most all the passengers not only approved but were relieved. The irritation came when the captain told everyone one thing, then the office sent a letter to each passenger that said another, the guest relations person said various things and the cruise director didn't even know what to say about where the ship would go next, how people were to get home and what the financial situation for the missed ports and altered itinerary would be resolved. Several times we heard that "it was the weekend so nobody's in the office". So while the personal service on board was outstanding, the company back home was out to lunch. A better response might have been for the cruise line to say, "be patient, don't worry and we will take care of each passenger". Didn't happen, and the result was a caucauphony of French expletives.

 

Long story short, many of us made our own arrangements to disembark as soon as we could on our own and let travel insurance sort it out. The disaster occurred 3 weeks ago (?) and the company has yet to provide the appropriate response needed for the insurer.

 

Hate to be long winded but no matter how nice the crew is or how good the food is, one bad experience that could have been avoided made it an overall bad experience. How a company responds in an unexpected situation says a lot about them, whatever business it is. So I would say if you were booked with this company, be prepared.

 

Hello. I am sorry your cruise was impacted and that Ponant handled the arrangements so poorly. It reminds me of how Celebrity responded to the Century rudder damage that resulted in a termination of the cruise in Nice. They were highly criticized for their lack of communication and assistance.

 

I hope all turns out well for you, but understand how you must be disappointed and frustrated. We will keep the details of your experience in mind.... Thanks for the heads-up. Hopefully our cruise won't get interrupted!

 

B

[borbo]

Where did you get that count-down thing-a-ma-jig at the bottom of your post?

[bellebaby]

Where did you get that count-down thing-a-ma-jig at the bottom of your post?

 

Hi, Borbo

 

If you scroll-up to the top of the Cruise Critic page, there are several categories you can click... User CP, FAQ, Guidelines, etc. One of the categories is Countdown Clocks. Click-on that category and you're all set.

 

There are several other countdown clock websites... one of which is http://www.ucruiser.com. Click on the "Ticker" tab. You could try that too.

 

B

[jpver]

I'm considering a cruise along Croatian coastline on Le Austral in July 2011. I'm a first time cruiser and I can't find any information regarding this ship.My husband and I do not speak French and want to know if we will find it difficult to communicate with staff etc on board. Also any information about dining , accomodation etc would be most helpful.

I don't know if you booked the cruise, but the program "Secrets of the Adriatique" is very nice. Do not miss in Sibenik the Krka waterfalls (20 minutes in a local bus to parc entrance), Dubrovnik is a nice city (all waking historic center), Kotor Montenegro, make a walk upmountain from the town)

Hvar and the other places... very nice. To see the Croatian coast, do NOT take big ships but stay in the small size such as Ponant, Windstar, small Seabourn etc) as they enter or anchor close by, where the big ones are not able to come. Note have given other comments on Compagnie du Ponant on : http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1239220&page=6

[editor@cruisecritic]

We're reviewing L'Austral later this year -- have heard generally marvelous things about the line and so looking forward to it.

 

In the meantime, our UK correspondent was on hand last night for the launch of L'Austral and let's just say, a family-oriented gala event it was not. Her report is quite amusing! It's here: http://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/blog/?p=2784

 

Carolyn

 

Carolyn Spencer Brown

Editor in Chief

Cruise Critic

[bellebaby]

We're reviewing L'Austral later this year -- have heard generally marvelous things about the line and so looking forward to it.

 

In the meantime, our UK correspondent was on hand last night for the launch of L'Austral and let's just say, a family-oriented gala event it was not. Her report is quite amusing! It's here: http://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/blog/?p=2784

 

Carolyn

 

Carolyn Spencer Brown

Editor in Chief

Cruise Critic

 

That is quite funny! We are booked on L'Austral in December for an Antarctic sailing. Would be rather cold for that type of entertainment!

 

We look forward to the review later in the year and your take on the food. Reports from Le Boreal have been mixed. The ship gets very good reviews, but the food seems to be a source of disappointment.

 

B

[borbo]

The show sounds very French and I'm surprised they stopped it. I hope they don't stop the French cuisine for being too spicy!! A little excitement in theatre and cuisine is good for the older cruisers-types, like me.

[borbo]

We're reviewing L'Austral later this year -- have heard generally marvelous things about the line and so looking forward to it.

 

In the meantime, our UK correspondent was on hand last night for the launch of L'Austral and let's just say, a family-oriented gala event it was not. Her report is quite amusing! It's here: http://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/blog/?p=2784

 

Carolyn

 

Carolyn Spencer Brown

Editor in Chief

Cruise Critic

 

Are you doing your review on the May 29th from Venice? I hope so; then everybody will be doing their best.

[keltic]

I will be probably booking for the 19th July and I am looking forward to it.

 

I have been on all the company vessels, and not being a luxury brand (premium yachting style) I have always considered the food to be particularly good. Le Boreal was stunning. L Austral is virtually the twin, except for the softer colours in the decoration.

[borbo]

I will be probably booking for the 19th July and I am looking forward to it.

 

I have been on all the company vessels, and not being a luxury brand (premium yachting style) I have always considered the food to be particularly good. Le Boreal was stunning. L Austral is virtually the twin, except for the softer colours in the decoration.

Thanks for the encouraging news.

[travellingyogi]

This ship does not launch until the Spring. Her sister ship is Le Boreal and currently sailing in the Antarctic. There are Le Boreal reviews on Cruise critic. Check out the company site and you will find renderings, Le Boreal photos, virtual tours, itineraries, fares, etc. We will be sailing on an Antarctic cruise on L'Austral in December.

 

Our family is going on the Dec 21? Are you on that one? We have done Antarctica two years ago with Silversea (the Prince Alberta - now know as the Explorer). We absolutely loved it but their prices are soooo crazy now. Figure we will try a new cruise company. This is one time the ship is not that important (or the food for that matter). The destination is like no other!!

[travellingyogi]

Thanks for the site...I am most distressed to hear about the food, however. How is it possible for a French ship to have less than marvelous food????

 

Hi, I did an Antarctica cruise two years ago with Silversea. We are now going back December 2011 with L'Austral. Please don't be too concerned with the food as this is one time the most important thing is the destination. Silversea's food was not at its best either. You are in the middle of no-where for 17 days and they must bring all the food with them from day one. There is no where to re-load. Every ship will have this problem. Being a world traveller and a big cruiser...you will never see a more unbelievable destination again. Can't wait to do it again!!