AlanR2 Posted November 7, 2014 #1 Share Posted November 7, 2014 Hi all. I am getting ready to book the next Playbill Cruise which is on the "Le Soleil" Ponant cruise line. I am totally unfamiliar with this line and wondering if anyone had opinions about it. We have sailed Regent, Silversea & Seabourn and love them. This one includes some Broadway celebs and sails South China Seas. thanks for any thoughts, Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keltic Posted November 22, 2014 #2 Share Posted November 22, 2014 It's my favourite one. Perhaps it would be considered as upper premium yacht Style. Comparing to others, cabins are a bit smaller but with an awesome decoration from frech guru Jean Phillip Nuel. Ambiance smart casual less stiff than Silversea or Regent. Food for me is perhaps the best afloat being french haute cuisine. Quality has deteriorated a bit, but still great. Shows are fine, good lectures, and friendly crew. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keltic Posted November 22, 2014 #3 Share Posted November 22, 2014 My video of Le Austral Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Floridiana Posted November 23, 2014 #4 Share Posted November 23, 2014 Oh great! I was waiting for someone to write about this ship. We booked a b2b cruise with them from Hong Kong to Osaka. We have never sailed with Ponant. Our favorite right now is Oceania because of the food. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keltic Posted November 23, 2014 #5 Share Posted November 23, 2014 I am sure you'll love it. Everything is small but you will feel like sailing in your own yacht. I've cruised with them seven times and loved every second. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Floridiana Posted November 24, 2014 #6 Share Posted November 24, 2014 keltic, I watched your video, very nice, gives a good impression of the ship. I am looking forward to the French bread and pastries. A question: On ships with mainly American passengers, indoor temperatures tend to be frigid. I noticed that the same cruise line kept warmer temperatures on a ship with mainly Australian passengers. Do you happen to know whether L'Austral cranked up its air conditioning system to icebox degrees or was it somewhat 'normal'? Our cruise is part of a longer land trip with public transportation. I therefore need to pack prudently with the appropriate clothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keltic Posted November 24, 2014 #7 Share Posted November 24, 2014 I usually find ships with american passengers to be quite cold. Temperatures on Ponant are fine for me so they probably have a bit of degrees more. Heating system works fine, and sometimes it's a bit irregular up in the buffet. But I suppose this is due to the constant sliding doors opening and closing all the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Floridiana Posted November 24, 2014 #8 Share Posted November 24, 2014 Thank you for your prompt reply. I'll probably be back with more questions later. The cruise is 4 months off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keltic Posted November 24, 2014 #9 Share Posted November 24, 2014 You're welcome Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Floridiana Posted January 2, 2015 #10 Share Posted January 2, 2015 Keltic, We are getting closer to our cruise, have paid full, and are trying to book excursions offered by the ship. There was no provision on the website and our travel agent said, we had to wait until we are on the ship. Can this be true? We have never encountered this issue before. We always booked what we wanted on line directly with the cruise line and subtracted or added once on board if still possible. On our Ponant cruise, there is one excursion we absolutely want to do. It's to Suzhou from Shanghai. We were in Shanghai recently, so no need to repeat a visit to the same sites. If most passengers are Shanghai newbies, they will not want to go outside the city and therefore the Suzhou excursion might be canceled. We would have to make other Suzhou excursion arrangements long before the cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherrycp Posted June 6, 2017 #11 Share Posted June 6, 2017 How was the Playbill cruise on Le Soleal? We are considering the Iceland cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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