LeLyrial cruise S.Georgia and Antarctica

[TrulyBlonde]

There are not many posts for Ponant cruises to Antarctica and I decided to provide info on our recent cruise (I returned home this past Monday). Pros and Cons.

 

We chose this cruise because I had read that it is a must to include S. Georgia when going to Antarctica. We embarked in Montevideo on Nov. 3rd and left the ship in Ushuaia on Nov.18th. 

 

Upon entering the ship ( it is gorgeous with understated elegance) but were surprised at how small she was. Upon entering our Deluxe Balcony cabin on deck 5, we were seriously surprised at how tiny it was. Yikes, two weeks in this?  It all felt similar to a river cruise cabin, but we unpacked and there was room for everything. Lo and behold, a knock on the door and they had a letter in hand wanting to know if we would be interested in an upgrade to a larger PH style cabin on deck 6 or the Grand Suite (only 2 on this ship). I put in an offer for both (lower than what was asked) and hoped they would take it. Soon after, there was a knock on the door and we negotiated a price for the Grand Suite. We repacked and they helped us move asap. What a relief to have this beautiful cabin with large bathroom with two sinks, tub and shower, living room, powder room, and large bedroom with storage. All at a huge discount too.  We also had the best butler we have ever had on any cruise line. 

 

Service on this ship is fabulous with everyone smiling and so willing to help with any requests. Very similar to SeaDream for those that have cruised with them.

 

Food was good to very good. The chef was very detailed in his presentation and very few misses for me. However, the cuisine did not go over as well with Americans (I am one) and Australians. I eat healthy and there were many types of fresh salads, fresh fruit, and other items that were not heavily sauced etc. We only had dessert once (this is something we adhere to on all cruises). The dessert was at the Captains reception dinner and it was a chocolate concoction that was so good I had to stick to my regular plan of avoidance. The wines were all very good and the wait staff was never cheap with the pours.

 

The issue we had with dining was the timing of dinner. There are two restaurants with one of them being the buffet. I do not like to eat late and drink wine at 8pm. Both the main restaurant and buffet always started at 7:30 or 8:00 pm. You had to make a reservation to dine in the buffet?? Most cruise lines have their buffet open at 6 or 6:30 for those that do not want to eat in the main dining room. They also have a very small room service menu. I rarely order room service, but due to the rough seas and late dining, we often ordered in. This was big negative to us. 

 

Attire: Most dressed up for the Captains dinner and White dinner. Jackets and ties and nice dresses were not unusual to see at dinner even in Antartica. I do recommend NOT to wear high heals and bring dressy flats. I always bring too many clothes and accessories and not needed here. The parkas included were very nice, as were the Dunlop boots they provided. I had ordered a few outdoor items from the Ponant store and all were of very good quality. The black snow pants were especially well made and I would recommend them. The clothing for sale in the boutique is all very good quality. Stick with the list they provide for this cruise and you should be all set.

 

Now, the negative stuff. I knew about the Drake Passage and was always hesitant to book a cruise due to the nightmares I had read about. I had never heard of the "Roaring Forties" that we encountered on the 4 sea days it takes to get to S. Georgia Island. The waves were 20 to 30 ft and with headwinds, the waves were going over the front of the ship. The bed was like a bucking bronco and closets would open and bang shut all night. 3 nights of this prior to getting to S. Georgia was a nightmare. The second night of the cruise, a passenger died in his cabin during the night. He was not old and made for a very sad start for many on this cruise. We then had 3 days at S. Georgia and had to encounter 3 more rough sea days to get to Antarctica. I was scared and just hoped we would not die. 3 days in Antarctica and then 2 more rough days getting back to Ushuaia. It was exhausting and I stayed in the cabin most of the time with the drapes closed, watching TV, and eating baguettes so not to get sea sick. I could not read because it would make me dizzy and it was not pleasant to sit in the theatre rocking and bouncing around so avoided the lectures too. Many times they had to shut down the elevators ( I always use stairs but for some the elevators are necessary). Also, the buffet was shut down and all of the dining had to take place in the main restaurant. I felt like we were in a white collar prison. I did not know we would have this many rough seas days. I would recommend skipping S. Georgia due to the length of time at sea, the uncertainty of what the seas will be like, and just stick to Antarctica.

 

The good part: the many animals we encountered in S.Georgia and Antarctica. Elephant seals, Fur seals, Waddell seals, whales, sea birds, and of course the Penguins. Adeles, King, Chinstrap, and my favorite, the Gentoos. One issue with the Fur seals is that they were agitated and can be very mean and bite. One growled at me and many people were scared to be around them. After coming in from one of the landings, a woman asked me "How was it? I don't want to see any more damn seals".  They were a bit scary, I must admit.  We would have two landings a day by Zodiac. Only 100 at a time can go ashore and it we were color coded with times. The worst time would be if you had to do a landing a 6a.m.  Yep, that was our luck of the draw LOL!  They rotated so we only had to do it one more time.  

 

Now to keep this short, let me say that I am happy I accomplished this and Ponant is a lovely cruise line. The seas were not their fault, but wanted you to be aware of what can happen out there. I will be happy to answer any questions.

Edited November 24, 2018 by portofinoitaly

[TrulyBlonde]

Excuse any typos, I am getting familiar with the new CC stuff

Edited November 24, 2018 by portofinoitaly

[Geezer Cruiser]

You must have had a better Chef than we had cruising the Irish Sea for a week with Ponant. I had forgotten that making reservations for the buffet is unusual. I guess the easiest way to explain the general impression of the food on my cruise was that they were trying too hard to be "hip"? 

 

An acquaintance, who was flying in business class up front to Europe from America, had the unfortunate experience of the person seated next to her dying during the trip! 

 

Your write-up was terrific! 

 

 

[TrulyBlonde]

11 minutes ago, Geezer Cruiser said:

You must have had a better Chef than we had cruising the Irish Sea for a week with Ponant. I had forgotten that making reservations for the buffet is unusual. I guess the easiest way to explain the general impression of the food on my cruise was that they were trying too hard to be "hip"? 

 

An acquaintance, who was flying in business class up front to Europe from America, had the unfortunate experience of the person seated next to her dying during the trip! 

 

Your write-up was terrific! 

 

 

Thank you. Yes, I do happen to think our Chef was very good. I was surprised to be able to have fresh veggies and fruits (no berries) due to the length of this trip and no place to pick up and dock to replenish. Many root style veggies such as beet salads etc. I am not a vegetarian, but many times I found his vegetarian entrees to be excellent and order them for dinner.  He would do a country/region theme every day for lunch and those were interesting and good too.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Thanks for the review.  We are booked with Ponant next year for Iceland and in 2020 for New Zealand, so if we have smoother seas we can hope for all the good points of your review.  Both our cruises will be on the newer class of ships, where the non-suite cabins are slightly larger (11 sf!) – so I will hope for the opportunity to negotiate an upgrade!

[TrulyBlonde]

I forgot to mention two other items of importance. When flying out of Ushuaia the airline does adhere to weight limit with your baggage. It states you have a charter and many thought they could then not worry about the weight. I had done my homework on this prior and was careful to weigh according to the guidelines prior to leaving home. Thank goodness I did. Nothing worse than having to open your baggage and start moving all of your items around 🙂 It was not a charter flight and many were over the weight limit.

 

Also, I always use the gym on our cruises, especially on sea days. The gym is worthless, with only a few treadmills etc and no free weights. They did offer a Pilates class in the Theatre, but who wants to do that when the seas are 20 to 30 ft. 

[Host Jazzbeau]

I don't think I'd want to be hoisting free weights in 20 to 30 ft seas either!  [But then, the only thing I voluntarily hoist is a wine glass ]

[TrulyBlonde]

18 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

I don't think I'd want to be hoisting free weights in 20 to 30 ft seas either!  [But then, the only thing I voluntarily hoist is a wine glass ]

The French wines were very good and I ordered a lovely Montrachet with my OBC one night to make it more special 🙂 You will enjoy your cruise and highly unlikely your waves will be like mine. 

It is a different type cruise line with over 50% French. They do however, have lectures, movies, announcements etc in both English and French. I enjoyed the International mix of passengers and all ages, sizes, and even some with disabilities that they handled very well. 

Embark early and ask the Manager about an upgrade if possible. The best $$$ we spent.

[TrulyBlonde]

In case you were wondering about the waves...this pic was taken by a photographer on board. 

[Host Jazzbeau]

Thanks!

[Aussieflyer]

We were on the same cruise and whilst I agree with much of portofinoitaly's review, I have to disagree about the standard of the food. We found that overall the standard of catering was very poor. The fish, which DH ordered once, was inedible (very dry and 'fishy' tasting), the red meat was tough, especially the piece of steak I ordered, and the chicken I had was dry and overcooked. We were quite disappointed with the standard. Although there were dishes that were excellent, I cannot say that there was one meal that I would rave about. IMO the catering on Celebrity and Cunard was better and people we dined with who sailed Oceania said that the food on that left Ponant in the dark. Wines and other drinks were very good though.

The other issue with the catering is the layout of the restaurants. Their design means that there is a bottleneck just inside the doors as people line up at the salad bars. As the buffet restaurant was closed on some days due to high seas this made it doubly frustrating to battle through the crowds in the main restaurant. 

We also felt that the standard of their expedition staff was below that of Silversea that we have sailed on before. The lectures and recaps in English were not always well prepared and presented. And also that Ponant didn't quite have a clear idea of what expedition cruising is all about as they seemed to have 'entertainment' more suited to a mainstream cruise. Most passengers on expedition cruises, we have found, are not interested in dance lessons, trivia competitions or origami, or even gala dinners and white evenings.

That is not to say we didn't love the expedition and the locations are breathtaking. We would be happy to sail Ponant again but certainly would not have high expectations for the food and would be aware that it is rather different from other lines.

 

Edited November 27, 2018 by Aussieflyer

[TrulyBlonde]

Aussieflyer,

 

Definitely have to agree with you about Oceania. It is my favorite cruise line. As for the food on Ponant, I always found something to eat and my expectations are never that high on any cruise line. I did not order many meat dishes but as stated, many times had to order room service UGH! At least what I chose to eat was always fresh.

The only big miss for me was the halibut I ordered one day. Mushy, and I sent it back and only had the smoked salmon which was very good vs any other fish dishes.

 

As for sailing on Ponant again, probably not even though it is a lovely cruise line. Unless, we were in the Grand Suite, I would have to pass as the cabins are too small. DH felt this cruise was very similar to river cruising which he detests.

 

Thanks for the feedback. Always important for future cruisers.

 

BTW..I like Celebrity too and will be going to Japan and China next Fall with the newly refurbished Millennium.

[Geezer Cruiser]

My regular Soleal cabin had separate shower and toilet "rooms" European style. As a result, the shower + sink one was far smaller to negotiate, while the WC was more like (a sink-less) airplane lavatory (with "odd" odor as mentioned in reviews elsewhere). Something worth consideration.... 

 

[Aussieflyer]

Le Lyrial had the same bathroom set up though we didn't find it a problem. You are right though that having a separate toilet did make the main bathroom smaller.

[Fletcher]

The seas portofinoitaly describes are not unusual and her cruise was very early in the season.  We were once on a smaller ship - the Island Sky - and that failed to make South Georgia.  But earlier this year I went on the Seabourn Quest and that made South Georgia with no problems at all and we had fairly light seas.  I would urge people to chose a cruise that includes South Georgia - it really is something very special indeed.  

 

portofinoitaly never talks about the landings - did she really never get off the ship?

 

Oh, and here's one I took on the Island Sky - 

[Aussieflyer]

The landings were amazing. South Georgia was so different from what I was expecting and the peninsula was stunning. Loved being the first cruise of the season as there was lots of snow and ice and no other footprints. As I am quite short I found it very difficult to get back into the zodiacs when returning to the ship. It wasn’t till the last day that they supplied a stool which made it so much easier. From memory Silversea had a stool for all its wet landings when we were in the Arctic. 

[TrulyBlonde]

Fletcher,

Yes, if you read my post, I discussed all of the animals I encountered. Antarctica was beautiful this time of year and happy we chose the early cruise. White and pristine only helped enhance the natural beauty. Wilhelmina Bay was especially exceptional and one of my favorites. The plus of this time of year is that the Penguin poo is virtually nonexistent. I have been to the Falklands prior, and once the penguin season gets going, it can have quite the odor:)

 

Too many bad sea days to get to S. Georgia and just my opinion that I would only do the Antarctica portion and skip it. My write-up was to prepare anyone going to this region to know what can happen and expect.

 

 

[CruisingTrav]

@portofinoitaly Thank you so much for writing up your experience. My SO and I are headed out on this same trip in less than seven days and we're both very excited. I'm hoping the seas are calmer than what you experienced, as he doesn't care for waves at all. We did get the anti-nausea patches from our doctors, though.

 

May I ask a few questions that I can't seem to find answered?

 

Are the closests large enough to store away to full size pieces of luggage? We were going to bring one each, and now I'm concerned that there may be too little room to store them. Maybe the staff has other space to keep them, though...

 

And are there enough outlets? I read somewhere to bring an outlet strip (I found one on amazon that has a European plug in, and 6 universal outlets). Do you think that's necessary? We have a variety of cameras, iPads, iPhones, etc. We're American, and I was afraid that the room may only have 1 or 2 outlets that we can use without adapters. Are there USB ports near the bed?

 

Lastly, can I get away with dark jeans, sports coat and tie at the nicer dinners? I'm loathe to bring a full suit, but I certainly don't want to feel out of place.

 

This board has been so helpful!

[TrulyBlonde]

1 hour ago, CruisingTrav said:

@portofinoitaly Thank you so much for writing up your experience. My SO and I are headed out on this same trip in less than seven days and we're both very excited. I'm hoping the seas are calmer than what you experienced, as he doesn't care for waves at all. We did get the anti-nausea patches from our doctors, though.

 

May I ask a few questions that I can't seem to find answered?

 

Are the closests large enough to store away to full size pieces of luggage? We were going to bring one each, and now I'm concerned that there may be too little room to store them. Maybe the staff has other space to keep them, though...

 

And are there enough outlets? I read somewhere to bring an outlet strip (I found one on amazon that has a European plug in, and 6 universal outlets). Do you think that's necessary? We have a variety of cameras, iPads, iPhones, etc. We're American, and I was afraid that the room may only have 1 or 2 outlets that we can use without adapters. Are there USB ports near the bed?

 

Lastly, can I get away with dark jeans, sports coat and tie at the nicer dinners? I'm loathe to bring a full suit, but I certainly don't want to feel out of place.

 

This board has been so helpful!

Since we unpacked first in the smaller cabin before being upgraded to the Grand Suite, we were able to put our two large pieces of luggage under the bed along with our 2 carryons. 

 

We only had one outlet in the Grand Suite for US type plugs. Definitely bring a strip. I do not remember seeing any USB ports near the bed. This was an area that was truly lacking.

 

Yes, a sport coat  and tie will be fine. You might consider bringing a pair of dress slacks to go with it. That is what DH did. He did not bring a suit, but wore his sport coat.

 

Also, I read prior to bring a ski jacket (which I did) but not necessary because most wore their red parka that was provided.  The boots they provide are also great. I brought hiking boots and did not need them. Unless you are planning on hiking in Patagonia during your trip, don't bring them either. More weight. One item I did use were hiking poles. We climbed to the top of a snowy mountain and these made it much easier getting down. 

 

Enjoy your trip and Antarctica.

[CruisingTrav]

4 minutes ago, portofinoitaly said:

Since we unpacked first in the smaller cabin before being upgraded to the Grand Suite, we were able to put our two large pieces of luggage under the bed along with our 2 carryons. 

 

We only had one outlet in the Grand Suite for US type plugs. Definitely bring a strip. I do not remember seeing any USB ports near the bed. This was an area that was truly lacking.

 

Yes, a sport coat  and tie will be fine. You might consider bringing a pair of dress slacks to go with it. That is what DH did. He did not bring a suit, but wore his sport coat.

 

Also, I read prior to bring a ski jacket (which I did) but not necessary because most wore their red parka that was provided.  The boots they provide are also great. I brought hiking boots and did not need them. Unless you are planning on hiking in Patagonia during your trip, don't bring them either. More weight. One item I did use were hiking poles. We climbed to the top of a snowy mountain and these made it much easier getting down. 

 

Enjoy your trip and Antarctica.

Oh, excellent. One last question, if you have a moment. Any thoughts on bringing ski pants vs waterproof pants? Or just bring both?

 

Thank you, again!

[TrulyBlonde]

6 minutes ago, CruisingTrav said:

Oh, excellent. One last question, if you have a moment. Any thoughts on bringing ski pants vs waterproof pants? Or just bring both?

 

Thank you, again!

I brought waterproof pants and you could get wet with the landings. Wear thermals underneath and you should be all set. The Ponant boutique has great waterproof pants and DH bought those and I wish I had purchased them too.  We did this prior with the online store. They are reasonably priced. No need for ski pants.

[CruisingTrav]

I already have both already, so it sounds like I'm all set. I'll only bring the waterproofs 🙂 I will try and post my own review once we're back and settled. Thank you, again!

[gogo65]

CruisingTrav, my husband and my friends husband didn’t even take a jacket, so dont feel like its necessary. The polar trips are very different to Ponant usual cruises. our cruise had approx 50 aussies on board, maybe that’s why it wasn’t required, as we are generally more laid back....

Definetely dont need ski pants, we just wore pants under our waterproof pants, quick dry. 

And lastly enjoy! It’s truly amazing!