Ponant Suspends Operations

[ozzicruiser]

I'm another unhappy ponant passenger. I've only paid a deposit but decided to cancel and cop the 10% penalty. 

I'm not prepared to pay the balance and have ponant hold around $30,000 of my hard earned money. 

I don't trust them and I will never book another ponant cruise. 

 

[AussieBoyTX]

PONANT IS AT YOUR SIDE ONLINE VERSION CALL US: 1-844-747-7685 PONANT is by your side  Dear Mr. AussieBoyTX, When we founded PONANT 30 years ago, we wanted to open up new faraway horizons to you. I never imagined our ships remaining in port or telling you to stay at home. However, it is now our civic duty to do exactly these things.  PONANT is a company that flies the flag for the values dear to sailors: a spirit of solidarity, perseverance and hope. Our entire on-board crew and land-based team at our Marseille head office and in Paris, Brussels, Hamburg, Sydney, New York and Seattle are working for you. Let's work together The size of our ships, our procedures, teams and medical equipment enable us to avoid any contamination on board. Since the lockdown of our fleet, we have devoted all our expertise and our energy, night and day, to arranging our guests' and crew members' return home in the best possible conditions.  By the end of the week, we'll have arranged for each of them to get back home. Additionally, our ships will be kept protected in safe ports until they can sail again. Our commanders, guests and crew members have been exemplary in how they've united in the face of the quarantine measures. It is through working together that we have successfully weathered the first stage of this crisis. By your side, on land From the beginning, you have unfailingly supported us and sent in messages (via telephone, email, social media, etc.) that have truly moved us. I would like to thank you for this; we are indeed a solid and united community. We are set on maintaining this close contact which brings us together. Not only is our website regularly updated about the situation, but we are also going to post a range of inspiring content so we can all carry on sharing our passion for travel and new discoveries. For the moment, we may no longer be able to take you to the most extraordinary places on the planet, but we are going to bring them to you instead!  Beginning this week — on our social media and our online magazine, Escales — you will be able to learn about our favorite idyllic destinations and access interviews with, and profiles of, those who help us understand our planet and make it more beautiful. Feel free to add your comments, anecdotes and travel memories too. We always enjoy hearing what you have to say! You can also read a travel diary written by two of our guests about their experiences in the heart of the Svalbard Archipelago. Expedition story in the heart of the wild arctic regions READ ► In conclusion, I would like to take this opportunity to express my hope that all of you, within the PONANT community, on board and ashore, as well as your families and loved ones, are able to weather this ordeal that we all face in the best possible way. Jean-Emmanuel Sauvée President & co-founder of PONANT us.ponant.com Call us via: 1-844-747-7685 5 reasons to travel with PONANT World Leader of Luxury Expeditions Luxurious small ships Exceptional destinations and itineraries French art of living and refined gastronomy Environmentally responsible ships To make sure you receive future emails from us, please add the address julie@cruise.ponant.com to your address book. PONANT USA LLC - 420 Lexington Ave., Suite 2838, New York, NY 10170 - UNITED STATES OF AMERICA If you have received this message by mistake or if you would like to be withdrawn from our mailing list, click here.    © 2020 PONANT

[samiam1]

Essentially they still have passengers stranded from Le Boreal and Austral. Ponant was not alone in continuing to cruise when they should have been making for port at top speed. 

[AussieBoyTX]

Another update. Some ships canceled into mid-to-late May. Le Ponant cancelled well into June. Be careful -- the dates are sorted alphabetically (April is before March).

 

https://wordpress.ponant.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/CANCELLED_CRUISES_MARCH31st.pdf

[jonikal]

3 hours ago, AussieBoyTX said:

Another update. Some ships canceled into mid-to-late May. Le Ponant cancelled well into June. Be careful -- the dates are sorted alphabetically (April is before March).

 

https://wordpress.ponant.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/CANCELLED_CRUISES_MARCH31st.pdf

 

Thanks for posting this.  Our itinerary starts this July and I'm not optimistic. I haven't checked with our insurance company, with which we insured our deposit, to find out whether they will cover when a cruise is canceled.  A future cruise with Ponant is not very appealing at this point and they will have to make some impressive efforts to get their customers back.

[AussieBoyTX]

This update on the site from yesterday: https://us.ponant.com/blog/covid-19-biosecurity-measures
 

Message from Message from Hervé Bellaïche,
Deputy General Manager responsible for Commercial & Marketing at PONANT

This page is regularly updated with new information as soon as it becomes available.

Thursday, April 2, 2020 

Dear Customers,

As you know, the current pandemic situation has led us to temporarily suspend the operation of our entire fleet until May 15th at the earliest. It is highly regrettable and disappointing to have to cancel or postpone cruises. Our vocation as sailors is to take you traveling the seas of the world, and we know your cruise is an important event that you look forward to with pleasure and anticipation long in advance.

I want to assure you that all our teams are mobilized and focused on dealing with each and every case on an individual basis. If you are affected by a cancelation, you will be contacted by telephone at least 30 days in advance. The list of cruises affected is updated on this website in real time.

I also want to assure you that there have been no cases of COVID-19 infection onboard any of our nine ships. And despite the many difficulties that have arisen all around the world, all our guests who were onboard when the crisis began have been able to return home. One thousand six hundred cruise passengers were thus repatriated during the second half of March.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank you for all your messages of support. We have been receiving many of these since this crisis began, sent from both guests onboard our ships and customers in their places of confinement. We have been moved and touched by every one of your emails, text messages and letters, and by all the tributes paid to our captains, crew members and land-based team members, etc. In addition to the positive emotional effect of seeing our community so together and united, it also provides a source of encouragement we can draw on as we prepare for when the crisis is over.

As they say in the ports and harbors of Brittany, "C’est dans la tempête que l’on juge un marin" (It's in the storm that you judge a sailor). The company is strong, solid, fully motivated, and focused on getting through these events, and once the storm has abated, we will be heading back out on the sea even more determined than ever to take you exploring new horizons.

Some of you, like us, are already looking forward to this. So, with you in mind, we have introduced some flexible and highly advantageous booking terms and conditions. Your faith and trust in us drive our commitment to what we do. We will continue to be by your side.

I hope that both you and your loved ones are in good health and coping as well as possible with the current public health crisis.

See you very soon, 

Hervé Bellaïche

[jland]

Ponant can post all the sentimental messages they like. This was to be my first Ponant cruise, it will be my last. I would never book with a company that does not refund my money when they cancel a cruise. If you look at the list of how cruise lines are treating passengers when their cruise is cancelled Ponant are one of a few not offering refunds. Shame on them. 

[ozzicruiser]

Hi jland, my sentiments exactly, this was going to be my first cruise I've cancelled and I'll never risk booking ponant again. I have river cruises booked that are paid in full which I've also cancelled and they are refunding my money less cancellation fees which I'm OK with better than FCC which won't be worth the paper their written on if the company collapses. 

 

When is your cruise. 

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

1 hour ago, jland said:

Ponant can post all the sentimental messages they like. This was to be my first Ponant cruise, it will be my last. I would never book with a company that does not refund my money when they cancel a cruise. If you look at the list of how cruise lines are treating passengers when their cruise is cancelled Ponant are one of a few not offering refunds. Shame on them. 

 

If you look at an up-to-date list of travel providers' refund policies, you will find that Ponant is not the outlier you claim.  When people take one bad experience and vow 'never again on X cruise line' they rapidly run out of ships to sail on.  Frankly, my bet is that Ponant will be one of the few left standing when the seaspray settles.

[jland]

2 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

 

If you look at an up-to-date list of travel providers' refund policies, you will find that Ponant is not the outlier you claim.  When people take one bad experience and vow 'never again on X cruise line' they rapidly run out of ships to sail on.  Frankly, my bet is that Ponant will be one of the few left standing when the seaspray settles.

I have been keeping a close eye on who is refunding and who is not. I get this info from a very large TA in the US. So far as I can tell the non refunders are Blount Small Ship Company, CroisyEurope, Hurtigruten, PullMantur and Paul Gauguin but they are now owned by Ponant anyway. None of those companies will ever see a cent of my money. I did in my previous post say Ponant was one of a few companies, my research suggests I am correct. I only look at classic cruise companies not river cruises.

 

i agree wholeheartedly with you re people who come on this forum complaining about minor things that have gone wrong on their cruise and then finish by saying they will never cruise with that company again. Most of our cruising has been with Silversea, are they as a company perfect, no of course not. Many things happen on a cruise, every cruise is different even with the same company but we like most other people accept that and carry on booking with them.

 

My beef with Ponant is this. We booked this cruise, the Northwest Passage, with Ponant at a cost of AUS$28000 per person as it is one of the few remote places we haven’t been to. This cruise only goes once a year. The cruise stops at tiny communities, passengers out number the locals. Now Ponant know this cruise will not take place, one local catching any form of virus could wipe the whole community out. Here is the dilemma, they have $14000 of our money do we paid the final payment? If a refund was forthcoming yes we would but we do not want $56000 of our hard earned money tied to a company with who in our option thinks nothing of their customers. FCCs are not worth the paper they are written on.

 

My last point, I am not a money lender. I paid a deposit for a service, I did not pay to prop up a cruise company. There are appropriate companies for that purpose, Ponant should borrow from them not use their customers as unsecured creditors. If Ponant is one of the few left standing they might find many people feel like I do about them and have a hard time filling their ships.

[ozzicruiser]

Jland, check with your credit card if you pay with credit card and ponant cancels the cruise will your  credit card refund your money if you dispute the transaction because ponant failed to supply the service that you paid for. 

[jland]

37 minutes ago, ozzicruiser said:

Jland, check with your credit card if you pay with credit card and ponant cancels the cruise will your  credit card refund your money if you dispute the transaction because ponant failed to supply the service that you paid for. 

ozzicruiser, my understanding is that a credit card refund has to be (in oz anyway) within 90 days of the payment being made, is that your understanding. A credit card refund would help with final payment but not the deposit if my understanding of the 90 day rule is correct. Only good thing Ponant have done is extend final payment until 60 days before sailing. I am pleased about that.

[resistk]

On 3/23/2020 at 3:28 PM, jonikal said:

 

Appreciate the heads-up.  Not auspicious for late June sailings, either.  It's a cascade of cancellations.  Hard to fathom how a business can continue to function after all those losses of revenue.  

Anyone know whether Ponant's cancellation policy directly resulting from Covid-19 would be the same as a new ship's completion being delayed in time for service?  

 

Haven't heard a peep from these guys regarding my April 25 cruise.  Zero communication. 

[resistk]

23 hours ago, jland said:

I have been keeping a close eye on who is refunding and who is not.

 

Some of the biggest are not refunding either like MSC.  I follow Crystal and Cunard and prescious few are seeing any money there either.  The cruise lines in general are guilty of poor communication.  If youhave  money tied up, you at least want to see something in writing from the cruise line stating they will pay.

[jland]

5 hours ago, resistk said:

 

Some of the biggest are not refunding either like MSC.  I follow Crystal and Cunard and prescious few are seeing any money there either.  The cruise lines in general are guilty of poor communication.  If youhave  money tied up, you at least want to see something in writing from the cruise line stating they will pay.

The site I look at still has MSC refunding, also on the MSC forum on cruise critic. Can you tell me what site you got the info from, it must be more up to date than the site I am looking at. I am trying to keep my info current. Now I do agree with you,  applying for a refund and actually getting it are two vastly different things. 

[wacvn]

Also being someone let down by Ponant's lack of communication and lack of social competence, I have followed these posts with great interest.

Ponant also does not seem to reply to requests by the German Consumer Protection body. Verbraucherschutz.de have just published an article on their website, under the section "Warnings". Unfortunately it is only in German, but this is the link anyway:

https://verbraucherschutz.de/reederei-ponant-antwortet-nicht-auf-anfragen-bezueglich-forderung-einer-rueckerstattung/

[resistk]

8 hours ago, jland said:

The site I look at still has MSC refunding, also on the MSC forum on cruise critic. Can you tell me what site you got the info from, it must be more up to date than the site I am looking at. I am trying to keep my info current. Now I do agree with you,  applying for a refund and actually getting it are two vastly different things. 

 

MSC saying non USA passengers will get refunds in 2021 or maybe not at all - that is a very questionnable refund.

 

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g1-i10703-k13276668-o10-Avoid_MSC_cruises_NO_refunds-Cruises.html

 

https://www.hellopeter.com/msc-starlight-cruises/reviews/disappoint-as-msc-south-africa-refuse-a-cash-refund-3031004

 

 

Edited April 5, 2020 by resistk

[Host Jazzbeau]

A word about Cruise Critic guidelines, as their application seems to cause confusion.

(1) It is not permitted to attack other posters, which includes questioning their bona fides or suggesting hidden guideline violations.  The remedy is the "Report post" button at the top of each post.

(2) It is not permitted to discuss or question Board Management.  This is strictly enforced in all forums.  The remedy is to write to the Community Manager at:  community@cruisecritic.com

We all agreed to these Guidelines when we joined Cruise Critic, but I realize that few of us read them at the time.  They are available here: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/guidelines/#guides_disruption

 

These are very difficult times, each of us faces a different situation, cruise line policies and practices are a moving target, and emotions are running high.  Please keep in mind that every member of Cruise Critic has the same right to post their opinions and none of us has definitive facts about cruise line financial conditions or any real ability to predict the future.  

 

For my part, I will take this to heart and try to be more sympathetic to the positions of those (like @Jandl) who face a really difficult decision with no good choices.

[jland]

12 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

A word about Cruise Critic guidelines, as their application seems to cause confusion.

(1) It is not permitted to attack other posters, which includes questioning their bona fides or suggesting hidden guideline violations.  The remedy is the "Report post" button at the top of each post.

(2) It is not permitted to discuss or question Board Management.  This is strictly enforced in all forums.  The remedy is to write to the Community Manager at:  community@cruisecritic.com

We all agreed to these Guidelines when we joined Cruise Critic, but I realize that few of us read them at the time.  They are available here: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/guidelines/#guides_disruption

 

These are very difficult times, each of us faces a different situation, cruise line policies and practices are a moving target, and emotions are running high.  Please keep in mind that every member of Cruise Critic has the same right to post their opinions and none of us has definitive facts about cruise line financial conditions or any real ability to predict the future.  

 

For my part, I will take this to heart and try to be more sympathetic to the positions of those (like @Jandl) who face a really difficult decision with no good choices.

Firstly I will thank you for your response regarding my situation.I thought your previous reply to one of my posts was insulting and added nothing to the discussion. I will add, although I am very worried because of the amount of money we stand to lose, we are equally worried for the Inuit communities that could suffer if Ponant continue with this cruise. To do so would, in our opinion, be criminal. As this is a once a year cruise Ponant could very easily cancel it now. Or is hanging on to our money more important to them. Because of the lack of communication I have no idea what a Ponant thinks. Sad part about it is neither do any of Ponant passengers, no wonder Ponant is on the nose with the majority on this forum.

[jonikal]

Does anyone know when the new cancellation list is due out?  The last one was dated March 31.  Thanks.

[AussieBoyTX]

21 hours ago, jonikal said:

Does anyone know when the new cancellation list is due out?  The last one was dated March 31.  Thanks.

They don't appear to be scheduled, per se -- just updated periodically as necessary. They think some ships will be operating May 15, so I wouldn't be surprised if we didn't get another update before May 1.

[wacvn]

Ponant doesn’t like to cancel, because if they do, they are obligated to refund the payments. I think they will wait until the very last moment.

[AussieBoyTX]

49 minutes ago, wacvn said:

Ponant doesn’t like to cancel, because if they do, they are obligated to refund the payments. I think they will wait until the very last moment.

 

Ponant is currently only offering a future cruise credit that's transferable only a a family member. They also have a promise to give thirty-day notice in the event of a cancellation.

 

The first cruise that's currently scheduled is Le Bougainville leaving from Athens on May 18. I suppose that means we should get confirmation that it's going around April 18. If you believe Cruise Mapper, Le Bougainville is currently in the Seychelles, so Ponant has quite a bit of work to do to gather crew and reposition the ship and that's complicated by Seychelles' current travel bans.

 

 

[AussieBoyTX]

More likely is Le Lyrial (currently at sea off the Azores coast), leaving May 22 from Athens.

 

Le Dumont d'Urville and Le Champlain are currently docked in Martinique. Le Dumont d'Urville is scheduled to leave Aberdeen on May 25.

 

Le Laperouse is scheduled to leave Darwin May 28. It is at sea off the coast of New Zealand, so I suppose that's feasible.

 

The final ship with a May sailing is Le Soleal, leaving Osaka on May 30. It, and Paul Gauguin, are currently docked at Papeete. If they have a crew, that's feasible. Otherwise, French Polynesian travel restrictions make that doubtful.

Otherwise, Le Ponant is docked in Marseille. Le Bellot is at the shipyard in Norway, L'Austral & Le Boreal are sailing in formation off the coast of Mauritania. Le Jacques Cartier is still not listed.

Edited April 8, 2020 by AussieBoyTX

[Host Jazzbeau]

The ships that are docked or anchored have at least skeleton engineering crews to keep everything in working order.  I don't know if that crew level is sufficient to sail.  If so, any of these ships could deadhead quickly to the next embarkation point and the rest of the crew could meet them there.  [Assuming that if passengers can get there, so can crew.]