Tauck Iceland cruise on Le Dumont d'urville June 2021

[Lunar Schooner]

We are scheduled to sail on Le Dumont d'urville around Iceland on June 30th 2021 as part of a Tauck tour. 

Has anyone sailed on this ship on their Jun 16th cruise or is on the ship now?  We are looking for reviews of the cruise and comments on what to expect.

[jonikal]

2 hours ago, Lunar Schooner said:

We are scheduled to sail on Le Dumont d'urville around Iceland on June 30th 2021 as part of a Tauck tour. 

Has anyone sailed on this ship on their Jun 16th cruise or is on the ship now?  We are looking for reviews of the cruise and comments on what to expect.

We are scheduled to sail this route in early August and would also be interested in getting a review of the cruise currently underway.  Unfortunately due to the small number of passengers, there is no roll call and not everyone is familiar with cruisecritic.

[samom]

Me too. Sailing July 7th. I wish Tauck members do not post either on this forum or the Tauck. On Tauck there used to be reviews but I think they did away with those. It would be so very helpful. 

[AussieBoyTX]

There hasn't been a lot of discussion in the French-language forums. One person on the first sailing said that it was "as expected" but didn't have time to elaborate.

 

There has been more discussion on PCR tests and some confusion around that. A text was sent saying that a PCR wasn't necessary and it could be obtained at the Reykjavik airport on arrival. What they didn't say was that you were quarantined in the room until the results came in. This is kind of real-time information and may not apply to the next cruise.

[jonikal]

Visiting Iceland

Last updated: June 28, 2021

From July 1, 2021, there is no longer a requirement for arrival testing for passengers vaccinated against COVID-19 or recovered from it.

Of course airline passengers flying from  the US to Reykjavik will likely still require the PCR test and the same goes for the return flight. Ponant informed us that similar to Viking ships they will also offer to do the Covid test onboard prior to disembarkation.  

[AussieBoyTX]

1 hour ago, jonikal said:

Ponant informed us that similar to Viking ships they will also offer to do the Covid test onboard prior to disembarkation.  

 

They told me this as well today -- but they were unsure what test(s) they could offer, or how they would be executed. One scenario they proposed was having someone come on board at one of the stops to take samples from everyone who wanted a test.

[jonikal]

7 hours ago, AussieBoyTX said:

 

They told me this as well today -- but they were unsure what test(s) they could offer, or how they would be executed. One scenario they proposed was having someone come on board at one of the stops to take samples from everyone who wanted a test.

One would hope that Ponant would have this well organized by now that its ships are deployed in several areas.  They have medical staff onboard, or so they say, so it really shouldn't be a problem.

To avoid potential issues with Ponant's ability to provide this service, it would probably make sense to purchase the Ellume PRC self-test which is compliant with US reentry requirements. 

[AussieBoyTX]

Some comments from someone on board Le Lyrial, currently sailing in Croatia -- not exactly pertinent to this thread, but also doesn't seem to deserve its own...

 - Health checks were thorough.
 - Last minute changes to itinerary due to quarantine.
 - Ship & service was everything expected.
 - Thrilled to be onboard. 

The captain is Rémi Genevaz, who is legendary among the Ponant faithful.

Edited June 30, 2021 by AussieBoyTX

[schnapperin]

On 6/30/2021 at 10:09 PM, AussieBoyTX said:

Some comments from someone on board Le Lyrial, currently sailing in Croatia -- not exactly pertinent to this thread, but also doesn't seem to deserve its own...

 - Health checks were thorough.
 - Last minute changes to itinerary due to quarantine.
 - Ship & service was everything expected.
 - Thrilled to be onboard. 

The captain is Rémi Genevaz, who is legendary among the Ponant faithful.

Rémi Genevaz was the Captain on my Antarctica cruise in Nov 2019 and made some pretty great ice passage / landings possible. Enjoy the trip