Ship Condition and Changes under Ponant

[shrkdive1]

We are considering booking a 14 day cruise in the fall of 2023 that includes the Marquesas and the Tuamotus islands.  We were last on the PG in 2013 and had a great time and thought the crew and ship were wonderful.

 

I'm wondering if the condition of the ship has been maintained well since 2013 and what changes good or bad have happened to the ship and crew since becoming part of Ponant?   We cruised with Ponant just once in early 2020 before COVID and did not like their style and food was not near as good as we experienced on PG and even other mainline cruise lines.  We might choose Windstar if the Ponant culture has overcome the PG.  We have sailed Windstar in the Caribbean and enjoyed their sailing ships.

[FieldstonEagle]

The Paul Gauguin underwent a major refurbishment last year and is beautifully maintained. Their loyal guest facing crew, including no doubt some from your last trip remain. I think you will find it better than ever and a much better choice than Windstar.

[shrkdive1]

Thank you FieldstonEagle for your reply. Glad to hear Ponant has put money into upkeep and refurbishment.  Has there been much influence from Ponant in new crew coming that previously worked on other Ponant ships or is the crew essentially the same?   Also does anyone have experience on the food pre and post Ponant.  My experience on my pre-Covid 2020 Ponant cruise was that the food was one of the worst I've experienced on a cruise ship and this was in the Caribbean where food supplies are much easier to obtain.  Choices were limited, bland and I couldn't even get a steak cooked med-rare.

[Tahitianbigkahuna]

Much of the crew that you will come in contact with a the same. Some new French officers ... Chef Paul Ellis is on-board right now, he has been with PG for a long time. My December trip and March trip had fine food, no complaints. 

[shrkdive1]

Looks like we will book a 14 day Marquesas trip in Fall 2023.  I've received the quote from PG; including our 5% discount for prior cruise.  I've seen many comments about finding a TA that may give us some other perks such a OBC but I have typically done my own research and booked directly online.  I don't have a TA I trust and have seen only minimal TAs actually know anything about French Polynesia.  Should I just take a chance with an unknown TA or just go ahead and book through PG directly?

[Wendy The Wanderer]

On 8/10/2022 at 8:45 PM, shrkdive1 said:

Looks like we will book a 14 day Marquesas trip in Fall 2023.  I've received the quote from PG; including our 5% discount for prior cruise.  I've seen many comments about finding a TA that may give us some other perks such a OBC but I have typically done my own research and booked directly online.  I don't have a TA I trust and have seen only minimal TAs actually know anything about French Polynesia.  Should I just take a chance with an unknown TA or just go ahead and book through PG directly?

Well, the issue of knowing anything about FP or the ship boils down to cabin selection, doesn't it?  You could get advice here about that probably. But my TA knows about the PG and about FP, plus they provide a rebate on the cruise fares, so there's no way I would book direct.  Sorry we can't provide names. Do some googling of luxury cruise travel, and ask lots of questions.

[FlightMedic555]

You can ask these questions on Tripadvisor which has a private message functions for some specific responses.

[SWFLAOK]

Here's my opinion after our Marquesas cruise, the Cook Islands cruise, the Papeete to Fiji cruise, and the hopefully Fiji to Bali cruise in January 2023 that they cancelled less than our departure from Florida in April 2020. Our first cruise was a B Veranda stateroom, and we loved the location on the pool deck, and the view from the veranda.  We've always booked B Veranda since then. We haven't always been in the same stateroom, but we've never had a problem with noise, and our room stewards have been wonderful.

[shrkdive1]

Thank you all for your comments.  

 

The last time we were on PG we booked a port hole cabin on deck 3.  While we always book a balcony on large cruise ships, not having a balcony on the PG was no big deal for us as we spent most of our time on deck.  I was just told by booking agent cabin 304 was our best bet.  With the cruise more than a year away I'm not sure why there are not open rooms in the middle of the ship on deck 3 but oh well.  Does anyone have knowledge on why cabin 304 is not a good location?  I know it is in front of the water tight doors that close early mornings if we are coming into port. Anything else I should know about?

 

I don't have a problem moving up to deck 4 and getting a full window if that is suggested as better location.  I just don't think a $7K increase per cabin to have a balcony is worth it for us.

[Tahitianbigkahuna]

Many people book deck 3 as it is the least amount of money. Some are gambling that a lower price upgrade will happen 30 days prior to embarkation. 

 

The PG fills the top cabins and the bottom cabins first .... Deck 6 & 7 are usually the last to fill 😉

[shrkdive1]

Besides cabin 304 on deck 3 we were also told cabins 417 and 418 were available on deck 4.  Are they noisy at all being so close to reception?

[MotuIslander]

On 8/20/2022 at 6:16 AM, shrkdive1 said:

Besides cabin 304 on deck 3 we were also told cabins 417 and 418 were available on deck 4.  Are they noisy at all being so close to reception?

We have been in 419, 421, 423 and we are booked in 431 next year. We have also been on decks 7 and 8 and I would say that 417 and 418 are no noisier than many other staterooms. Easy access to dining and disembarkation level. Not as close to Pool Deck.

[shrkdive1]

Thanks all for your comments.  We are now officially booked for our 14 day Marquesas cruise on deck 4.  After speaking with the PG cruise consultant I am very happy with the room location we chose.  Now we have plenty of time to start preparing to book our pre-cruise stay, dives and excursions,

[Wendy The Wanderer]

7 hours ago, shrkdive1 said:

Thanks all for your comments.  We are now officially booked for our 14 day Marquesas cruise on deck 4.  After speaking with the PG cruise consultant I am very happy with the room location we chose.  Now we have plenty of time to start preparing to book our pre-cruise stay, dives and excursions,

Lucky you!  We loved our Marquesas cruise, and our deck 4 cabin.  Have a wonderful time, and do tell us aboutit!

[Cruisedreamer1]

There is only one cabin on the ship I would avoid and it is 426 which at 4:30 am and 4:30 pm water swishes down the outer wall very loudly. We were luckily able to be moved from it. We have been on all the decks and loved them all. My suggestion is to take the cabin level that enables you to be on the ship the longest, Enjoy!