Jim_Iain - First Non-Celebrity Cruise in 22 year - Ponant vs Celebrity Comparison

[MamaFej]

59 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

I think it will be an adventure and actually starting to get excited.    I keep saying to Iain --- what if we hate it.   LOL   

Somehow, I think you'll be okay.

 

If not, I'll do my very best to try to muster up some sympathy. 😉

 

Alas, I think I've had my last cruise with you and Iain (Summit for 2 last August/September). I hope you will love this new chapter!

[lallak1]

Jim, I’ve just recently starting following your live posts, and have enjoyed them immensely. I live in Milwaukee, so if you are coming in early and need some recommendations, I’d be happy to help!

[1Virgo]

Thank you for sharing what you have discovered and going to try.  I look forward to your experiences and perception 

 

DH and I have been loyal X, but the idiotic frenzy and cuts have made us decide to look to go forward, taking a look at other lines and, land based vacay.   (latter we know we can do a whole lot cheaper in 5* resorts).   

 

A hard decision as we too have loved X and what it once represented 

 

CEO’ s if you read this Forum, do you realize you are losing many long time x ers that HAVE the money to travel, want to, love X, but not at the cuts and ridiculous prices …for less ???

[mchell810]

4 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

 

Iain and I will be embarking on our first Non-Celebrity Cruise in 22 years a week from today.  

 

We have been very satisfied with Celebrity and never seen a need to cruise another line because Celebrity was a perfect match for us.   Celebrity has made some major changes in the past 1 1/2- 2 Years and finally reached the point for us to say -  Loyalty is a two way street.    Kinda like catching your spouse cheating we have come to conclude it is  time for a trail separation and possibly a divorce.   

 

It may take me awhile to get sorted out on how I am going to post a comparison between Ponant and Celebrity and Live Post at the same time.    Ponant is a  totally different products.

 

Ponant's Cruise Critic Forum https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/846-ponant/  is also very different to the very popular and free ranging Celebrity Forum.   Ponant's forum is only 15 pages long and their are no Roll Calls.      Most live post only run 1 or 2 pages and have very little banter.   For this reason I want to be respectful of their Forum and at the same time drive some of you to visit Ponant's Forum and understand their product offering.

 

Four hours since your post and it's already 3 pages deep.  I better hurry and catch up !

 

Looking forward to your comparison as I am mostly only interested in smaller ships now but wonder if Ponant would be a good fit.

[Bejay219]

We will not be far behind you in looking at other lines, we have 2 weeks Madien Voyage on the Ascent in December, booked on Transatlantic on Apex next May but just booked a 31 day cruise for after with Viking. With the changes made this year, being Zenith and only traveling in Suites, switched this year from our usual Celebrity Suite to Sky Suites, we have lost many things. Our dedicated Butler, Evan water, mini bar filled, loss of tips included and loss of on board credit. Now, the only advantage to being Zenith is free laundry.  Over 21 years we have been loyal to Celebrity, but we want our vacations to be worth the price we are paying, and unfortunately we probably will be parting ways also. Glad we have had the opportunity to sail with you both. 

[DaKahuna]

Jim,  I am looking forward to reading about your experience with a new cruise line.  

We are also thinking of jumping ship and after reading Charla’s post about her experiences on MSC, that may be where we will go next.  We still have our 13 day Best of Japan cruise on Millennium next May.  However for the first time in years that is the only cruise we have booked. 
 

[Georgia_Peaches]

Looking forward to following along!

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

Jim, so looking forward to hearing about this cruise.  I too am looking around, Celebrity has priced me out of suites.  I'm trying an ordinary balcony cabin (well, one with a larger balcony) for my Thanksgiving cruise on the Silhouette--will see how that goes.  I love your itinerary.  I have several good friends in Milwaukee I could visit prior to that cruise.

[MamaFej]

40 minutes ago, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

Jim, so looking forward to hearing about this cruise.  I too am looking around, Celebrity has priced me out of suites.  I'm trying an ordinary balcony cabin (well, one with a larger balcony) for my Thanksgiving cruise on the Silhouette--will see how that goes.  I love your itinerary.  I have several good friends in Milwaukee I could visit prior to that cruise.

Linda, it is so nice to see you. I was wondering about you, as I have not seen any posts by you in a while. Maybe I have just not been in the right threads. Anyway, I'm glad you're still around here. 

 

-------

 

We now return you to your regularly scheduled Jim and Iain aficionado thread. 

[MamaFej]

53 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

Jim,  I am looking forward to reading about your experience with a new cruise line.  

We are also thinking of jumping ship and after reading Charla’s post about her experiences on MSC, that may be where we will go next.  We still have our 13 day Best of Japan cruise on Millennium next May.  However for the first time in years that is the only cruise we have booked. 
 

I'm going to need to go look for Charla's review. We've never done the Caribbean, and it's not a high priority, but I do appreciate my fellow Gen-Xer's point of view.

Her budget is WAY bigger than mine, however, her perspective is intriguing and her writing style is fun. 

 

Thanks to everyone who shares their experiences and alternatives to X. We are cruising newbies compared to most folks here, but we have sailed quite a bit in recent years, and on Celebrity more than with anyone else  We have more days booked with them than anyone else. Nonetheless, I am becoming disillusioned, like many others. 

[abbydancer2003]

5 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

I think it will be an adventure and actually starting to get excited.    I keep saying to Iain --- what if we hate it.   LOL   

It's only 8 days, and then you can be done.  But you'll probably enjoy it.  I hope yo do.

 

Glen & I are on Royal Caribbean for 6 days just before we do our Apex cruise in December.  I told him that if we hate it, it's only 6 days (on what might be the worlds largest cruise ship).  We can put up with anything for 6 days.   Next year, we'll do one on Azamara.

 

Have fun.  We' leave for Quebec for 10 days on Princess, where we will have to pay to order food from the app, I think.  

[Mark_T]

8 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

To be honest Charla's live post from MSC Yacht Club was a real eye opener.    We really have an open mind.    I hate to say it is like cheating for the first time and discovering you LIKE IT. 

Agreed, Charla has a lot to answer for 🙂

 

... we have our 2nd MSC YC cruise booked for Feb '24, but still reviewing other options.

Edited September 2, 2023 by Mark_T

[FeebeeH]

Looking forward to your comparison Jim.  My husband is interested in learning about Ponant after a friend had a cruise booked with them.  I didn't even think about the fact staff may be French, or speak French...I flunked French when I studied it for my HSC in Australia....at least my husband speaks what he jokingly calls "Franglaise" - he spoke French fluently up until 5 years of age.

[FeebeeH]

Deleted duplicate post

 

Edited September 2, 2023 by FeebeeH
Duplicate pist

[chemmo]

Oh, I love your live posts!

 

Almost like being there. It will be interesting to read the ‘facts’ of the small ship experience and to get a flavour for the ‘feel’. Over the years I think it has been the ambiance of Celebrity that has kept many of us loyal…

 

How many of us will you tempt to try a dalliance with another?

[hcat]

3 hours ago, abbydancer said:

It's only 8 days, and then you can be done.  But you'll probably enjoy it.  I hope yo do.

 

Glen & I are on Royal Caribbean for 6 days just before we do our Apex cruise in December.  I told him that if we hate it, it's only 6 days (on what might be the worlds largest cruise ship).  We can put up with anything for 6 days.   Next year, we'll do one on Azamara.

 

Have fun.  We' leave for Quebec for 10 days on Princess, where we will have to pay to order food from the app, I think.  

Discovered that we have our old Princess #s from our long ago QM2 cruise...looking at Cunard..same company.

 

When we cruised on Oasis just to try it out  for 7 days..we ended up looking forward to getting off the ship.  It just was not a good fit  for us ... too big,  too crowded, too loud,  poor food,  nothing outstanding. Hope you have a  better experience on your  Royal C cruise!

 

Jim:   looks like the gang's all here waiting for your review!  looking forwad to a something new around here!

[gordylad]

sorry to hear you are not on the 1st leg of the Edge Rome to Dubai would have been good to meet you and the Ayrshire man...

[LouChamp]

Aloha. Have a wonderful time. We are top tier with the major lines and never felt married to anyone of them nor airlines nor hotels.  Except of course Hawaiian airlines lol. But as you say one should not feel married to them and it certainly is a two way street. That said I look forward to following your reports and food pictures of course. Have a wonderful time!

[kwokpot]

11 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

I have cautiously looked at Crystal.   I had a booking with them when they went belly up and wasn't pleased how difficult they made it to be reimbursed.   KInda left a sour taste in my mind.

 

I heard from some friends they were on Equinox with you either last week or this week.

We had a cruise on Crystal booked as a casino comp which would have taken us to India and Sri Lanka but was cancelled due to the pandemic. The resurrected Crystal no longer has casinos. 

[groryjm]

Hi Jim

I'm keenly looking forward to your comparison. We too have considered a change of scene due to the price hikes and apparent drop in quality. I also like Iain apparently snore so we too like the sound barrier of a door in CSs and above

The creeping prices have promoted us to consider trying elsewhere but as we are only 5 or 6 cruises shy of Z we hope to get that first😎

Looking forward to another excellent and informative live  

[rxlowry]

20 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

We had a cruise on Crystal booked as a casino comp which would have taken us to India and Sri Lanka but was cancelled due to the pandemic. The resurrected Crystal no longer has casinos. 

I’ve read that the casinos will be back but no date.  Loved the old Crystal and the new one is looking great.  

[jimbri]

Looking forward to your review.  I'm sure both of you will  have a wonderful time!

[bnurick]

Very much looking forward to following along. We are doing the same thing now. Have 6 X cruises and 2 DCL. Happy sailing.

[Covepointcruiser]

12 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

I will have to feel that one out with Iain.   We love dressing for dinner so no problem with their dress code.   We initially didn't like their "Class Structure" and separation but I guess that is the direction many cruise lines have done with the Suite within a Suite concept.

 

There are so many options and so little time.

 

 

Actually there is little class structure on the QM2.    It is not “in your face” as it is on Celebrity.   You will not board on red carpet or be escorted to special seats in the Theater.     There is one lounge for Grill passengers with a concierge, tea and pastries.    It’s in the middle of the ship on a passenger deck, no windows and nothing fancy.    There is also a bar for Grill passengers with a pianist.    It’s not restricted as we have had many friends join us for cocktails.   The Grill Restaurants are the only really restricted areas.    No outside area to speak of on the QM2.    We really enjoy the themed crossings and last December we were on a Literature cruise with 27 best selling authors (UK) and the Editor of the New York Times book review and the London Times book review.   The crossings typically have some theme or special artists.   We missed James Taylor and Carly Simons but you can see some of their performances on YouTube.    
 

It is something you need to do at least once, consider it.

 

 

[Shiba_Lover]

Looking forward to reading this report.  Our next trip on X is on the Flora in October, which I know I can't really compare to the others, so won't be a good judge.  I've got 3 more booked after that, but do wish I could really use this next one as a comparison.