Jim_Iain - Le Bellot 9/11/2023 - Live Post - First timers on Ponant

[Jim_Iain]

6 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

And if you offend a French chef (by asking for ketchup, for instance) you may be ‘asked’ to leave the restaurant!

 

LOL --- We use to eat in a French Restaurant in San Francisco regularly and were good friends with the Chef and Partner.   While he would never toss out a customer sometimes the fights between the two owners could be heard from the kitchen.   Luc had quite a temper.     He would then pop out of the kitchen with  big smile and socialize with the guests.  

Unfortunately the restaurant is long gone.

[Jim_Iain]

5 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

Jim, 

 

From all appearances it seems both Iian and yourself throughly enjoyed this cruise and Ponant.  So this begs the questions:

 

When // where is your next Ponant cruise

 

Have you decided to totally abandon Celebrity or just supplement Celebrity cruises with cruises on other lines?  

 

 

We definitely have not abandoned Celebrity.   We have 5 more booked and will shortly book another when we finish 2 more cruises and receive the Double Zenith FREE CRUISE.  

 

In the future I think we will be more itinerary driven rather than staying loyal to any cruise line.  

[DaKahuna]

41 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

We definitely have not abandoned Celebrity.   We have 5 more booked and will shortly book another when we finish 2 more cruises and receive the Double Zenith FREE CRUISE.  

 

In the future I think we will be more itinerary driven rather than staying loyal to any cruise line.  

 

 We are not sure what our plans are at this point.  As you know we are giving MSC a try this February and have Millie booked for May.  After that I am pretty sure we are going to be more itinerary driven as well.  

 

 Looking forward to continue to following you in the future. 

 

[ORD1166]

Jim_Iain,

 

Enjoyed your review.  And sounds like you both had a great time on this new adventure.  Linda & I are looking forward to meeting both of you next year on Solstice sailing from Honolulu.

 

Vic

[Jim_Iain]

22 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

 

 We are not sure what our plans are at this point.  As you know we are giving MSC a try this February and have Millie booked for May.  After that I am pretty sure we are going to be more itinerary driven as well.  

 

 Looking forward to continue to following you in the future. 

 

 

I hope you Live Post your MSC experience.   I will definitely pull up a chair in the front row.

[Jim_Iain]

2 hours ago, ORD1166 said:

Jim_Iain,

 

Enjoyed your review.  And sounds like you both had a great time on this new adventure.  Linda & I are looking forward to meeting both of you next year on Solstice sailing from Honolulu.

 

Vic

 

Vic -

Thanks -   March 2024 seems so far away but sure it will be here before we know.   May be an interesting cruise for us.    If i've calculated right we should hit Double Zenith on the first leg from Sydney. 

[LSEA]

Thank you for letting me follow along on your journey.  This is quite an intriguing cruise line and itinerary. I have to say the "snack" they served you on your excursion looked delightful, but certainly atypical of what I would have been expecting.   Thanks again for your generosity, I know a live thread takes time, and it is very much appreciated.

[MisterMet]

On 9/14/2023 at 5:33 PM, Jim_Iain said:

Great hike to top of Cup and Saucer.   6 mile invigorating climb 

 

 

 

 

Really beautiful 

[DaKahuna]

3 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

I hope you Live Post your MSC experience.   I will definitely pull up a chair in the front row.

 

Both @JamieLogical will be on that cruise so I am sure one of us will be blogging, although I have not heard great things about their internet service.  I may end up having to upgrade my WiFi since the included is browse not stream for the YC.  

 

[sanne]

Were you happy with your cabin 618? I’m about to deposit and it was that one or 608. Thanks for your help in making my decision. 

[Jim_Iain]

On 9/20/2023 at 11:09 AM, sanne said:

Were you happy with your cabin 618? I’m about to deposit and it was that one or 608. Thanks for your help in making my decision. 

Really liked the Cabin.  No sounds at all from Rooms on both side or from hallway.  
 

I would book it again. 

[Jim_Iain]

On 9/19/2023 at 6:02 PM, DaKahuna said:

 

Both @JamieLogical will be on that cruise so I am sure one of us will be blogging, although I have not heard great things about their internet service.  I may end up having to upgrade my WiFi since the included is browse not stream for the YC.  

 

Good.  Have fun 

[sanne]

5 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

Really liked the Cabin.  No sounds at all from Rooms on both side or from hallway.  
 

I would book it again. 

Thank you so much for reassuring me about cabin 618…I went ahead and booked it. Now I’m getting excited about my cruise, 6 weeks to go. 

[hrchupp]

Thanks for sharing your experience! I'll be taking Le Dumont-d'Urville on the same route next month.

[Jim_Iain]

On 9/21/2023 at 10:37 PM, sanne said:

Thank you so much for reassuring me about cabin 618…I went ahead and booked it. Now I’m getting excited about my cruise, 6 weeks to go. 

It is situate in between two Suites and I often commented I never heard a squeak.   If you haven't sailed Le Bellot yet -  one think I liked was next to the door is a panel with two button -  Do Not Disturb and Make up Room.   

[Jim_Iain]

23 minutes ago, hrchupp said:

Thanks for sharing your experience! I'll be taking Le Dumont-d'Urville on the same route next month.

 

Fantastic -   I was watcher her prior our cruise to figure out where she docked  - using Cruise Mapper.     Enjoy.

[philbob84]

is the cruise still on going? Would you do Ponant again? Recommend for a 40 year old?

[jpalbny]

3 hours ago, philbob84 said:

is the cruise still on going? Would you do Ponant again? Recommend for a 40 year old?

 

I think their cruise was only a week long so it's over now.

 

Ponant's expedition cruises would be just fine for someone in that age group. We are "about" 10 years older and we did their trip to Indonesia in March. Loved it. Trip report in my signature.

 

Ultimately you'll have to try it and see for yourself but we are very happy with their product.

 

One thing I'll say about Ponant; when they go hiking it's NOT a slow amble like many other cruise lines do. You can get lazy if you're used to other "hiking" speeds. You've got to move it to keep up (which we actually like)!

[Jim_Iain]

5 hours ago, philbob84 said:

is the cruise still on going? Would you do Ponant again? Recommend for a 40 year old?

 

The cruise was only 7 days.   As many others may suggest it is far too short of a cruise. 

 

We really enjoyed it.    The majority of the passengers on our cruise were were in the 60+ age group but there were a number of guests in their 30's and 40's.    We met a number of guests in their 40's and they very much enjoyed the cruise and said they would do another.

 

On our particular cruise there were a number of families (no children) -  

 

One thing I noticed was nearly 100% of the passengers were very fit and mobile.   I think I only saw a couple walkers and no wheel chairs. 

 

The do offer tours for both those that want something strenuous and ones that are very relaxed and not requiring a lot of stamina.     

Edited September 24, 2023 by Jim_Iain

[Jim_Iain]

2 hours ago, jpalbny said:

 

I think their cruise was only a week long so it's over now.

 

Ponant's expedition cruises would be just fine for someone in that age group. We are "about" 10 years older and we did their trip to Indonesia in March. Loved it. Trip report in my signature.

 

Ultimately you'll have to try it and see for yourself but we are very happy with their product.

 

One thing I'll say about Ponant; when they go hiking it's NOT a slow amble like many other cruise lines do. You can get lazy if you're used to other "hiking" speeds. You've got to move it to keep up (which we actually like)!

 

You hit it on the nail.    Even on our strenuous climb to the top of Cup and Saucer most of the group kept up with the guide that was moving a fast past -    they did have a guide at the back of the group to move those on that were poking along.   I had a tendency to stay in front of the guide.  

 

On all of our tours they had headphones with transceivers so all could easily hear the guides.  They had both English and French speaking guides and all were able to feel part of the group.

 

Nothing like the Major Cruise lines where you almost always have some that book something well beyond their agility and hold up the whole group. 

 

Your trip report of Indonesia has made us want to do a similar itinerary. 

[ethan1171]

Such lovely report Jim! Wonderful to follow through your adventures. We used to be almost your neighbors -  we used to live in Mountain View in the late  '90s and 20 years ago moved at the coast in Half Moon Bay. Truly amazing Bay Area 🙂 

 

My husband and I took our first Ponant cruise when we went to Antarctica last year and we were super impressed and can not wait for our next voyage with them in Papua New Guinea. I have posted our experience in Antarctica here - https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2832398-on-lyrial-feb-20-emblematic-antarctica/ but definitely less detailed than yours. Maybe I can learn and do better on our next one with Le Lapérouse

 

We have cruised extensively with Princess - (30+ cruises) and after just coming back from one in the Western Mediterranean (Barcelona- Gibraltar - Marseilles - Genoa - Florence - Rome), with Enchanted Princess, one of those mega cruise ships, and reading your report, I could for sure appreciate what Ponant offers in a smaller and much more intimate cruise experience.

 

We love Princess for what they offer - their product is actually pretty good, we usually get a mini-suite for a great price and tons of benefits due to our status, and their itineraries are great so I am sure we will continue with them. Especially we love the no-fuss/no-having-to-fly-the-other-side-of-the-world sailings out of San Francisco to Alaska or Mexico or Hawaii - just a quick 1hr drive from our home to the cruise pier and we are on and can relax for the next 10 days !

 

It is difficult to compare with Ponant though - it is like apples and oranges. Ponant's itineraries are unique, and also the scale, intimacy and French inspired culture on board make it a very different cruise experience in my mind. It is a different world.

 

I agree about the culture of the fellow passengers with Ponant and how civilized, orderly, less stressful and polite everything feels - embarkation / disembarkation / on board experience. Meal service etc. Also in way at Ponant after a few days you get to know both the crew and your fellow passengers and develop friendships. The barman at the Panoramic lounge knew and brought our preferred cocktails before dinner before we even asked... And in a way - especially now after the last few years (....) - we truly appreciate the European and French first approach.

 

The usual Ponant cabin - although much smaller than other cruise lines - is very tasteful and functional and as coffee addicts we appreciate the nespresso machine and top of line tea - and nicely stocked fridge.

 

For sure one of the areas where we appreciate a larger cruise ship is the wider selection of options for dinner and entertainment - especially at our last cruise we truly enjoyed Catch by Rudy, Crown Grill, Sabatini's, Gigi's pizzeria etc. And since both Michael and I like to walk a lot - we have a lot of options at the decks and stairs 🙂  to walk up and down to burn those calories.

 

I remember at our Antarctica cruise after 10 days sailing we were ready for a change of our dinner venue. Actually let's see how our next 16 day cruise would be 🙂

 

Ponant is amazing and can't wait for our next trip with them....

 

--e

 

 

 

 

[Jim_Iain]

Howdy neighbor!   I'm always amazed when someone asks me where I'm from and I Sunnyvale who no one has ever heard of.   With so many high tech companies in both Mountain View and Sunnyvale I'm amazed how many know of it. 

 

Definitely agree with your thoughts on Ponant.  It is totally a different experience and can not be compared to mainstream cruise lines ---but loved it.

 

Both embarkation and disembarkation was very efficient, civil and painless.   We chose the latest disembarkation time as we were staying in Toronto and our place wouldn't be available until late.     Our luggage was curbside and the shoreside team even came over to see if they could help with Uber and checked the license number for us and then told us when our car was arriving.   They even helped load our luggage.

[sanne]

Hi Jim_Iain 

 

Could you please tell me if you had coffee and tea making in your cabin. I seem to remember reading somewhere they had a Nespresso pod machine but can’t find it now. But nothing re making a cup of tea.

 

Thanks. 

[ethan1171]

From the Ponant web site:

 

[sanne]

Thanks, that’s probably where I saw it.
 

What does boiler mean?

 

It would be good to hear from someone who is on board or has been recently, to confirm.