Ponant pacific cruise, which ship is better, what is it like on board for English speakers?

[Nillah]

We are looking at doing a Micronesia cruise with Ponant in either 2025 or 2026.

The itineraries are quite similar, both ending in Guam so we are happy to have either itinerary.

 

However the ships are of different classes, one is on the Le Jacques-Cartier and the other is on Le Soléal, which is a little older. Does anyone have experience of both classes, if so which did you prefer and why?

 

Secondly this would be our first Ponant cruise and we only speak basic French, not enough to listen to a lecture or have meaningful conversations with pure French speakers. So how have English speakers found Ponant? How have you coped with expedition activities, lectures and onboard information?

 

Any other comments/observations about Ponant would be helpful. We have cruised with Scenic Eclipse, Windstar and Azamara previously. 

[summerclouds]

My husband and I were Ponant first timers this year on the 8 night May 22 – June 6 “From Malta to the Adriatic Coast“ (Valletta to Venice) cruise on L’Austral.  (This was not an expedition cruise(   As my French is less than basic and my husband’s is non-existent, we did have some trepidation about being in an English-speaking minority.  We had no problems.  

 

Our ship’s 228 passengers were approximately ¾ French speakers and ¼ “English speakers. All the crew we interacted with were very helpful, pleasant and able to switch from French to English easily. All announcements were made in French, then repeated in English. Lectures were given in both languages. (One speaker did it rather uniquely by speaking in French but having all his slides in English.)     

 

In the main restaurant they will ask you whether you want to sit at a French or English language table.  Since with our limited French, we chose an English table We did not really interact with the French speaking folks which is not surprising since we couldn’t really talk to each other.  However, people would smile and be polite in elevators, tenders, etc. We found saying Bon Jour and Merci as appropriate seemed well received.  

 

We booked only 1 ship excursion (Syracuse) and true to Ponant’s promise, there was a French guide for the French speakers on the excursion and an English guide for the sixteen of us English.  We were on the same bus with the larger French group up front with their guide and the smaller English group in back with our guide.  Our guide was excellent, one of the best I’ve ever had.  Our English guide took us on a different walking route than the French guide, so we really felt we were on our own with our guide, not a tag-along with the larger French group.  From conversations with other English speakers later in the cruise, Ponant provided an English guide even when there were only 1 or 2 English on an excursion.

 

We were very well pleased with our ship stateroom (we booked a Prestige Stateroom), with the ship overall, with the food, and the service and the smaller ship experience.  We felt very well cared for.  

 

We had only cruised twice previously (with HAL)  If we find another Ponant cruise with an itinerary we want, we would not hesitate to book with them again.

 

 

 

 

[jpalbny]

Ponant for English speakers has been just fine - and on our first cruise, during the tail end of the pandemic, we were two of about 8-10 English speakers on the whole ship. They absolutely made sure that we were never left out. There was either a separate zodiac or tour group for us, or when we used local guides there was a member of the expedition staff with us to translate, and they really made sure that we were getting the full experience.

 

They did separate evening briefings for the small group of us. There were about 4 of the expedition staff whose English was less accented and somewhat better than the rest and they stuck with us most of the time, though all of the others could speak English just fine, with a French accent.

 

On the second cruise to Indonesia it was probably 50/50. No issues at all. The major difference is that the evening briefings were given ensemble to the whole group with French and English in alternating sentences! It was a great opportunity for me to practice listening.

 

I speak decent French but have trouble picking up spoken French so functionally I'm an Anglophone who knows enough to get in over his head. Chris doesn't speak much French at all. Don't worry about it.

 

We have only cruised on the small ships (like Le Jacques-Cartier) but we do have a cruise booked on Le Lyrial (which should be like Le Soleal) for next Spring. The small ships are very nice and we're excited to be back on board one of them next June.

[Nillah]

@summerclouds  @jpalbny Thank you both for your detailed and helpful replies.

[kasr]

Hi,

 

The ship is really a matter of personal preference. The Jacques-Cartier is smaller and more intimate than the Le Soleal, both have pluses and minuses. My thoughts are:

 

Le Soleal

This ship has a slightly odd layout with the theater at the stern. This means on decks above there is an awkward 'split-level' which can be difficult for people with mobility issues. There is a nice pool bar on the top deck which the J-C doesn't have. The buffet restaurant has an inside seating area whereas the J-C Grill is out-side and can be closed in poor weather leaving only 1 eatery, (although as you're cruising the Pacific islands that shouldn't be too big a problem). The buffet restaurant layout is also a bit odd, requiring you to walk through the lift foyer to get from the servery to most of the tables. There is also a separate area for the carvery/special food so you need to hike back and forth to get salads and vegetables etc. Not a showstopper, but a bit of a pain in the neck.

 

Le Jacques-Cartier

Doesn't have an outside pool bar, but the pool area is next to the main lounge bar. The main restaurant has a few outside tables (get in quick) which is nice on tropical evenings.

There is an innovative marina dock that folds out from under the back deck, giving more room and slightly easier access for zodiac boarding. There is also the lure of the Blue Eye lounge, which is below sea-level and has viewing windows. In areas with abundant sea-life it can be fascinating. It also serves as a late evening bar. I think the pool area is nicer than on Soleal and it has a clear end wall looking over the wake and zodiac dock. Good spot for a social dip with a cocktail, but don't expect to do laps...

 

The decor and cabin layout on both ships is very similar, as are balcony sizes (in average level accommodation). 

 

If I had a choice it would be the J-C for the outdoor dining options and zodiac set-up, but if the itinerary I wanted was on the Soleal I wouldn't be put off!

 

[kasr]

Just now, kasr said:

Hi,

 

The ship is really a matter of personal preference. The Jacques-Cartier is smaller and more intimate than the Le Soleal, both have pluses and minuses. My thoughts are:

 

Le Soleal

This ship has a slightly odd layout with the theater at the stern. This means on decks above there is an awkward 'split-level' which can be difficult for people with mobility issues. There is a nice pool bar on the top deck which the J-C doesn't have. The buffet restaurant has an inside seating area whereas the J-C Grill is out-side and can be closed in poor weather leaving only 1 eatery, (although as you're cruising the Pacific islands that shouldn't be too big a problem). The buffet restaurant layout is also a bit odd, requiring you to walk through the lift foyer to get from the servery to most of the tables. There is also a separate area for the carvery/special food so you need to hike back and forth to get salads and vegetables etc. Not a showstopper, but a bit of a pain in the neck.

 

Le Jacques-Cartier

Doesn't have an outside pool bar, but the pool area is next to the main lounge bar. The main restaurant has a few outside tables (get in quick) which is nice on tropical evenings.

There is an innovative marina dock that folds out from under the back deck, giving more room and slightly easier access for zodiac boarding. There is also the lure of the Blue Eye lounge, which is below sea-level and has viewing windows. In areas with abundant sea-life it can be fascinating. It also serves as a late evening bar. I think the pool area is nicer than on Soleal and it has a clear end wall looking over the wake and zodiac dock. Good spot for a social dip with a cocktail, but don't expect to do laps...

 

The decor and cabin layout on both ships is very similar, as are balcony sizes (in average level accommodation). 

 

If I had a choice it would be the J-C for the outdoor dining options and zodiac set-up, but if the itinerary I wanted was on the Soleal I wouldn't be put off!

 

I should have added that we've never had an issue with the French/English language divide, but have mostly cruised on English-only or English-dominant cruises. Most of the waiters and bar staff in the Pacific prefer to speak English as mostly they have French as a third language.

 

When there has been a small contingent of Francophones they always run separate zodiacs specifically for them, so the same applies in reverse. You won't get stuck on a zodiac cruise or excursion where they only speak French. The only trick is if it's overwhelmingly French you won't get much conversation out of your fellow travellers. But the itineraries around Guam are guaranteed to have at least a few Australians/NZers on board.

[highplanesdrifters]

@kasr

Thanks for all the great intel!

[Nillah]

On 8/26/2024 at 3:17 AM, kasr said:

Hi,

 

The ship is really a matter of personal preference. The Jacques-Cartier is smaller and more intimate than the Le Soleal, both have pluses and minuses. My thoughts are:

 

Le Soleal

This ship has a slightly odd layout with the theater at the stern. This means on decks above there is an awkward 'split-level' which can be difficult for people with mobility issues. There is a nice pool bar on the top deck which the J-C doesn't have. The buffet restaurant has an inside seating area whereas the J-C Grill is out-side and can be closed in poor weather leaving only 1 eatery, (although as you're cruising the Pacific islands that shouldn't be too big a problem). The buffet restaurant layout is also a bit odd, requiring you to walk through the lift foyer to get from the servery to most of the tables. There is also a separate area for the carvery/special food so you need to hike back and forth to get salads and vegetables etc. Not a showstopper, but a bit of a pain in the neck.

 

Le Jacques-Cartier

Doesn't have an outside pool bar, but the pool area is next to the main lounge bar. The main restaurant has a few outside tables (get in quick) which is nice on tropical evenings.

There is an innovative marina dock that folds out from under the back deck, giving more room and slightly easier access for zodiac boarding. There is also the lure of the Blue Eye lounge, which is below sea-level and has viewing windows. In areas with abundant sea-life it can be fascinating. It also serves as a late evening bar. I think the pool area is nicer than on Soleal and it has a clear end wall looking over the wake and zodiac dock. Good spot for a social dip with a cocktail, but don't expect to do laps...

 

The decor and cabin layout on both ships is very similar, as are balcony sizes (in average level accommodation). 

 

If I had a choice it would be the J-C for the outdoor dining options and zodiac set-up, but if the itinerary I wanted was on the Soleal I wouldn't be put off!

 

Thanks! That was a very useful comparison.