Pursuing pingu the penguin

[Pushka]

Yes I do think you have to try and be responsible tourists. . Observe and enjoy but minimise your impact. Wasn’t there a polar bear recently that had to be shot because of a cruise boat?

It’s hard to decide at what point you don’t do things because it might have too much of an impact. Do you not do arctic or Antarctica trips at all. Certainly what you describe seems to cross a line.

But whose paint?

 

[love_the_life]

But whose paint?

That was paint from the hull of the ship. Scraped some off. I think the issue for us was the mantra touted by the expedition crew to only take photographs and leave footprints as responsible tourists. To leave a large gash in the sea ice shelf seemed at odds with this. This is a popular bay so likely that another ship will visit soon and now the environment has lost its pristine look. Ponant champagne on ice is a bit of a thing I found out, just like Seabourn have caviar in the surf.

 

[love_the_life]

Anyway to move on, and I’m sure FM is waiting for this, the crossing of Drake’s Passage, would it be the Drake Shake or Drake Lake?

 

[Flying mermaid]

Anyway to move on, and I’m sure FM is waiting for this, the crossing of Drake’s Passage, would it be the Drake Shake or Drake Lake?

oooh - I can hardly wait - think I might need a stiff drink for this

 

[love_the_life]

Wilted again....

 

[ellen10]

Stunning photos an amazing adventure.

 

[love_the_life]

So was it the Drake Lake or the Drake Shake? Actually, probably somewhere in between. Low pressure cells cross the area on average once every three days and whenever possible, ships’ captains will try to miss or outrun these. On our crossing, conditions worsened for the first 18 hours or so then things quietened down. The swell was up to about 8 m and with the wind hitting the ship on the port side, the stabilisers were working overtime. The upstairs buffet was closed again but this time the lifts remained in operation. It was very helpful that there are only 5 decks to go up and down; couldn’t imagine the lifts out on one of the big ships! The main dining room was on deck 2, so waves were breaking over the windows, and there was quite a bit of shudder when we hit a big wave. But was it terrible? Not in the least. Conveniently much of the bad weather was overnight so as we were in bed, it was fine. I forgot to take photos of the big waves (doh, didn’t take camera or phone) but I did take these couple after the weather had abated a bit, not great quality I know.

 

[love_the_life]

As we needed to have the authorities investigate the death on board, the captain put his foot down and we reached Ushuaia about 15 hours early. Ponant organises flights for passengers to Buenos Aires and a hold up on arrival would have meant missed flights and connections. Getting there early did allow us to have a wander round and try and get used to people, cars and civilisation again. Le Grande Aventure was over!

 

[love_the_life]

When I get my head together, I’ll post some comments/observations about Le Lyrial, probably in the form of what was good, what was different, what was perplexing and what was bad.

 

[Flying mermaid]

When I get my head together, I’ll post some comments/observations about Le Lyrial, probably in the form of what was good, what was different, what was perplexing and what was bad.

thanks for the report and you are making me feel a bit better - maybe . Interested in what you thought of Silversea vs Ponant.

 

[kermatu]

Enjoyed your report and fabulous pictures. Thanks for sharing.

 

[tgh]

Thanks for the report; brought back lots of memories

 

[love_the_life]

I should say first up that we loved the expedition. It was amazing. South Georgia was such an amazing place and the peninsula was stunning. These comments may seem a bit negative at times but really most of them are only side issues. We would be happy to sail Ponant again though it took a little while to come to that conculsion. It is certainly different from Silversea or the other line we have sailed but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I've divided my comments into sections for ease.

The good

The ship was beautiful and very clean. Cabin size although only 18m2 did include a proper king size bed which was very comfortable. This meant there was no room for a couch, just a chair, small table and a stool to provide the extra seating. Having a balcony was great although we did not use it a lot but still useful for watching the sail bys of the icebergs and glaciers etc.



Having a Nespresso machine and kettle in the cabin was excellent as we would wake early and have a cup of tea in bed.


There was a separate toilet in the cabin, which was convenient, but it did mean the bathroom was a bit squeezy. On the other hand the shower and water pressure were excellent.

Now you see it, now you don’t. A screen so you can watch the sea from the bathroom.



The alcohol choices were great – a wide range of coughtails and mixed drinks, a champagne (though I forgot to try it) and a changing selection of a red, white and rose for meals. I liberally partook. The bar staff also did a very good cappuccino or piccolo.

The ship had a dedicated marina for boarding the zodiacs, which was better than the set up on Silversea we thought. For each landing we would wait till the colour group was called then go to the lounge to put on our boots, walk out the back, have our cards swiped then walk downstairs through a disinfectant bath and then get in the zodiac. On the way back there was a boot wash and then again through the disinfectant.

 

[love_the_life]

The different

We have never cruised on a line where the first language for announcements is not English and that English speakers do not make up the majority of passengers. This did take a bit of getting used to. Not just that we had to listen to the French first but had to be extra careful to actually understand the English. Certainly the French speakers did seem to have the advantage and staff could chat much more freely with them.

Unlike Silversea, there is no mudroom so your boots were stored on a mat outside your cabin. You would carry them to the main lounge when going on a landing and rugs were placed over the carpets at these times.

Briefings, recaps and lectures were given separately in French and English. One passenger we met went to a lecture in both languages and reported that the French one was quite different with a different PowerPoint and that it flowed much more smoothly. Some of the expedition guides seemed less than well prepared for their presentations.

 

[love_the_life]

The perplexing

At times we thought that Ponant didn’t quite get the whole expedition thing. For example, they scheduled dance lessons (as per Bindibuy’s earlier post), dance competitions, evening shows, trivia etc. It was almost like they didn’t really recognise that most passengers were a bit too tired/not interested in these activities which were more suitable for a regular cruise. We didn’t bother with most but did go to a couple of the shows (and they did remind me of a rock eisteddfod though MrLtL said I was being too harsh). There were in effect 2 formal nights and even a number of passengers were in coughtail or long dresses and men in tuxes. The menu for these nights was ‘gala’ dinner and it was a set menu (supposedly better than usual but still not great). The wines were certainly a step up and it was Veuve Clicquot champagne. On top of this there was also white officers’ dinner with the expected dress white or blue. We had room service that night.

The buffet restaurant was not at all like those on other ships; it was only open for breakfast, lunch and with reservations, dinner. It could be very busy though so we ate there sporadically, and preferred it if we had a table outside. Meal times were very short as well – an hour and a half usually, though there were changes when early groups were going out.

 

[love_the_life]

And...
The bad

Overall we thought the food was pretty ordinary. I don’t think there was one meal that we would rave about. In fact I think lines like Cunard and Celebrity were better in this area. Red meats were almost always tough, the chicken was dry and the fish was inedible. The exceptions were the lamb rack, the salmon and one of the duck dishes. For a line that touts its gastronomy it was quite disappointing. I only took a few food photos.

Soup always had croutons and cheese, regardless of flavour


Duck was often a solid lump of meat and very chewy.


The salmon was generally pretty good. That was my choice.


We thought the standard of the lectures was far below that on Silversea. The expedition staff were not nearly as experienced or experts in their fields, but seemed to be young kids with a degree in something relevant. Perhaps that is harsh and maybe it was more a language thing but certainly their presentations and recaps were pretty poor.

 

[love_the_life]

The oldest passenger was a 93 year old French woman who managed most landings (somehow!); there were quite a few 30 year olds and lots of 60 plus! The ship put on a few drinks for the Australian passengers as there were 34 of us and after the French we were the most numerous.
FM you asked how Ponant ranked against Silversea. All things considered we think SS is better in terms of its expedition staff, lectures and food, but remember this line charges considerably less. It’s certainly not a long way behind but it is a different experience.

 

[Flying mermaid]

The oldest passenger was a 93 year old French woman who managed most landings (somehow!); there were quite a few 30 year olds and lots of 60 plus! The ship put on a few drinks for the Australian passengers as there were 34 of us and after the French we were the most numerous.
FM you asked how Ponant ranked against Silversea. All things considered we think SS is better in terms of its expedition staff, lectures and food, but remember this line charges considerably less. It’s certainly not a long way behind but it is a different experience.

at the end of the day the experience with Antarctica is what counts - the rest is secondary. Surprised the food was so average, as the French have a reputation, although I did read similar comments on another review on a Ponant Antarctica cruise at the beginning of the year.

The entertainment would not have suited us - I think we would have been spending a lot of time in our room!

 

[love_the_life]

at the end of the day the experience with Antarctica is what counts - the rest is secondary. Surprised the food was so average, as the French have a reputation, although I did read similar comments on another review on a Ponant Antarctica cruise at the beginning of the year.

The entertainment would not have suited us - I think we would have been spending a lot of time in our room!

In terms of the entertainment, there were always alternative places to go. The lounge/bar at the front of the ship was a great spot. And the ‘entertainment’ really didn’t last long each time. As we both had colds we did have little rests in our cabin most days.

 

[love_the_life]

Still have a few comments on the cruise and Antarctic experience as well as the trip home and will get to them later.