Anyone been on Ponant's Le Laperouse, or a sister vessel?

[RooFlyer]

This is the ship: Cruise On LE LAPEROUSE - Cruise Ship | Ponant

I'd be grateful to hear from anyone who has been on board, esp cruising off Australia.

I've never been on a cruiser this large (although it isn't large ) , so I'm interested in the cons of having a cabin on one of the lower decks in particular and any other negatives particular to the vessel, or cruise line.

I'm looking at an Australian waters cruise on her next year.

 

[tgh]

Have not been on a Ponant vessel, but opine that for a single on a small ship, cheapest cabin will likely be just fine.
Of course the usual disclaimer.. some cabins are very noisy.. anchors are the prime culprit.. but look what is above.. don't want to be trying to sleep beneath the disco. Less movement midships.., pointy end has the anchors and blunt end has the engines

 

[zig]

I seem to recall that there have been a few AFFs who have cruised Ponant, so hopefully they will see the thread.
CruiseCritic might be worth looking at 846-ponant
I received an email from Ponant with upcoming cruises with no single supplement, so I had a quick look on their website. I can't put my finger on it, but there is something that is holding me back from considering a booking with them, so I'll be interested in feedback from those who have cruised Ponant as well.

 

[RooFlyer]

Have not been on a Ponant vessel, but opine that for a single on a small ship, cheapest cabin will likely be just fine.
Of course the usual disclaimer.. some cabins are very noisy..

Cheapest cabin in any categories I guess almost guaranteed to be noisiest or have some other negative and I’m trying to avoid that, I’m happy to go with one of the mid priced cabins but for my first cruise ( except for Galapagos a few years ago on a small boat ) I’m hoping to avoid newbie mistakes.

I received an email from Ponant with upcoming cruises with no single supplement, so I had a quick look on their website. I can't put my finger on it, but there is something that is holding me back from considering a booking with them, so I'll be interested in feedback from those

Yes, it’s the no single supp ( and first booking discount) that has attracted me. If you think of whatever is holding you back, please let me know.

 

[VPS]

Paging @love_the_life - she did the Antarctic cruise on Ponant

I'm also keen on some of these cruises that have no single supplement

 

[Gogo65]

I've been on Le Boreal to Antarctica, we had a balcony cabin on Deck 3 (balcony in the hull), we were very happy with the whole cruise. I wouldn't say there is a bad area as such, there are a few ocean view cabins at the front of deck 3, but they were being used for staff, so everyone on board had a balcony cabin.
We are booked on Le LaPerouse for a Kimberley cruise in August, hoping it will go ahead. This time we are on deck 4 as deck 3 was booked, assuming that as it will only be Aussies on board we wont have to go through both the french and english versions of announcements.
We have also been on Silver Sea silver cloud to the Arctic and found Ponant better (we didn't like the fuss of SS).
We are really looking forward to the Kimberley cruise will be interesting to see how it compares to Antarctica. Happy to answer any questions

 

[RooFlyer]

We'll it won't be the Le Laperouse, in any case. Update here

https://www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au/community/threads/member-chit-chat.89120/page-1693#post-2240428

 

[love_the_life]

We weren't on Ponant's newer ship and might be quite different in Australian waters as expect the passenger mix/culture on board might be different than we had in Antarctica. On our cruise majority of pax were French speaking; lectures were provided in both Fr and Eng but the Eng language ones were pretty poor as the speakers often didn't have a good grasp of English and they were therefore very basic (CF the Silversea one in the Arctic).
The ship was very clean and although cabins were small for one would be fine. We managed quite well with 2 in the cabin.
We were a bit disappointed in the food - meat especially - but others who have done AU and Asia said it was excellent. On the other hand alcohol was very good!
We would sail on Ponant again if the itinerary and price was right.

 

[RooFlyer]

Thanks L-t-L. Have managed to cadge back on Le Laperouse, although its cost me a few more $K . To me its horribly expensive, so hope its going to be worth it!!

Cheapest cabin in any categories I guess almost guaranteed to be noisiest or have some other negative and I’m trying to avoid that, I’m happy to go with one of the mid priced cabins but for my first cruise ( except for Galapagos a few years ago on a small boat ) I’m hoping to avoid newbie mistakes.


Yes, it’s the no single supp ( and first booking discount) that has attracted me. If you think of whatever is holding you back, please let me know.

Going with deck 4 - deck 3 is the lowest, but down from deck 5, as there was no 'no single supp' for any cruise in the region for all of 2022 by the time we booked (enquiry + 2 weeks).

 

[JohnM]

So when are you now going, @RooFlyer?

 

[RooFlyer]

So when are you now going, @RooFlyer?

August next year Australia's Iconic Kimberley

 

[JohnM]

August next year Australia's Iconic Kimberley

The 'Technical Stop' over to Indonesia seems bizarre and well out of the way. Very strange.

I recommend scoping the Bungles and the boat trip down the Ord from Lake Argyle to Kununurra is also worth doing in your time at Wyndham.

Don't forget your ID if you want to buy any booze in Kununurra. Blanket rule and strict limits for everyone. The price we pay... Just had a couple of friends (c. 70s) who got back from a Gibb River Road tour BME-BME on Saturday and didn't bother to take their driver's licenses...

 

[RooFlyer]

The 'Technical Stop' over to Indonesia seems bizarre and well out of the way. Very strange.

Have been told that this is no longer required due to Covid. I think it allowed this domestic cruise to still be classified as international for the cruise line, getting it certain cost benefits. What we do on that day remains to be seen. Fish in Darwin harbour?

yes, chosen the Bungle Bungle flight out of Wyndham.