Ponant tips (plus comparing with other operators)

[Quickstatus]

Since there are some AFF Ponant experts here, I thought it might be good to have a Ponant thread

My convictions about Ponant not being for everyone are now pretty confirmed. In my experience, Americans don't do well with Ponant as a rule. Their cultural mores are just too different to the Ponant French/European vibe. My observation is Australians mostly do well with Ponant - we appreciate the fully inclusive nature and the absence of real tipping pressure, and our general outgoingness lends itself to enhancing the small ship atmosphere. I think Ponant is getting better in understanding the Australian market and I think that is reflected in what they are doing in our neck of the woods.

Can you elaborate a bit more about the small ship vibe and the how certain attitudes can enhance or detract from that vibe?

 

[RooFlyer]

Chalkie will of course answer you, but for me, not confined to Ponant - small ships attract people who want to get out and see the world, and not just sit back and watch it go by. Of course even more active people get out and DIY, but then, some places you need a cruise to get to!

The age spectrum on the cruises I've been on is definitely skewed to 'older folk' (I would say due to the cost, and time involved) but there are always a fair number 40-60 and a sprinkling of 'youngsters'.

But you have to differentiate between 'expedition' cruises, and more 'classic type' cruises. I've only done expedition cruises, but I'm doing some classics in 2026 (wharf arrival, probably bus tours to local sites or organise-yourself tours) - but all on small ships - pax count 250 max, many something like 180 max. Happiness is a half-filled ship, like my last one.

At breakfast there is chatter about the mornings excursion and whether we might see this or that. At lunch, its "did you see ..." The people I meet on my cruises are, like me, significant travellers to many places.

You don't have to, but you get much more by mixing with others, exchanging travel ideas or even knowledge about the current trip.

I probably wouldn't differentiate so much as Chalkie wrt nationality appeal. Americans will go on American cruise lines; Australians on Australian lines,, if there were any left. The French def go Ponant, but the further you get from Paris the fewer % of French you will get - I was a bit surprised that there were as many as abt 30% French on my Indonesian cruise. Of the non-French, I mixed mainly with an Australian orthopaedic surgeon; an American-French couple, living in Switzerland doing high level molecular biology research; an American anaesthesiologist; Aussie property developer, wife and their friends; bunch of Aussie singles from 'all walks'.

If I had a choice, and the $$, I would go SilverSea - overall classier (and more expensive), but don't do the 'no single supplement' like Ponant. Done 2 cruises with them - incl my all time best, to Antarctica.

 

[Chalkie]

Since there are some AFF Ponant experts here, I thought it might be good to have a Ponant thread



Can you elaborate a bit more about the small ship vibe and the how certain attitudes can enhance or detract from that vibe?

@RooFlyer has mentioned an important distinction to observe about Ponant: the "classic" cruise vs expedition. I've only been on expeditions. The small ship vibe on expeditions is about seeing new and different things, and interacting with the other pax and crew about the new and different things everyone has been seeing. I also agree with his comments about the other pax you tend to encounter on smaller ships.

Since my first expedition to Antarctica with Ponant, I've approached each subsequent expedition with the attitude that I am incredibly privileged to be going places and seeing things that are outside the ken of most travellers. I am enthusiastic about the journey and the exploration. I know I will meet interesting people among the other pax and crew, and making those new connections will enhance the experience. If you are on a small ship with a majority of enthusiasts, whether they be French or from elsewhere, that attitude will make the trip more meaningful and enjoyable.

On the other hand, if there are malcontents and disaffected in the passenger manifest, that will detract from the vibe and on a small ship, it can sometimes be difficult to avoid them. On our French Polynesia expedition, there was a party of six or so pax who were labouring under the misapprehension (which made me wonder whether they'd done any reading beforehand about the Paul Gauguin and the 14 day trip around French Polynesia) that they were on a Cunard liner in the Queen's Grill. They were unhappy and would tell anyone who glanced in their direction why they were so unhappy. Similarly, on my last Antarctica trip, there was a group of Americans who sort of took over the observation deck bar and loudly told anyone who glanced their way why Ponant wasn't as good as [insert name of virtually every other cruise line on which they'd been]. This is while dramatic scenes of nature are unfolding around them, such as humpback whales in feeding pods around and under the ship, and icebergs of incredible shape and size all around.

Now that I've been on a few different Ponant expeditions, this is my formula for making them successful for me (bearing in mind I am extroverted, speak some French and German, eat and drink anything and everything, and mix easily with people):

1. Let the maître d' know you will sit anywhere at dinner in the main restaurant. Do this for a couple of nights so the maître d' gets to know you're a safe pair of hands, and then if you don't want to dine with others sometimes, s/he will look after you with a nice table.
2. Try and get to know the cruise director and hotel manager.
3. Engage with the expedition team.
4. Sign up for any "dine with..." and wine tasting events on offer.
5. If there seems to be a shortage of "dine with..." events, create your own - put together a table of four and invite two expedition team members or the cruise director, hotel manager, doctor, members of the entertainment team etc. We've had some very memorable dinners this way.
6. Do all the activities and excursions. I am a scuba diver and my French Polynesia and eastern Indonesian expeditions offered diving. This of course gave me access to a recreationally like-minded group of people and it also meant there was always someone to have a coffee or drink with, and the divers invited each other and the diving team to dinners, which added to the social interest of those trips.

I mentioned in @RooFlyer's trip report the importance of having a good senior team on board. This is where I can see how Ponant experiences can differ greatly and might fall apart. I've been very fortunate on each of my expeditions to have had excellent senior staff onboard who were clearly doing a great job with leading the crew to deliver an exceptional experience for the guests.

 

[RooFlyer]

5. If there seems to be a shortage of "dine with..." events, create your own - put together a table of four and invite two expedition team members or the cruise director, hotel manager, doctor, members of the entertainment team etc. We've had some very memorable dinners this way.

Oh, I didn't think you could do that; thanks. Once, I wanted to dine with the geologist in particular and was told no, you can't choose. I'll go about it in a different way next time

 

[Chalkie]

Oh, I didn't think you could do that; thanks. Once, I wanted to dine with the geologist in particular and was told no, you can't choose. I'll go about it in a different way next time

The trick is issue the invitation personally, get in early and have a couple of options open. The organisation of the "dine with..." experiences on my Ponant trips has varied significantly. On some, the cruise director announced them and there were also announced in the daily newsletter. On others, no mention - the lists just appeared at reception so you had to look at reception every time you walked past to see what had popped up.

Usually the way I've done it is to speak with the expedition team member at a landing or after their lecture (if early enough in the programme) or in the main bar at an event to introduce myself and say "I'd love to talk to more about this. Are you free on [night] to join us for dinner?". They've always accepted the invitation (I think because when they dine with guests they can have whatever they like to drink ).

 

[Quickstatus]

5. If there seems to be a shortage of "dine with..." events, create your own - put together a table of four and invite two expedition team members or the cruise director, hotel manager, doctor, members of the entertainment team etc. We've had some very memorable dinners this way.

I'm assuming crew and passengers eat the same food?

 

[RooFlyer]

I see the title has been enhanced with comparison to other operators. I've now taken 3 Ponant, 2 SilverSea and 1 Albatross cruise. Keeping in thread intent ... comparing with Ponant, not a general review of others.

SilverSea is a cut above Ponant (and commensurately more expensive), notwithstanding I think seasoned travellers there would say its gone downhill over the past 5-7 years (it was acquired by Royal Caribbean in 2018). I've been on Silver Wind to the Antarctic (abt 270 pax) and Silver Moon to the Caribbean (abt 600 pax), so ships a bit bigger than Ponant I've been on .

The biggest difference between Ponant and SS for me is that SS has bigger 'standard' cabins, with an extra 'lounge' space between the bed and the balcony. With an extra curtain, which makes a big difference in Polar areas. SilverSea cabins are like Sofitel (larger and plusher); Ponant more like Mercure or Ibis (comfortable but utilitarian).

Me on Silver Wind



Silver Moon



Bigger bathrooms on SS too - Silver Moon had a bath.

SS charge more for cabins midships and higher deck; Ponant don't charge more for midships but do for higher deck.

?All cabins have a butler as well as a room attendant. Butler in butler-dress which is a bit OTT, but it is great to have someone on call to attend to small things - like my having fresh lime and ice in my cabin when returning from the arvo trip, for a nice G&T. And someone directly responsible for chasing up any issues in the cabin.

Booze in the SS minibars is full bottles of what you like, not minis. Champagne in your cabin on arrival.

Better quality parka on SilverSea (detachable warm inner).

The bigger SS ships (but still 'small') have a greater variety of eating options - 4 on Silver Wind, 5 or 6 on Silver Moon, incl cafes Vs always 2 on Ponant.

Gratuities included (Ponant isn't) - but I still give either a further donation to the 'Crew Fund' or directly to my attendants. SS acknowledge crew fund donation with a letter from one of the managers - Ponant is anonymous on the last evening of the cruise.

SS have some 'formal' nights - where a jacket IS required in restaurants and bars; Ponant just require no casual wear any night in restaurants.

Exped crews - I've had some good and bad members on both. There were some very ordinary excursion experiences off Silver Moon in the Caribbean. As far as I can tell, both lines have third parties organising their shore excursions where busses are involved.

Charter flights if required - again, classier on SS (smaller planes, better service, better booze)

Free laundry on Ponant (status) was a huge benefit - having to DIY laundry on SS was the pits - waiting for a machine to be free, so could grab it ...

Albatross

Danish; only 2 vessels. A cut below Ponant. No included parka (but wasn't really needed in Greenland, but I didn't know that, so brought my old Ponant one). Booze only with dinner, Tips not included. Can BYO booze (although they say not to).

But ... they upgraded me to a suite! So can't compare regular cabins.

They left one of Flashback's bags behind in Copenhagen (missed the charter), which was unforgivable. Charter OK, nothing memorable.

Exped crew OK to good.

 

[Chalkie]

I'm assuming crew and passengers eat the same food?

There's a complex (French?) hierarchy. Crew invited to dine with pax eat the same food and drink the same bevvies. Senior officers often dine on the captain's table, which is served the same food but I am not entirely sure what happens on the alcohol front. I think non-driving crew (eg, the cruise director, hotel manager and expedition team) can drink alcohol at dinner on the captain's table. Then if the expedition team isn't dining with pax or captain's table, they have their own table in the restaurant which gets the same food but I don't think any alcohol. And if the entertainment crew are off duty and you ask them to join you for a drink (eg, when the pianist finishes his/her set in the observation lounge late in the evening), they can have whatever the passenger orders for them, but if they order it themselves, it goes on their slate.

I've been told by the crew that leftovers (eg, from buffets) do get served in the crew mess (and some leftovers (eg, from the salmon and caviar tastings) are highly appreciated).

 

[Quickstatus]

My main issue (fear)with boats is motion sickness. I am exceptionally prone to it and I have not found a suitable solution other than dry land

Sitting in Y is bad for me nor can I sit in the back of a taxi or bus. Even standing in the floating pontoon at Hobart looking at the boats close up was unsettling.

Expeditionary sailings would involve Zodiacs and obviously smaller boats would perhaps have more rocking and rolling. I once tried diving via PADI and I perfected throwing up underwater and would need to be the first off and last on the boat for offshore dives. I did managed to get to Open water cert but was wasted for the rest of the day after a dive.

Spirit of Tasmania has been ok on 2/2 occasions,
Ferries in Sydney Harbour and most recently the Mona in Hobart has been Ok so long as I'm outside. The NZ interisland crossing was a disaster

Big cruise ships with shore excursions are of minor interest if at all.

These exped cruises are attractive but I fear I will be in sick bay more often than not

 

[Chalkie]

I see the title has been enhanced with comparison to other operators. I've now taken 3 Ponant, 2 SilverSea and 1 Albatross cruise. Keeping in thread intent ... comparing with Ponant, not a general review of others.

Once I've been on Regents Seven Seas SS Grandeur in September, I'll do a comparison with that.

Gratuities included (Ponant isn't) - but I still give either a further donation to the 'Crew Fund' or directly to my attendants. SS acknowledge crew fund donation with a letter from one of the managers - Ponant is anonymous on the last evening of the cruise.

Ponant's approach to gratuities is pretty low key though. I've never felt pressured on Ponant to tip (and I suspect that many of the non-American pax do not tip, or tip modestly). That said, knowing what I do about the wages of merchant seaman, especially those from Indonesia and the Philippines (I have mariners in my family), I do tip at the suggested amount (which is quite modest in comparison to what can happen in the USA), and tip my cabin steward and favourite bartender (if I've been well looked after) separately. On the Paul Gauguin we always had the same waiters in the same restaurants, so we tipped them separately too as we were very, very well looked after by our waiters on the Paul Gauguin.

Free laundry on Ponant (status) was a huge benefit

Totally agree. My experience on Ponant is that they will even follow specific instructions for laundering, and the laundry team have always exceeded the stated turnaround times.

SS have some 'formal' nights - where a jacket IS required in restaurants and bars; Ponant just require no casual wear any night in restaurants.

Each Ponant expedition I've been on has had a couple of gala nights - usually an "officers' dinner" night and then the final night. The dress for the officers' night is suggested to be classier than usual, but for me that has simply been putting on a jacket and tie, and plenty of people don't bother with the tie. There's also usually been a "white night", but again the suggested dress guidance is simply "white". I've seen some pretty well attired (French) guys with white linen sports jackets. I just wear a collared white shirt and beige chinos for those evenings.

The easy to follow dress codes are another thing I like about Ponant. That said, as our SS Grandeur trip is less than 16 nights, there are no formal nights, and the evening dress is always "elegant casual". That's generally the standard in the table service restaurant on Ponant in the evenings, but there's a pretty wide interpretation of that.

 

[RooFlyer]

I don't eat in the a la carte restaurant much but in the buffet, the exped crew usually have a table 'around the corner' in that restaurant - anyone could plonk themselves nearby, but its generally taken that its their time off and they are left to themselves.

My main issue with boats is motion sickness. I am exceptionally prone to it and I have not found a suitable solution other than dry land

That sucks (or the opposite...). I am 'prone' and have vomited on the trip from Geraldton to the Abrolhos Islands. I guess you would be in a good position to know/get medication remedies; the best I have found was from the USA - meclizine.

I took it the entire Antarctica trip as a prophylaxis, with success even with a night or two of rolling.

Spirit of Tas might have gotten you as rough a trip as you might encounter in a cruiser, but with less mechanical stability!

You could choose a 'taster' cruise in what would be sheltered waters - like my last Indonesian trip. The night transits are usually short, so even if it was rough, they could shelter or it wouldn't last long. We actually went along the northern coasts rather than the southern coasts, as planned because of the prevailing winds. We had a mill pond the entire trip. They are really conscious of pax comfort, knowing that sea sickness is the best way to ruin anyone's trip.

Vancouver up to Alaska via the inland passage should be sheltered. Greek Islands - lots of options for taking a sheltered route.

 

[Quickstatus]

meclizine

Same as Dramamine.
Have tried the "zines" . They sometimes work but often sedating.

 

[VPS]

So my cruise history apart from sailing from Perth to Singapore on a merchant ship in the early 80s

Celebrity - Alaska inside passage - huge number of people and my first cruise and it was OK but I had low expectations. My TA managed to book me dining on demand which was great because the Americans were lined up at 5.30pm so they could get in first for dinner. Room was nice and service OK. 7 nights

Seabourn which is similar to Silversea - cruise from Santiago to Antarctica and then back up Buenos Aires. I had a veranda suite and a sitting room between the bedroom and veranda. I think I had a bath in the bathroom with a separate shower. I was travelling alone and every day I was invited to sit on a table with others (some singles some couples) and always a member of the crew. There were about 420 pax and I loved it. Staff were excellent. All drinks included included full bottles of spirits in your room that got filled when empty and dine in your cabin if you want. 21 nights

NCL from Lisbon around the Mediterranean. Very basic. You had to pay for room service. Food was served on plastic plates in the buffet. The restaurants were OK but nothing that I would pay for. I swore I wouldn't do another one but if the price and location was right I would consider it. I also will only cruise if I have a balcony cabin. I love sea days and a lot of people say they are rarely in their cabin but I get peopled out and like to relax alone. 10 nights

QM2 from NY to London Southampton This was just after Covid and the staff and the food were very poor. I only did this because it was a literary cruise as well. Drinks were very expensive. 7 nights

Obviously Seabourn was the best and I think has maintained it's standard but I would like to try a Ponant one this year

Photos of my Seabourn cabin. Happy to answer any other questions

 

[Quickstatus]

I don't eat in the a la carte restaurant much but in the buffet

What would be the reason?

 

[Chalkie]

Expeditionary sailings would involve Zodiacs and obviously smaller boats would perhaps have more rocking and rolling.

All of the Zodiac excursions I've been on Ponant have been in sheltered waters so virtually no rocking and rolling. It's crossing open ocean where the issues can arise to those sensitive to them.

Motion sickness would probably rule out crossing the Drake Passage - or any of the Great Southern Ocean if you went to the sub-Antarctic islands on sailings from Oz or NZ. Both of our Antarctic expeditions had "Drake Lake" in one direction, and "Drake Shake" in the other. In Drake Shake the number of passengers visible around the ship was noticeably reduced. That said, if you can put up with the anaesthetic effects of motion sickness treatments and are prepared to stay in bed in your cabin, the Drake passage crossing takes about 36-48 hours.

As @RooFlyer mentioned, the eastern Indonesian expedition (which I did in June 2025, but finishing in Darwin rather than Cairns) is pretty calm. We didn't encounter any ship movement at all. Same with the Kimberley expedition - hugging coastal waters and all very calm. French Polynesia was mostly calm, but there are a couple of open ocean crossings (to get to the Marquesas and back) which may be problematic for those sensitive to ship motion.

As someone who does not experience motion sickness, the Drake Shake crossings were very memorable for me for good reasons - seeing the ship go up and down over big waves was thrilling for me. And watching the stern dip underwater while eating a meal was also a lot of fun.

 

[Quickstatus]

On these smaller boats is there room to unpack all the airline's luggage allowance

 

[Chalkie]

I don't eat in the a la carte restaurant much but in the buffet, the exped crew usually have a table 'around the corner' in that restaurant - anyone could plonk themselves nearby, but its generally taken that its their time off and they are left to themselves.

I've noticed that there are pax who prefer one over the other. I am catholic in my tastes.

We eat breakfast downstairs in the big restaurant (same breakky menu as the buffet upstairs) as it is really quiet there in the mornings.

We eat lunch in the buffet, mostly so we can do the mock protests about not having the sinfully butter rich mashed potato they have there AND declaring we won't eat dessert at lunch, until we spy a favourite on the dessert buffet. Or the ice cream selection gets the better of us. On our eastern Indonesian expedition, the "chef's special" served outside the upstairs buffet was always totally enticing - ranging from a delicious roast to spanking fresh tuna the chef bought from the local fishermen along the way.

We eat dinner in the table service restaurant, mostly because we're usually dining with others and it is nice to have someone else take care of everything and not have to leap up and down to fetch food for ourselves. We also find that the portions there are controlled (and French sized) and stop us (until we get to the cheese course) from going completely stupid. We've not found the service there to be slow, but that may reflect our expectations of the speed of dinner service (which we prefer to be leisurely rather than rushed).

Something we've noticed on the dining front is the quality of dining on Ponant has improved over the course of our five expeditions. We thought things were pretty good on our first two expeditions. Then we went on the Paul Gauguin (which on the 14 day expedition with 75% French pax seemed a cut above our previous two). And then on our second Antarctic expedition we thought things had stepped up again. Our eastern Indonesian expedition was the pinnacle so far, although some of that may have been explained by the need to offload stuff ahead of entering Australian waters. We had two pata negra events and the Bialik salmon, caviar, foie gras and French cheeses flowed freely as the chef tried to clear the stocks ahead of Australian biosecurity rules applying (the next expedition after our eastern Indonesia trip was the Kimberley season).

 

[Chalkie]

On these smaller boats is there room to unpack all the airline's luggage allowance

Yes, in my experience. The beds in the "regular" midship cabin we take have room enough under them to store a large Tumi and scuba diving equipment bag. There's plenty of room in the wardrobes, and there's lots of drawers and nooks and crannies in which to put things. We've travelled with two 32kg suitcases each (one containing our clothing and one containing our scuba gear; so 4 big bags in total) and had no trouble.

The Paul Gauguin (even though an older ship) was actually the best in terms of "a place for everything and everything in its place". The bathrooms on the Paul Gauguin, even though a bit older and tired looking had the most storage space and were very functional. The Boreal Class sister ships on which I've sailed on Ponant have separate showers and loos. This is efficient for processing two people, but you lose some real estate in the bathing department. But still we've managed with one drawer each and two shelves in the bathroom.