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This October
I had the opportunity to cruise from Malaga to Lisbon Ponant’s L’Austral. I
have cruised on one of her two sister ships, L” Boreal, some time ago but wanted
to refresh myself on the ships as well as see how the company is keeping up with
a tremendous amount of growth for a small cruise line.
Currently
the cruise has three 264 passenger ships with a fourth on line for 2014 as well
as the founding 64 passenger sailing ship, Le Ponant. The three sister ships
have the ability to convert cabins to suites bring the passenger count down to
224. The standard, well appointed cabins, are 200 sq ft plus a 43 sq ft balcony
with the convertible cabins having 400 sq ft plus an 86 sq ft balcony and the
owners suite is 484 sq ft plus a 97 sq ft balcony. All of the cabins have
convertible beds with fine linen, shower and sink area with sliding glass wall,
separate toilet, generous closet and cabinet space, stocked mini bar, safe,
bathrobe and slippers. There is plenty of space on the balcony to have morning
coffee or breakfast or wine and cheese during a sail away.
The 139
international crew service the following public areas:
Main dining
which will hold the entire ship, a showroom which will fit the entire ship, a
main lounge and adjoining outdoor area which will hold the entire ship, an
observation lounge, a pool bar with extended hours and a buffet restaurant with
indoor and outdoor seat overlooking the pool.
All in all
for a small ship there is plenty of space and she never feels crowded. There
seems to be almost continuous live music in the main lounge and observation
lounge from midday to late evening when the main lounge converts into a very
nice disco.
Click on the
below link to see some
photos
of this very sexy ship for yourself.
As you will
see this ship is an eye grabber in any port she calls on. Your clients will be
extremely impressed when they arrive at the ship and walk into the main
reception area. Basically all three ships are the same except for interior
colors.
I have had
the opportunity to take literally hundreds of cruises and of course on small
ships you always hear “we take you to where the big ships can’t go” and open
bridges, except during navigation. Well I had two such firsts for me. One was
being able to be on the bridge at around midnight going through the straits of
Gibraltar which is one of the busiest passage ways in the world, amazing. The
other was even more amazing, cruising up the Guadalquivir River and ending up in
downtown Seville with the old city an easy walk from the ship. What made this
little cruise amazing was passing river ships in an Ocean Ship, you can just
imagine the faces of the passengers on the river ships. But even more amazing
was having to back up into our berth several miles away and having to raise
numerous bridges and bringing the town almost to a standstill as we cruise
past. There were hundreds of people taking pictures of this rare and unique
event. According to the Captain the company works very hard on their
itineraries to include moments like this on many of their cruises.
Of course on
a French Cruise Line you would except fine food and this cruise did not
disappoint. The Saveur Culinary Travel Awards for 2013 recent recognized the
cruise line as in their top 3 spot for cruise lines beating out the likes of
Regent, Silversea and Seabourn. Dinners are of course the highlight of the
day. The variety, preparation, quality of the product and service are just
excellent. Don’t think of big 24oz Porterhouse steaks but smaller well planned
portions, you can always have more, that way you have room for the outrageous
desserts. The food is fantastic!
The lunch
buffets are equally as appealing. On many days they are themed such as a
seafood buffet, a Spanish buffet and of course a French buffet. They were all
excellent. One very nice touch is that the head chef presides over a table
offering the daily soup of the day, don’t miss this one, and two regional
specialties one which is a carvery such as fresh salmon in puff pastry or
mussels in his secret recipe. Save room for the dessert selection and homemade
ice cream.
Wines are
included with lunch and dinner and are free flowing. The indoor outdoor buffet
restaurant works great in good weather.
This ship is
excellent for groups or charters. For charters you have 4 areas that can hold
the entire ship for meals, cocktails and meetings. During my cruise I had two
dinners where the entire ship dined at once and it went without a hitch but of
course with a more limited menu than normal open seating.
With a
fourth ship due out in summer 2014 this company will have ships all over the
world offering a vast array of unique and different cruises.
Give me a
call for more details.
Steve Bloss
sbloss@cruiseco.com
or 954 452 8800
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