Dear Isabelle, 

My name is Barry Lyon and I work with Shirley Anderson at Victor Emanuel Nature Tours. I was one of the program leaders for the VENT group aboard the recently completed cruise of the Seychelles Islands aboard Le Ponant, March 9-23. I have some feedback I want to give to Ponant Cruises and Shirley told me that you were the best person to contact. Please pass this information to the people in your organization who would be interested in receiving this short report. 

As you may know, the core of our business is small party, land-based departures to destinations all over the world in search of birds and other wildlife. For many years however, Victor Emanuel Nature Tours has been organizing ship-based programs as another way to experience some of the world’s great natural history destinations. The cruise component of our annual program of tours has become vital to our business. While birds and birdwatching are the emphasis of most of our trips, these cruises have allowed us to grow our business in ways where we now offer a slate of departures annually that includes a more rounded natural history experience than only birdwatching. As a case in point, the Seychelles trip was rich with snorkeling activities, island visits, lengthy cruises, and more. 

Through the years we have worked with many of the top names in the expedition cruise industry, including Lindblad Expeditions, Quark Expeditions, Clipper, Abercrombie & Kent, Travel Dynamics International, etc. Since this was our first time traveling with your organization, I wanted to let you know that we had an extraordinary experience aboard your ship. The program, in terms of the places we visited, was tailored for success, yet it was a combination of factors that had many of our passengers calling this trip among the greatest they had ever made. At the top of the list, I would list the ability and attitude of your captain and cruise director that enabled us to have such a wonderful time.

Captain Regis Daumesnil was friendly, direct, and totally accommodating. He tried very hard to please the VENT staff and our passengers throughout the trip. We had two medical issues that arose on this trip that required us to evacuate passengers on two separate occasions. In both instances, Captain Daumesnil was accessible and demonstrated an admirable level of control and judgment while we worked through the problems. On other occasions, we had situations where two of our landings had to be changed, and the captain took time to consult with us in explaining the logistical problems he was facing, and why changes of plans were necessary. We appreciated his willingness to meet with us, sometimes daily, to discuss the issues. I have learned that many captains are not interested in communicating with us in the way Captain Daumesnil was.  

Your Cruise Director, Myriam Boudan, was as fine a cruise director as we’ve worked with. From my experience, I have concluded that cruise directors don’t get to be cruise directors by accident. Directing a ship full of passengers and staff is a very demanding, high energy job that demands round-the-clock accountability, in addition to having superior organizational and communications skills. In short, being a cruise director is not an easy job. I point this out because Myriam proved herself a tireless worker from the moment we got onto the ship to the time we got off. In managing the reception desk, overseeing Zodiac embarkations and disembarkations, handling the evening entertainment, and managing her staff, it appeared to us VENT leaders that she was doing three or four different jobs, and all of them well. On top of that, she was lovely with our clients. Cheerful, intelligent, and possessing a good sense of humor, Myriam was well-liked by the VENT staff and our passengers. She is somebody we would travel with again in a second. 

Your other key staff members, such as the chef, hotel manager, and cabin attendants were all pleasant and eager to please. The chef, in particular, was a popular man, understandably. I will add here that the quality of cuisine aboard Le Ponant was probably the best I’ve experienced on any cruise ship. 

Finally, Le Ponant is truly a beautiful ship. There are many reasons why our trip was so successful, but being based aboard such a lovely vessel was certainly a very big reason for the overall level of satisfaction with which we departed the Seychelles. 

Thank you for providing such an outstanding experience. 

Barry Lyon

Victor Emanuel Nature Tours

Austin, Texas USA 78746