Incredible Mediterranean/North Africa Cruise
L'Austral Cruise Review to Europe - Western Mediterranean
Contributor Level:
Purser
Cruises: 7+ cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 13
Sail date: May 02, 2024
Ship: L'Austral
Cabin type: Balcony
Cabin number: 325
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 7 months ago
Review summary
This was our first cruise on Ponant after 12 cruises on NCL (staying in the Haven and suites for a majority of those cruises). This cruise far exceeded our expectations, and they were quite high. With the exception of the first part of embarkation, we loved everything on this cruise. Every meal was 5 star. The crew was the best we have experienced. The cabin was well thought out and extremely comfortable. We thoroughly enjoyed the opera show every night. Although this is a French cruise line, everything is done in both French and English, so we had no problem communicating with either crew or fellow passengers. The real time translator was top notch during the narration of the French speaking host prior to each performance. We also enjoyed the almost unlimited access to the bridge, bridge officers and captain. We enjoyed this cruise so much, we booked an Antarctic cruise for December 2025 while on board. As an added benefit, Ponant will honor your status from other cruise lines. We are Sapphire status on NCL, so we were given Grand Admiral status even before our first cruise.Embarkation
We gave it 4 stars because we were not given a specific location to drop off our bags, just a general location of Malaga Terminal El Palmeral. Both Google Maps and Apple Maps showed the main terminal as the location to drop off the bags. Our Uber Driver only knew the main cruise port location. We finally had the driver drop us off at the center walking entrance to the pier (although we could see the ship) and walked with our bags to the terminal. From that point, embarkation was 5 stars. Crew at the terminal took our bags down to the drop off point at the other end of the pier, and we were escorted by a very well dressed crew member (who also took our carry on bags for us) through check-in, to boarding, and finally to our cabin. Compared to the Haven/suite embarkation experience on NCL, Ponant far exceeds it in every way.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
The main restaurant is a 5 star restaurant. The attention to detail and appearance and presentation of the each dish was superb. Ingredients were high quality. Each meal had a special theme and were served in multiple courses. Service was impeccable and the wine list was extensive (and the two sommeliers were top notch). The”buffet” was on the 6th deck by the pool (both indoor and outdoor seating). There was table service for the beverages and made to order items along with an “always available” menu which include rib-eye steak.
Onboard Activities
During the day, there were dance classes and wine tastings. There was afternoon tea each day with different specialty experiences each day. The heated swimming was open 24 hours a day, as was the bridge, which we visited multiple times during the cruise. There is a small fitness center with treadmills, exercise bike and an exercise machine. There was also a Hammam (steam room).
Entertainment
This was an Opera themed cruise. There were six extremely talented opera singers on board, and each night they performed for an hour and a half or so. Each night focused on different composers and regions, with the singers joining the guests each night in the main dining room for dinner.
Children's Programs
No kids on the cruise
Service and Staff
The service from the staff and crew was outstanding. The staff a seemed to really enjoy working there. They always had time to chat. Since there only around 250 passengers, most learned our names. They were very focused great customer service.
Ship Quality
The ship’s design was very well thought out. It really is a large yacht, so everything is located between deck’s 3 and 7. There were 2 elevator banks at the fore and aft of the ship, but we rarely used them, using the stairs instead. All the common areas were very clean and well maintained. We noticed crew members ensuring the loungers by the pool were all “dress-right-dress” to each other each evening.
Cabin / Stateroom
The cabin layout is very well designed. There is more than enough storage space. The cabin seemed larger than what it was. A very nice feature was a separate toilet room. The shower was large and water pressure was always high. The cabin steward came by multiple times during the day to ensure the cabin was always neat and clean.
Ship tip
Go to the bridge often and talk with the captain and bridge crew.
Thumbs up
0
Ports of call
We arrived in Malaga a day before embarkation. It’s a beautiful city which we will be coming back to.
We did a walking tour of Malaga focusing on Tapas (English language). We had a fantastic tour guide and there were only 3 people on the excursion.
Oran, Algeria
Algeria is a challenging country to visit. Ponant was able to negotiate group visas for all their (included) excursions. Those who did not sign up for extrusions were not able to leave the ship. We went on the Yves St Laurent excursion, which was interesting. The English version of the tour had 7 or 8 people total. We had 4 “minders” in 2 vehicles leading and trailing our bus, and did the same on foot when we got off the bus. This was also the case in Algiers. It would have been nice to be able to explore more of the city.
We went on the walking tour of the Casbah. After a short “escorted” bus ride from the pier, we were dropped off, along with our minders, at the top entrance to the Casbah. Our tour guide spoke very good English and did a very good job detailing the history of this district in Algiers. We stopped mid-way for some local pastries and mint tea, which was fantastic. We finished up in Martyr’s Square where we got back on our bus and were escorted back to our ship. As with Oran, it would have been nice to explore more of Algiers while we were in port.
We really enjoyed the excursion to Carthage. Our tour guide spoke very good English and was extremely knowledgeable about all the historical points in Carthage. We did have time to explore following the tour before boarding the bus back to Tunis.
We did the Masala wine tasting tour at Florio winery in Marsala. Our English speaking guide was fantastic. The winery was very good, although we had one guide who did her presentation in French, then again in English, which slowed things down a bit. At the end, we were served several local hors d’oeuvres along with 2 types of Marsala wine, both of which were very good.
We disembarked here and stayed in Valletta for 4 days. We love the city and plan to come back to spend more time seeing the rest of Malta.
Disembarkation
Very organized and relaxed. We loved that the Captain was there to bid us farewell. Definitely the best disembarkation experience we have ever had.