Embarked on Ponant’s L’Austral in Cairns for a 1 week NYE cruise, sailing to Sydney. This was not an ‘expedition’ cruise (as with many of the itineraries with Ponant) but rather a more standard cruise type.
Over half of the 260 passengers were French speaking, but many had great English, and all announcements etc. were in English as well as French. There were 14 nationalities on board, and it was quite nice being on a ship where it felt like we were in another country (even though as Australians we were cruising in our own waters).
The ship itself is lovely – quite new, well designed and maintained, lots of public spaces to sit. The cabin was very functional, with a small balcony. The ‘open’ shower panel is really an optional thing – if you don’t like it, then close it. Good to have a separate WC. The only fault I would say with the cabins is that there is nowhere to sit comfortably, and if you want the 24 hour included room service there is really nowhere to eat it comfortably (no table in the cabin). The pool was very small but nice if you just wanted a dip. They even had water aerobics daily. The gym is very nice, a tiny library and PC set-up.