L'Austral Review
Rating by category
Additional details
The highlight was the Zodiac cruises to places very rarely visited. More people climb Everest each year than visit the islands we saw. We were privileged to get close to literally thousands of birds and seals (many classified as rare and endangered). What a joy to find seals and penguins who were as interested in checking out the red penguins (humans in their Ponant supplied red parkas) as we were in looking at them! The outstanding range of colourful flora on all the islands (except the Bounty group which only support some grasses) was a joy to the eye and the megaherbs a reminder that it doesn't need to be a tropical plant to be fascinating and strange.
The L'Austral is a superb cruise ship and Ponant a first class company. Food, service, cabin -- all top quality.
The French touch was important. Activities were divided into those for French speakers and English speakers. I joined the French speakers with my French wife. This meant we were a group of about 40 while the other group was closer to 150. Thanks to that we had a more personal expedition and got to know our guides and fellow passengers.
Cabin Review
We had the smallest size cabin but with a private balcony. The size was just fine for 2 people and we did not feel at all cramped once we had properly stowed all our clothing and suitcases. The balcony was a plus to get close to the sea and the sea life (multitudes of sea birds and seals). It also gave us some us some fresh air in the cabin which otherwise relied on the very adequate air conditioning for temperature control. The acoustic isolation was excellent and we never heard our neighbours or noise from the corridor.