Le Soleal

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Has anyone been on this cruise? We are confirmed "Tauckies", and love the quality provided. However, we have been looking at reviews of the ship Le Soleal and they are not good at all. what's up?

rabo

We were on Le Soléal for Tauck’s Treasures of Southeast Asia last year. I posted a review of the cruise on that forum.

Here’s what I said then about Le Soléal.
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Le Soléal
The small ship holds 264 passengers. Our sailing had 185 passengers, including 43 Tauck guests, our TD, and our guest lecturer. The remaining 140 passengers were mostly French. We were in a cabin, mid-ship on deck 3. It was compact, but we had room for everything. Our cabin steward, Noel, was the best we have had on any cruise. As Tauck guests we had some amenities not offered to the other passengers, including WiFi (which some people had problems with, but I found it to be very good) and an open bar all day long. Days at sea were relaxing. In the middle of the South China Sea, the Captain stopped the ship, had a bordered area set up off the stern of the ship, and gave us the opportunity to take a swim. No land could be seen in any direction. The area was protected by crew members in zodiacs (watching for any large fish that we would not want near us!).

Le Soléal Staff & Crew
Everyone on the ship was most eager to please. When not on duty, officers (including the Captain) could frequently be found in the ship’s lounges socializing with passengers. Announcements were made first in French, and then in English. Occasionally it seemed that some of the French did not make it into the English translation, but we were always kept well informed of where we were and what was going on.

Le Soléal Entertainment
Entertainment included dancers, singers and musicians who were all excellent.

Le Soléal Food
Breakfast was a buffet on deck where there was an indoor section and an outdoor section by the pool. There were both European and Western specialties, including made-to-order eggs. Breads and pastries were over the top!
Lunch was a buffet, either on deck six or in the dining room, with some made-to-order items, and grilled-to-order specialties by the pool. There was a grilled fish every day, hamburgers (Scheindel said they were the best she ever had) and steaks. One day, there was a kettle of mussels on the grill. They were in a light sauce, and they were great! That same day they had lamb chops being grilled for lunch. All I can say about them is that I had four!
At dinner you could choose between a buffet on deck 6 or being served in the dining room. Except for one night, we went to the dining room. There were several appetizer, entrée, and dessert choices.
All of the food was very good, but having been on a Tauck River Cruise in France I expected that everything would have exceeded very good. The magic glasses that I had mentioned earlier were always available on Le Soléal.
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I also posted a daily blog at http://www.rabo.com/Blog/Treasures_of_Southeast_Asia/

Randall and Donna Lau

As a side note, we were aboard Le Soleal in Antarctica in January of this year, and she was everything we expected and more. The food was excellent, and the crew and staff went out of their way to make us comfortable and pleased. We especially enjoyed the open door policy for the bridge, and the relaxing ambiance of the ship. I would have to wonder about the source of your complaints before I would wonder about any of the ships.

Randall and Donna Lau

Again, we cruised aboard Le Soleal going northbound in the waters of the Land of the Rising Sun. The ship, captain, and crew were some of the best sailors that we have met on our cruises. The food, as always, was excellent. The selection was some of the best, and equaled or exceeded what we had experienced in the Antarctic in 2015.