Excursions & food on Le Bougainville
We’re looking to do this Northbound cruise from Malta to Marseilles. We’ve done 17 Tauck tours and have lately been disappointed with the increased number of people on each excursion (I realize it depends on the specific excursion). Too many people make it unwieldy and slow. We’ve never sailed on a Ponant ship so we’re curious about the quality and taste of the food (we’re foodies) and also want to know if adult beverages are included in the price while on the ship? Thank you so much!
0
Comments
We’ve taken 5 Ponant cruises and we enjoy the food, it’s styled and served in the French way. There are people who say they do not like the food, it’s obviously a personal thing. We would call ourselves foodies and like to cook. We appreciate that the food is not smothered in salt too. On our most recent trip a couple of dishes that were a miss for us. There is an huge choice of dishes.
All but very top shelf alcohol is included. All the wines on this past trip were good.
We did not notice overlarge groups on any tours, maybe there were more slow coaches on your tour, the ship tours do seem to attract the more elderly people and some with disabilities. One lady was in a wheelchair on our last tour.
I have only taken one Ponant tour and was very disappointed in the food. I am not a fussy eater, but do expect good food. Breakfasts were the most disappointing—fruit was rubbery (many suspected it was previously frozen), porridge was warm water with a few grains floating in it. If you enjoy American breakfasts of eggs, bacon/sausage, you will be okay.
I prefer salads for lunch. The only choice was iceberg lettuce with what seemed to be canned, mixed vegetables. The cheese was sliced deli-style and that yellow, processed “stuff” that you peel away from the cellophane wrapper. I did enjoy the soups, however. Dinners were somewhat better but mostly meat and potatoes. I did have a nicely prepared beef fillet one evening. The fish selection was always salmon and it was okay. I am not a dessert eater so can’t comment on that. There was nothing French about the cuisine.
I thought the logistics of the excursions were well orchestrated and staggered to avoid gridlock upon disembarking. I never felt crowded off the
ship.
Of course, this is my opinion but one based on facts pertaining to my trip. I will remain a loyal Tauck river cruise traveler.
We just did a Ponant cruise to Iceland. I like Ponant. They have very good service, the food we found ordinary, and bland, and not very French. We are not foodies, but our traveling companions are, and they were disappointed with the food. One memorable dish I had actually ‘warned’ that it contained onion and garlic. I love both. I could not taste an evidence of either in this selection. They make a pretty good hamburger, which I used as a substitute several times for the ‘French’ food.
The food is styled and served in the French way, it’s not French food. Americans may find the taste more bland because they are used to heavily salted food in restaurants. I find the food in Africa doesn’t have much salt in it either and the soups are good there too.
I never saw the horrible American processed cheeses, but maybe I was not looking for them because there were many fantastic French cheeses. I don’t recall having just meat and potato choices either. I was on a Great Lakes cruise the year after Kfnknfzk.
So see how hard it is to please everyone.
In 2024, we traveled with Tauck on Ponant L'Austral. The food was fine. The service outstanding. As British mentioned, all booze except top shelf (like Johnny Walker Blue) is included. Food may be served in French style, but its not French cuisine. Onboard, meetings and excursions were divided into French or English speaking. We are planning this trip for 2027 northbound - either end of April or late September. any personal knowledge of the Malta Westin vs Marriott much appreciated. thx.
We enjoyed this trip in September/ October 2023 on the Jacques Cartier. We thought the food was fine, but not as good as some river cruises. Our tour was all Tauck folks, and they handled excursions very well, breaking us into max groups of 20-25. We really enjoyed Malta and came in a day early to take a tour to Gozo on our own. We stayed in a local hotel, I think it was the Corinthian and loved it. Small rooms but the food was phenomenal, and the location right next to the main fountain and gate into Valetta. People who were at the Marriott said it was a nice water location, but far from the town. I don’t know much about the Westin. Valetta is wonderful, especially the St. John co-cathedral. It is the most eye popping church I have ever been in. We enjoyed the Sicily ports, and chose Mt. Etna as we had been in Taormina on a previous trip. You must be able to walk well in volcanic sand to get all the way to the craters, which we did not, but the trip up was interesting. Loved Bonifacio, with great views, beautiful old streets, wonderful shopping for coral, and delicious Corsican stuffed eggplant! The cruise around the bay was really beautiful as well. Elba was nothing to me, but our trip ended in Nice, and we stayed there for several nights and truly loved it. Great walkable city with fun shopping and excellent restaurants, as well as a wonderful Chagall museum.