My Time Aboard Ponant's L'Austral in Iceland!
L'Austral
L'Austral is a cruise ship operated by the French cruise line company Compagnie du Ponant. It is the sister vessel of Le Boréal and Le Soléal, being the same weight, length and breadth, along with having 132 cabins and suites for 264 passengers and 140 crew members like the other two ships.
Icelandic Mosaic
Our outward journey was easy and Icelandair proved a good airline with no delays.
Our first night was spent in Reykjavik at the Fosshotel, which is in a great location to explore this fabulous city.
After breakfast we headed off to our port to embark.
L’Austral has a sleek shape and profile. The interior is refined and luxurious but feels friendly and relaxed too. As a French company you can see the French designer flair around the ship and their own amazing personal scent – which we learnt was by ‘Fragonard’ a French designer brand which is present around the ship.
Combinations of fine materials, soft colours and tones harmoniously brightened up with clever touches of colour, L’Austral feels elegant but subtle – it is naturally relaxing and has the ambiance of a private yacht.
There are five decks Deck 2 – Deck 7.
Deck 2 (Pondichéry deck)
This is where the fabulous main restaurant, Le Coromandel, is situated.
A spacious main restaurant that is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner and is primarily a fine dining experience. Breakfast has a mixture of buffet and table service, with Lunch and Dinner offering table service.
The soft neutral colours and crisp white table linens enhance the serenity of this restaurant. There is a great mixture of table options, 2 – 10 and more if required, plenty of style options too, round tables (my preference) and booth type seating too, all adorned with a flower centrepiece and silver hardware. A lovely, relaxed start to the day was enjoyed here throughout our cruise.
The Marina platform is also at the rear of this deck. We were not on a cruise that could utilise these facilities, but L’Asutral does offer cruise itineraries where this would be in use.
Deck 3 (Calicut Deck)
Here you will find a several facilities: the main reception and often your embarkation/disembarkation point. Opposite reception is the lovely team who assist with arranging your excursions for your voyage, and slightly to the front there is a desk for any future cruise bookings.
At the centre of this deck and just in front of the main reception you will find a stunning central glass centrepiece that spans two decks, an intricate piece of art that consists of small glass beads that are subtly alight. It is cleverly surrounded by cushioned bench seating, very beautiful and the first thing you see when entering the ship.
From the centre forward you will find staterooms.
Just before the Grand Salon there is a small boutique offering a variety of clothes, jewellery and gifts.
At the rear of this deck is the Grand Salon/Main Lounge, this is a hub of activity and the main meeting point of the ship. A centre dance floor with plenty of seating around and it is a hive of activity throughout the day. You will find afternoon tea here daily from 16:00 – 17:00, a permanent tea/coffee station for anytime self-service drinks, and of course a full bar with table service.
Evening quizzes/live singing and entertainment are enjoyed here too. Plush seating again with a mixture of bench seating and chairs, and some games scattered around the room to enjoy. A lovely quiet space in the day to enjoy a coffee, and a perfect space for those evening cocktails.
It was also our main meeting point for our daily excursions.
Deck 4 (Chandemagor Deck)
From the centre forward you will find staterooms.
From the centre to the rear is the Theatre. With plush seating - which is stepped down to ensure everyone has a great view - you will find this space in use throughout the day, offering lectures, excursion meetings, afternoon mediation and of course the evening entertainment, which ranged from live music to full shows provided by the amazing entertainment team.
Deck 5 (Bengale Deck)
This deck mainly consists of staterooms, this was our deck. We had stateroom number 521, a Prestige Balcony. These staterooms are a little unique, a gorgeously appointed room, with a clever twist for the bathroom with a separate shower/ basin area and a separate toilet. These rooms are also interconnecting which effectively means you can book identical staterooms. This would offer a perfect space for families, or friends travelling together. Ours was a twin configuration and there was plenty of room and storage, a big wardrobe, a mini bar which was restocked daily, a small desk area, a Nespresso machine and a kettle which was also restocked daily.
For a ship of this size, they are a decent size stateroom.
Impeccable service from our concierge, who kept our room spotless, restocked and cleaned to an extremely high standard.
Toiletries are provided by Diptyque of Paris. Shower gel, shampoo, conditioner, hand wash and hand lotion are all provided, along with shower caps, sewing kits, shoeshine cloth / horns etc. Again, our lovely concierge ensured these were refilled as required.
At the front Deck 5 you will find the bridge. L’Austral offers an open bridge policy, simply in the way of a red or green sign on the door: green and you are free to enter, red and the captain requests you return at another time.
At the rear of 5 is the beautiful spa, ‘SOTHYS’. There are several massage rooms, a small hairdresser and a great fitness area, offering a variety of machines and treadmills, with floor to ceiling windows. This is an inviting area for anyone keeping up with their fitness whilst on board.
There is also a Hamam steam room.
Just before the spa is the photo shop area, where you can purchase the professional photos and videos taken from the amazing photography team on board.
Just tucked away in the corner is also a small children’s play area.
Deck 6 (Mahe Deck)
Deck six is a mixture of a selection of staterooms spanning the middle of the deck, and then more facilities to enjoy to the fore and rear.
Towards the front you find the Observation Lounge, a small but perfectly formed area, looking out over the bow of the ship. Tucked in around the corner you find a small quiet area that serves also as the Library, a gorgeous white Piano, and the remainder of the room is a stunning calm lounge/bar area.
Outside of this lounge there is a viewing area, where passengers meet to enjoy the views, and special viewings. We were lucky enough on our cruise to have two occasions where the whales were visible and almost appeared to be giving us a private show. One occasion we experienced orcas and the following morning there were humpbacks. On both occasions the Captain stopped the ship and made an announcement so we could enjoy these special moments.
To the rear of this deck you find the buffet restaurant – ‘Le Rodrigues’ a bright restaurant offering the same high quality cuisine in buffet style, a huge amount of choice, impeccable service, plenty of seating options with a variety of table sizes, and always a surprise option just outside on the pool deck—BBQ, fajita and fresh fish were a few we experienced.
This restaurant is open again for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and is always buffet.
There is also an al fresco dining area here, that leads you to the pool deck.
There is also a small heated pool area with comfortable sunbeds.
Deck 7 (Zanzibar Deck)
Le Comptoir - the outdoor bar area - is situated to the rear of this deck, due to our itinerary and location it was closed during our voyage, but I expect this would be a wonderful area for warmer cruises.
I would not hesitate to recommend Ponant and L’Austral for anyone looking for a smaller, more intimate ship, especially if you do a similar itinerary to ours.
Iceland was wonderful, full of history and tales, such as the ‘Hidden People’ the Trolls and of course stories of Vikings, volcanoes, cities eaten by lava, their very difficult life conditions all combined with the extraordinary scenery and extreme natural beauty of this amazing country - this cruise has been so so special.
All this was followed by a final last day in an overnight hotel near the airport then an early morning flight home, back to the sunshine and nighttime - being in Iceland during summer solstice meant eye masks were a must!!
You can find out more about Ponant here.
