Hamburg Day 2
12th May 2012
To be concluded....
Showing posts with label Le Boreal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Le Boreal. Show all posts
25 May 2012
Hamburg Harbour 823rd Birthday
Hamburg Day 2
12th May 2012
To be concluded....
14 May 2011
Le Boreal Part 3
Le Boreal
Part 3
Thursday 28th April 2011
Here we are still at sea, sailing from Marseille to Lisbon, with sunshine outside.
Two of us had a rather disturbing time just before breakfast, as we ventured up to Deck 5. One of the dancers gave us a briefing on how to use the Gym and Fitness equipment – and not just the more usual items, but also whizzy computer-generated individual assessments and programmes. Very kind of her but I think I’ll stick to walking and swimming…
Breakfast was plentiful and I loved seeing a huge bowl of prepared sliced pink grapefruit on the buffet table.
There was a lecture in the Theatre by Michel Escoffier, talking about his great-grandfather Auguste Escoffier. This was followed by a cookery demonstration by another of the chefs on board. We decided to take advantage of the open Bridge policy and visit there.
Visibility was still good outside and as the watch keeping Deck officers showed us the radar we could see two ships visible towards the horizon. We were then shown information of their names and the destination for one of them.
I had taken pictures of Ponant’s new ship L’AUSTRAL being completed in Ancona last July, so I gave copies of the photographs to the Deck officers. One of our group also handed over a gift for the Captain of a copy of “Cruise Ships Third Edition” by William Mayes, which we thought would be well received. No acknowledgement was ever received on board and, at the time of writing this, still hasn’t been.
Lunch was followed by an afternoon lecture and red wine tasting (which I didn’t attend) in the Theatre, by a gentleman described (in English) as ‘best wine Expert in the World’.
After lunch we walked in the sun on the top deck,
and noticed a large white container up on the non-public deck above the stern.
It was only when we saw an engineer going into the side of it that we realised that it was not the usual kind of container. We subsequently asked and found out that it contained a motor generator, which was needed for the ship’s use following her problems in Antarctica a few months ago, when one cruise had to be cancelled in January.
Tea in the Main Lounge Ispahan was enjoyed as we watched a promotional film from Compagnie du Ponant about the arrival in Marseille of LE BOREAL and L’AUSTRAL just the other day. Now we know what the helicopter was doing, flying over Chateau d’If whilst we were there! The film was made by Philippe Plisson, the renowned photographer of the sea and lighthouses. I have admired his work for a long time, and some years ago I was lucky enough to meet Monsieur Plisson himself, on board a Transatlantic liner. I remembered that he also has a small business in St. Malo. The Library on board this ship has several of his books of photographs so I enjoyed looking at them one afternoon, while the others played Monopoly.
The pre-dinner entertainment was a classical/jazz piano concert in the Theatre, which most of us saw and enjoyed. Again, it started later than advertised and so did this evening’s Gastronomic Dinner, but at least a public announcement had been made about the new dining time. This is not really a problem, but it is so disappointing then to have to queue for an unknown length of time outside the Restaurant, knowing there is no allocated seating and there is no guarantee that six friends can even sit together for what should be the highlight of the day.
Dinner was again wonderful to see and enjoy, despite the lengthy French descriptions from the Chef. Luckily two of our group speak fluent French so were able to describe the dishes again this evening, but in précis (!) form.
My daily programme told me that the final entertainment of the evening was to be a showing of the film ‘Ratatouille’. I loved seeing this film in my local cinema but didn’t quite expect to see it on a Gastronomic Cruise! (For anyone who hasn’t seen the film, it’s about a rat that wants to be a French chef, in France, and succeeds!)
Ships seen: Tirranna, going to Setubal, Portugal, and Torm Fraya.
To be continued...
Part 3
Thursday 28th April 2011
Here we are still at sea, sailing from Marseille to Lisbon, with sunshine outside.
Two of us had a rather disturbing time just before breakfast, as we ventured up to Deck 5. One of the dancers gave us a briefing on how to use the Gym and Fitness equipment – and not just the more usual items, but also whizzy computer-generated individual assessments and programmes. Very kind of her but I think I’ll stick to walking and swimming…
Breakfast was plentiful and I loved seeing a huge bowl of prepared sliced pink grapefruit on the buffet table.
There was a lecture in the Theatre by Michel Escoffier, talking about his great-grandfather Auguste Escoffier. This was followed by a cookery demonstration by another of the chefs on board. We decided to take advantage of the open Bridge policy and visit there.
Visibility was still good outside and as the watch keeping Deck officers showed us the radar we could see two ships visible towards the horizon. We were then shown information of their names and the destination for one of them.
I had taken pictures of Ponant’s new ship L’AUSTRAL being completed in Ancona last July, so I gave copies of the photographs to the Deck officers. One of our group also handed over a gift for the Captain of a copy of “Cruise Ships Third Edition” by William Mayes, which we thought would be well received. No acknowledgement was ever received on board and, at the time of writing this, still hasn’t been.
Lunch was followed by an afternoon lecture and red wine tasting (which I didn’t attend) in the Theatre, by a gentleman described (in English) as ‘best wine Expert in the World’.
After lunch we walked in the sun on the top deck,
and noticed a large white container up on the non-public deck above the stern.
It was only when we saw an engineer going into the side of it that we realised that it was not the usual kind of container. We subsequently asked and found out that it contained a motor generator, which was needed for the ship’s use following her problems in Antarctica a few months ago, when one cruise had to be cancelled in January.
Tea in the Main Lounge Ispahan was enjoyed as we watched a promotional film from Compagnie du Ponant about the arrival in Marseille of LE BOREAL and L’AUSTRAL just the other day. Now we know what the helicopter was doing, flying over Chateau d’If whilst we were there! The film was made by Philippe Plisson, the renowned photographer of the sea and lighthouses. I have admired his work for a long time, and some years ago I was lucky enough to meet Monsieur Plisson himself, on board a Transatlantic liner. I remembered that he also has a small business in St. Malo. The Library on board this ship has several of his books of photographs so I enjoyed looking at them one afternoon, while the others played Monopoly.
The pre-dinner entertainment was a classical/jazz piano concert in the Theatre, which most of us saw and enjoyed. Again, it started later than advertised and so did this evening’s Gastronomic Dinner, but at least a public announcement had been made about the new dining time. This is not really a problem, but it is so disappointing then to have to queue for an unknown length of time outside the Restaurant, knowing there is no allocated seating and there is no guarantee that six friends can even sit together for what should be the highlight of the day.
Dinner was again wonderful to see and enjoy, despite the lengthy French descriptions from the Chef. Luckily two of our group speak fluent French so were able to describe the dishes again this evening, but in précis (!) form.
My daily programme told me that the final entertainment of the evening was to be a showing of the film ‘Ratatouille’. I loved seeing this film in my local cinema but didn’t quite expect to see it on a Gastronomic Cruise! (For anyone who hasn’t seen the film, it’s about a rat that wants to be a French chef, in France, and succeeds!)
Ships seen: Tirranna, going to Setubal, Portugal, and Torm Fraya.
To be continued...
10 May 2011
Le Boreal 27th April 2011 Part 2
Wednesday 27th April 2010
Wow, it’s a red carpet day, and lots of it! We all arrived at the cruise port to find LE BORÉAL and L’AUSTRAL bow to bow, with red carpet going in every direction. L’AUSTRAL had her maiden voyage celebrations yesterday and would leave later today, after our departure at 12 noon.
There was time for lots of fun photographs before luggage was handed in, tickets were checked and we could stroll along to the gangway.
The Captain of LE BORÉAL was standing there, ready to shake hands and see us each guided to our cabins. No, make that a stateroom not cabin, as I had a balconied cabin with a huge bed and seven pillows/cushions on it.
The toilet cubicle was adequate for a small person, but the separate bathroom/shower was bigger with a surprising totally glass wall separating it from the bedroom part of the cabin. As the sole occupant of my cabin it meant I could at least look through the bathroom glass wall and see the sea. Hmm, this has novelty value I suppose, especially when I was showering. In fact there was also a sliding door which could be pulled across to cover the glass but I left it open.
The ship was built at Fincantieri’s Ancona shipyard just last year for Compagnie du Ponant, at 10,700 gross tons, 16 knots, 140 crew, with 223 passengers on board today. She is French-flagged and is Ice Class 1C, for her more usual Antarctic cruises and expeditions. The ship has 132 cabins, with double or twin beds and private bathroom facilities.
There are six decks: Deck 2 Le Liberte has the Gastronomic Restaurant (268 seats) aft, with a Marina just aft of that. Deck 3 Le Champollion above that has the Medical Centre forward, cabins aft of that, with Reception and Excursion desk around the circular seating.
Aft again is a small shop, then Main Ispahan Lounge and bar,
with access through poorly fitting doors to the small open deck behind that. Deck 4 Le La Fayette has cabins and the Theatre aft. Deck 5 Le Normandie has the forward Bridge, cabins behind, then the Fitness centre, with hairdresser, massage and beauty facilities. Deck 6 Le France has the lovely open Panoramic Terrace at the bow,
with the Panoramic Lounge/Bar/Library inside behind that, which we all enjoyed very often.
Cabins were behind that, then the partly-covered Grill Restaurant, which proved popular but disorganised for buffet mealtimes. The swimming pool was sited here, with snow-white pool towels and dark coloured steamer chairs. The soft seating was in the signature bright red colour.
Above again on Deck 7 Le Paris was an aft Open-Air Bar; forward was some deck space but filled with Zodiacs and then a small forward Sun Deck which was not always available. There was an open Bridge policy.
I loved the subtle colour palette inside LE BORÉAL, with its dark brown or grey and white, with bright red splashes of colour. It seemed very stylish and comfortable for our 3 night Gastronomic Cruise, sailing from Marseille to Lisbon in Portugal. This re-positioning cruise is the only short one available, so it was an ideal length to try out one of Ponant’s Yacht Cruises. I liked the art work on board, in the cabins, corridors, lounges and stairwells, although it was sometimes hidden by poorly sited lighting (in the Ispahan Grand Salon for example).
Lunch was available in the Grill Restaurant, with disorganised buffet queues all around, but there was eventually a good choice of food, with wine and other drinks all supplied with the meal.
The Captain announced our departure time (late) and we blew 3 whistles to Ponant’s newest ship as we left the quayside. The sun was blazing down under a cloudless blue sky, we were sailing on a one-year old ship, and there beside us was a brand new vessel about to leave on her maiden voyage within an hour, and when we signalled our goodbyes in the usual nautical way – nothing, absolutely nothing, no response whatsoever. We all found this extraordinary.
Later that afternoon all the English-speaking passengers on board were invited to a Welcome Briefing in the Theatre from one of the Cruise Directors – Nadine - and our Captain Jean-Philippe Lemaire. After the brief Briefing it seemed the moment to ask politely why our 3 whistles on departure hadn’t been acknowledged by an answering signal from L’AUSTRAL, who was about to set out on her maiden voyage. The answer from the Captain, in English, was to the effect that yesterday had been the celebrations day (we knew that, but we weren’t there) with lots of whistle blowing, and today there were important people on board L’AUSTRAL and they didn’t choose to interrupt things with the VIPs. He also mentioned that it was not a maritime necessity to salute each other with whistles.
Afternoon tea was available,
then Lifeboat Drill followed, and soon it was time to prepare for the first of our Gastronomic dinners, starting at 7.30 p.m. First however we were informed that as dinner would probably be long and enjoyable, it had been decided that the ‘entertainment’ would be held at 6 p.m. with a Welcoming Show of Dancers in the Theatre. This was pleasant, but then it was announced that dinner would start later than advertised so we all trooped back to the Ispahan Lounge before being summoned down to the Restaurant to queue to enter. Seating had not been allocated in advance. A pleasant meal followed, which took three hours to serve with the appropriate wine; as each course was served, the French chef explained the details of the particular dish, and the wine, in French, at great length.
There was no English translation, which was a shame as the English-speakers on board (over 50 of us) had been told we would be treated equally with the French-speakers.
That was the end of our first day on our Gastronomic Cruise. It had been very enjoyable, in congenial company, and we really liked the ship and its furnishings.
Ships seen: Tassili I and II, Danielle Casanova, Napoleon Bonaparte, Paglia Orba, Scandola, Jean Nicoli, Atlantic Star, L’Austral, Le Boréal, Al Sabini, Monte d’Oro
To be continued...
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