I booked myself on a 3-week cruise on a foreign cruise line and started worrying about it.
As it came closer, I grew increasingly apprehensive having done a few foreign non-English speaking
cruises before.
Some of which had not gone so well.
But finally on this trip, I found out when going on a foreign cruise line cruise does
and does not make sense.
As you will find out.
If you’re new here.
Welcome aboard.
I’m Gary Bembridge and it’s my goal to make it easy and more fun to discover, plan
and enjoy unforgettable cruise vacations.
Why was I going on a foreign cruise line in the first place?
Two reasons.
First, there was a specific itinerary I wanted to do.
I wanted to go to Antarctica, but it had to include South Georgia, Falklands, and South
Orkney, as well as the Peninsula.
And second, I was going as a solo traveller.
The French line Ponant offered both the perfect itinerary and they offered me a great solo
deal, with just 15% surcharge.
While English-speaking lines, like Silversea, either did not offer that itinerary or had
no solo pricing.
You may be wondering what exactly I mean by a foreign cruise line, as it could be argued
that every cruise you and I have been on is foreign, because most cruise lines are incorporated
in and ships registered in foreign countries like Panama, Liberia, Bahamas and so on.
This doesn’t make them foreign lines.
It's just a tax move.
And the lines that do it, like Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Line, Princess
Cruises, Holland America, and so on, are all English-speaking cruise lines with an American
on-board experience.
There are two cruise line types that I see as foreign cruise lines for us English speakers
from the USA, UK, Canada, Australia and so on.
First, the multi-lingual line MSC Cruises.
They cater for multiple languages equally, without favouring any - despite their Italian
roots.
Everything is done and offered in six languages in equal measure (Italian, French, German,
Spanish, English and Brazilian Portuguese).
Then there are lines that cater for one main language and nationality.
For example, AIDA, Mein Schiff, and Hapag-Lloyd are German-based lines for German speaking
travellers.
In Italy, Costa.
In France, Ponant and CroisiEurope River, and so on.
On these cruise lines, most people will be from that country and that will be the dominant
and first language on board.
For example, on my Ponant Antarctic cruise, well over 80% of the passengers were from
France.
I've been on CroisiEurope trips where I was the only English speaker on one, and on another
there were three English speakers, 10 Spanish and majority were always French.
I have also been on a Costa cruise where there were fewer than 60 English-speakers on a roughly
2,000 passenger ship
So how does it work for English-speakers on these lines?
This is what I have found.
First, as on my recent Ponant trip, all critical activities like the Captain’s Welcome and
briefings, all safety briefings and all public address announcements were bilingual.
Second, I received a daily program and other on-board documentation, like disembarkation
information, in English.
Menus were bi-lingual.
The quality of translation was very varied though.
Third, based on the numbers on board, there has been either a choice of a few English-speaking
tours or bilingual excursions on my trips.
On my recent Ponant trip I went on all landings and zodiac tours only with other English-speakers.
But when I was CroisiEurope, only bilingual tours were offered because there were not
enough English speakers.
Fourth, it has an impact on the activities on board.
The lines tend to avoid entertainment that relies on language and knowledge of the country.
For example, trivia and quizzes were usually not run, as they require language and often
local knowledge.
Entertainment is much more music and dance focused, as acts like comedians and even magicians
rely on language.
However, when essential and unavoidable, some activities are done by language.
For example, on Ponant the enrichment talks about Antarctica were run separately in French
and English, as these are key to the trip.
However, on Hapag-Lloyd and CroisiEurope they relied more on song, dance, and music that
all could enjoy together.
Fifth, on some foreign cruise lines I have been on there has been a specific English-speaking
host to act as a liaison and help.
On Costa, for example, we had an English-speaking host who would meet with us as a group most
days to brief us in English and answer questions.
So how does this all work out and feel?
Some fellow travellers on these trips, including my recent one, were a bit frustrated at times
as they felt that English speakers were an afterthought, and weren’t getting the whole
experience and were missing out.
This is probably inevitable, and true, in a few areas.
For example, at the Captain's Welcome and Farewell party and in daily briefings, he
did everything in French and English.
However, he might spend five minutes talking about something in French, and then he would
maybe spend one or two minutes in English in what felt to be a cutdown version.
French would be first, and you felt you were missing out a bit when all the French would
laugh at a joke.
And then when he would do it in English later, and you know a joke's coming, and it wasn't
as funny.
The multilingual safety or other face-to-face briefings and tours can be trying at times.
For example, on those CroisiEurope multilingual excursions, it felt long and drawn out because
the tour guide would have to do it in French first and then repeat it in English.
So, everything took twice as long.
The other important thing to bear in mind that English language competency across the
crew is going to vary and may be limited to none in some cases.
It’s important to be patient, accepting and prepared as we are more used being on
cruises where everyone is competent in English.
For me, these did not bother me much as, after all, I have chosen to go on a French, Italian
or German line.
If all that concerns you, one thing to consider is that some foreign cruise lines designate
some trips or even entire ships as “international”.
For example, Hapag-Lloyd in Germany have their Europa 2 ship designated as an “international”
ship, and all the crew on board will be fully bilingual.
Ponant sailings they tend to be international too, so they have bilingual crew.
On my Ponant cruise, the Cruise Director in my view seemed to be less comfortable with
English, although she was very fluent, and I say that as I felt she engaged with us English
speakers less than she did with the French.
But this did not get in the way of enjoying my trip at all.
The Filipino crew on the other hand, probably interacted with me as an English speaker even
more than they perhaps did with the French guests because obviously English was for them
a language they are most comfortable in.
The expedition team, when you look at their backgrounds have worked more internationally,
some had worked in the U.S, Canada, UK, and Australia and were comfortable in English
and French.
So, expect and embrace variety is key.
Then was though a realisation I had on my foreign cruise line trips when it came to
meeting people on board.
Many of the guests national to the lines were less comfortable in engaging in English, and
some do not speak English at all.
Which is why they are on their more national line of course with fellow citizens, and not
on English-speaking lines.
I did find on my Ponant, CroisiEurope, Hapag-Lloyd and Costa Cruise that the languages tended
to stick together.
So, I found I met and mixed with fewer people than when going on an English-speaking cruise.
Even in the restaurant if I wanted to sit with others, I was put with English speakers.
If you're going on a cruise to meet lots of people, you need to bear that in mind that
you may find that there's a fewer pool of people to do that with.
So how do you deal with and adapt to make sure these do not get in the way of a great
cruise and experience?
It seems that many English speakers that choose to travel on a foreign cruise line have thought
about these issues and had solutions and work arounds.
This is what I observed.
First, my fellow English-speaking travellers were seasoned travellers who had explored
foreign places.
They were comfortable being in a minority and navigating around language or differences,
and they were ready to take this in their stride.
But second, and more importantly, they were usually travelling with others, and so were
less reliant on meeting and mixing with others.
For example, on my Ponant cruise there were two American couples that always travel together
and a group of 15 Taiwanese from the United States that also often travelled together.
This is key, as when you go on one of these lines, you have no idea how many other English
speakers there will be on board.
And as I found out, it could be a few as just you if going solo, or you and your partner.
If you are going as a solo traveller, like I have done on all these trips, you need to
be willing to being a bit of a lone ranger on these trips as I am happy to do.
Though, I found the other English-speakers went out of their way to include me.
On my Ponant trip the American Taiwanese officially co-opted me into their group and I appear
in many of their group photos!
While the American couples would chat away and ask me to join them at meals or for drinks
frequently too.
You need to be comfortable with going onboard a cruise line where you may find yourself
in a very small group and having less chance to interact and meet perhaps with people
People coming on with an in-built social interaction group I also found on Costa with some multigenerational
and a few families travelling together.
Then the third observation about English-speaking passengers on these lines was some know the
language of the host line to varying degrees.
For example, on my CroisiEurope, most of the non-French travellers were from Spain and
most of them spoke French to some degree.
But is that the only thing you need to consider?
Is language the only thing you need to consider?
I don't think so.
I realised on this trip that there are two other important considerations.
Usually when I step on board a cruise ship, I just think about stepping into a familiar
and comfortable space as it’s just like being in the UK or USA but on a ship.
But I realised on this trip that when I go on a foreign cruise line, I should treat it
as if I'm stepping into a foreign country, and all that that means not just language
but also culturally, food, entertainment, attitudes, and dress.
Surprisingly, I had this revelation when, after shutdown eased in 2021, when I cruised
on two UK lines that only take UK travellers, P&O Cruises and Saga Cruises.
I was struck by how much of a UK bubble I was in, and so was more aware stepping onto
French Ponant.
This is most evident when it comes to food.
Without a shadow of a doubt, the lines cater for their countrymen.
So obviously on Ponant the food was very French, including snails and steak tartare at times.
The menus were fussier and elaborate, as you would expect from France.
The same was true when I was on CroisiEurope, very proud of their French cuisine.
This I saw was not to all English-speaking passengers liking, who felt the food who found
it fussier, elaborate and lacked some of the favourites on lines they were more used to
cruising with, but we do need to bear in mind these lines will cater for the bulk of the
travellers.
Another difference is around timings and the way the program is structured.
Costa, MSC Cruises, Ponant and other lines with a more Southern European lifestyle, do
everything much later than we are used to.
For example, I was mortified when my dining time I got on Costa was way after nine o'clock
at night.
I just wasn't used to that and that was just seen as standard.
On Ponant the earliest I could have dinner was 7:30 PM, even in the buffet.
I'm used to, of course, on the more English-speaking lines, I can go to the buffet from about 5pm
/ 5:30pm onwards and the Main Dining Room opens early too.
I would say my decision on going on a foreign cruise line over an English-speaking line
moving forwards will be itinerary driven.
If they have the better itinerary, and I cannot do that on an English-speaking line then they
would be my choice.
I did that for Antarctica, and I am now looking at Greenland and Canadian Arctic cruise and
the most interesting and best itinerary is on German Hapag-Lloyd and so that is what
I will book.
Would I choose to go on a foreign cruise line, around the Mediterranean, north Caribbean?
Probably not.
Unless I was going with a group of friends or my partner and friends.
So, I have built in my own social infrastructure, and the price is very appealing value.
One of the best things about going on a cruise, wherever it is, is meeting other people and
meeting different nationalities.
And while that is one thing, I will be guaranteed to do on a foreign cruise line, it could be
limiting.
What do you think?
While you ponder that why not find out about more about what it is like to be on a foreign
cruise line by coming with me on a typical day in Antarctica on Ponant in this video
that did not go to plan, from the moment I woke.
See you over there.