If you scan through Cruise Critic for inaugural cruises you're going to find everything from "never again" to "best ever". My personal experience is not inaugural cruises but a first cruise coming out of a major dry dock and I'm in the "never again" camp. You typically get mechanicals that are not quite right and usually new crew and staff working out their jobs....usually at my expense. I can understand and appreciate wanting to be one of the first, like that new car feeling but personal I'd rather have a first rate cruise. Ponant is not well known to the American cruise market so there aren't a lot of American bias passenger reviews out there. That's not a bad or good thing just makes it harder to know what their cruises are like in terms of service so hard to say what to expect on a regular cruise much less an inaugural. I've seen their ships in the Med and they're beautiful and seeing them actually made me do some research. Have to say their less than all inclusive nature turned me off. The thought of paying luxury cruise prices then being charged to death doesn't entice me.