French cruise line to release celebratory merchandise and host exclusive itineraries and travel agent events
By
Rebecca Gibson |
Ponant, the world’s only French-flagged luxury expedition cruise line, is to mark its 30th anniversary by releasing limited-edition merchandise and hosting exclusive itineraries and onshore events.
The cruise line was first established as Compagnie Des Îles Du Ponant on 1 April 1988 by 14 young sailors – including current CEO Jean Emmanuel Sauvée – and was renamed Ponant in 2014. The first ship, Le Ponant, debuted in 1991 and was followed by a yacht named Le Levant, which was acquired in 1999 and then sold to Paul Gauguin Cruises in 2012 to become Tere Moana. In 2004, Ponant purchased luxury vessel Le Diamant, which became Ocean Diamond when she transferred to Quark Expeditions in 2012. The line also debuted four sisters ships – Le Boréal, L’Austral, Le Soléal and Le Lyrial – in 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2015 respectively.
Ponant has also ordered six Ponant Explorer vessels – Le Lapérouse, Le Champlain, Dumont D'Urville, Le Bougainville, Le Bellot and Le Surville – which will debut in two per year in 2018, 2019 and 2020 respectively. All six 10,000gt sister ships will be designed and built by Norwegian shipbuilder Vard and will accommodate 180 guests in 92 all-balcony staterooms, comply with Bureau Veritas’s international Cleanship label and feature ‘Blue Eye’, the world’s first multi-sensorial underwater lounge. In addition, the company will welcome Ponant Icebreaker, the world’s first electric hybrid LNG-fuelled icebreaker cruise ship, in 2021. Jointly designed by Stirling Design International and icebreaker specialists Aker Arctic, the newbuild will be constructed by Vard and bring the fleet up to 12 ships.
“Even in our wildest dreams, we would never have imagined that our maritime adventure would bring us this far,” said Sauvée.
To mark its anniversary, Ponant has created two itineraries for Ponant Yacht Club members that include calls in the Ponant Islands and Wallis and Futuna. Guests onboard the ships will also be able to purchase a collection of limited-edition clothing and travel accessories, as well as a book tracing the history of Ponant via photographs and testimonials from Ponant ‘companions’ (to be released in autumn). In addition, the company will release a documentary at the end of 2018 and organise a series of events for its travel agent partners in Brussels, Belgium and Nice, Bordeaux, Lille, Marseille, Lyon and Paris, France.