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Ponant and National Geographic have joined forces, releasing a collection of 18 expeditions – and by 2021 they will offer more than 130 expeditions from the iceberg-scattered bays of Antarctica to the crystal-clear Indian Ocean.

Ponant executives on a Norwegian fjords cruise last week said that the two companies are combining their specific areas of expertise to offer a range of unique and enriching expedition cruises.

Aboard Ponant’s luxury small expedition ships, accompanied by Ponant’s experienced Expedition Team as well as National Geographic destination experts, award-winning photographers and photojournalists will accompany adventurous and inquisitive guests on sailings to destinations that rank among the most remote, the most fascinating and the wildest on the planet.

They will explore and encounter the wonders of the world up close, right at the sources, and be transformed by these enriching experiences.

“This inaugural brochure features a selection of National Geographic and Ponant Expeditions to many regions and destinations that few travellers ever see,” Ponant’s vice president Asia Pacific, Monique Ponfoort, commented.

“Exciting, immersive, wild … some with experiences perhaps outside your comfort zone, yet explored in comfort from onboard Ponant’s fleet of modern small expedition ships,” she said.

“Together we are creating exciting new expedition cruising opportunities.

 Each of Ponant’s Explorer-class luxury small ships is fitted with an underwater multi-sensory lounge, the Blue Eye, which lets passengers experience the underwater world through two portholes shaped like cetaceous eyes. Hydrophones built into the keel capture the natural symphony of the sea, and ‘Body Listening’ sofas vibrate in unison with the sound.

For 2019/2020 the expeditions include:

  • Alaska, the volcanic Aleutian Islands, the Sea of Okhotsk
  • The magnificent fjords, ice flows and wildlife of Spitsbergen and Greenland
  • The less-visited Caribbean and Bijagos islands of the Atlantic Ocean
  • In the Indian Ocean, Aldabra lagoon, the largest coral atoll in the world
  • In Oceania, the cultures of Micronesia and the Solomon Islands
  • The far-flung sub-Antarctic Islands
  • Wondrous Antarctica

 

Some voyages currently have a 30% Ponant Bonus available however fares are yield-managed and savings reduce according to the number of staterooms sold.

Pricing and expedition examples below. Note, Ponant Bonus fares are per person, in Australian Dollars, based on a double occupancy. Price includes port taxes, yield- managed, correct as at 8 October 2018.

 ADVENTURE IN THE CARIBBEAN aboard Le Champlain: 23 November 2019 – seven nights from AUD 4730 per person in a Deluxe Stateroom 

EMBLEMATIC ANTARCTICA aboard Le Boréal: 26 February 2020 – 10 nights from AUD 13,150 per person in a Superior Stateroom

FROM FIJI TO MICRONESIA aboard Le Soléal: 1 April 2020 – 15 nights from AUD 11,550 per person in a Prestige Stateroom Deck 4

FIORDLAND & THE SUB ANTARCTIC ISLANDS EXPEDITION onboard Le Lapérouse: 2 February 2020 – 14 nights from AUD 20,320 per-person in a Prestige Stateroom Deck 5.

Also available and just released, the new National Geographic and Ponant Kimberley itinerary:

EXPLORING THE KIMBERLEY aboard Le Lapérouse: 26 August 2020 – 13 nights from AUD 15,970 per-person in a Prestige Stateroom Deck 4

Written by Peter Needham