I was amazed during our recent Global Travel Media “What Might the Future of Cruising Look Like” webinar to hear from Deb Corbett, General Manager Sales & Marketing Asia Pacific that PONANT, one of the world’s leading luxury cruise operators had resumed operations 2 months ago, with Deb saying, “the future of cruising is here now for PONANT, with 40 cruises across 9 ships having already taken place”!
She added that at PONANT they believe that small capacity with immersive experiences, all in a sanitary bubble, is the future of cruising, because limited guest numbers equals manageable and scalable protocols for boarding, onboard social distancing and excursions”, adding, “ We also believe it’s about having a really modern fleet that provides state of the art technology to implement strict health and safety protocols”.
Deb also stressed that because the PONANT fleet is young, PONANT has the latest generation technology onboard, which allows 100% fresh air ventilation in all staterooms, ventilated air renewed in common areas at least 5 times per hour and so much more.
Deb told me that the real testament to the start of PONANT’s cruise season are their satisfaction results, with these results having been excellent.
PONANT boasts a series of 6 Explorers with the 5th, named Le Bellot having been delivered in April this year and the final Explorer (Le Jacques Cartier) being delivered last month, just in time for the restart in Europe. Both these new builds joined the rest of the Explorer fleet.
So, if you are interested in what cruises has been delivered in July and August, and what PONANT’s shisp are doing which is amazing, check these PONANT facts out!
Explorers:
- Le Bougainville: 7 x Bordeaux return explorations have been completed
- Le Jacques Cartier: 7 x Saint Malo return explorations have been completed
- Le Champlain: 2 x Dubrovnik return explorations have been completed for Croatia sailing
- Le Dumont D’urville: 1 x Le Havre return exploration has been completed
- Le Bellot : 5 x Reykjavik return Arctic explorations have been completed
- Le Laperouse is in a sanitary bubble in New Caledonia, crewed and ready to embark on a fabulous exploration season.
The Ultimate Polar Explorer:
- Le Commandant Charcot, the world’s first polar exploration vessel, operating on a hybrid electric LNG system, has entered her final stages of construction and will be ready to be delivered next year as planned. As a “ship of opportunity,” it will be fitted out with infrastructure (laboratories, staterooms) and materials, and be available for use by scientists. In this way it will offer a unique platform for observation, research and analysis of the water, air, ice and biodiversity in the extreme polar regions of which she will be operating.
Our Sisterships:
- L’ Austral: 5 x Marseille return explorations have been completed
- Le Lyrial: 7 x Nice return explorations have been completed
- Le Boreal: 4 x Longyearben return Arctic explorations have been completed
- Le Soleal is in a sanitary bubble in Tahiti (docked in Papeete) crewed and ready to embark on a fabulous exploration season.
Our Mascot Yacht:
- Le Ponant is currently having a facelift and will be launched in January next year, ready for the private yacht charter market with only 16 cabins.
Paul Gauguin Cruises:
- Le Paul Gauguin: 2 x Tahiti cruises completed
With health and safety protocols a hot topic, please check out PONANT’s manifesto and video on their very well thought out health and safety measures, with these protocols in practice right now!
PONANT PROTOCOL VIDEO
SAIL WITH CONFIDENCE MANIFESTO
https://fr.calameo.com/read/000132423a39f38f50497?authid=TqZVdP5hFUMG
A report by John Alwyn-Jones
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