Luxury French cruise company, PONANT, is scheduled to release four new expedition ships expected for delivery in 2018 and 2019.
The new fleet challenges the philosophy that “bigger is better”. Rather, the European-built expedition ships have been designed with a smaller hull, in order to access less-visited parts of the globe where large-sized fleets cannot anchor, as well as ensure a higher quality of personalised service for a smaller group of guests.
Each ship has just 92 oceanview staterooms and suites, each with a private balcony, and carries a maximum of 184 guests attended by 110 crew members.
Five-star amenities include a spa, gym, observation lounge and swimming pool. Guests can also explore life beneath the surface via the underwater observation lounge, or by donning some of the onboard scuba gear.
The first ship to be deployed in 2018 will go directly to the Kimberley region of Western Australia and will from there remain in the Australasian and South East Asian region. The other three ships will cover the Arctic and Antarctic, the Caribbean, archipelagos of the Pacific, Northern European countries and the Baltic, as well as areas around South America, Asia and South Africa. ponant.com