Wednesday 13 April 2016

New Ponant fleet announcement [video]

#expeditioncruising

Ultra modern fleet consolidates PONANT position as world leader in luxury expedition cruising

artist rendering
PONANT, in announcing the construction of four new ships, has firmly consolidated its position as the benchmark for the new style of luxury expedition cruising on a global scale.

Scheduled for delivery 2018 / 2019, the four ‘Explorer Class’ luxury expedition ships are being built in Europe by VARD, Norwegian subsidiary of Italian company Fincantieri, the shipyard responsible for the construction of PONANT’s current fleet of four sister ships. One of the world’s largest shipbuilding groups, with over 200 years of shipbuilding history, Fincantieri has more than 7,000 vessels to its name.

While many cruise lines are building larger and larger ships, PONANT is containing the size of ships and numbers of guests to ensure optimum balance of ship size, luxury facilities, service levels and guest comfort.

The fleet is designed for a specific type of traveller in mind. With just 92 oceanview Staterooms and Suites, all with private balconies, and a maximum of 180 guests cared for by 110 crew, created to appeal to inquisitive travellers eager to explore some of the extraordinary, lesser visited parts of the globe, in luxury.

Each of the four new ‘Explorer Class’ sister-ships will be 127m in length, 18m breadth, have a draught of 4.4m, efficient stabilisers, and feature two low emission near silent and vibration free electric-powered engines. These are smaller, updated versions of PONANT’s current world class segment-defining luxury expedition fleet.



Designed to be built with emphasis on environmental friendliness, safety, quality and passenger comfort, the new ice-rated ships will be equally at home navigating waters in the most challenging and vulnerable environments around the globe, be they polar conditions or tropical waters.

The first ship will be deployed directly to Australia, which is testament to the importance and growth from the Australian Pacific region. The ship will then remain in the Australasian and SE Asian region.

These compact ships lack for nothing in terms of comfort, equipment and facilities - a check-list of inclusions as if you were to specify features for your personal luxury expedition yacht. Across 7 decks you will find a spa, gym, observation lounge, choice of casual or more formal dining, main lounge and terrace deck, as well as interior and exterior bars, with an infinity glass-ended swimming pool adding a luxurious touch. Scuba facilities and a unique underwater observation lounge offer a choice of wet or dry options to explore the underwater world.

Zodiacs are the perfect vessel for intimate exploration or safe transfers and landings ashore, and so the rear marina deck has been specially designed to be raised or lowered to assist guest access to the ship’s 12 Zodiacs, with provision for boarding two craft at a time. Attention to detail.

In typical PONANT trademark style, the stylish interiors are thoughtfully penned by French architect and interior designer Jean-Philippe Nuel, who also designed the current fleet’s interiors.

Restaurant dining offers flexible seating with choice of tables for two, four or six, memorable cuisine as defined by Ducasse Consulting, and a definitive selection of fine wines; while an Open Bar policy and 24 hour room service reflects the inclusions guests can expect.

Prestigious French partner products abound onboard, a reflection of sailing under the French flag. All in all a very civilised way to travel, imbued with PONANT’s trademark dash of panache.

PONANT Australia: 1300 737 178 or + 612 8459 5000 for additional information. Further information regarding PONANT’s current fleet and destinations is available on the website: www.ponant.com


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