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Ships of Ponant

L

L'Austral

48 Cruises availables
Le Bellot.

Le Bellot

77 Cruises availables
Tauck Cruises Le Boreal

Le Boreal

71 Cruises availables
LE BOUGAINVILLE.

Le Bougainville

52 Cruises availables
Tauck Cruises Le Champlain

Le Champlain

74 Cruises availables
COMMANDANT CHARCOT.

Le Commandant Charcot

67 Cruises availables
Le Dumont d

Le Dumont d'Urville
Le Jacques Cartier.

Le Jacques Cartier

63 Cruises availables
Le Lapérouse

Le Laperouse

62 Cruises availables
Le Lyrial.

Le Lyrial

62 Cruises availables
Le Ponant.

Le Ponant

81 Cruises availables
Le Soléal.

Le Soleal

84 Cruises availables
Spirit of Ponant.

Spirit of Ponant

Ponant: a French expedition line, and gratuities that are not included

One thing before all the others, because it is settled at the end of the voyage and often catches people out. At Ponant, shore excursions, most drinks, Wi-Fi, the minibar and the onboard lectures are announced as included — but gratuities are not included. That is the reverse of what most travellers assume of a house that includes nearly everything. Put them in the budget from the start.

What we carry, measured

At Ponant, almost every departure follows a different route: you are not picking a date on a known path, you are picking a voyage. The number of departures currently on sale is shown at the top of this page. The ratio says the essential thing: there is nearly one distinct route per departure. You are not picking a date on a known course, you are picking a voyage. Two of the thirteen carry no departure with us at the moment.

The contract, and why it earns a paragraph

The contract is governed by French law: French courts, no imposed arbitration, no waiver of class actions, two years to bring a claim, and a tourism mediator in Paris. It is the most buyer-friendly contract among the lines we carry. Most of the others impose arbitration and cut the claim window. It does not make the voyage better, but it changes what you are left with if something goes wrong.

The ships, and the two unlike anything else

Le Soléal, Le Ponant and Le Champlain are among the most heavily scheduled. Two ships stand apart. Le Commandant Charcot is a polar class 2 icebreaker, running on liquefied natural gas and electricity, with five megawatt-hours of batteries, built at Vard in Tulcea and delivered on 29 July 2021: it goes where the rest of the fleet does not. Le Ponant is a 1991 three-masted sailing ship for thirty-two people, and it was hijacked by Somali pirates on 4 April 2008 in the Gulf of Aden, with thirty crew aboard and no passengers.

The two that carry nothing

Spirit of Ponant is not a cruise ship: it is a nine-to-twelve-person catamaran chartered privately in French Polynesia. It has no dates on our calendar, and that is as it should be. Le Dumont-d'Urville is the other case, and that one is not normal: other sellers list departures for it and we carry none. It is our inventory that is short, not the fleet.

Where Ponant comes from

Ponant is owned by Artémis, the Pinault family holding. It bought Paul Gauguin Cruises in 2019 and took majority control of Aqua Expeditions on 17 January 2025. In practice that means part of the expedition catalogue sold under other names traces back to the same house.

Frequently Asked Questions

The fleet holds small expedition ships, a polar-class icebreaker, Le Commandant Charcot, and a three-masted sailing ship, Le Ponant. The number of departures currently on sale is shown at the top of this page.
Almost never. Each departure follows roughly its own route, because the line builds voyages around specific sites rather than a fixed rotation. You are not picking a date on a known path, you are picking a voyage.
No, gratuities are not included, while nearly everything else is. That is the reverse of what most travellers assume, and it is settled at the end of the voyage. Budget for it from the start.
It announces shore excursions, most drinks — prestige wines excepted —, Wi-Fi, the minibar and the onboard lectures. We report what the line announces; we have not checked it departure by departure. The spa and the gratuities stay outside.
Under French law. French courts, no imposed arbitration, no waiver of class actions, two years to bring a claim and a tourism mediator in Paris. It is the most buyer-friendly contract among the lines we carry, and it is worth saying, because most of the others impose arbitration.
It is a polar class 2 icebreaker, running on liquefied natural gas and electricity, with five megawatt-hours of batteries, built at Vard in Tulcea and delivered on 29 July 2021. It goes where the rest of the fleet does not, and it carries 71 departures with us.
No, two of the thirteen carry no departure on our calendar. One is Spirit of Ponant, which is not a cruise ship but a nine-to-twelve-person catamaran chartered privately in French Polynesia. The other is Le Dumont-d'Urville, which other sellers list and we do not. It is our inventory, not the line's.
Yes. This page shows the departures we carry online, and our inventory does not always cover the line's full catalogue. Call us with the date and destination you found: in most cases we can book it for you.
It depends on the departure, not on the line. If French matters to you, say so before booking: it is checked departure by departure.
The ground and the rhythm. A river links towns a few hours apart and never has a heavy-weather day. The sea imposes days at sea and ports that sometimes close at the last minute. They are two different voyages, not two price brackets.
On small hulls, yes: when a ship carries two hundred people and a route is not repeated, cabins go early. Booking far ahead fixes a choice but commits money years in advance. Talk cancellation terms through with your advisor before you decide.
Anyone who wants the animation of a big ship. These fleets count in tens or hundreds of people, not thousands: few shows, few dining choices, a slow rhythm. That is the product, not a shortfall.
Your agency, and it alone. Voyages AquaTerra operates under a licence from Quebec's Office de la protection du consommateur, your payments pass through a trust account, and the compensation fund for travel agency clients covers your departure. That holds whichever line you choose.
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