Ponant
Ponant: the back story
About Ponant: the back story
Ponant began more than three decades ago with Le Ponant, a three-masted sailing yacht, and grew into a fleet of small expedition ships under the French flag. Its flagship, Le Commandant Charcot, is in Ponant’s words the world’s first hybrid-electric polar exploration vessel powered by liquefied natural gas.
A sailing yacht and an idea
Ponant’s story starts with Le Ponant, the three-masted sailing yacht that, in the line’s words, “launched the PONANT EXPLORATIONS adventure over 35 years ago”. She still sails today, carrying just 32 guests in 16 staterooms and suites, and in 2023 she became the first sailing ship to be awarded the Relais & Châteaux distinction. Everything that followed grew from her: small ships, French hospitality and the urge to reach places the big ships cannot.
The French flag at the ends of the earth
The fleet now runs from Le Ponant to four Sisterships of up to 264 guests and six PONANT EXPLORERS of 184. Above them all sits Le Commandant Charcot, built for the high polar regions, with two laboratories and more than 100 square metres given over to science. Ponant describes her as the first hybrid-electric polar exploration vessel powered by liquefied natural gas, and she takes 245 guests to waters few passenger ships ever see.
“The art of sea travel”, in Ponant’s own phrase, served with a French accent.
A table worthy of Paris
Food is taken seriously. Ponant’s chefs work with Alain Ducasse and Ducasse Conseil, and aboard Le Commandant Charcot you can book Le Nuna, which Ponant calls the only Alain Ducasse restaurant at sea. Elsewhere the day brings Kaviari caviar, Bordier butter and cheeses, Pierre Hermé macarons and pastries baked on board, while champagne from Charles Heidsieck, Abelé 1757, Veuve Clicquot or Henriot (depending on the ship) flows from the Open Bar.
Below the waterline
The six PONANT EXPLORERS carry the Blue Eye, an underwater lounge bar below the waterline with two large portholes. Depending on the voyage, Ponant says, it may host music, lectures or meditation; it is one of the most original rooms on any small ship. On deck, a marina platform sends you off by Zodiac, kayak or paddle board.
Where it goes
Ponant sails to both polar regions, the Americas and the Caribbean, the Amazon, Northern Europe and the Mediterranean, Africa and the Indian Ocean, Asia, the Pacific islands and Oceania. Its expedition ships carry around ten naturalist guides, and twice that number on Le Commandant Charcot, trained in the IAATO rules in the Antarctic and AECO’s in the Arctic.
The family
Ponant is part of PONANT EXPLORATIONS GROUP, which also includes Paul Gauguin Cruises in French Polynesia and Aqua Expeditions, whose small ships sail the Mekong, the Peruvian Amazon, the Galápagos and eastern Indonesia. Under the Swap2Zero project the group is designing a sailing ship of around a hundred cabins, aiming for zero CO₂ emissions in operation.
Our advice: if you can, choose a PONANT EXPLORER for the Blue Eye and an intimate ship of 184 guests; save Le Commandant Charcot for a once-in-a-lifetime voyage deep into the ice, and look for Ponant’s list of departures with the single supplement waived.
Why it's on our list
- It began with the sailing yacht Le Ponant
- Fourteen ships under the French flag
- Le Commandant Charcot sails the high polar regions
- Alain Ducasse guides the cooking
- Open bar and Wi-Fi in the fare
Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Ponant: the back story before you go.