The 5 best destinations you can visit on a Ponant cruise ship

Looking to get off the beaten path on your next cruise vacation — and do it in style? There might be no better option than a voyage with Ponant Explorations. The expedition cruise specialist operates a fleet of 13 small, luxurious vessels specifically designed to access some of the world’s most remote and hard-to-reach places. …

Apr 3, 2025 - 14:13

The 5 best destinations you can visit on a Ponant cruise ship

Looking to get off the beaten path on your next cruise vacation — and do it in style? There might be no better option than a voyage with Ponant Explorations.

The expedition cruise specialist operates a fleet of 13 small, luxurious vessels specifically designed to access some of the world’s most remote and hard-to-reach places.

Ponant has some of the world’s toughest polar-rated expedition ships, including the only cruise vessel capable of reaching the North Pole, and it is a leader in voyages to Antarctica and the Arctic — arguably the world’s two most difficult-to-access destinations.

The cruise specialist is also known for offering one of the most diverse arrays of off-the-beaten-path voyages across remote parts of Oceania and the Pacific Islands, as well as around little-visited parts of Africa, the Middle East and the Indian Ocean.

Additionally, Ponant sails to more traditional cruise destinations such as the Mediterranean and the Caribbean, though the line typically focuses on the less visited corners of those places.

This mix of polar, tropical and subtropical voyages on relatively upscale expedition vessels or small yachts is rare in the cruise world.

Here, we offer our picks for the five best Ponant cruise destinations.

Antarctica

Ponant is one of a handful of expedition cruise companies that dominate the market for trips to Antarctica. In fact, depending on how you count things, it might be the biggest Antarctica cruise operator.

Ponant often sends five vessels to the “White Continent” each year — more than any other major cruise brand. This includes four 264-passenger sister vessels (Le Soleal, Le Boreal, Le Lyrial and L’Austral) that were specifically built to bump through ice in polar regions (each has a 1C ice class rating from Lloyd’s Register) and the brand’s groundbreaking, 200-passenger luxury icebreaker, Le Commandant Charcot.

Le Commandant Charcot, which debuted in 2021, is renowned as the world’s toughest passenger vessel. It is capable of traveling through solid ice to the remote parts of Antarctica and the Arctic.

The five vessels that Ponant regularly sends to Antarctica operate a wide range of itineraries, from 10-night trips that focus on the Antarctic Peninsula to epic, 30-night sailings that take in far greater swaths of the continent. The latter voyages, on Le Commandant Charcot, take passengers to some of Antarctica’s least visited areas as the vessel travels thousands of miles between the southern tip of South America and Australia.

Like several other upscale lines that have been adding more Antarctica voyages in recent years, Ponant is targeting high-end customers who want to explore the continent in style. All five of the vessels that Ponant sends to the region feature large, comfortable cabins and high-end restaurants serving elegant cuisine.

Additionally, the vessels offer a lot of high-end adventures. Outdoor equipment includes kayaks and Zodiac boats for landings along Antarctica’s shoreline to visit penguin colonies.

The Arctic

Ponant's Le Commandant Charcot — Ponant’s Le Commandant Charcot in pack ice near the North Pole. OLIVIER BLAUD/PONANT

For years, Ponant has been a major player in expedition-style cruises to the most remote parts of the Arctic, from the famed Northwest Passage across the Canadian Arctic to, more recently, the North Pole.

While the line’s itineraries across the region vary from year to year, they often center around sailings to the Svalbard archipelago — a cluster of rugged islands that are known as a haven for many of the Arctic’s best-known wildlife. There, you can see polar bears, whales (if you’re lucky), walruses, and giant colonies of Brunnich’s guillemots and other Arctic birds.

The brand also frequently offers voyages to the glacier-lined coasts of Greenland as well as trips that touch Iceland.

Like with its trips to Antarctica, Ponant deploys some of its fleet of five vessels specifically built for polar sailing to the Arctic, including the new Le Commandant Charcot, which operates its North Pole trips. It also sometimes sends one of its six smaller, 184-passenger vessels known as the Ponant Explorers.

In the summer of 2026, Ponant will dedicate three of its polar vessels (Le Lyrial, L’Austral and Le Commandant Charcot) to Arctic sailings under the Ponant banner, as well as two Ponant Explorers (Le Laperouse and Le Bellot).

In some cases, the ships operate in the region under charter to U.S.-based luxury tour companies such as Abercrombie & Kent and Tauck. So, if you see Arctic sailings on offer from those companies, you might be booking a Ponant ship without even knowing it. In other cases, the line sells its Arctic sailings under its own brand name.

Oceania and the Pacific Islands

Ponant's Le Laparouse along Australia's Kimberley coast. — Ponant’s Le Laparouse along Australia’s Kimberley coast. NICK RAINS/PONANT

Ponant offers one of the most diverse arrays of sailings to the Oceania region of any line. It operates several dozen voyages each year that explore the far-flung islands of Micronesia, Melanesia and Polynesia, as well as the islands of Papua New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand.

The line often has a particularly robust lineup of voyages focusing on Papua New Guinea, with at least a few 10- to 16-night trips each year that are almost entirely devoted to the destination. Stops highlight local cultures, World War II history, nature and wildlife.

Ponant also offers one of the largest arrays of expedition sailings to the remote Kimberley region of northwestern Australia. This area is known for its massive crocodiles and natural wonders, such as “horizontal waterfalls” and a reef that seemingly rises like magic from the sea.

Other classic Ponant itineraries in the Oceania region include a 16-night trip from Fiji to Guam that visits Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands, and several of the islands and atolls of Micronesia — many of which are steeped in World War II history.

In a typical year, the line will send at least two of its vessels to the Oceania region for extended seasons. (For 2025, it’ll be the 184-passenger Le Jacques-Cartier and 264-passenger Le Soleal.) Both ships will typically spend at least some time in the Kimberley region before heading to other parts of Oceania.

Africa, the Middle East and the Indian Ocean

A Ponant ship in the middle of the ocean — Ponant ships such as Le Jacques-Cartier sometimes sail to Africa and the Middle East. MIKE LOUAGIE/PONANT

Ponant is one of a handful of small-ship cruise operators that regularly offer expedition-style sailings to such African countries as South Africa, Tanzania and Madagascar, as well as to Indian Ocean destinations, including Reunion Island, the Seychelles and the Maldives.

Among the line’s itineraries in the region is a 12-night Zanzibar, Aldabra and the Treasures of the Indian Ocean voyage between the Seychelles and Zanzibar, Tanzania. This cruise includes visits to the white sand beaches and crystal-clear waters of remote Seychelles islands, such as Assumption Island and Aldabra (one of the world’s largest atolls and home to the largest colony of land turtles in the world).

Additional stops along Tanzania’s coast allow cruisers to explore the ruins of the 13th-century Swahili trading post of Kilwa Kisiwani, the coral reefs that encircle Misali Island, and the clove plantations and fantastic scuba diving of Pemba Island.

Other Ponant routes in the region include 10-night trips along the coasts of South Africa and Namibia that include stops at Luderitz, Namibia — for a visit to the ghost town of Kolmanskop and its colonial buildings now overrun by sand — and Port Elizabeth, South Africa — for a safari trip to see the elephants in Addo Elephant National Park.

Other itineraries focus exclusively on the Seychelles or bring passengers to wildlife-filled Madagascar.

The Mediterranean

Ponant's Le Jacques Cartier visiting the Greek island of Hydra — Ponant’s Le Jacques-Cartier visiting the Greek island of Hydra. AURELIEN CORLAY/PONANT

While particularly known for expedition-style voyages to more remote destinations, Ponant does offer a diverse array of sailings in more traditional cruise destinations such as the Mediterranean, Northern Europe and the Caribbean — all with Ponant’s signature small-ship touch.

In the Mediterranean, the line offers dozens of voyages every year that often focus on less-visited destinations that only its small ships can access, such as small Greek islands and little towns along Croatia’s coast.

Primarily available in the summer months, the trips range from seven to 10 nights in length and often go in-depth into a particular area of the Mediterranean. For instance, one seven-night itinerary on Ponant’s smallest vessel, the 32-passenger sailing yacht Le Ponant, is almost entirely devoted to the coastal towns and islands of Croatia. Another itinerary, on the 184-passenger Le Bougainville, spends eight nights circumnavigating the island of Sicily.

The itineraries often include stops to visit ancient ruins and historic sites, as well as countryside wineries, natural areas and pristine beaches.

The Sicily sailing includes a stop at the island’s Porto Empedocle — gateway to the fabled Greek temples of Agrigento — and Taormina for a tour to a winery on the slopes of Mount Etna, the largest active volcano in Europe.

Additional itineraries focus on the southern coast of Spain, the southern coast of Italy, and trips to the islands in Greece and Turkey.

Bottom line

Small-ship line Ponant is known for upscale sailings to some of the world’s most remote places, from Antarctica to the most far-flung Pacific Islands. The line’s strength lies in adventurous, expedition-style trips to off-the-beaten-path places that can only be accessed by small, hardy vessels carrying their own landing craft.

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