The Cruise Line Perspective

Refinement, curiosity, authenticity… Our unique travel philosophy reinterprets cruising and invites you to discover or rediscover iconic destinations. Our Culture and Relaxation cruises offer you a new way to travel, by combining cultural enrichment with time to unwind in a luxury setting and sites that only insiders know about.

Theme cruises
Classical music and opera, food and wine, art and museums, theatre and literature, photography... take advantage of our theme cruises to combine your taste for travel with your hobbies. You will have unique opportunities on board and on land, with moments of true cultural enrichment and exchanges with artists and passionate specialists.

Culture

• Art and museums
• Theatre, Literature and Music
• Partnerships with Smithsonian, the Louvre, the Musée du Quai Branly, the Mucem and Radio Classique

Savour the emotion of discovering a work of art; explore major museums on private visits; experience live music on board; meet and talk with renowned artists, well-known philosophers and museum and gallery curators, and celebrate special events.

Planet

• Tales of exploration
• Raising awareness about the need to protect the environment
• Partenership with well-knowned photographers, partnership with the Maud Fontenoy Foundation

Travel in the company of internationally renowned explorers, documentary makers and naturalists and gain a fresh perspective of the challenges involved in protecting the oceans, studying polar ecosystems and preserving local cultures.

Geopolitics

• History and international relations
• Major societal challenges
• Partnerships with Le Figaro, Paris Match, Tallandier Publishing

Understand each region visited and discover the cultural, civilisational and geopolitical challenges it faces with the help of insights from expert specialists.

Lifestyle

• Gastronomy and wine appreciation
• Wellness
• Partnerships with the Le Tigre Yoga Club, Relais & Châteaux and Cuisine et Vins de France

Look after your wellbeing, get back to the basics and disconnect from the everyday with a range of experiences combining wellness, hedonism and epicureanism devised and put together by Michelin-starred chefs, professional sommeliers, naturopaths and yoga teachers.

Our distinguished guests
Each year, our ships host no fewer than 50 guests of honour from different fields. Artists, writers, journalists, scientists… they are all experts in their fields who bring their insights and knowledge to shed light on specific topics. Thus, each cruise marries the pleasure of travelling with the thrill of discovery, whether cultural, historic or scientific.

Prestigious partners
We have teamed up with prestigious partners ‒ cultural institutions and media outlets ‒ to complement your experience. Smithsonian Journeys, The Explorers Club, Radio Classique, Cuisine et Vins de France, Paris Match, Musée du Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac and the Louvre Museum invite you to partake in exceptional discussions with members of their writing staff or renowned lecturers.

Designing a luxury Culture and Relaxation cruise
PONANT has always sought to combine passion for travel with passion for learning. The company's staff approach each cruise as a whole to which the itinerary, lecturers and partners contribute unsurpassed cultural enrichment. Interview with Christel Hancy, Director of Themes and Partnerships, and German Amaya, Cruise Designer, to learn more about designing these unique cruises..

The common areas on board have been designed in great detail to make every moment something special. While the private nature of each of these spaces has been preserved, they have also been laid out to let you enjoy some wonderful times together with other passengers and team members throughout the day.

Lounges and bars
The various different lounges allow passengers to meet up and share quality time together.

The main lounge is the ideal place to relax with a drink and enjoy the various activities that have been organised such as dancing classes or theme evenings.

The cosy piano bar is a panorama lounge with breathtaking views of the horizon.

The outside bar is a great space for relaxing and is handy for accessing the swimming pool* and its solarium.

The Theatre
The Theatre* is the most unique meeting space on board. It's the largest space on the ship and regularly accommodates all the passengers. It plays host to shows and entertainment as well as conferences from our experts, naturalist guides and guests of honours. The Theatre makes every cruise unique and enriching thanks to its constant and very accessible events.

On-board events

• There are performers on board all of our ships. Recruited for their talent in Paris and Rome, they star in multiple shows at the Theatre, after dinner. Throughout your voyage, they host the various entertainment events in the Grand Salon, with the support of our on-board musicians.
• During Tea Time or before dinner, our musical duos consisting of a singer and an accompanying musician play classical repertoires for you. In the evening, they play in concert at the Theatere or invite you to show off your dance moves. Dance evenings are thus co-led by performance dancers who know just how to keep you in step, under the direction of the Cruise Director.
• There's plenty of themed entertainment to enjoy in the evenings. Both a soirée blanche (dress-in-white party) and an officers' evening are held on all long cruises. Other types of parties or evening events may also be on the programme, such as karaoke parties, a Casino parties or games evenings.
• Films are regularly shown at the Theatre on giant screens. National Geographic features, documentaries related to our expedition route and feature films contribute to the cultural enrichment that is part of our cruise philosophy.

Shop
On board all our ships, a shop is open during sailing. It offers a selection of presents and souvenirs: clothing, jewellery, beauty products, postcards and accessories.

Excursion reception and office
On board the sisterships (Le Boreal, L'Austral, Le Soléal and Le Lyrial) and PONANT EXPLORERS, the reception desk and the excursion desk are arranged side by side to facilitate all your requests.

Reception: our receptionists can accommodate you 24 hours a day on all our ships (from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Le Ponant) to answer all your needs, such as room service, etc.

The excursion office: the excursion team is available at all times to tell you about the onshore programmes, organise group or private excursions and to manage transfers at the start or end of the cruise.

On Le Ponant, the receptionist will answer all your questions about excursions.

The Blue Eye
Every ship** in the PONANT EXPLORERS series features the Blue Eye. Located in the hull, below the waterline, this unique multi-sensory lounge that is unique to Ponant cruises plunges you into the heart of underwater life. Sight, hearing, and sensations... With digital screens, hydrophones and Body Listening sofas, you can experience the complete and unprecedented spectacle offered by the seabed.

Accessible to all passengers and equipped with a bar, the Blue Eye is an exceptional place to share a drink in a unique atmosphere.

"Solo" passengers
Whether you're enjoying a cruise in peace or to get to know other passengers, our ships are designed to offer you the right framework for your needs.

At the restaurant, our head waiter will sit you at a table with other guests and introduce you so you can share your meals in a friendly atmosphere. Our English-speaking crew members always make themselves available, attentive and approachable.

*As Le Ponant has a different layout due to its smaller size, it cannot accommodate certain equipment.
** Le Lapérouse, Le Champlain, Le Bougainville, Le Dumont-D'Urville, Le Jacques Cartier and Le Bellot.

Our ships* have many spaces designed to offer guests privileged moments of relaxation and comfort.

Leisure and wellness
Because a cruise offers the ideal environment in which to take time for yourself, our ships offer special spaces dedicated to wellness and relaxation.

The spa
All our ships feature an onboard spa. Equipped with massage cabins, a Turkish bath (Sisterships, Le Paul Gauguin), a sauna (Explorers, Le Commandant Charcot), or a Snow Room (Le Commandant Charcot), the spas offer a wide choice of top-of-the-range treatments provided in association with SOTHYS™, CLARINS (Le Bellot and Le Jacques-Cartier only), BIOLOGIQUE RECHERCHE (Le Commandant Charcot, Le Ponant) and ALGOTHERM (Le Paul Gauguin), leading French spa and wellness centre brands.

The Hairdressing Salon
Provided in partnership with KÉRASTASE®, L’ORÉAL PROFESSIONNEL® or DAVINES®, our hairdressing salons offer a complete range of top quality treatments designed to strengthen, nourish and reinvigorate hair's shine and brilliance. Our stylists are available to serve all your styling, highlighting, colouring, cutting and tailored hair advice needs.

The Gym
The gyms on our ships are equipped with the very latest equipment and machines. Treadmills, exercise bikes, strength training machines and many other types of equipment are all provided in a laid-back relaxing environment. The wide floor-to-ceiling windows looking out over the sea add undeniable charm to the exercise sessions. Each day also begins with organised morning workout sessions, either out in the open air or in the theatre. These are supplemented by water aerobics in the pool, or in the sea off the beach for PONANT passengers, when the situation allows it.

Leisure area
Dedicated to leisure and relaxation, the libraries onboard all our ships stock a range of books and board games. This space is also equipped with Wi-Fi connected computers. The Sisterships and The PONANT Explorers have a special area for children onboard known as the Kids Club. Books, television, board games and consoles (PS4 or Wii™) are all provided for their use and enjoyment.

The Pool
The outdoor areas on our ships, comfortable and conducive to relaxation, have been designed to merge into the sublime scenery and surroundings of the sea and horizon. There is a heated seawater pool featuring its own sun lounge on the top deck of our Sisterships (Le Boréal, L’Austral, Le Soléal and Le Lyrial), on the third deck of the PONANT EXPLORERS (Le Lapérouse, Le Champlain, Le Bougainville, Le Dumont-D’Urville, Le Jacques Cartier and Le Bellot) and on deck 8 of Le Paul Gauguin. On Le Commandant Charcot, you can enjoy the Blue Lagoon on deck 9 and on Le Ponant, a solarium on the 400 m² (4,300 ft²) Sun deck.

The Theatre
Settle comfortably into your seat and enjoy a range of different shows, concerts and performances organised by the professional dancers and musicians onboard. Special musical evenings, dance evenings and culture and music quizzes are held In the Grand Salon lounge onboard Le Ponant. Additionally, traditional local music concerts, featuring styles such as Corsican polyphony and Caribbean steel band music, are performed out on deck in the open air by bands specially invited onboard for the purpose.

PONANT Studio
A photography and videography team escort you throughout your trip. These professionals capture the most beautiful moments of your cruise, which you can share with family and friends upon your return.*

* As Le Ponant is laid out differently due to its smaller size, it may not have all facilities.