Savoir-faire. Explore fascinating destinations by day and sip Champagne at night - a great way to meet new friends. Whether you are Australian, French, German, English or North American a commonality of attitude and expectation creates an easy atmosphere onboard. We market to Australians and New Zealanders by showing the ships, exampling onboard ambiance (especially the food and wine) - a relaxed yet chic environment. 

Not everyone wants to sail on very large vessels and travel thousands of people. Our ships, the most modern fleet in the world, are compact - small by comparison to the mega-liners - carrying just 240 or so guests. This creates an intimate private yacht experience sought by many; more personal and involving. Ultimately, we think, more enjoyable and satisfying. The ships size belie their facilities - 95% of all suites and staterooms have a private balcony, there is a Sothys Spa, boutique, a heated swimming pool (perfect for the polar regions), well equipped gym, choice of dining venues and, of course, on expedition cruises, our 12 Zodiacs allow our guest to get up close and personal with remote areas and magnificent wildlife.

Many of the voyages in this part of the world will be designated ‘expeditions’ which means we will have an Australian expedition team onboard to supplement the French and other crew nationalities. The ship’s crew are bilingual.

4. What percentage of Australian's and New Zealander's cruise with Ponant ??

5. With Silversea and others beginning to bring their expedition ships here in Australia, does Ponant see a move to wanting to base one of it's ships here on a more permanent basis ??

6. What makes Ponant so special separating them selves from everyone else, and what are the main things that Australian's and New Zealander's can expect from stepping on board a Ponant yacht cruises & expedition's ship ??

Certainly the officers and senior crew are predominantly French - but not to the exclusion of other nationalities. For example, in these waters, we have an Australian expedition team onboard as they have more expertise in local destinations. Invariably there are Australian and New Zealand wines onboard (as well as wines from South America and North America), and while the meals have French basis (and why not?), our chefs incorporate local produce and flavours into the menu to reflect the regionality. 

As Ponant's four sister ships are virtually identical it means that our guests can select a voyage anywhere in the world and the ship they travel on will be a virtual identikit of the other ships. This means consistency of hardware no one else can offer. Additionally, for traditional sailors, we offer a classic three masted yacht experience as well. Perfect for the Caribbean, or circumnavigation of the islands of the Mediterranean.   A strong feature of our ships is that they can morph between a luxury expedition operator to remote destinations like the Artic and Antarctica to luxury yacht cruise operator in the destinations such as the Mediterranean and Japan.  

  7. Ponant has the First lady of cruising from Australia Sarina Bratton  in there corner , how significant and how big of an influence has she been in bringing Ponant to Australia and branding of the company ??

Her influence is already reflected in an expansion of Ponant voyages to this part of the world and an increase in the number of expedition voyages in addition to those designated luxury voyages.   

8. With the unique product that Ponant yacht cruises & expeditions has to offer, where does Ponant see them selves in five years time ??