French expedition line Ponant Explorations has built its reputation on a simple idea: take a small, luxurious ship to places big cruise ships simply cannot go. Its fleet of 13 vessels includes some of the hardest-working polar ships afloat — among them Le Commandant Charcot, the world's only cruise vessel capable of pushing through solid ice all the way to the North Pole. Here's where the line truly shines.
Antarctica is arguably Ponant's headline act. The company often sends five ships south each austral summer — more than any other major cruise brand — including four 264-passenger ice-class sisters (Le Soleal, Le Boreal, Le Lyrial and L'Austral) plus the 200-passenger icebreaker. Itineraries range from 10-night Antarctic Peninsula trips to epic 30-night crossings aboard Le Commandant Charcot, sailing between South America and Australia and calling at some of the continent's least-visited stretches. Expect kayaks, Zodiac landings at penguin colonies and fine dining, with fares for 10-night sailings starting around $18,000 per person.
The Arctic is the flip side of the same coin. Summer itineraries centre on the Svalbard archipelago, where polar bears, walruses and vast seabird colonies are the draw, along with Greenland's glacier-lined coast and routes across the famed Northwest Passage. The North Pole trips are rare and pricey — 17 nights from over $50,000 per person — but seven-night Svalbard sailings start nearer $11,000. Note that some Arctic sailings operate under charter for Abercrombie & Kent and Tauck, so you may be on a Ponant ship without realising it.
In the tropics, Ponant runs one of the broadest Oceania programmes in cruising: several dozen voyages a year across Micronesia, Melanesia and Polynesia, plus Papua New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand. Standouts include dedicated 10- to 16-night Papua New Guinea trips built around local cultures and WWII history, and expeditions along Australia's remote Kimberley coast — crocodiles, 'horizontal waterfalls' and all — from about $13,000 per person for 10 nights. A 16-night Fiji-to-Guam route takes in Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands and a string of wartime atolls.
Africa and the Indian Ocean get the expedition treatment too, with sailings to South Africa, Namibia, Madagascar, Reunion, the Seychelles and the Maldives. One 10-night route hops from Madagascar — black lemurs on volcanic Nosy Komba included — to the Seychelles, stopping at Assumption Island, a turtle breeding haven with barely a village to its name. Namibia's coast brings the sand-swallowed ghost town of Kolmanskop, while South African stops can pair with an elephant safari in Addo Elephant National Park. Seychelles sailings start around $7,500 for eight nights.
Closer to home, Ponant also sails the Mediterranean, but with a twist: small ships and offbeat stops. Options range from a Croatia-focused voyage aboard its 32-passenger sailing yacht Le Ponant to an eight-night Sicily circumnavigation with Smithsonian Journeys, complete with the Greek temples of Agrigento and an Etna-slope winery. Seven-night Mediterranean fares start around $7,000.
In short, Ponant suits travellers who want genuine expedition credentials — Zodiacs, ice-class hulls, far-flung landings — without giving up comfort, and who are happy to pay a premium for it.
