Entering service in 1991 for the French market and U.S. charter cultural and expedition-style cruises,
Le Ponant carries 56 passengers. At just 1,490 tons, the French-registered three-master (16,140 sq. ft. of sails) has a French and Filipino crew of 30. The small and sophisticated
Le Levant is owned by CMA/CGM, an important French container ship company.
Compagnie des Isles du Ponant was formed in 1988, and it now operates three small cruise ships—Le Diamant, Le Levant and Le Ponant—and is currently building larger ships. The French container firm, CMA/CGM, the world’s third largest, now owns the Ponant Cruises. The ship and its crew were hijacked by pirates off the Somali coast in early April 2008. There were no passengers aboard the positioning cruise between the Seychelles and Mediterranean, and all the crew were released unharmed.
With charters by Tauck Tours and Zegrahm Expeditions, the passengers will be mostly Americans while those sold to individuals through Ponant Cruises will see French aboard, other Europeans and Americans. Passengers on this outdoor style ship tend to be active.
In the summer, the ship sails all over the Mediterranean, and in winter she is based in the Indian Ocean for cruises from the Seychelles to a wide variety of ports. Cruises may be sold individually through the company or under a charter agreement with Tauck and Zegrahm.
Three public rooms are stylish and deck space is ample. Meals are served in an open-air setting and/or in a gourmet restaurant, the latter for dinner only. The food is mainly very good French and wines are included with lunch and dinner. A sports platform offers windsurfing, water-skiing, diving and snorkeling.
Cabins are all outside, twins or doubles, finished in blond-wood with portholes and small shower baths. Amenities are phones, minibar, safe, hair dryer and complimentary bottled water. E-mail access is available for an extra charge. As the cruises include lots of outdoor activities off the ship, there is no onboard pool or gym, nor elevator between the four decks.
Le Ponant is a top-of-the-line small ship for warm water cruising to a wide variety of unusual ports. Running mate Le Levant is similar though more formal after dark and with more culturally rich itineraries.
