Ponant Blog Posts

More About ponant

Experience a range of personalized services that allow you to fully discover the countries visited during each cruise. 

Many of Ponant's ships have many spaces designed and organized to respect each guest’s privacy. In a cozy and refined atmosphere, these living areas offer moments of relaxation, comfort and socializing.

Well-being Center
All ships (except Le Ponant) have an onboard spa. Equipped with massage rooms, a hammam, hair salon and fitness room with panoramic ocean views, this well-being center offers a large range of top-end treatments from the French beauty house SOTHYS Paris ™.

Pool & Sun Deck
The spacious, comfortable outdoor areas offer superb ocean panoramas. A heated seawater pool and solarium are located on the uppermost deck of Ponant's sister ships (Le Boréal, L’Austral, Le Soléal and Le Lyrial) and on the deck 3 of our PONANT EXPLORERS. Le Ponant has a 400 m² Sun Deck.

Lounges & Bars
Different lounges enable guests to socialize and share convivial moments during their cruise. Four sister ships feature the main lounge, an ideal place to meet over a drink and watch daytime or evening events; the panoramic lounge, an intimate piano bar with a unique view of the horizon; and the outdoor bar, a relaxation area with access to the pool and solarium.

Theater
The theater is an entertainment room in which guests socialize regularly. During the day, guests can attend presentations by naturalists, lecturers, and expert guests. In the evening, the theatre hosts various shows, musical performances and film screenings.          

Shop
On board all of Ponant's ships, the shop is open during sailing. It features a selection of gifts and souvenirs: clothing, jewelry, beauty treatments, postcards, and accessories.

Leisure Areas
A choice of books and board games is available on board the fleet. The library on Deck 6 on Le Boréal, L’Austral, Le Soléal and Le Lyrial is also equipped with computers with Wi-Fi. On Deck 5, you will find an image and photo corner, as well as a Kids Club offering various games and a Wii™ console. All staterooms and suites are equipped with direct access to video on demand.

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. Meet them on DECK 5 (DECK 6 on the PONANT Explorers ships) at the photo/video area, where you can also order souvenir pictures and videos

Butler Service
Pontant's butler service is reserved for passengers travelling in one of the suites situated on Deck 6 aboard Le Boréal, L'Austral, Le Soléal or Le Lyrial, as well as all the Owner suites, Deluxe Suites, Privilege Suites and the Prestige Suites situated on Deck 6 aboard the PONANT EXPLORERS. Attentive and discreet, your butler will provide a fully personalized service. Throughout your 5-star cruise, they will be at your service. You will benefit in this way from a bespoke, carefree voyage.
 
Room service
Whether you wish to enjoy breakfast in bed, quietly savor a snack in the middle of the day, or even enjoy your dinner in an intimate setting, Room Service is available 24 hours a day. Have a gourmet interlude and treat yourself from a varied menu at any time of day or night. (except on Le Ponant)
 
Laundry service
For optimal comfort, laundry service* is offered on each ship. You will find laundry pricing, bags and slips inside your cabin. During your entire cruise, your steward or stewardess will be available for laundry and ironing services**, which will be completed within 48 hours.

Pillow Menu
Ponant’s teams are available to help ensure your ultimate comfort onboard. That means paying attention to the smallest details. That’s why, you can select the pillow that best suits you from their "special menu".

Open Bar
From the moment you board and throughout your cruise, your unlimited drinks are included***, at any time of the day. A drink with friends at the bar, refreshments on your return from an excursion or in the calm of your Stateroom’s balcony: enjoy a large selection of beverages (mineral waters, cold drinks, cruise wines, beer, champagne, spirits, coffee, tea). A selection of premium alcoholic drinks is also available "à la carte".

Free & unlimited Wi-Fi
All guests have access to Wi-Fi free of charge everywhere on board and on all the vessels in the fleet. By means of a satellite link, Wi-Fi is accessible in most of the regions we sail to, even the most isolated.

Special Polar cruise service
To facilitate the preparation for your stay in very cold regions, a polar parka is given to all passengers sailing on a polar cruise. Boots are available for Antarctic and Arctic cruises. Inform your travel consultant of your shoe size before your departure date and the boots will be delivered directly on board.

*Dry cleaning is not available
**These are paid-for services and will be directly charged to your cabin’s account ***This doesn't include premium alcoholic drinks indicated in the Bar Menu. It is valid only for individual personal consumption, without limitations.

An essential element of French culture, gastronomy is naturally a priority aboard PONANT ships. Fresh products, carefully selected ingredients, refined dishes: throughout your cruise, you will appreciate outstanding cuisine prepared by talented chefs sharing their passion for French culinary heritage.

In a setting worthy of the finest restaurants, you will discover subtle and audacious flavors, interspersed with inspirations drawn from the local ports of call.
 
Accompanied by a selection of cheese and wines presented by expert sommeliers, cuisine translates Ponant's desire to cultivate a certain French touch.
 
Ponant's sister ships (Le Boréal, L’Austral, Le Soléal and Le Lyrial) welcome you with a choice of two restaurants on board to suit your desires. So make the most of your five-star cruise, whether in the intimate atmosphere of the Gastronomic Restaurant or the more relaxed setting of the Grill Restaurant.

A cruise provides the perfect setting for pampering. PONANT has partnered with the French beauty house SOTHYS Paris™ to offer a series of top-end spa and beauty treatments on board in a space entirely devoted to your well-being.
This unique center can be found on Deck 5 of Le Boréal, L'Austral, Le Soléal and Le Lyrial and offers the following facilities:

Treatment and massage area
Choose from moisturizing facial treatments, relaxing massages, aromatherapy baths and anti-aging treatments, and enjoy a moment of absolute relaxation in the expert hands of our therapists.

Balneotherapy area
Le Boréal and L’Austral offer a large range of aromatherapy baths. Discover the benefits of revitalizing balneotherapy, rich in remineralizing salts and adapted to your needs (serenity, relaxation, or energy).

Hammam
A real ritual of relaxation, the hammam offers all the magic of a traditional treatment, in a state-of-the-art facility. Make the most of your cruise and gently relax in the warm and soothing steam.

Hair salon
Fitted with the latest Technogym© machines (including the Kinesis Wall©), the fitness room is an open invitation for you to enjoy exercise and relaxation. Its huge plate-glass windows open onto the sea, providing a most enjoyable setting for your workout.

Fitness room
Fitted with the latest Technogym© machines (including the Kinesis Wall©), the fitness room has huge plate-glass windows opening onto the sea, providing an inspiring setting for your exercise session.

An outdoor panoramic lounge
Make yourself comfortable in the outdoor lounge with its exceptional panoramic views and recharge your batteries in peace and quiet, before or after your treatment.

The safety of guests and crew has always been Ponant's greatest priority. On land as at sea, PONANT applies strict safety rules that are subject to regular international inspections.

Provisions on board

• Each guest has a lifejacket in their stateroom and near the life rafts.

• A demonstration of the procedure for abandoning ship, which is compulsory for all, takes place before the departure of each cruise.

• The ships are equipped, among other things, with automatic fire detection and extinction systems, fire doors and watertight doors.

• For maximum safety in the polar regions, Ponant's ships have specific lifesaving equipment that can cope with extreme external conditions while waiting for assistance, in the event of problems.

Inspections and classifications

• The fleet is monitored by the Centre de Sécurité des Navires PACA Corse, located in Marseille.

• Each ship has ISM (International Safety Management) certification, a very strict international regulation.

• Safety equipment is checked and approved on a yearly basis by the French authorities and by Bureau Veritas.

• All ships are graded and are regularly examined in great detail and without prior notice, in ports of call around the world.

• Ponant's four sister ships (Le Boréal, L’Austral, Le Soléal and Le Lyrial) have a reinforced hull and a structure certified by Bureau Veritas. They have also been awarded “Ice 1C” certification, which authorizes them to sail in polar zones.

• PONANT is currently the only cruise company sailing under the French flag, recognized as being the safest flag to sail under in the world.

Crew training

• After passing the entrance test, each officer received thorough training at the French National Maritime College (ENSM) by alternating periods of training with periods of sailing. After successful graduation and proper experience, these officers are recruited for Ponant's? ships, and are responsible for operating the ship and supervising the crew.

• Training courses on an ice navigation simulator are organized at the ENSM in Marseille. This tool, unique in France, is able to train young officers to run a very specific bridge and to sail in a polar environment.

• The entire crew (sailing, hospitality and production) undergo extensive training enabling them to exercise the roles entrusted to them in the event of an emergency. Many exercises and simulations are regularly held to ensure that everyone is fully capable of behaving appropriately.

• For cruises in the polar regions, the crew undergo additional training regarding survival and behavior to adopt in polar waters.