Author: Akvile Marozaite
It was a glorious morning to visit PONANT’s Le Champlain last Saturday – basking in the sunshine, the French expedition yacht looked magnificent surrounded by the iconic London landmarks, with the Tower Bridge in the background, the Tower of London in the north side of the river, and London’s city hall in the South.
Le Champlain is one of the explorer class yachts in the PONANT’s fleet. Built in 2019, she stopped in London on her way to Scotland and Norwegian Fjords where she will spend most of the summer, offering PONANT’s guests to explore those closer to home regions in the elegant French style. Ample outdoor spaces, possibility to eat al fresco in one of its two dining venues, an infinity pool all indicate this ship is perfect to explore warm and moderate weather regions.
Our exclusive ship visit is escorted by Stephen Winter, director of international sales at PONANT, who arrived that morning from Paris to showcase this beautiful ship. According to Stephen, over 55% of PONANT’s passengers are international guests, with the largest group being Americans, followed by Australians and Europeans. Unless the voyage is a dedicated Smithsonian Journey when it is operated as English speaking only, all voyages are bilingual, however English-speaking guests will have dedicated lectures in English, as well as English speaking guides and zodiac drivers. Bilingual messages are kept to the minimum through ship’s public address systems.
PONANT is a luxury expedition cruise company, and this is evident throughout the ship. From Diptyque amenities in the bathrooms that elicit a delighted squeak from some of us who love this upscale French cosmetics brand, to spacious public spaces, and effortless elegance of the overall décor, a French expression ‘bon vivant’ comes to mind when I think about who this ship would appeal to– a person who is fond of good living. While our ship visit is too short to sample French cuisine and wines, PONANT’s culinary chefs are trained by Alain Ducasse chefs, and for the foodies, this should be a significant sign of approval: Alain Ducasse is one of the only two chefs in the world to hold 21 Michelin Stars throughout his career in restaurant business.
Another special feature of the explorer class fleet is the Blue Eye, an underwater lounge where ship's guests can watch the world below the water line. Inspired by Jules Verne's 20 000 leagues under the Sea, this venue offers a unique immersive experience and it is easy to imagine being in crystal clear Caribbean waters and watching the marine life or simply enjoying the peace and calm of being surrounded by the ocean. Someone in the group made a comment it felt like being in a whale’s belly, not in a claustrophobic or threatening way, but watching from the inside out, and I think I would like to concur with this – the wavy design of the lounge somewhat reminds of the whale baleen plates and is strangely comforting.
Here are some photos from our ship visit:
Le Champlain Details:
Built in 2019
184 guests
92 staterooms and suites
118 crew members
2 restaurants
Spa
Expedition Cruise experience:
A fleet of zodiacs
Kayaks
Open Bridge Policy
Bilingual lectures
About Ponant:
For 35 years, PONANT has been committed to more responsible tourism and voyages of exploration which have meaning. The French-flagged fleet comprises 13 small ships equipped with state of the art environmentally friendly equipment. With PONANT, exploration is refined, authentic and a source of inspiration.
PONANT Destinations:
Antarctica, Arctic, Alaska, Africa - East Coast, Central America, Baja California, Latin America, Chilean Fjords, Australia-Kimberley, South East Asia, South Pacific Islands, Indonesia, Europe, The Great Lakes
Sales team contact details:
Danny GILES, Sales Manager -North, Scotland, Northern Ireland & Ireland, dgiles@ponant.com
Vladislav SAVELIEV, Sales Manager - Midlands & South, vsaveliev@ponant.com
Stephen WINTER, International Sales Director, swinter@ponant.com
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