The 2022 summer season got off to a good start for the French ultra-luxury cruise travel brand PONANT, with all ships in the fleet operational since May 28th and sales gaining momentum.
In the Mediterranean, Arctic, Northern Europe, Australia and Polynesia, all the 12 Ponant ships and their crew are happy to be out at sea again offering passengers the ultimate vacation travel experience. On May 28, Le Soleal, the last in the fleet to restart operation, sailed from Darwin Australia on a new voyage to explore Kimberley Coast, one of the wildest and most unspoiled regions in Australia.
Herve Bellaiche (PONANT's Chief Sales, Marketing & Communication Officer) said their customers were expressing a strong desire to travel.
"Bookings are steadily coming in again with requests for quotes up compared to 2019 and a higher conversion rate. At this point in the season, bookings for summer 2022 are above 80%”.
As different regions emerge from the crisis, the company is seeing an increase in last-minute bookings and shorter booking windows.
As the health situation improves, wearing masks is no longer compulsory indoors/outdoors aboard PONANT cruise ships. However, wearing masks is recommended.
This current year, PONANT launched the new "Explore to inspire" signature affirming the line's commitment to offering "inspiring meaningful voyages for a discerning clientele that is aware of ecological issues."
PONANT's CEO Herve Gastinel commented that "explore to inspire" embodied their philosophy to travel with a purpose.
"Explore to better understand, learn, share and protect is the very essence of our values. Small capacity ships, eco-design, slow travel, an awakening to knowledge, and working closely with local players are the ingredients of tomorrow’s cruise model as exemplified by PONANT.”