The Norwegian subsidiary of Italian shipyard Fincantieri, VARD, delivered Ponant’s 4th Ponant Explorers ship, Le Dumont d'Urville, on June 14.
Le Dumont d’Urville has 92 staterooms and suites, all with private terraces or balconies. Just like her sister ships in the Explorers series, she boasts the latest technology to reduce the impact on the environment and enhance the onboard experience.
Le Dumont d’Urville begins sailing the Baltic region early August 2019. On her maiden voyage in summer, the ship will visit St Petersburg Russia and the Baltic capitals before heading for the French coast and the Mediterranean.
The next 3 vessels in the series are scheduled for delivery before May 2021. Each of the 10,000 GT new yachts has LOA length 128 m (420 ft), width 18 m (59 ft), capacity 184 pax plus 110 crew, 6 decks, 92 passenger cabins (on 4 decks), aft-located sun deck (with swimming pool) and retractable marina (for deploying water sports equipment), its own fleet of Zodiacs (large boats used for passenger tendering and landings in remote locations).
The exterior design was created by the French company Stirling Design International (abbrev SDI). The yacht's interior was designed by Jean-Philippe Nuel.
The world's first ever underwater cruise ship lounge was designed for Ponant's new series of 6 Explorer-class yachts. The unique venue (named "Blue Eye") features vibrating sofas and an innovative sound system to capture sea acoustics.