Le Laperouse

The 2018-built MS Le Laperouse cruise ship is the first of all six Ponant-owned polar expedition vessels. Advertised as "expedition yachts", of the same "PONANT EXPLORERS-class" series are also the sisterships Le Champlain (2018), Le Bougainville (2019), Le Dumont d'Urville (fka Le Kerguelen) (2019), Le Bellot (2020) and Le Jacques Cartier (fka Le Surville) (2020) - all named after famous French sea explorers.

The vessel (IMO number 9814026) is currently France-flagged (MMSI 578000900) and registered in Mata-Utu/Wallis and Futuna.

History - construction and ownership

Compagnie du Ponant (CDP) is a French cruise shipping company founded in April 1988 by former French Merchant Navy officers. All Ponant ships are France-flagged. The company specializes in premium adventure cruise travel targeting the French-speaking source market with all-inclusive deals. Most of CDP's fleet is based in Antarctica (December through March). All these mega-yachts offer modern amenities, premium service by highly-trained staff and crew, 5-star hotel amenities onboard. Exotic, offbeat itineraries visit popular travel destinations worldwide, including Caribbean, Baltic, Mediterranean, Southeast Asia, South America, Australia.

On March 15, 2016, a shipbuilding agreement was signed with Vard Holdings Ltd (Norwegian subsidiary of the Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri) to build four 184-passenger Explorer-class ships (scheduled deliveries in 2018-2019). With this deal, VARD Norway entered the cruise shipbuilding market.

On March 6, 2018, CDP signed with VARD two additional shipbuilding orders (scheduled deliveries in 2020), which resulted in a 12-ship fleet (by the end of 2021).

Each of Ponant's 10,000 GT new superyachts has LOA length 131 m (430 ft), width 18 m (59 ft), capacity 184 passengers (plus 110 crew), 7 decks, 92 passenger cabins (on 4 decks), aft-located Sundeck (with swimming pool) and retractable Marina Platform (for deploying water sports equipment), its own fleet of Zodiacs (large speedboats used for passenger tendering and landings in remote locations). The exterior design was created by the French company Stirling Design International (SDI). The yacht's interior was designed by Jean-Philippe Nuel.

Decks and Cabins

Ponant Le Laperouse staterooms (92 total, in 9 categories) include 40 Balcony cabins (205 ft2 / 19 m2 plus 45 ft2 / 4 m2 step-out veranda). The largest is the 2-Room Owners Suite (485 ft2 / 45 m2 plus 320 ft2 / 30 m2 terrace)). Each of the staterooms features a private balcony (with luxury lounge furniture - 1 table, 2 rattan chairs) and 5-star hotel amenities, including smart HDTV, DVD-CD player, minibar, King-size bed, contemporary furniture.

All suite categories have bathrooms with a sliding panel (in the shower room) revealing a glass wall for unobstructed seaviews. The largest staterooms (Owners and Grand Deluxe Suites/aft on decks 5 and 6) are two-room accommodations with bedroom (King bed), master bathroom (Balneo bathtub, dual-sink vanity), guest bathroom, separate lounge room (double sofabed), dining area (4-seat table), private balcony (dual access). Prestige are also two-room suites, each with 2 bathrooms (separate WC/sink, one with shower, master bathroom with bathtub), 2 dressing rooms, lounge room (double sofabed), double-width veranda.

The boat has 7 decks, of which 6 passenger-accessible and 4 with cabins.

Shipboard dining options - Food and Drinks

Follows the complete list of Le Laperouse ship's restaurants and food bars.

• The outdoor dining area (Lido Grill, located aft on deck 3) has capacity 70 seats. This alfresco restaurant serves grilled meats, along with various salads and desserts.
• Aft of deck 4 is the 260 m2 (2800 ft2) sized Restaurant with floor-ceiling windows and single-seating capacity. The Restaurant opens onto an outside terrace and offers several buffet stations for breakfast and lunch. The staff provides table service for hot meals.
• Most diets can be catered. Special dietary requests must be made in advance.
• At the Restaurant (aft on deck 4), breakfasts and lunches are buffet-style, while the 4-course (a la carte) dinners are waiter-served. Weather permitting, meals can be also served outdoor (on the aft-located deck terrace).
• Afternoon Tea service is available in the Panoramic Lounge (forward on deck 6). Coffee and tea are complimentary and available 24-hours a day.

Shipboard entertainment options - Fun and Sport

Follows the complete list of Le Laperouse ship's lounges, bars, clubs and other entertainment venues for kids, teens, and adults.

• The Marina (water sports platform; offers mostly swimming; it is used only when the ship is anchored and the sea is calm)
• Le Laperouse Atrium (2-deck high open-floor area; features a chandelier with Swarovski crystals)
• Main Lounge (200 m2 /2153 ft2, with large-size, LED screen and floor-ceiling windows; offers early breakfast, specialty teas and coffees, Afternoon Tea complemented with gourmet cookies and fine chocolates; evening entertainment features live performances by resident singer and pianist and an art auction, once per CDP cruise; the outdoor aft terrace is the only smoking area on board)
• Boutique Shop (40 m2 /430 ft2, designer clothing, luxury jewelry, Ponant logo merchandise, special occasion gifts)
• Theatre (188-seat main show lounge for music and dance shows)
• Wellness Centre (Spa, Balneo Room, Hammam, Massage Room, Beauty Corner, Hair Salon, Shower Room, Relaxation Room, a spacious terrace)
• The Fitness (gym room with panoramic windows)
• Leisure Area (has a small kids playroom, Photo Gallery and Internet stations)
• Image and Photo Desk
• Swimming pool’s sunbathing area (with luxury loungers)
• Panoramic Lounge and Bar (with an Internet corner, grand piano, Library, Panoramic Terrace (served by an outdoor Bar) is the ship's nightclub/disco)
• Blue Eye Lounge is located below the waterline (within the hull) and features 2 giant curved porthole windows shaped as cetacean eyes. Live footage of the surrounding marine life is projected onto digital screens which 'wallpaper' the room.
• Sun Deck (open-air sunbathing area, with bar, luxury loungers, padded chairs, showers, deck games - Shuffleboard, Golf Driving Net, 9-hole Mini-Golf)
• Zodiacs (inflatable boats).

Stairs and elevators connect all decks. The Navigation Bridge has an open-bridge policy. It is available to visit throughout the day, but contingent upon weather conditions and security.

Doctor's Office (Infirmary) with 24-hour duty service is also available, as well as laundry services (no dry-cleaning) and Wi-Fi access (throughout). Smoking on the ship is allowed only on outdoor decks.

"Blue Eye" underwater lounge on the new Ponant yachts

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.

• The "Blue Eye Lounge" is located 2-3 m (6,5-10 ft) below water level and is integrated into the ship's hull. Underwater views are via giant curved portholes - cetacean eye-shaped windows (1,6x3,4 m / 5x11 ft).
• Live footage of the surrounding marine life is projected onto digital screens which "wallpaper" the room.
• Sound, transmitted through hydrophones, is captured across a 5 km (3 mi) radius of the ship. The high-tech lounge is fitted with "body listening sofas" vibrating discreetly to allow passengers to experience the ocean rhythms.
• Non-intrusive underwater projectors allow observing marine life from the ship's outdoor decks and the cruise cabin balconies.

These 9-deck ships also feature a resistance swimming pool (aka "infinity pool"), spacious sundeck and 3-position aft marina platform.

Itineraries

MS Le Laperouse cruise itinerary program (like for the other Explorer-class yachts) offers unique itineraries to offbeat port and island destinations around the world, including Caribbean, Europe (Baltic and Mediterranean), East Asia, Australia, Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean islands (Oceania), Canadian Arctic, Brazil Amazon (Orinoco River), South America and Antarctica. On each voyage, passengers enjoy professional lectures and media presentations, led by the ship's naturalists and themed on the regional wildlife and local cultures.

December through March each year, most of the CDP fleet is deployed in polar regions (Arctic and Antarctica).

On January 3, 2017, was the vessel's steel-cutting ceremony held at VARD Tulcea shipyard. On December 18, 2017, the vessel was floated out in Romania, then towed to Norway. On January 25, 2018, it arrived at towed to VARD Soviknes shipyard (Alesund Norway) for final outfitting. The cruise ship was scheduled for delivery on June 15, 2018, followed by Le Champlain (October 2018). The new boat left Alesund Norway on June 16 and arrived in Reykjavik Iceland on June 19 to start the inaugural cruise. The christening ceremony was held on July 10 in Reykjavik. The naming ceremony was attended Jean Emmanuel Sauvee (Ponant's CEO) and featured live performances by Breton pipe band Bigad de Lann Bihoue (France military's only remaining professional music band). Ship's godmother is Maryvonne Pinault - wife of the chairman of Artemis Group (Ponant Cruises' parent company).

The shipbuilder VARD (a subsidiary of the Italian company Fincantieri) constructed the vessel (hull and superstructure) at the shipyard in Tulcea Romania. Then it was towed to VARD Soviknes for outfitting.

Ponant Le Laperouse vessel's hull number is 848.

Ponant's new cruise ship series as design features ice-strengthened hull and top-notch marine expedition vessel technologies. Among those is the long-range 3D sonar "FarSounder 1000". The device is forward-looking (installed in the ship's bow) and integrated into the vessel's bridge navigation system. The sonar allows it to maneuver through icy waters, showing and mapping approaching hazards, such as icebergs or shallow coral reefs.

Fun fact is that this Ponant ship's namesake is the 2009-launched "CMA CGM Laperouse". The vessel is among world's largest container ships (capacity 13,830 TEU-containers) and owned by CMA-CGM Line.

Inaugural cruise itineraries 2018

The following tables show the ship's inaugural/maiden voyages as departure dates, itinerary ports and prices per person (in USD, double-occupancy Deluxe Cabin rates). The maiden voyage was a full ship charter by Tauck (US-based river cruise tour company).

7 nights / 8 days "Inaugural Cruise" (themed "Icelandic Mosaic") - prices started from $17150 pp

8 nights / 9 days inaugural Norwegian Fjords cruise - prices started from USD 4150 pp.

Godspeed!