Spirit of Ponant
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Spirit of Ponant
The Spirit of Ponant is a Ponant catamaran offering an intimate luxury cruise experience at sea, designed for exclusive small-group sailing journeys. It operates itineraries focused on discovering coastal destinations, secluded anchorages, and exceptional seascapes within a private and highly personalized cruise approach. The vessel offers high-end comfort with elegant cabins, refined gastronomy, personalized service, and an environment suited to sailing and relaxation at sea. This cruise emphasizes an ultra-intimate travel experience combining freedom, exploration, and immersion in exclusive maritime settings. It is particularly suited to travelers seeking a private or semi-private luxury cruise focused on discretion, comfort, and unique destination discovery.
Itineraries of the Spirit of Ponant
Price and Availability Notice
Prices displayed are provided for informational purposes only. They reflect the rates in effect at the time of their most recent update and are shown in Canadian dollars, per person, based on double occupancy, unless otherwise specified.
Supplier rates, exchange rates, taxes and fees, room or cabin categories, and promotions are subject to change at any time. The applicable price is the one confirmed by a travel advisor at the time of booking, subject to availability. Only the confirmed price shall be considered valid.
It is the traveler's responsibility to confirm the price, inclusions, and applicable terms and conditions before making a reservation. While every effort is made to keep our content up to date, transmission, display, or pricing errors may occur. In such cases, the correct price will be communicated to the traveler before any booking is confirmed. Certain terms, restrictions, and exclusions may apply.
decks plans
Deck - 2
Flybridge
Deck - 1
Marina, Outdoor Lounge, Indoor Lounge, Open Kitchen, Wheelhouse, Bar and Sundeck
Deck - 0
Cabins
Technical specifications
- Tonnage: 50
- Passengers: 12
- Decks: 3
- Length: 11 m
- Width: 24 m
Frequently Asked Questions
No, and it is the one item that is not. That is where the surprise lies: shore excursions are included, most drinks too, Wi-Fi and the minibar as well, but not gratuities. Most guests assume exactly the reverse. Budget for it, because nothing aboard will remind you before the end of the stay.
A great deal, and in an unusual order. Shore excursions are included, which is rare and weighs heavily on an itinerary with many calls. Most drinks are too, prestige wines aside. Wi-Fi, the stateroom minibar, the talks and the entertainment are included. Suites come with a butler. Gratuities and the spa are not included.
Yes, and it is this line's strongest argument. Shore outings are in the fare, with no cap on how many, where most competitors charge for them one at a time. On an expedition cruise where you land almost every day, the difference changes the comparison entirely.
It is the most favourable contract we have read in the sector. The carrier is Compagnie du Ponant, based in Marseille, and the contract is governed by French law. A dispute goes before the competent French courts. The Athens Convention of 1974, consolidated in 2002, frames liability.
None, and it matters. This contract imposes neither an arbitration clause nor a class-action waiver. Several American competitors impose both, obliging every guest to plead alone before an arbitrator. Here the dispute goes to a judge, and nothing stops several guests from acting together.
Two years. It is the most generous window we have recorded in this project, and the gap with the others is considerable: some lines allow only fifteen or thirty days from disembarkation. A tourism mediator also exists and can be called on if the discussion stalls.
It decides everything else. Under two hundred and fifty people, a ship enters ports closed to large hulls, lands everyone in a single rotation of zodiacs, and works up fjords and channels where the big ships do not go. Polar regulations also cap the number of visitors ashore, and small units meet them without keeping anyone waiting.
In five families, which is a lot for thirteen ships. Four Sisterships from 2010 to 2015, carrying up to two hundred and sixty-four guests. Six exploration ships from 2018 to 2021, smaller. One polar icebreaker, Le Commandant Charcot. One three-masted yacht from 1991, Le Ponant. And one catamaran chartered privately in Polynesia.
This is a French line, and it shows aboard: the crew speaks French, the talks are given in French and English, the table is French. For a Quebec clientele that is a concrete argument rather than an impression, above all on an expedition where talks fill much of the days at sea.
It is framed by the Athens Convention, but with a clear reservation: the line declines all liability for baggage left unattended. In practice that means whatever is irreplaceable stays with you. Jewellery, devices, medication and documents do not travel in a case left on a deck.
We do not know, and we prefer to say so. No technical sheet from this line publishes the number of wheelchair-accessible staterooms. We check it file by file at booking. On ships this size, access to the zodiacs matters as much as the stateroom itself.
No, and that is the most important point on this page. The Spirit of Ponant is a catamaran for nine to twelve people with four crew, based in French Polynesia. She is not sold by the date: she is chartered whole, tailor-made. That is why no departure dates appear here.
You do not pick a stateroom in an existing departure: you book the boat, and the itinerary is built with you. The rate covers the crew, the table, the wine selection and the water activities, among them stand-up paddle, snorkelling, water skiing, wing foiling and underwater scooters.
A group travelling together that wants to decide its programme day by day. It does not suit two people looking for entertainment, restaurants and other travellers to meet: for that, a ship remains the right choice.
Yes. A second, the Spirit of Ponant II, is expected at the end of 2026. The Ponant Yachting brand will then operate three. It is the group's third brand, launched for families and groups of friends.
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