SINGAPORE, 12 December 2024: Ponant has officially kicked off its New Zealand sailing season aboard two luxury expedition vessels, Le Soléal and its Explorer class vessel, Le Jacques Cartier, for her inaugural season in New Zealand waters.
Until March 2025, the ships will embark on eight departures, visiting 23 ports of call, offering guests an opportunity to “discover the hidden treasures of New Zealand as well as two epic sailings down to East Antarctica from Dunedin”.
Le Soléal kicked off the season on 3 December, starting with two expeditions sailing south to explore New Zealand’s remote subantarctic islands. Destination experts, including ornithologists, join guests on visits to the wildlife sanctuaries of Campbell Island, the Snares, and Australia’s Macquarie Island.
Continuing north from Dunedin to Auckland on a New Year’s cruise, Le Soléal sails a 15-night journey from the South Island to the North Island featuring the fjord region with time spent venturing through Doubtful, Milford and Dusky Sounds, as well as visit to new port of call Oban on Stewart Island, before heading north to Akaroa, Kaikoura, Wellington, the Bay of Islands and finally, Auckland.
Joining Le Soléal this year, Le Jacques Cartier, Ponant’s Explorer-series vessel, with just 92 staterooms and suites, embarks on her inaugural season in New Zealand waters.
Sailing from Tasmania, Australia, on 2 January, Le Jacques Cartier will explore New Zealand’s North and South Islands before embarking on a new, 15-night voyage from Auckland, New Zealand, to Cairns, Australia, on 25 January, with highlights including the Bay of Islands region, Norfolk Island, and Vanuatu.
In February 2025, Ponant will venture further south, offering a 21-night expedition to Antarctica on a Dunedin roundtrip aboard Le Soléal. Guests will follow in the footsteps of legendary explorers on a polar adventure, venturing into the frozen wilderness of Antarctica. Lecturer and guide Jonathan Shackleton, a descendant of Sir Ernest Shackleton and Lucy Scott, great-granddaughter of Captain Robert Falcon Scott, will join the expedition cruise.
