Few Americans have heard of Ponant, a small-ship cruise line that specializes in upscale trips to the polar regions and other far-flung destinations. But that soon could be changing.
The France-based company is planning to expand its presence on the world stage in a big way in the next few years with four new ships — and that’s just for starters.
Ponant on Tuesday said it had signed a letter of intent with a Norwegian shipyard for the vessels, which it called just ”the first step in a project to expand the company’s fleet.” The four ships alone will nearly double the line’s capacity.
Ponant recently was acquired by Artemis, a holding company for France’s Pinault family that has promised to expand the brand.
Ponant said the new vessels would begin arriving in 2018 and allow the company to offer a broader range of itineraries in such regions as South America and Oceania. Each of the ships will have 92 cabins and be hardened for polar exploring. They’ll sail with motorized Zodiac rafts for use in exploratory outings with on-board naturalists. French designer Jean-Philippe Nuel will design the interiors, as he has for previous Ponant vessels.
Ponant is known for adventurous, ”expedition-style” cruises that often include stops in places big ships can’t go — a niche that is on the upswing. Luxury line Silversea also has been moving heavily into the market with small ships that carry Zodiacs for exploring, and luxury line Crystal Cruises also has eyes on the market. Crystal on Monday announced it had ordered a 200-passenger ship designed for expedition-style cruising that will debut in 2018.
Ponant currently operates a fleet of five upscale vessels that carry up to 264 passengers, including the just-unveiled, 244-passenger Le Lyrial. For a peek inside Le Lyrial, click through the carousel below.
It’s official: The cruise world’s new richest person is Francois Pinault.
The self-made French mogul’s holding company has completed its acquisition of small-ship line Ponant from private equity firm Bridgepoint, the line announced on Friday.
The deal was done through the Pinault family’s Groupe Artemis, which also owns auction house Christie’s and controls the company behind such fashion brands as Gucci and Saint-Laurent. Pinault’s son, Francois-Henri Pinault, serves as the company’s chairman.
The Pinault family is joining an ever-growing field of billionaires playing in the cruise space. Miami billionaire Micky Arison long has held a significant stake in cruise giant Carnival Corp., which his family founded with one ship in 1972. Joining him in recent years has been billionaire financier Leon Black, who controls a private equity firm that took a large stake in Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, and Colorado billionaire Philip Anschutz, who took control of small-ship line Windstar through a holding company.
Other billionaires with big stakes in the cruise business include the many members of the Pritzker family of Chicago who collectively own a sizable chunk of Royal Caribbean. British billionaire Richard Branson also is planning a big move into cruising through his Virgin brand starting in 2020.
Pinault is dethroning Anschutz, who in turn dethroned Arison, as the cruise world’s richest person. Forbes this year ranked Pinault and his family at No. 65 of its list of the world’s richest people with an estimated net worth of $14.9 billion. Anschutz is ranked at No. 104 with an estimated $11.8 billion, while Arison comes in at No. 191 with an estimated $7.1 billion.
Pinault’s son, Francois-Henri Pinault, is married to well-known actress Salma Hayek, raising the prospect that the star of the critically-acclaimed Frida soon could be christening a cruise ship. There’s a long tradition of the wives of cruise company owners christening vessels. Just last year, Anschutz’ wife Nancy christened Windstar’s new Star Pride, and Arison’s wife Madeleine has christened several Carnival Corp.-owned ships.
Founded in 1998, Ponant operates four upscale vessels carrying 224 to 264 passengers, including the just-unveiled Le Lyrial, as well as a 64-passenger sailing ship.
For a peek inside the new Le Lyrial, click through through the carousel below.
