Ponant has announced new cruises to Northern Europe and the Atlantic Islands, calling at ports that only small ships can navigate, and with fares starting at $3,300 per person for seven to 10 nights.

“We are excited that our ships will be visiting a selection of diverse ports of call,” noted Navin Sawhney, Ponant’s CEO, Americas. “Our ships stop at exotic destinations such as the Azores, Madeira and the Bijagos Archipelago and our programs look deeply into the art, history and culture of the more quintessential stops.”

Among the itineraries is nine-day Green and Gentle Lands: Exploring Gardens and Historic Sites cruise aboard Le Boréal sailing from England to Belgium with a visit to Bruges and into the North Sea to Bergen in Norway from May 14 to May 22, 2019 with stops at gardens and historic sites including a visit to the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh.

Also offered is a History, Art & Architecture along the North Sea cruise aboard the new Le Dumont-d’Urville starting in Copenhagen with visits to top art museums in Copenhagen, Amsterdam and Bruges en route to Honfleur in France from August 25 to September 1, 2019.

Other cruises include Celtic Shores which sails from Portsmouth, England to Dublin, Ireland with visits to the Isle of Man, County Cork, Kinsale and the Isles of Scilly, aboard L’Austral from April 22 to April 29, 2019. Ponant said that travelers can explore the geological formation called Giant’s Causeway, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Northern Ireland. A second cruise reverses the itinerary with similar stops from April 29 to May 6, 2019.

In 2020, both L’Austral and Le Dumont-d’Urville will explore Cape Verde and the Canary Islands, departing from Dakar in Senegal to Lisbon with a visit to Santiago in Cape Verde and Las Palmas aboard L’Austral from April 1 to April 11, 2020. Meanwhile The Essential Azores cruise out of Ponta Delgada aboard Le Champlain is a new itinerary from April 5 to 12, 2020 and again from April 12 to 19, 2020. The ship will then sail out of Ponte Delgada on April 19, 2020 to Madeira and Porto Santo en route to Lisbon.

For music lovers, the 5th Annual Piano Festival at Sea, from April 18 to April 28, 2020, is an eleven-day journey from Dakar to the Canary Islands ending in Lisbon in partnership with Radio Classique.  Also out of Dakar from April 20 to 28, 2020 is Adventure in the Bijagos Archipelago, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve off the coast of Guinea-Bissau, from October 8 to 16, 2019 and again from April 10 to 18, 2020 exploring nature, indigenous populations and biodiversity, with a taste of adventure, according to Ponant.