Page 11 - Expedition

EXPEDITION MARKET

Rodriguez pointed to the company’s
new Quintessential Collection as helping
to drive the American business. Those
cruises are built around a theme, attract-
ing like-minded travelers.

Examples include everything from
ancient Mediterranean civilizations to a
Sicilian food and wine cruise.

The North America business is also
closely linked with charter partners Tauck
and Abercrombie & Kent, both of which
have a healthy appetite for full-ship
charters on well-appointed small ships.

Explorer Class Le Champlain “We see real actions making a differ-
ence,” continued Bellaiche.
With six new Explorer-class ships “Expedition is most challenging …
being added to the fleet, Ponant is open- and Asia/Pacific (is challenging) because The French brand’s four-year envi-
ing up the map when it comes to tropical it’s a new destination for us.” ronmental roadmap aims to reduce CO2
expeditions, adding deployments in emissions by 5 percent per guest, NOx
Papua New Guinea and the Kimberley, emissions by 10 percent, and SOx emis-
for instance. sions by 90 percent per guest.
Green Operator
The underwater Blue Eye Lounge on There are also goals to lower waste
each of those ships is a good fit, allowing Ponant is making moves when it comes by 5 percent per guest, and reduce en-
passengers to see marine life thanks to to being the most sustainable expedition ergy used for navigation by 3 percent
underwater lights, and hear it, with a operator. per guest on the company’s already
number of microphones positioned around highly-efficient ships.
the vessel. The entire company’s fleet now runs
on low-sulfur marine gas oil (MGO). A new environmental endowment
Sarina Bratton, the company’s Asia- fund was recently announced, with a
Pacific chairman, said the new areas take “Our ambition is to be the reference goal of preservation of the oceans, Polar
on a new focus. point for the sustainable development of Regions and for people-to-people ex-
the cruise business,” said Bellaiche. changes. The objective is to support up
“We develop relationships, when you to a dozen initiatives per year.
go to those remote communities, you Not only is the fleet sailing on MGO,
can’t just show up with the ship,” she but single use plastics are long gone and So far, the company has committed
said. “It is years of relationship develop- LED lighting is in use across the fleet. to the Plastic Odyssey, aiming to turn
ment and money doesn’t mean anything, The new ships also carry the footprint plastics into energy; the Aldabra Clean
it’s that remote.” for shorepower. Up Project, cleaning up plastic waste on
the Aldabra atoll; and the ‘FabLab’ as-
In Papua New Guinea, with locals “Most of the ports we visit don’t have sociation of Upernavik (Greenland),
facing malaria challenges, the company the possibility to plug in,” said Bellaiche, helping to train artisans from the local
has donated mosquito nets and medication. adding that the company was looking to Inuit community. ¾
help fund shorepower installations.
With four Boreal-class ships, six
Explorers and a coming icebreaker, Ponant ships now also feature remote-
Sylvia Boudart, director of product and ly-operated hull cleaning, carrying what
planning, has a full plate of itineraries are essentially robots that will clean the
to figure out. hull.

“With 12 ships, we need to create
some differentiation between the ships.
We do a series, and are interested in
combined cruising,” Boudart told Cruise
Industry News, meaning itineraries do
not repeat. “We are trying to promote
stays in ports, at least eight hours. We
try to sail during the night.”

How far are they planning in advance?
“Three years,” answered Boudart.

Cruise Industry News: 2019 Expedition Market Report 51