Ponant orders another two expedition cruise vessels

Image: Stirling Design International

French cruise company Ponant has ordered another two luxury expedition cruise vessels from Norway’s Vard Holdings for delivery in 2020.

Identical to the four ordered in 2016, the ice-class expedition cruise vessels are 10,000GT, 131 metres long and 18 metres wide.

Each vessel can accommodate 180 passengers in 92 staterooms and suites. They will have a cruise speed of 15 knots.

The first vessel in the series will be delivered in the second quarter of 2018, followed by the delivery of the next three vessels up until mid-2019.

All six Ponant Explorers will be fitted with a “Blue Eye” multi-sensorial underwater lounge.

The hulls will be built at Vard Tulcea in Romania. Delivery is scheduled from Vard Søviknes in Norway, in the first and second quarters of 2020.


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