Ponant announced a new schedule of Northern Europe and Atlantic Islands' voyages. The itineraries include ports that only small vessels, such as the line's L’Austral, Le Boreal and the pair of new Explorer Ships named Le Champlain (2018) and Le Dumont-d’Urville (2019) can navigate. The sailings range from 7 to 10 nights.
Among the itineraries are 2 cruises from the new Quintessential Collection of Ponant:
- The 9-day Green and Gentle Lands: Exploring Gardens & Historic Sites voyage onboard Le Boreal sets sail from England to Belgium with a call at Bruges and into the North Sea to Bergen, Norway from May 14 through May 22, 2019, with stops at historic sites and gardens including a visit to Edinburgh's Royal Botanic Garden.
- History, Art & Architecture along the North Sea aboard the Le Dumont-d’Urville begins in Copenhagen with visits to top art museums in Amsterdam, Bruges, and Copenhagen, en route to Honfleur, France from August 25 through September 1, 2019.
Other itineraries include Celtic Shores, that sails from Portsmouth to Dublin with visits to the Isle of Man and the Isles of Scilly, onboard L’Austral from April 22-29, 2019. Cruisers can explore the UNESCO World Heritage Site Giant’s Causeway, Northern Ireland. Another Celtic Shores sailing takes guests to similar stops from April 29-May 6, 2019.
In 2020, both Le Dumont-d’Urville and L’Austral sail down Cape Verde and the Canaries, departing from Dakar to Lisbon with a call at Santiago and Las Palmas onboard L’Austral from April 1-11, 2020.
Le Dumont-d’Urville, in addition to the European itinerary, is sailing from Costa Rica to Panama over a 10-night cruise. The vessel sails from January 6-16, 2020, visiting 3 national parks and presenting a guest speaker who worked at nature reserves in Central America.
The Essential Azores journey from Ponta Delgada onboard Le Champlain is a new itinerary that visits the volcanic archipelago in the Atlantic from April 5-12, 2020 and again from April 12-19, 2020. The vessel then sails from Ponta Delgada on April 19, 2020, to Porto Santo and Madeira en route to Lisbon.
The 5th Annual Piano Festival at Sea (April 18-28, 2020), is an 11-day voyage from Dakar to the Canaries ending in Lisbon, Portugal in collaboration with Radio Classique. Out of Dakar from April 20-28, 2020 is Adventure in the Bijagos Archipelago, that is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, off the Guinea-Bissau's coast, from October 8-16, 2019 and again from April 10-18, 2020.