Ponant makes biggest investment ever, Bratton stays on

Ponant has announced that four new expedition ships will be added to its fleet for 2018, with one ship to sail to Australia first.

“This is the single biggest investment in the expedition cruise sector ever,” Ponant Asia Pacific Chairman Sarina Bratton said.

The investment comes off the back of the cruise company’s acquisition in December last year by group Artemis, a luxury and lifestyle corporation that owns Christie’s, Gucci, Alexander McQueen and YSL, among others.

Bratton announced that she will continue her tenure at the company, with her three year contract due to wrap up soon.

“I’ve decided to invest again for the long term with this company,” Bratton said.

As for competitors, Bratton said they have carved a niche in luxury expedition cruising.

“In expedition we’d be competing with the likes of Lindblad, Silversea Expeditions. At a luxury level we compete more with Silversea or Seabourn.”

“But that’s not where we’re at. We’re not building for the luxury space, we are luxury expedition,” she told Travel Weekly.

“We see ourselves as being the global leader of luxury expedition, we actually don’t see anyone trying to eat at us.”

The new ship investment is worth half a billion dollars and enhances what is the youngest fleet of expedition ships in the industry.

“We are the only ones over the years who have been investing in the luxury expedition market,” Bratton said.

“The expedition fleet globally on average is 33 years old.”

One of the four new ships will head directly to Australia.

“This is a wonderful testament really to what the importance of Asia Pacific is to the company,” Bratton said.

“We are short of inventory through 2016, 2017, and we’re already close to 90% occupancy for 2016 and 2017.”

Ponant will begin cruising the Kimberley in June next year.

“The first sailing is already 85% booked, the second one is 70% booked, the third one 68% so that’s a long way ahead,” Bratton said.

“What’s driven that is bringing the ship to Australia, and people want to get on board closer to home.”

Repeat clientele represent 50% on average, but Ponant has set their sights on new travellers.

”That’s something we don’t want to grow more, we want more and more new people coming into the frame, and these four new ships allow us to do this.”

Australia represents 20% of the company’s revenue in 2016. French passengers remain at 50% and 30% of passengers are from the Americas.

“It’s a different model from a traditional cruise company model but very powerful and the fact is that we’re not reliant on North American FIT’s,” Bratton said.

“We have a very successful business with just a small number of FIT from North America,” Bratton said.

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