Ponant announced that it has renewed its partnerships with The Explorers Club and Smithsonian Journeys for a series of co-branded sailings and expeditions in 2024.
Teaming up for the third consecutive year, Ponant and Smithsonian Journeys will offer itineraries led by two Smithsonian Journeys Experts whose expertise will help deepen guests’ immersion in destinations.
These 24 departures include a seven-night expedition along New Zealand’s South Island, a week-long exploration of the cultural and natural treasures of Japan and an adventure in Alaska’s Inside Passage.
Additionally, together with The Explorers Club, Ponant is offering weeks-long expeditions to the world’s most remote areas, from the Geographic North Pole and Papua New Guinea to Antarctica.
Each sailing will include a speaker series dedicated to themes of research and exploration where explorers will share insights from their research as well as the wildest tales from their adventures.
The 12-night expedition departs on May 16 to Greenland’s Scoresby Sound. The sailing will be hosted by Ann Andreasen, the principal of Uummannaq Children’s Home and director of Uummannaq Polar Institute. Scientists will be onboard five out of the 12 expeditions to share their findings in glaciology, oceanography and geology.
Also new in 2024 are Japan itineraries, combining traditional with modern wonders of the region. Departing April 20-27, the week-long “Kyushu’s Secret Islands and Ancestral Heritage” itinerary explores the western part of the island, with UNESCO Heritage Sites and the wildlife-rich islands of Jeju and Yakushima. Also departing from Kagoshima on May 4 is the “Japan, Natural Archipelago and Secular Heritage” itinerary exploring western Kyushu and the Seto Inland Sea.
Ponant will also be offering new North America sailings, including an 11-day fall expedition from September 4-14 with stops on Mackinac Island and the city of Bayfield, and a 12-day sailing along St Lawrence (September 8-19), starting on Saint Pierre and Miquelon archipelago before reaching the shores of Nova Scotia, Cape Breton Island and Newfoundland’s Gros-Morne National Park before ending in the city of Montreal.
