Ponant plans to build ship for Tahiti cruising: Travel Weekly

Ponant, considered the market leader in Tahiti cruises, plans to build a new ship for the destination, president and CEO Herve Gastinel told Travel Weekly. 

The ship will be the 14th for Ponant, which currently sails the 330-passenger Paul Gauguin in Tahiti. (Ponant acquired Tahiti specialist Paul Gauguin Cruises in 2019.) 

Ponant plans to reveal the concept for the ship later this year, Gastinel said. The carbon-neutral ship would carry 100 to 200 guests and sail to “the extremes” of French Polynesia and Easter Island, he said. The ship would be delivered in 2024. 

Ponant had placed a $332 million order in November 2019 for two newbuilds to join the Paul Gauguin in French Polynesia. They were to be a pair of 230-passenger vessels modeled after Ponant’s Explorer-class ships. Those plans were spoiled during the pandemic, and the expansion was eventually abandoned. Ponant deferred those orders and later canceled them.

An update on Windstar’s Tahiti plans

That same year, Windstar plans to swap in a larger ship to sail year-round voyages in Tahiti, more than doubling its capacity, Windstar president and CEO Chris Prelog said Tuesday. 

Windstar would send the 312-guest Star Breeze to sail the region year-round, replacing the 148-passenger Wind Star, he said. The four-mast Wind Star would then sail summers in Greece and winters in the Caribbean. 

Prelog told travel agents during a voyage in Tahiti in January his plan was to deploy the 342-passenger Wind Surf in Tahiti. The Wind Surf is a five-mast sailing ship, while the Star Breeze is a small cruise ship. 

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