Ponant Will Send Two Ships to French Polynesia This Winter—Including Six Ports No Cruise Line Has Touched

When most cruise lines talk about “going big,” they mean adding more ships to Caribbean routes or building yet another mega-vessel. French luxury expedition cruise line Ponant is taking the opposite approach—and it might redefine what premium cruising in paradise looks like.

Ponant has announced it will deploy two ships in French Polynesia for the winter 2026-27 season, marking a significant expansion of ultra-luxury expedition cruising in one of the world’s most coveted island regions. The move positions the French cruise line as a major player in South Pacific luxury travel, offering unprecedented access to some of the planet’s most remote and pristine archipelagos.

Two Ships, Completely Different Experiences

Ponant’s strategy revolves around positioning two distinctly different vessels in the region: the iconic Paul Gauguin, which already operates year-round in French Polynesia, and Le Jacques Cartier, one of Ponant’s newer expedition ships.

The Paul Gauguin will offer 66 departures exploring the Society Islands, Tuamotu, and Marquesas archipelagos, with select sailings extending to the Cook Islands, Fiji, and Tonga. This ship has become synonymous with French Polynesian cruising, featuring onboard Tahitian hosts who bring authentic cultural experiences to guests through singing and dancing performances, workshops, optional excursions at each port of call, and PADI-certified scuba diving programs.

But it’s Le Jacques Cartier that represents the real innovation in Ponant’s approach.

The 42-Night Journey That Changes Everything

Le Jacques Cartier will introduce three new “Discovery” itineraries specifically designed to connect into a comprehensive 42-night journey across six archipelagos and 23 islands. This isn’t another world cruise segment—it’s a deep dive into corners of French Polynesia that most travelers never see.

The three itineraries break down as follows:

Secret Polynesia (14 nights): Departing October 18 and December 13, 2026, this voyage takes guests to lesser-known islands that remain largely off the tourist radar.

Polynesian Bliss (14 nights): With six departures scheduled between November 2026 and January 2027, this itinerary balances accessibility with exploration.

From Confidential French Polynesia to Pitcairn Island (14 nights): Departing November 15, 2026, this voyage represents perhaps the most adventurous option, extending all the way to the legendary Pitcairn Islands.

Over the course of nine total departures, Le Jacques Cartier will visit the Tuamotu, Marquesas, Austral, and Gambier archipelagos, plus the Pitcairn Islands—representing some of the most isolated inhabited places on Earth.

Six Ports That Have Never Seen a Ponant Ship

Ponant has confirmed six previously unvisited ports across its winter 2026-27 French Polynesia program.

In the Tuamotu archipelago, the cruise line will call at Mataiva, Hikueru, and Makemo—atolls that exist largely outside the conventional tourism infrastructure. In the Austral Islands, guests will visit Raivavae, Tubuai, and Rurutu, islands known for their dramatic landscapes and preservation of traditional Polynesian culture.

These aren’t “new ports” in the marketing sense. These are communities and ecosystems that have remained largely isolated from mass tourism, where the arrival of a small expedition ship represents a significant cultural and economic event.

Why This Matters for Luxury Cruise Travel

Ponant’s French Polynesia expansion reflects several important trends reshaping the luxury cruise industry.

First, there’s the move away from the “more is more” mentality. While mainstream cruise lines continue to build increasingly massive ships, Ponant’s expedition vessels carry just 180 to 264 passengers. Le Jacques Cartier, one of Ponant’s Explorer-class ships, carries only 180 guests—allowing access to ports and anchorages that larger vessels simply cannot reach.

Second, the focus on depth over breadth represents a philosophical shift in luxury travel. Rather than offering a greatest-hits tour that touches briefly on famous islands, Ponant’s 42-night comprehensive journey allows travelers to genuinely understand the diversity and complexity of French Polynesia’s five archipelagos. Each island group has its own language variations, cultural traditions, and environmental characteristics.

Third, Ponant’s commitment to visiting previously unexplored ports addresses a growing challenge in luxury travel: finding genuine “unspoiled” destinations. As overtourism concerns mount in popular locations worldwide, the ability to visit islands like Hikueru or Raivavae—where tourism infrastructure is minimal and visitor numbers are carefully managed—becomes increasingly valuable.

The French Polynesia Advantage

French Polynesia has always occupied a special place in the luxury travel imagination. The 118 islands and atolls scattered across an ocean area the size of Europe offer a combination of natural beauty, cultural richness, and remoteness that few other destinations can match.

But accessing this diversity has traditionally been challenging. The most famous islands—Bora Bora, Moorea, Tahiti—capture the vast majority of tourism, while the outer archipelagos remain difficult and expensive to reach via conventional travel.

Ponant’s two-ship deployment changes this equation. By combining the Paul Gauguin’s proven appeal in the Society Islands with Le Jacques Cartier’s capacity to explore remote atolls and islands, the cruise line creates a comprehensive platform for experiencing the full spectrum of French Polynesian geography and culture.

The timing also matters. As French Polynesia rebuilds its tourism industry and works to distribute visitor benefits more equitably across the islands, Ponant’s commitment to exploring lesser-known archipelagos aligns with local sustainable tourism goals.

What This Means for Travelers

For travelers considering a French Polynesian cruise in 2026-27, Ponant’s expanded presence creates several compelling options.

Those seeking the classic French Polynesian experience—overwater bungalows, famous lagoons, well-established infrastructure—can choose from the Paul Gauguin’s 66 departures, many of which include extensions to the Cook Islands, Fiji, and Tonga.

Adventure-minded travelers willing to trade some luxury amenities for access to truly remote destinations can opt for Le Jacques Cartier’s Discovery itineraries, particularly the 14-night voyage to Pitcairn Island.

And for those with the time and budget for the ultimate South Pacific experience, the ability to combine all three Le Jacques Cartier itineraries into a single 42-night journey represents one of the most comprehensive explorations of French Polynesia available anywhere.

The Expedition Luxury Model

Ponant’s French Polynesia deployment also highlights the growing appeal of expedition luxury cruising—a category that combines five-star service and accommodations with destinations and experiences typically associated with adventure travel.

Le Jacques Cartier exemplifies this approach. The ship features luxury suites, fine dining restaurants, a spa, and elegant public spaces—but also carries Zodiac landing craft, kayaks, and snorkeling equipment. Passengers dress for dinner one evening and explore uninhabited atolls the next morning.

This model works particularly well in French Polynesia, where the combination of spectacular natural environments and limited land-based luxury infrastructure makes ship-based exploration ideal. Guests can dive pristine coral reefs in the morning, enjoy five-star French cuisine at lunch, and participate in cultural programs with local Polynesians in the afternoon—all without changing accommodations or dragging luggage between islands.

Looking Ahead

Ponant’s expansion in French Polynesia likely signals broader trends in where luxury cruise lines will focus attention in coming years. As Caribbean and Mediterranean ports struggle with overtourism and regulatory restrictions, remote island regions with strong environmental protections and cultural preservation efforts become increasingly attractive.

French Polynesia offers particular advantages: political stability, French infrastructure and administrative systems, spectacular natural environments, and a cultural identity that’s been carefully maintained even as the islands have selectively opened to tourism.

For the cruise line itself, the two-ship deployment represents a significant commitment to the region. Maintaining vessels in the South Pacific year-round requires substantial logistical planning and investment—but it also positions Ponant as the dominant luxury player in French Polynesian cruising.

The real winners may be the outer islands themselves. For communities in the Tuamotu, Marquesas, Austral, and Gambier archipelagos, carefully managed luxury cruise visits can provide economic benefits while avoiding the infrastructure demands and cultural disruption that often accompany land-based resort development.

Ponant’s approach—bringing the hotel to the islands rather than building hotels on the islands—allows local communities to participate in tourism on their own terms, sharing their culture and environment with small groups of respectful visitors without fundamentally transforming their way of life.

Whether this model can be sustained as more cruise lines inevitably follow Ponant into these waters remains to be seen. For now, winter 2026-27 represents a unique moment when some of the world’s most beautiful and isolated islands will be accessible to luxury travelers in unprecedented ways—assuming you can secure one of the limited berths on Le Jacques Cartier’s Discovery voyages before they sell out.