Le Ponant to Offer Voyages Along Ancient Trading Routes

Compagnie du Ponant’s Le Ponant will offer 17 voyages this winter and spring that follow ancient trading routes, calling at ports such as Aqaba, Sharm el Sheikh, Muscat, Khasab, Doha, Abu Dhabi, Mumbai, Kochi, Malé, Phuket and Penang. From Dec. 4 to April 4, the yacht will sail through Arabia, around the Maldives and India and on to Southeast Asia.

Le Ponant is a 290-foot sailing yacht that accommodates 64 guests in 32 outside staterooms. It has two restaurants, two lounges, a library and a 4,300-square-foot deck. The ship has 16,000 feet of sails.

Kicking off its winter season on Dec. 4, Le Ponant’s six-night “Jordan & Egypt: Sacred Lands of the Red Sea” starts from Alexandria and transits the Suez Canal on its way to Aqaba. The five-night “Ocean Voyage” from Muscat to Kochi will depart Dec. 23, Jan. 18, Feb. 18 and March 24.

The “India and the Maldives: Spices and Silver Sand” cruise, which departs Dec. 28 and March 10, calls at two ports in India and four islands in the “Pearl of the Indian Ocean” archipelago. Four seven-night Malé roundtrip voyages, “Atolls of the Maldives: Natural Aquariums and Blue Lagoons,” depart Jan. 4, Jan. 11, Feb. 24 and March 3. Optional dive packages featuring eight to 10 dives are available for PADI-certified divers.

The eight-night “Thailand and Malaysia: Islands and Marine Treasures” cruises are roundtrip from Phuket and depart Jan. 25, Feb. 2 and Feb. 10. Le Ponant sails the Andaman Sea visiting Thailand’s Butang, Similian and Ko Phi Phi Islands and Malaysia’s Langkawi archipelago and Penang.

High points of the seven-night “Saris, Temples, and Lagoons,” which departs March 17, include Kochi, Trivandrum and New Mangalore. The cruise continues to Goa and ends in Mumbai. In making its way back to the Mediterranean, Le Ponant follows the old Arab trading route. The seven-night “Lands of Honey and Incense” itinerary, which departs March 28 and April 4, sails between Muscat and Dubai.

Further information: www.ponant.com