Ponant,  part of Artémis, a holding company of the Pinault family, with other companies including well-known luxury brands such as Yves Saint Laurent, are no strangers to luxury. We enjoyed a lovely dinner in The Boathouse at The Park Hyatt Auckland with engaging presentations showing some incredible experiences and expeditions. Ponant’s flagship Le Commandant Charcot is the only luxury ice breaker and runs on liquefied natural gas, and the latest addition to the PONANT fleet has now made it possible to operate polar expedition cruises of a kind never before undertaken.

At the end of the night, we all had different favorites with some wanting to explore the Kimberley region, others loving the polar immersive experiences of the Arctic and Greenland or Antarctica. Some of us were lucky to join Le Commandant Charcot for an overnight in Lyttleton before she headed back to Antarctica and it was truly mesmerizing, with amazing lounges, fabulous pools and spa facilities with sauna as well as a snow room, and delicious French-inspired cuisine.