Interview With Hervé Bellaïche (August 2020 in French)

[AussieBoyTX]

An interesting article with the Deputy General Director. A couple of highlights:

 

 - Ponant is satisfied with bookings on the French cruises and were able to operate all but Normandy out of Le Havre (due to lack of interest). 40-50% occupancy, which makes profitability difficult.

 - As for upcoming cruises, "The period we are living in allowed us to show our ability to adapt. The coming months are uncertain, but we are planning cruises in Greece, Croatia (Editor's note: two dedicated brochures are being sent to the agencies), the Red Sea or the Iberian Peninsula by November. For the winter, we offer about a hundred destinations, in Antarctica, Seychelles, the Caribbean, Polynesia. We intend to convince the local authorities and our passengers of the seriousness of our [sanitary] protocol in order to be able to operate them."

 

https://www.lechotouristique.com/article/herve-bellaiche-ponant-nous-pourrions-programmer-des-croisieres-en-france-en-2021