L’Austral Makes First Call at Port of Baltimore
Martin Luther King III and Arndrea Waters King joined an earlier leg of L’Austral’s anniversary sailing for discussions on civil rights and the King family’s legacy.
Ponant Explorations’ 260-passenger L’Austral made its first visit to the Port of Baltimore, a homeport for Carnival Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean, on October 13, 2026, completing a seven-night cruise from Halifax. The voyage was organized around the 250th anniversary of the United States, with calls in Boston, Newport, New York City and Philadelphia and onboard discussions about American history.
Martin Luther King III and his wife, Arndrea Waters King, joined an earlier portion of the sailing for discussions covering civil rights and the King family’s legacy. The anniversary program explored the contributions of different communities to the country’s history.
Local officials and ship officers held an onboard welcome ceremony for the inaugural call. Maryland Port Administration Interim Executive Director Samantha Biddle presented Captain Nicolas Jouslin de Noray with an engraved ship’s wheel. Cruise Maryland’s account of the visit did not include remarks from port or Ponant executives.
Another visiting vessel, AIDA Cruises’ AIDAdiva, is scheduled to call in late October. The German-market ship will stop in Maryland during a 12-night cruise visiting destinations in the United States and Canada.
After leaving Maryland without passengers, L’Austral heads toward South America. Later in October, it is due to begin a 10-night Panama Canal sailing from Colón, Panama, to Callao, the Peruvian port near Lima.
Further cruises will take the ship to Chile and Argentina before its 2026–27 Antarctic season. L’Austral is scheduled to reach Antarctica in late November.
See current L’Austral fares and itineraries on Cruise Lookup.
