Ponant Adds 15 Smithsonian Journeys Voyages for 2028

Ponant Explorations has added 15 Smithsonian Journeys alliance voyages to its 2028 program, bringing the cruise line’s Smithsonian-linked roster to 36 sailings across all seven continents for the year. Each voyage will carry two Smithsonian Journeys Experts onboard to provide destination context tied to history, culture, science and the natural world.

The expansion extends an alliance that Ponant said has been in place since 2022 and adds new Costa Rica and Adriatic itineraries alongside returning departures in Asia, Europe, Iceland and North America. Smithsonian Journeys is the Smithsonian Institution’s travel program. It has offered expert-led tours and cruises for more than 40 years.

“Travel, when guided by genuine expertise and sincere curiosity, has the power to change how we see the world,” said Samuel Chamberlain, CEO of the Americas for Ponant Explorations. Chamberlain said the alliance has given travelers “an ever-richer lens” for destinations that have long drawn cultural and natural-history interest.

New Costa Rica and Adriatic sailings lead the additions

The new seven-night Costa Rica by Sea: Wildlife and Rainforests of the Pacific Coast itinerary departs Feb. 16, 2028, roundtrip from Puntarenas aboard Le Bougainville, one of Ponant’s six Explorer-series ships. Dennis Wille Saenz, a naturalist, and Arianna Soldati, a volcanologist, are the named Smithsonian Journeys Experts for the sailing, which includes the Osa Peninsula and Manuel Antonio National Park.

The second lead addition is Sailing the Adriatic: Treasures of Eastern Italy and Sicily, an eight-night voyage departing Sept. 27, 2028, from Venice to Valletta aboard Le Dumont d’Urville, another Explorer-series ship. Art historian Ross King and geologist Allen Glazner are scheduled as the Smithsonian experts, with calls or site visits tied to Ravenna’s Byzantine mosaics, Urbino’s Renaissance heritage, Alberobello’s trulli houses and Sicily’s Baroque and Greek-era sites.

Returning departures add Asia, Europe and North America

Ponant also listed returning Smithsonian Journeys departures across several regions. The eight-night Treasures of Japan and South Korea by Sea sails April 2, 2028, from Busan to Osaka aboard Le Soléal.

In the Mediterranean, the seven-night Mediterranean Island Voyage: Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, and Elba operates from Valletta to Nice on May 4 aboard L’Austral and again on May 14 aboard Le Dumont d’Urville. The seven-night Cruising the Greek Islands of the Southern Aegean runs roundtrip from Athens on June 24 aboard Le Dumont d’Urville and Sept. 20 aboard Le Champlain.

Northern Europe departures include the seven-night Iceland Voyage: Land of Fire and Ice, sailing June 1 roundtrip from Reykjavik aboard Le Bellot, and two eight-night Cruising the Historic Cities of the Baltic Sea voyages from Copenhagen to Helsinki on June 22 and July 12 aboard Le Lapérouse. In North America, the 12-night Fall Foliage on the St. Lawrence: Quebec to the Canadian Maritimes departs Oct. 1 from Toronto to Boston aboard Le Bellot.

Smithsonian program sits within a wider 2027-28 schedule

The Smithsonian Journeys voyages are part of a broader Ponant 2027-28 sales cycle that includes more than 150 departures across the Mediterranean, Northern Europe and the Atlantic Islands from October 2027 through November 2028. That wider collection includes more than 80 Mediterranean sailings, Northern Europe and British Isles itineraries, Atlantic island cruises to destinations including Cape Verde, the Azores and Madeira, and themed voyages developed with partners including Smithsonian Journeys, Ducasse Paris, Club des Chefs des Chefs and the Opéra National de Paris.

Ponant said the broader regional program includes one excursion per guest at each port of call. The announcement did not include starting fares for the Smithsonian Journeys 2028 voyages.

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