BOUTIQUE CRUISING
The Seagoing of Le Boreal
Joie De Vivre
Gary Buchanan samples a cruise with a difference on the beautiful new ship from
Compagnie du Ponant
n the 1920s and 30s, the most stylish modernist architects were being inspired by luxury ocean liners. The sleek, functional geometry of maritime architecture, with its built-in furnishings, stark glass and metal armature, has become the stuff of legend. Albeit much smaller, two post-modern equiv- alents of this movement have now been created. In an age of behemoths, it is refreshing to see bou-
I
tique vessels entering the cruising arena. At 10,700 tons, Le Boréal and L’Austral are the new flagship yachts of the only French-registered cruise company. Compagnie du Ponant may be a subsidiary of
the world’s third largest container shipping group – CMA CGM – but it has a rich tradition of maritime excellence. The history of this Marseilles-based company can be traced back to 1851 when Mes- sageries Maritimes was formed. Another component company, Compagnie
Générale Transatlantique was established in 1861. Known as the French Line, in its heyday CGT built some of the world’s most beautiful liners. Names such as Normandie, Liberté and France have an unrivalled place in the annals of maritime design.
The two companies merged to form Compagnie
Générale Maritime in 1973 as a French state-run enti- ty. Lebanese shipping magnate Jacques Saadé created CMA in 1978 as an intra-Mediterranean liner service. In 1996, CGM was privatised and sold to Compagnie Maritime d’Affrètement to form CMA CGM. While all this corporate wheeling-and-dealing
was going on, a fledgling cruise company was founded. In 1988, Jean-Emmanuel Sauvée, Phillippe Videau and a dozen officers from the French Navy created Compagnie des Îles du Ponant. This company’s first vessel, the 1,443-ton sail-
ing ship Le Ponant, built in 1991, was a reaction to leviathans filled with thousands of anonymous passengers. Seven years later, the sleek, 90-passen- ger Le Levant entered service. These vessels offered a combination of indulgence and expedition-style itineraries. In 2004, CMA CGM bought a majority stake and, in 2009, the name was changed to Com- pagnie du Ponant.
In 2004, this new company became a player in international cruising when they acquired the much-loved Song of Flower from Seven Seas
Winter 2010 / 2011 I WORLD OF CRUISING 73
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