The only cruise line to operate flying the French flag, Ponant has announced the name of its newest polar class expedition ship, Le Commandant Charcot which is set to launch in 2021.
 
The hybrid electric icebreaker has been named in honour of Captain Jean-Baptiste Charcot, who was known as ‘the gentleman of the Poles’.

Seabourn has announced that it has signed a Letter of Intent for the construction of two new ultra-luxury expedition cruise ships. The first vessel is expected to be delivery in June 2021 and the second is anticipated to launch in May 2022.
 
The new 23,000 gross tonne vessels will be 170 metres in length and will each accommodate 264 guests in 132 luxurious oceanfront veranda suites. The new ships will also meet the PC6 Polar Class standards, adding new capacity for Seabourn in Antarctica, the Artic and other exotic worldwide destinations.

PONANT, the only cruise line which operates flying the French flag, has taken delivery of its first of six new PONANT EXPLOER class vessels.
 
On 15 June 2018 the 9,900 gross tonne Le Lapérouse was successfully delivered to PONANT.  The new ship measures 131 metres in length and cost approximately £80 million.

Lindblad Expeditions has announced the name for its new expedition cruise ship launching in June 2018. The 1,450 gross tonne ship will be named National Geographic Venture, joining the National Geographic Quest which is scheduled to launch in June 2017.
 
The two ships are being constructed in Seattle and are the first new-build cruise ships for Lindblad. Each will carry 100-passengers in 50 cabins, 22 of which have balconies. There will also be a number of connecting cabins for families or groups as well as cabins which can accommodate a third passenger.

​The expedition cruise ships will have a fleet of 24 sea kayaks, paddle boards, snorkelling equipment and Zodiacs.

National Geographic Venture will depart on her inaugural voyage on 24 June 2018, cruising to Alaska and British Columbia.

Construction of the first new expedition yacht for the French cruise line Ponant started on 03 January 2017, when the first sheet of steel was cut. Le Lapérouse is the first in a series of four Ponant Explorer Yachts.
 
The first two ships, Le Lapérouse and Le Champlain will launch in 2018, whilst Le Bougainville and Le Kerguelen will enter service in 2019. Each of the four ships will carry 110 crew members and around 200 passengers.

​Hurtigruten has announced the names of two of its four new expedition cruise ships and they will be named after two of the most influential Norwegian pioneers.
 
The first of the new ships will be named Roald Amundsen and will launch in 2018, whilst the second launching in 2019 is to be named Fridtjof Nansen. Both ships will boast state-of-the-art Scandinavian design and the latest environmentally friendly marine technology.

The luxury cruise ship Crystal Serenity has arrived back into New York having successfully completed its 32 day Northwest Passage cruise, which covered 7,297 miles. According the Crystal Cruises, the voyage is the first of its kind to be made by a larger cruise ship.
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 “We are humbled and thrilled to have completed such a monumental journey,” said Edie Rodriguez, CEO & President, Crystal Cruises. “As Crystal is constantly seeking new ways to share the world with our guests, the Northwest Passage represents an especially massive undertaking that was made possible by the extreme dedication of our expert destination team and expedition partners. We now look forward to beginning the planning process in delivering another memorable experience for guests on our 2017 sailing.”

The 68,870 gross tonne Crystal Serenity was captained by Master Birger J. Vorland. During the most northerly portion of the cruise, Crystal Serenity was escorted by the RRS Ernest Shackleton, which provided ice breaking capabilities as well as two helicopters and additional expert expedition crew.

 “From day one of planning the voyage, we were committed to ensuring the safety of our guests, crew and the ship,” said Captain Vorland. “In addition to carrying two veteran Canadian Ice Pilots, Crystal Serenity’s bridge team received ice navigation simulator training to prepare ourselves for the conditions, and prior to the voyage, the ship was outfitted with forward looking sonar, ice searchlights, ice radar, and a thermal imaging system was installed.”

​The luxury cruise line Ponant has announced the names of their four new expedition ships which are launching in 2018 and 2019.
 
The new 10,000 gross tonne ships will be named Le Lapérouse, Le Champlain, Le Bougainville and Le Kerguelen. All four names pay tribute to great French explorers.