Le Jacques Cartier Sets Sail into the Kimberley: Luxury Expeditions Coming to Australia in 2025
In 2025, Ponant will send its 180-guest Le Jacques Cartier into the Kimberley, Australia’s wild, untamed northwest coast. This sleek expedition yacht will spend an entire season exploring the region’s soaring ochre cliffs, deafening waterfalls, and sacred Aboriginal rock art. Here, the narrow inlets and towering rock faces make the Kimberley best enjoyed from a nimble small vessel, and aboard Le Jacques Cartier guests will encounter the wilderness in rare comfort, where every frontier thrill is paired with polished French elegance.
A Ship with Vision and Legacy
Launched in 2020, Le Jacques Cartier is the sixth member of Ponant’s Explorer fleet, which is redefining small-ship expedition cruising. Crafted at VARD shipyards in Romania and Norway, the 10,000-ton yacht marries eco-friendly engineering with sophisticated interiors and hands-on discovery. Its park of silent hybrid engines, sleek silhouette, and expanded fuel tanks minimize wake and emissions, letting it approach fragile coastlines and anchor in unspoiled bays.
Although its early voyages were delayed by the pandemic, Le Jacques Cartier soon became a benchmark for boutique expedition cruising, offering the intimacy of a private yacht alongside the facilities and services of a world-class hotel. Guests lounge in the panoramic lounge, dine on French-Asian cuisine, and unfurl the retractable marina for kayaking right from the ship’s deck.
Luxury Meets Innovation
On board, you’ll find 92 staterooms and suites, each boasting its own balcony or private terrace. A French-inspired design flows through every space, featuring natural materials, gentle lighting, and a calming colour palette that echoes the ever-changing ocean.
One of the ship’s most unforgettable spaces is the Blue Eye Lounge. Here, guests can enjoy a glass of champagne while giant whale-eye windows reveal schools of fish gliding by. Underwater speakers carry the songs of whales and dolphins, bringing the ocean’s living poetry right to your seat.
Deep within the hull, a surprise awaits: a massive diptych mural by French street artist Shuck One, painted during the ship’s construction. Only visible through a small porthole on Deck 3, this hidden masterpiece embodies Ponant’s spirit of discovery, culture, and creativity.
Kimberley 2025: Voyages into the Wild
From May to September 2025, Le Jacques Cartier will glide the Kimberley coast between Broome and Darwin. Travellers will enjoy an uninterrupted view of one of the planet’s wildest places:
- Horizontal Falls, where racing tides force their way between red sandstone cliffs in a dazzling spectacle that David Attenborough hailed as “one of the greatest wonders of the natural world.”
- Montgomery Reef, which bursts out of the sea when the tide drops, unveiling waterfalls and welcoming turtles, rays, and reef sharks to feast in the shallows.
- Ancient rock art galleries painted by the world’s first Australians more than 40,000 years ago.
- Face-to-face moments with saltwater crocodiles, migrating humpback whales, and rare birds.
“The Kimberley is unlike anywhere else,” says a Ponant representative. “Sailing on Le Jacques Cartier—small, sustainable, and exceptionally comfortable—lets our guests witness the drama up close while leaving the lightest footprint possible.”
Beyond Australia: The Pacific Awaits
After the Kimberley, the yacht will cross the South Pacific to Micronesia, visiting Papua New Guinea, Guam, East Timor, and unspoiled Indonesian islands. Each destination blends living cultural traditions with unspoiled nature, offering wonders too delicate for a large cruise ship.
An Odyssey at Sea
After five successful years, Le Jacques Cartier continues to expand what we think a luxury expedition ship can be. It combines eco-friendly technology, art-filled walls, a small-yacht intimacy, and a real sense of adventure. Whether gliding along the Kimberley’s jagged cliffs or weaving between the isolated islands of the Pacific, the ship feels less like a ferry and more like a doorway to unforgettable moments.
Guests who want wild beauty with five-star comfort should mark 2025: it is set to be one of Ponant’s boldest seasons ever. For more updates on luxury travel and expeditions, visit Neon Report.
