The many faces of Cape Verde

Your stateroom Officer will be able to take care of your laundry**. The washing and ironing of your clothes will take between 24 and 48 hours. Only ironing** can be delivered on the same day. As dry-cleaning is not possible on the ship, please only give us clothes that can be washed in water.

** These services are not free of charge and are billed directly to your stateroom account.

PONANT ships are non-smoking, even on the stateroom balconies. Smoking is only allowed in the exterior parts of the ship designated for the purpose.

Adapters are provided on board, they are available at the reception office of our ships.

European Standard Sockets

The 220 volt 50 hertz alternating current is distributed by sockets meeting European standards. Onboard power is 200 volt AC (European standard) and 110 volt AC (North American standard). For safety reasons, hair irons and clothes irons cannot be used in staterooms. Please note that on Le Ponant, 110 volt AC is only available in stateroom bathrooms.

Children under one year of age shall not be authorised to embark on the ships.

For children aged between 1 and 8 years old, an authorisation to board the ship must be made in writing to PONANT. Subject to agreement, a liability waiver must be completed and returned to the company to validate the registration.

On classic cruises (“yachting”), children are accepted from the age of one, with a maximum of 5 children between 1 and 6 years old on board.

On “expedition” cruises children are accepted from 6 years old (except cruises aboard Le Commandant Charcot) and must be fully independent during all the outside activities organised and during disembarkation in rubber boats, be sufficiently tall to sit on the inflatable sides of the boats, and old enough to understand, and immediately respond to the orders given by the persons in charge. As a result, children’s participation in any activity in an inflatable boat shall be subject to the agreement of the Captain and of the Expedition Head, depending on the sea conditions, and the difficulty of disembarking at each location visited. The ships do not carry Parka’s in children’s sizes. Parents must arrange to bring a suitable Parka for children. In all cases, children and young people under the age of 18 are at all times on board or on land under the full and total responsibility of their parents or carers.

Children aged 4 years or more can be welcomed in the Kid’s Club when the service is offered on board

The crew are bilingual in French and English. All signage and announcements made are in French and English. On certain cruises, crew members also speak other languages.

A satellite telephone system is at your disposal for contacting anyone, anywhere in the world. The cost of the call is added to the stateroom account (€6/minute). Calls that you receive can be transferred directly to your stateroom or to any other communal area on the ship. To receive or send faxes, please see Reception.

Free Wi-Fi internet access is available on all of our ships, in both the staterooms and the communal areas. One or several computers are at your disposal in the recreation centres. Please note that the Wi-Fi connection may be discontinued depending on the navigation area and landscapes that may block the vessel from satellite coverage, especially at high latitudes (no connection possible beyond 80° North or South), or for technical reasons beyond our control.

There is a doctor on board available to the passengers on all our ships:

• The schedules of consultation are listed each day in the log book (emergency consultation 24/7).
• The Sisterships, PONANT Explorers and Le Commandant Charcot also have a hospital for any small surgery.
• During the excursions, the passengers are accompanied by a doctor or a nurse.
• There is a fee for consultations on board . The price may vary according to the time and place of the consultation (hospital or staterooms). You must also pay for medications.
• The doctor on board is not authorised to distribute sick leaves and prescriptions. Only accounts and invoices are provided which may be used by the passenger to obtain a refund from his/her health insurance if his/her contract allows.

Medical Consultations

There is a charge for medical consultations undertaken by the doctor or nurse on board. The price can vary according to the time and place of the consultation (hospital or stateroom). Any medication must also be paid for by the passenger. If using medications on a regular basis make sure to bring adequate supplies for the duration of your cruise.

Special Medical Treatment

If you have any special treatment, we ask you to inform the reservation service when you register for the cruise, to note it on the information sheet before departure, then inform the on-board crew at the moment of departure and always keep your medication with you for the duration of the cruise.

Seasickness

Our ships (except Le Ponant) have stabilisers equipped with dynamic fins which adapt to the movements of the ship. This system allows the ship to anticipate and compensate for the pitching and tossing of the sea to achieve greater stability. Passengers suffering from seasickness will see their symptoms alleviated and are pleasantly surprised to not feel uncomfortable during their journey. However it is wise to bring travel motion medication with you for peace of mind.

Our Sisterships, PONANT EXPLORERS and Le Commandant Charcot were designed for people with reduced mobility in mind:

• Specially designed staterooms;
• Access ramps allowing easy movement in communal areas;
• Posters, signage and stateroom numbers are translated into Braille.

Despite these arrangements, each passenger should be able to be independent or travel with a close family member or friend who can give them whatever assistance they require during their trip.

If a person has not been judged suitably fit for travel in complete safety, the company reserves the right to refuse their embarkation. Disembarkation in difficult places or in a Zodiac® is subject to the approval of the Captain, who will always have the safety and wellbeing of the passenger in mind.

Technical Accessories

We advise you to equip yourself with a ski mask, sunglasses, walking poles (available to purchase in the shop), a waterproof rucksack, binoculars, a technical watch, a mosquito head net (for the Arctic) and a waterproof pouch.

We recommend wearing elegant, casual clothes at your discretion, and for the gala evenings, a cocktail dress for ladies and a shirt and tie for gentlemen, and a white or black-and-white outfit for the Officers’ evening. Shorts/Bermudas are not permitted in the evening in the gastronomic restaurants.

For more than 30 years, PONANT has been taking its cruise guests to the planet’s most remote, hidden and out-of-the-way locations, places where nature reigns supreme. Making this choice entails responsibilities towards the ecosystems that compose these places and the communities that live in them. In order to stay at the forefront of innovation, the company works on a day-to-day basis to promote a more responsible and more sustainable form of tourism through its PONANT Blue Horizon programme.

PONANT continues to optimise its environmental performance through 6 strategic commitments

• Minimise nitrogen and sulphur oxide emissions
• Reduce CO² emissions
• Eliminate single use plastics
• Reuse and trace all our waste
• Embark scientific research teams
• Support the creation of Marine Protected Areas

Our everyday actions

Our commitment translates to concrete everyday actions, particularly in terms of the controlled and responsible approach we adopt towards what we use and consume onboard our ships, and also in terms of supporting research, awareness-raising and conversation projects around the world.

Our everyday actions

Our commitment translates to concrete everyday actions, particularly in terms of the controlled and responsible approach we adopt towards what we use and consume onboard our ships, and also in terms of supporting research, awareness-raising and conversation projects around the world.

The traveller’s ethical charter

Whether on sea, on land or on ice: we strive to minimise our footprint and ask you to do the same.

An international recognition

PONANT is setting an inspiring example and leading the way. Our actions in favour of the environment are regularly rewarded and relayed at both a national level and internationally.