A luxury French small-ship cruise line, Ponant was founded in 1988 by two former French merchant navy officers and now includes 13 ships in their fleet. They navigate waters from Tahiti and French Polynesia to the jaw-dropping Kimberly region of Western Australia, sun-dappled Caribbean islands to Greenland and Antarctica, but also waters closer to their home in the form of the Mediterranean. This was no typical Med cruise, however, as both our ship Le Bougainville – with just a maximum capacity of 180 passengers feeling more like a large superyacht – and the itinerary revealed a whole new side to a well-travelled region.
The 9-night, 1,040 nautical mile ‘ Malta, Italian shores and Isle of Beauty ’ took in rarely visited islands, by navigating small ports which only a ship the size of Le Bougainville could access. MAGICAL MALTA The day before embarking, astonishing but compact Malta welcomed us with cloudless skies, as befits a country with more hours of sunshine per year than anywhere else in Europe. Our home on terra firma was four honey-coloured townhouses atop St Barbara Bastion which have been beautifully restored and turned into Iniala Harbour House, the Maltese capital’s finest boutique hotel where history seeps through the thick, ancient walls.
High-ceilinged rooms feature antiques, contemporary art and every conceivable comfort, while a spa soothed limbs weary from walking the ancient cobblestoned streets. It‘s also home to Malta’s only two Michelin-star.
