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Ponant · 122 staterooms · Spitsbergen in a week
Le Lyrial
The youngest of Ponant’s four sisters, named for the star Vega’s constellation and drawn by Jean-Philippe Nuel. The ship Ponant sends to Spitsbergen each June and July.
Ponant
A French yacht for the fjords of Spitsbergen.
Le Lyrial was delivered by Fincantieri in April 2015, the last and lightest of the four sisters, with 122 staterooms rather than 132 and a sixth deck given over entirely to suites. An ice-strengthened hull, eleven Zodiacs, a 260-seat theatre and a pool on the aft deck. French cuisine, an open bar, a pianist at seven. In the Arctic she sails Spitsbergen in a week, from Longyearbyen, in the light of June and July, and the long route north from Scotland in May.
Refined and elegant furnishings
Open to the horizon
The fjords of Spitsbergen
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Eleven Zodiacs
Le Lyrial moments
Between the landings the ship keeps the rhythm of a French house at sea: a long lunch, a conference, a swim, an aperitif at the piano. The expedition goes out twice a day; the rest belongs to you.
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A delicious awakening
Pastries from the ship’s bakery, eggs to order, and the fjord sliding past the restaurant window. On landing days the kitchen opens early and the coffee is French.
A delicious awakening
Pastries from the ship’s bakery, eggs to order, and the fjord sliding past the restaurant window. On landing days the kitchen opens early and the coffee is French.
Life on board
A day aboard Le Lyrial is the Ponant day: the expedition twice, French meals between, a conference in the theatre, an aperitif at the piano. The ship is quiet, French-speaking and English-speaking, and run as a yacht rather than a liner.
Two restaurants: a gastronomic dining room and a grill on the pool deck for lunch outside. French cuisine, an open bar, and wine chosen to travel.
Elegance and intimacy
Staterooms and suites
A hundred and twenty-two staterooms and suites over four decks, every one with a sea view and 94 per cent with a private balcony. Jean-Philippe Nuel’s interiors are warm and understated: pale wood, grey and ivory, a sliding window onto the balcony.
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Balcony Stateroom
18.5 m² with a 4 m² private balcony One king-size bed or two single beds Sliding panoramic window Bathroom with shower
Balcony Stateroom
18.5 m² with a 4 m² private balcony One king-size bed or two single beds Sliding panoramic window Bathroom with shower
Le Lyrial
The last of the sisters, lighter by ten staterooms
Le Lyrial is the fourth of Ponant’s Boréal class, delivered by Fincantieri in Ancona in April 2015. She is 142 metres and 10,992 tonnes, with an Ice Class 1C hull for the summer waters of Svalbard and Greenland, diesel-electric propulsion and stabilisers. She carries 122 staterooms and suites for up to 244 guests, 140 crew and eleven Zodiacs, with interiors by Jean-Philippe Nuel.
In the Arctic she sails Spitsbergen from Longyearbyen in June and July, the Norwegian coast from Glasgow in May, and Svalbard to Iceland in August. Ponant is the partner we book for guests who want the Arctic with French service and a lighter programme.
- 122 staterooms · 140 crew
- Ice Class 1C · 142 m
- 11 Zodiacs
The expedition
How a day ashore is made
Ponant sails the Arctic the French way: two outings a day, a naturalist at every landing, and lunch waiting when the Zodiacs come back.
Launched from the marina at the stern, with the whole ship ashore in two waves. Landings are led by a French-speaking and English-speaking expedition team.
Her Arctic season
Voyages aboard Le Lyrial
Spitsbergen in a week, the eastern reserves of Svalbard, the crossing to Iceland by Jan Mayen and Scoresby Sund, Greenland from the east coast to Disko Bay and, in September, Disko Bay and the coast of Canada. Tell us the month you have in mind and we tell you which sailing suits it, which stateroom, and what we can do on the fare.
All expeditions
Good to know
Le Lyrial, in practice
The questions we are asked most before guests choose this ship.
Up to 244 guests in 122 staterooms and suites, with 140 crew. In the polar regions Ponant sails with fewer, so that landings can be made in two waves.
Her hull is Ice Class 1C, built for the open summer waters of Svalbard, Greenland and Iceland rather than the pack. For the ice itself, Ponant sails Le Commandant Charcot.
All meals, an open bar, the expedition programme, Zodiac outings and landings, guided walks, a parka to keep, boots to borrow, Wi-Fi and gratuities. Kayaking, where offered, is booked in advance. Most Arctic voyages include the Paris charter flight to the ship.
Both. Announcements, lectures and the expedition team work in French and in English, and the crew is used to Australian guests.
Via Paris, with the Ponant charter to Longyearbyen onward on most sailings. We arrange the flights, the night in Paris and the nights either side so the whole journey sits in one booking.
Made to measure
Tell us your Arctic, we build the rest
Every guest sails differently. Tell us what you are hoping for and who you are travelling with, and we shape the voyage aboard Le Lyrial around it: the sailing, the stateroom, the flights from Australia, the nights in Paris, and the offers we hold for Arctic Cruise guests. One specialist, from the first conversation until you are home.
The fleet
Other ships we sail
Each ship we work with has her own character and her own Arctic. Le Commandant Charcot is the icebreaker for the North Pole; L’Austral and Le Boréal, her sisters, sail Greenland and the Northwest Passage.
Learn more
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