Luxury small-ship cruise specialist Ponant Explorations may be a relatively small line, but it offers a big loyalty program that can bring you all sorts of great benefits.
The Ponant Yacht Club, as the program is called, has multiple status tiers that come with valuable perks, such as significant discounts on cruises, onboard spending credits and free onboard laundry service.
What’s more, the Ponant Yacht Club loyalty program gives you access to some of the best perks from its very first tier — something that isn’t always the case with cruise line loyalty programs.
Plus, the Ponant Yacht Club program has one of the most fun tier-level naming structures in the cruise business. Seriously, who can turn down the opportunity to officially be titled an “Admiral” or a “Commodore” when cruising?
Ways to earn points
The Ponant Yacht Club points-earning system is about as straightforward as can be. Every time you sail on one of the line’s 13 vessels, no matter how long the voyage, you will get credit for one sailing. Your status level in the program depends entirely on your total number of sailings and nothing else.
Unlike on some lines, your status level will not be affected by how many total days you sail or the type of cabins you book.
That said, there is also a not-so-obvious way to accumulate more credits for sailings than you might think possible. You can also get credit for any sailings you take with South Pacific cruise specialist Paul Gauguin Cruises.
This is one of the happy results of the two lines becoming part of the same company in 2019, after the Ponant Explorations Group purchased Paul Gauguin Cruises.
In fact, the Ponant Yacht Club loyalty program is now the official loyalty program for Paul Gauguin Cruises as well, as that brand no longer has its own separate loyalty program.
| Program tier | Qualify after | Savings on bookings | Onboard credit | Onboard spending savings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Major |
2 cruises |
5% |
50 euro |
0% |
|
Admiral |
4 cruises |
7.5% |
100 euro |
20% |
|
Grand Admiral |
7 cruises |
10% |
150 euro |
25% |
|
Commodore |
20 cruises |
12.5% |
200 euro |
25% |
Given that Ponant operates 13 ships around the world, while Paul Gauguin Cruises operates just one vessel, you’ll probably be building up most of your status in the Ponant Yacht Club through Ponant sailings. But it pays to keep an eye on Paul Gauguin Cruises offerings, too, when looking for a cruise where you can take advantage of your Ponant Yacht Club perks.
Program tiers and benefits
There are four tiers to the Ponant Yacht Club loyalty program:
- Major (after your second sailing)
- Admiral (after your fourth sailing)
- Grand Admiral (after your seventh sailing)
- Commodore (after your 20th sailing)
You are awarded status after you complete the sailing needed to reach the sailing count needed for each of the tiers. For instance, you become a Major in the program after completing two sailings and will be a Major during your third and fourth cruises with the line. You then become an Admiral after completing your fourth cruise and will be an Admiral for your fifth, sixth and seventh cruises.
Even at the lowest Major level, the perks of the Ponant Yacht Club are solid. As soon as you take your second cruise with Ponant, you will qualify for a 5% discount on any future cruise. That’s a great perk, as it amounts to real money in your pocket.
Additionally, you will receive:
- Shipboard credit of 50 euros (about $58) per person
- Complimentary onboard laundry service, up to two items per day, per person
The next tier of the program, the Admiral tier, brings an even bigger discount of 7.5% when you book a future cruise. Also, the onboard credit you receive doubles to 100 euros (about $116) per person, and you’ll get up to five free items of laundry done daily.
Related: Why Ponant’s Le Commandant Charcot is unlike any other cruise vessel
But perhaps the most enticing perk at the Admiral tier is that you qualify for a cabin category upgrade when you sail, should a cabin for such an upgrade be available. There’s nothing like a free upgrade to make a cruiser feel good about their loyalty to a line.
Plus, as an Admiral, you’ll get a 20% discount on onboard purchases (with some caveats mentioned below).
Note that the discount on future bookings applies only to port-to-port prices and excludes taxes, discretionary expenses and transfers. This discount can be combined with the Ponant Bonus discount, the discount applied to onboard cruise sales, the Referral Program offer, the Privilege Single offer and the consecutive cruises discount.
Other fine print on the perks at the Major and Admiral levels:
- Certain restrictions apply to the discount for onboard purchases. Among purchases that are excluded from the discount are all shore excursions. Also excluded are “Prestige” brands in the Boutique, including jewelry, watches and tobacco products; premium alcohol, cocktails and Champagne purchases; and Premium Pass on all ships. Exceptional wines served on board Le Commandant Charcot are also excluded from this benefit.
- The onboard credit is nonexchangeable, nonrefundable and nontransferable. It is valid for all onboard expenses (including excursions) once all eligible discounts have been applied.
- The onboard credit cannot be used for prebookable and prepayable tours, excursions, cruise programs or gratuities.
- As noted above, the cabin category upgrade is subject to availability. Cabin categories will be offered within 48 hours of boarding.
The elite level that makes a difference
We’re fans of both the first two tiers of the Ponant Yacht Club loyalty program for the quality of their perks. But the Grand Admiral tier of the Ponant Yacht Club is where we think your loyalty to the line really starts paying off.
For starters, as a Grand Admiral, you get a bigger 10% discount on your cruise fare. Given that the line’s cruises often start at around $500 per person, per day, this can add up to hundreds of dollars of savings per cruise.
Related: I went to the North Pole on a Ponant ship; here’s how you can, too
At the Grand Admiral level, your onboard credit will rise to 150 euros (about $174) per person, which is more real money in your pocket. You can use it to cover the costs of, say, pampering yourself at one of the relaxing spas found on all Ponant ships.
Other perks at the Grand Admiral level include:
- A higher 25% discount on onboard purchases
- A waiver on change fees if you need to switch your cruise date within 12 months of your original booking
Note that for the latter perk, the change must be made at least 90 days before your original sailing date (at least 150 days if the sailing is an expedition cruise).
Best elite perk
It’s a tough call on the best elite perk of the Ponant Yacht Club loyalty program. Unlike some frequent cruiser programs, there isn’t one clear standout perk, such as the free cruise that Royal Caribbean Crown & Anchor Society members get after reaching the top Pinnacle Club level.
That said, at the top Commodore tier of the Ponant Yacht Club program, passengers get an even bigger 12.5% cruise fare discount. In addition, upon reaching the Commodore tier, you’ll get a more hefty onboard spending credit than at other tiers: 200 euros (about $233) per person.
Related: I went on a Paul Gauguin cruise around French Polynesia. I didn’t want to leave
As at the Grand Admiral level, your discount on onboard purchases at the Commodore level will be 25%. You’ll also get a complimentary cabin category upgrade when booking at the Commodore level.
Plus, at the Commodore level, you’ll be able to alter your cruise dates without fees when changing within 12 months of your original booking if the change is made 90 days or more before your original sailing date (150 days if it is an expedition cruise).
In addition, French-speaking customers at the Commodore level have access to a dedicated phone line.
A final perk for Commodore-level members: Priority boarding is available at certain ports of embarkation.
Note that, as is usually the case with cruise line loyalty programs, Ponant Yacht Club customers do not have to requalify for status each year.
Status in the Ponant Yacht Club program is based on the number of sailings you have taken over your lifetime, and such “points” never expire. That means someone who reaches top-tier Commodore status will remain at that level forever (or until Ponant changes the program).
Such “forever status” is one of the great allures of cruise line frequent cruiser programs. By contrast, many airline frequent flyer programs require loyalty members to requalify for status each year.
Ponant Yacht Club status match
Do you have high-level status with another cruise line? The good news is that Ponant is one of only a handful of cruise lines that offer a status match feature that will instantly catapult you to a high level in the Ponant program, too.
The Ponant Yacht Club Status Match Program allows guests who hold loyalty status at any of a dozen or more cruise lines, including Celebrity Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Royal Caribbean, Seabourn and Silversea Cruises, to match their status to equivalent tiers in the Ponant Yacht Club before sailing.
Members of the Royal Caribbean Crown & Anchor Society who are at the Diamond level of status, for instance, can status-match to the Major level of the Ponant Yacht Club program. Members of the Royal Caribbean program at the Diamond Plus or Pinnacle level can status-match to the Admiral or Grand Admiral level of the Ponant program, respectively.
A full list of the loyalty programs you can status match into the Ponant program is available here.
Bottom line
The Ponant loyalty program is more robust than you might expect for a cruise brand of Ponant’s size. You can get a lot of value from being a member, even if you only qualify for its first status tier. There are varying amounts of discounts on cruises and onboard credits available at all four levels of the program.
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