| A new era in luxury cruising is upon us…

Uber exclusive French cruise line,
Compagnie du Ponant, launched its
newest mega-yacht, L’Austral, last week.
Designed by Jean-Philippe Nuel and
built at the Italian Fincantieri shipyard
L’Austral is a decidedly sleek vessel, whose
appearance is softened somewhat by
smooth contours and arched windows.
Created to capture the feeling of a
private yacht, L’Austral is a small sevendeck
ship, featuring 132 (all outside)
cabins (95% of which have a private balcony) and a relatively large crew of 139.
In terms of decor, Nuel went for understated elegance onboard L’Austral, by utilising a
neutral colour palette interspersed with splashes of red to liven her up.
Onboard features include two restaurants, 24-hour room service, a 260-seat theatre,
three bars (including a piano bar), library and internet room, elevators to all decks, a
beauty centre spa and fitness centre,
laundry, outside pool and boutique.
Following her launch Compagnie du
Ponant has scheduled L’Austral to feature a
series of Mediterranean voyages, kicking off
on 31 May with a seven night voyage taking
in Venice, Sibenik, Split, Korkula, Kotor,
Dubrovnik, Hvar, Pula and Rovinj.
For details see your local travel agent, or
visit the Travel the World website at
www.traveltheworld.com.au.