Paul Gauguin Cruises
Paul Gauguin Cruises is a luxury cruise brand focused on Tahiti, French Polynesia, and the wider South Pacific.
Last updated August 24, 2026
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Overview
Paul Gauguin Cruises is a specialist luxury cruise brand centered on voyages in Tahiti, French Polynesia, and other South Pacific destinations. The brand operates the Paul Gauguin, a ship named after the nineteenth-century French artist Paul Gauguin, whose long residence and artistic work in Polynesia provided the brand with its name and thematic association. Rather than operating a large, mass-market fleet, the company has historically concentrated on small-ship itineraries, destination immersion, and access to island ports that are difficult or impractical for much larger cruise vessels. The brand’s operating history has included several ownership and management changes. From 1998 to 2010, the Paul Gauguin and its associated cruise operation were operated under Regent Seven Seas Cruises. Beachcomber Croisieres Limited acquired the cruise line in 2009, and Pacific Beachcomber assumed control of the brand and ship in January 2010. This period established Paul Gauguin Cruises as a more independent, destination-focused operation serving the South Pacific. The company briefly expanded beyond its original single-ship model. In September 2011, it announced the acquisition of a second ship. That vessel was subsequently named Tere Moana and christened in December 2012. The ship broadened the company’s capacity to offer smaller-ship itineraries, but it was sold in 2015. After the sale, Paul Gauguin Cruises returned to operating with the Paul Gauguin as its sole ship. In 2019, Compagnie du Ponant, the French expedition and luxury-cruise company, purchased Paul Gauguin Cruises. The acquisition brought the brand into Ponant’s wider portfolio while preserving its emphasis on the South Pacific. Later in 2019, Ponant finalized an agreement with Fincantieri’s VARD yards for two planned hybrid vessels. The proposed ships were described as being based on Ponant’s explorer-class design, with batteries intended to support energy needs during port visits and operations in environmentally sensitive areas. The planned vessels were specified at approximately 11,000 gross tons and a capacity of about 230 passengers, although the supplied reference material does not establish that they entered service under the Paul Gauguin Cruises brand. Paul Gauguin Cruises offers year-round or seasonal access, depending on itinerary and operating conditions, to Tahiti and the Society Islands, the Cook Islands, Fiji, the Marquesas, Tonga, the Tuamotus, Australia, and New Zealand. Its positioning is built around intimate shipboard scale, upscale hospitality, cultural and natural encounters, and concentrated regional expertise. The brand’s principal offering remains the Paul Gauguin and the itineraries operated with that vessel. The COVID-19 pandemic interrupted the company’s sailings. Operations resumed on July 18, 2020 for local residents and on July 29, 2020 for international guests, with reduced occupancy. The available reference material does not provide later fleet, leadership, financial, or route-development details. Accordingly, this dossier identifies the brand’s ownership, historical fleet changes, principal destinations, and pandemic restart while leaving unsupported corporate and executive information blank.
History
Paul Gauguin Cruises developed around the Paul Gauguin, a ship and cruise operation named for the nineteenth-century painter Paul Gauguin. Gauguin spent approximately a decade living in and depicting Polynesia, giving the brand a direct cultural and geographic association with the destinations it serves. From 1998 through 2010, the Paul Gauguin and the related cruise business operated under Regent Seven Seas Cruises. Beachcomber Croisieres Limited acquired the cruise line in 2009, and Pacific Beachcomber took over Paul Gauguin Cruises and its ship in January 2010. The transition allowed the operation to function as a more specialized South Pacific cruise brand rather than simply as part of a broader luxury-cruise identity. The company announced the acquisition of a second ship on September 30, 2011. The vessel was christened Tere Moana in December 2012, giving the company a two-ship fleet for a period. In June 2015, Paul Gauguin Cruises announced the sale of Tere Moana. The sale left Paul Gauguin as the company’s only ship and restored the brand’s single-vessel operating model. Compagnie du Ponant purchased Paul Gauguin Cruises in 2019. Under Ponant ownership, the brand remained associated with Tahiti, French Polynesia, and the South Pacific while becoming part of a larger French luxury and expedition-cruise group. In late 2019, Ponant finalized a contract with Fincantieri’s VARD shipyards for two proposed hybrid vessels. The ships were described as sharing the general design approach of Ponant’s explorer class and incorporating batteries to help meet energy requirements during port calls and operations in environmentally sensitive areas. The reference material does not confirm that these vessels were delivered or became part of the Paul Gauguin Cruises fleet. The brand’s destination program includes Tahiti and the Society Islands, the Cook Islands, French Polynesia, Fiji, the Marquesas, Tonga, the Tuamotus, Australia, and New Zealand. Its business model emphasizes small-ship access, regional specialization, luxury service, and experiences connected with island landscapes and cultures. The COVID-19 pandemic caused a temporary suspension of sailings. Paul Gauguin Cruises resumed service on July 18, 2020 for local residents and on July 29 for international guests, with reduced occupancy. The available source material does not provide a complete account of subsequent operations, current leadership, later fleet developments, or financial performance.
- 2020
Pandemic-era service restart
[1]Sailings resumed on July 18 for local residents and July 29 for international guests, with reduced occupancy.
- 2019
Acquisition by Compagnie du Ponant
[1]Compagnie du Ponant purchased Paul Gauguin Cruises.
- 2015
Tere Moana is sold
[1]The company announced the sale of Tere Moana in June, leaving Paul Gauguin as its only ship.
- 2012
Tere Moana is christened
[1]The acquired second vessel was christened Tere Moana in December 2012.
- 2011
Second ship acquisition announced
[1]The company announced on September 30 that it had acquired a second ship.
- 2010
Pacific Beachcomber takes control
[1]Pacific Beachcomber assumed control of Paul Gauguin Cruises and its ship in January 2010.
- 2009
Beachcomber Croisieres Limited acquires the cruise line
[1]Beachcomber Croisieres Limited acquired Paul Gauguin Cruises before the subsequent management transition to Pacific Beachcomber.
- 1998
Operations begin under Regent Seven Seas Cruises
[1]The Paul Gauguin and the associated cruise operation operated under Regent Seven Seas Cruises from 1998 through 2010.
Products and positioning
A luxury, destination-specialist cruise brand focused on intimate-ship voyages and immersive travel across Tahiti, French Polynesia, and the South Pacific.
Cruise ship
Paul Gauguin
Paul Gauguin Cruises’ principal and namesake vessel. The ship supports luxury small-ship itineraries in Tahiti, French Polynesia, and other South Pacific destinations, including island groups and ports that suit a more intimate vessel than a mass-market cruise ship.
Cruise ship · 2012
Tere Moana
A second vessel acquired by the company and christened in December 2012. Tere Moana expanded the fleet temporarily but was sold in 2015 and is therefore a former Paul Gauguin Cruises vessel.
Brand decisions
2020
Restart of sailings during the COVID-19 pandemicStrategyBackground
The pandemic temporarily halted Paul Gauguin Cruises’ operations.
Action taken
The brand restarted sailings for local residents on July 18 and for international guests on July 29, using reduced occupancy.
Aftermath
The restart marked a staged return to service under pandemic operating restrictions.
2019
Acquisition by Compagnie du PonantM&ABackground
Paul Gauguin Cruises had previously operated under other ownership structures, including Beachcomber Croisieres Limited and Pacific Beachcomber.
Action taken
Compagnie du Ponant purchased Paul Gauguin Cruises.
Aftermath
The brand became part of Ponant’s broader French luxury and expedition-cruise portfolio while retaining its South Pacific specialization.
2019
Proposed hybrid-vessel programStrategyBackground
Ponant pursued new vessel capacity and described an approach intended to reduce energy requirements during port visits and operations in environmentally sensitive locations.
Action taken
Ponant finalized a contract with Fincantieri’s VARD yards for two proposed hybrid vessels based on its explorer-class design, with batteries and an approximate capacity of 230 passengers each.
Aftermath
The supplied reference does not establish whether the vessels were delivered or entered the Paul Gauguin Cruises fleet.
2015
Sale of Tere MoanaStrategyBackground
After operating with two ships for a period, the company decided to sell Tere Moana.
Action taken
Paul Gauguin Cruises sold Tere Moana in June 2015 and continued with Paul Gauguin as its sole ship.
Aftermath
The sale returned the brand to a single-ship operating model focused on its core South Pacific business.
Recent events
- 2020
Paul Gauguin Cruises resumes sailings during the COVID-19 pandemic[1]
Other
The brand restarted operations on July 18 for local residents and on July 29 for international guests, using reduced occupancy during the pandemic recovery period.
- 2019
Paul Gauguin Cruises changes ownership through acquisition by Compagnie du Ponant[1]
M&A
Compagnie du Ponant purchased Paul Gauguin Cruises, bringing the South Pacific-focused brand into its French luxury-cruise portfolio.
- 2019
Ponant contracts for proposed hybrid explorer vessels[1]
Other
Compagnie du Ponant finalized a contract with Fincantieri’s VARD yards for two proposed hybrid vessels featuring batteries intended to support operations during port visits and in environmentally sensitive areas.
Sources3 sources
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