What is the Le Bougainville cruise ship and when does it visit Gibraltar?
Short answer
Le Bougainville is a small luxury expedition ship from the French line Ponant, carrying up to 184 guests. Its upcoming visits to Gibraltar, with times and expected passengers, are listed on this page.
Upcoming visits to Gibraltar
Wednesday 11 November 2026, in port 07:30–18:00
Also in port: Azamara Onward. Combined: about 672 passengers where known.
From the Port of Gibraltar schedule, last checked 15 October 2026.
Detailed answer
Le Bougainville was built by VARD, with the hull made at Tulcea in Romania and the ship finished at Søviknes in Norway. It made its maiden voyage on Monday 15 April 2019 as the third of Ponant's Explorer class. Ponant gives a gross tonnage of 9,976, a length of 131 metres, a maximum of 184 guests in 92 staterooms and suites, and 118 crew. The ship has a polar ice class and carries nine Zodiac boats. Ponant highlights a marina platform at the stern for swimming, kayaking and water sports, a pool, a spa with Sothys treatments, a theatre for talks by naturalists and guest speakers, and French cooking.
How busy will town be?
The upcoming visits listed on this page show the passengers expected on each call and any other ships in port the same day. Town is busiest when several ships are in at once or a large ship arrives at a weekend. A ship carrying a few hundred passengers makes little difference on its own.
Can you sail on it from nearby?
Yes. Le Bougainville is listed sailing from Valletta to Malaga from Saturday 31 October 2026, followed by two five-night round trips from Malaga starting Tuesday 10 November 2026 and Sunday 15 November 2026. It then crosses from Cadiz to Fort-de-France in Martinique from Friday 4 December 2026. In summer 2027 it has voyages starting or ending in Barcelona, and in autumn 2027 it returns to Malaga for a crossing to Fort-de-France from Monday 8 November 2027.