Cruise of the Week: PONANT’s Authentic Japan, Osaka to Busan

Cruise of the Week is an LCN series. Each week we pick one sailing from a line’s current published program and look at what the trip actually involves. Facts come from the line’s own pages, linked at the end.

This week’s pick is PONANT’s Authentic Japan, a 13-day voyage on Le Soleal from Osaka to Busan, South Korea. The first 2027 departure listed sails March 14 to 26; the line also shows March 26 to April 7, 2027 and March 11 to 23, 2028.

Why this one

Japan itineraries are common in brochures; port time is what separates them. This route strings together calls at Toba, Shingu, Himeji and Miyajima, and the line’s listed highlights include the UNESCO-listed Himeji Castle, the Itsukushima Shrine visited from Miyajima, and the cultural heritage of Nagasaki. The sailing also includes Hiroshima and Nagasaki, cities that carry a different kind of weight and are, as the line puts it, now among Japan’s most relaxed and fascinating destinations.

The cultural mix is the draw: Shinto heritage, castle architecture, Zen gardens and 20th-century history in one trip, ending across the Korea Strait in Busan.

The ship

Le Soleal carries a maximum of 264 guests in 132 staterooms and suites with 145 crew, according to PONANT’s ship page. That puts it firmly in small-ship territory, which suits a port-intensive route like this one.

What it costs, as published

The line lists the March 14, 2027 departure from $15,570 per person, based on double occupancy. The published price already includes the PONANT Bonus discount and is subject to availability and change; some cabin categories on this sailing already show as sold out on the line’s page, so treat the from-price as a starting point, not a quote.

Worth knowing before you book

PONANT lists an optional pre-cruise land program, Kyoto and Nara, Imperial Heritage, four nights from March 10 to 13, 2027. If imperial Japan is the point of the trip, pricing that extension against the same days booked independently is worth doing. As with any one-way itinerary, factor open-jaw flights into the real cost.

Sources: PONANT’s Authentic Japan voyage page and the Le Soleal ship page. Checked October 5, 2026. Prices, dates and availability may change.