Aranui Cruises has offered a sneak peek inside its new-build Aranoa, its upcoming hybrid passenger-freighter vessel debuting in 2027. Currently under construction at Huanghai Shipbuilding facility in Shandong, China, the 380-foot-long ship will cruise French Polynesia, carrying just under 200 guests (and cargo) on itineraries to the Austral Islands and beyond.

Aranoa, which will accommodate 198 passengers across 93 cabins – two-thirds of which will have a private balcony. Like sister ship Aranui 5, cabins range from a dormitory to staterooms and suites, up to the Presidential Suite.

Equipped with all the latest “mod cons” and technology for passenger comfort, Aranoa – which means “great awakening” in Tahitian – will also house two restaurants, a lounge, two bars, two spa pools on the pool deck, a boutique, a health spa and a fitness centre. A standout space, however, will be a Polynesian tattoo salon to continue the legacy of Aranui’s first tattoo parlour at sea.

In line with Aranui’s core business as a cargo cruise line, Aranoa is designed as a mixed passenger-freighter vessel, which will largely service French Polynesia’s remote and untouched south, making regular voyages to the Austral Islands as well as offering cruises to Pitcairn, the Tuamotus and a special Marquesas Arts Festival itinerary in 2027.

All 13-day Austral Islands voyages will call at Tubuai, Rurutu, Rimatara and Raivavae for an overnight stay in the “Bora Bora of the south.” Rapa Iti will also be featured in six of the Australs itineraries as Aranui works with the tiny community of 500 residents to create a small and sustainable flow of tourism.