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PONANT has announced the opening of the sales of its luxury expeditions aboard Le Commandant Charcot for the Arctic 2023 season, with ten departures scheduled including five exceptional, new, or revisited itineraries.
Equipped with state-of-the-art green technology, Le Commandant Charcot is the only cruise ship in the world able to reach these remote regions in May, early spring in the Arctic, for both environmentally responsible and inspiring voyages in the heart of the ice. Le Commandant Charcot is the world’s first hybrid-electric LNG-powered luxury polar exploration vessel.
Many unique and environmentally aware experiences await guests, such as meeting with the local Inuit communities, dog sled excursions, sea kayaking, hiking on foot or snowshoes, ice fishing, polar diving, polar swimming, and citizen science projects. Beyond the exploration, sailing aboard Le Commandant Charcot is a journey towards mindfulness that awakens both our senses and our curiosity.
Find out more about these expeditions
“Encounters with the Inuit and spring traditions”
Eastern Greenland – which conventional ships cannot reach in early spring – reveals all its mysteries in the footsteps of great explorers from Paul-Émile Victor to Jean-Baptiste Charcot. A timeless break away from it all to meet Inuit communities in the Ammassalik region. This unexplored wilderness, trapped by the ice but full of life, promises exceptional experiences getting to know the local peoples and their traditions. Further north, the Blosseville coast unveils the secret of an awesome landscape featuring alpine summits, polar caps, fjords awash with gigantic icebergs, glaciers and pack ice that is home to a wide variety of wildlife.
Reykjavik – Reykjavik. Two sailings from 5 to 25 May 2023, 11 days – 10 nights, 30% savings with the PONANT Bonus*
From AUD 21,230 per person* – Find out more about this expedition
“Exploring the Northeast Greenland National Park”
During this expedition, Le Commandant Charcot will be exploring the world’s most extensive National Park, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. At the heart of Greenland’s spectacular east coast, this destination is one of the remotest and least accessible in the Far North at a time when snow and ice still dominate the landscape. This is a unique opportunity to discover the unexplored Ittoqqortoormiit region with its magically coloured alpine landscapes and imposing fjords. Before returning to the Icelandic coast, Le Commandant Charcot will attempt to reach the remote shores of Île de France covered by thick pack ice from the North Pole. A voyage of exploration in search of life’s meaning to the frontier of the known world.
15 days – 14 nights. Two sailings:
Reykjavik – Reykjavik, 25 May to 8 June 2023
Reykjavik – Murmansk, 8 to 22 June 2023
Transfer and Murmansk/Paris flights included*
30% savings with the PONANT Bonus*
From AUD 29,730 per person* – Find out more about this expedition
NEW – “The icy archipelagos of the Russian High Arctic”
A first – for this exceptional itinerary Le Commandant Charcot sets sail to explore three Russian archipelagos, extraordinary jewels in the Barents and Kara Seas: Novaya Zemlya, Franz Josef archipelago, and Severnaya Zemlya. An expedition that is even more exclusive as Le Commandant Charcot is the only cruise ship able to sail in June to these groups of islands that are trapped by ice for nine months of the year. Biodiversity sanctuaries, these little-known territories are symbols of polar history. This is an invitation to set sail on an adventure of a lifetime to see wildlife in Russia’s largest nature reserve, including polar bears, walruses, seals, whales, fin whales, beluga whales, seabirds and more, as nature awakens in the Arctic early summer.
18 nights – 19 days
Murmansk – Tromso, 22 June to 10 July 2023–,
Returned Flights from and to Paris included*
30% savings with the PONANT Bonus*
From AUD 43,340 per person* – Find out more about this expedition
“The Geographic North Pole”
For centuries, the North Pole has inspired, fascinated, and drawn mankind to its wilderness. During this expedition, Le Commandant Charcot will attempt to arrive at this northernmost point on the planet that few have managed to reach. In the footsteps of the explorers of yesteryear, this odyssey offers all the beauty of the ice with its nuances of colour and exhilarating northern lights show across 700km of submerged lands. Although frozen by the cold, there is an abundance of wildlife in this silent world where nature reigns supreme. From the Svalbard archipelago, this expedition also offers an exceptional opportunity to see polar bears, seals, ivory gulls, northern fulmars, and numerous species of whales.
17 nights – 18 days: Tromso – Longyearbyen – 10 to 27 July 2023
16 days – 15 nights: Longyearbyen – Longyearbyen – 2 sailings from 27 July to 11 August 2023 16 days – 15 nights: Longyearbyen – Reykjavik, 26 August to 10 September 2023
Return flights from and to Paris included*
30% savings with the PONANT Bonus*
From AUD 44,500 per person* – Find out more about this expedition
Edited by John Alwyn-Jones, Cruise Editor