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PONANT has launched sales of its polar exploration voyages aboard Le Commandant Charcot for its 2024 Arctic season. Following in the wake of the great polar explorers from Greenland’s east coast to the Geographic North Pole, the season comprises five itineraries and eight sailings, each offering enchantment and adventure.

Designed to explore the remotest corners of the planet, Le Commandant Charcot is the world’s only luxury icebreaker. With innovation playing a key role in PONANT’s commitment to more sustainable tourism, it is the first hybrid-electric, polar exploration vessel powered by liquefied natural gas.

Destination dependant, the itineraries include meeting the Inuits, observing wildlife, visiting nature reserves, dog sledding, Zodiac outings and landings with a team of experienced naturalist guides, hiking, kayaking, ice fishing, polar diving, and more. Find out more about these cruises

Focus on itineraries not to be missed:

Inuit Spring of Ammassalik
With the midnight sun lighting up a white desert, Le Commandant Charcot sets sail to discover a land long dreamed of by explorers, namely the Ammassalik and Blosseville regions, inaccessible to conventional ships in the spring. During this polar escape, there will be opportunities to meet the Inuits – ‘human beings’ in Inuktitut – and discover their ancestral traditions, like hunting on dog sledding, while enjoying their sense of hospitality which they hold dear. Le Commandant Charcot then sets course for Greenland’s eastern shores before crossing the Denmark Strait to reach Blosseville, a totally unexplored region due to its thick layer of ice coming directly from the North Pole. This exploration voyage takes guests into the heart of village life on the ice, with a chance of seeing blue whales, polar bears and many other endemic species.
From Reykjavik to Reykjavik – 10 nights onboard Le Commandant Charcot
3 sailing between 16 April and 6 May 2024
From AUD 24,240 per person plus 30% Ponant Bonus*
Find out more about this sailing

Inuit spring at the edge of Scoresby Sund
From Blosseville shores to the entrance of Scoresby Sund, the world’s largest network of fjords, this itinerary opens the doors to a vast frozen expanse where nature reigns supreme. Le Commandant Charcot heads for colourful isolated villages where Inuits live to the rhythm of the seasons and ice, perpetuating centuries of ancestral traditions such as hunting with dog sleds. This polar exploration is a unique opportunity to share unforgettable moments on the ice with the locals and discover their traditions. Kayak and Zodiac outings offer exceptional encounters with wildlife – humpback whales, polar bears, and seals – not forgetting the breath-taking landscapes of eastern Greenland.
From Reykjavik to Reykjavik – 12 nights onboard Le Commandant Charcot
From 16 May to 28 May 2024
From AUD 18,230 per person plus 30% Ponant Bonus*
Find out more about this sailing

The Geographic North Pole
Objective: 90° North! Le Commandant Charcot sets forth in search of this mythical geographical point, which has long fascinated the most adventurous of explorers. From Spitsbergen, the world’s only luxury icebreaker will be sailing in northern waters to the ends of the Earth, towards landscapes transformed by ice and the play of light. During this expedition, Le Commandant Charcot will venture in the wilderness with a chance of approaching the kings of the Arctic – polar bears. It will also be an opportunity to watch Northern fulmars in action, humpback whales and other whale species. Depending on the weather and ice conditions, PONANT’s expedition teams will be offering a range of activities including kayaking, hikes on foot or snowshoes, polar diving, and citizen science projects, before the ship reaches the Holy Grail of any explorer – the North Pole.
From Longyearbyen, Spitsbergen to Longyearbyen, Spitsbergen – 15 nights onboard Le Commandant Charcot
From 11 July to 26 July 2024
From AUD 52,930 per person plus 30% Ponant Bonus*
Find out more about this sailing

Northeast Greenland’s unexplored sea ice
Very early in the summer, Le Commandant Charcot opens the way to new horizons to explore Greenland’s remote untouched northeast region surrounded by ice. With humility, the exploration vessel will sail along these unspoilt shores of Blosseville, past the colourful palettes of Inuit villages in the Ittoqqortoormiit region as far as the magnificent sea ice in northeast Greenland among the icebergs, their blue-tinged undersides glimpsed beneath the dark waters. This expedition is a privileged opportunity for authentic and welcoming exchanges with the local people. Whether aboard the ship, kayak or Zodiac, Le Commandant Charcot offers exceptional conditions for observing the wildlife and hypnotic panoramas ranging from majestic glaciers to vast fjords and icebergs trapped by the ice.
From Reykjavik to Reykjavik – 14 nights onboard Le Commandant Charcot
2 sailings between 28 May and 11 June 2024
From AUD 33,940 per person plus 30% Ponant Bonus*
Find out more about this sailing

In the ice of the Arctic, from Greenland to Svalbard
Le Commandant Charcot will embark on this exceptional itinerary to territories beyond the Arctic Circle in the footsteps of those who discovered the poles. From northeast Greenland, inaccessible to conventional ships early in summer, the world’s only luxury icebreaker sets a course for the pristine landscapes of Svalbard into one of the hardest areas to reach in the Far North. During the expedition, the Ammassalik, Blosseville and Ittoqqortoormiit regions reveal the ice in all its glorious states against immaculate backdrops. From the monumental basalt cliffs of the Hinlopen Strait to the Søraust-Svalbard Nature Reserve with its Arctic fauna, this voyage to the northernmost lands will reveal all.
From Reykjavik to Longyearbyen, Spitsbergen – 16 nights onboard Le Commandant Charcot
From 25 June to 11 July 2024
From AUD 40,770 per person plus 30% Ponant Bonus*
Find out more about this sailing