Partner line · Le Commandant Charcot and the sister ships
Ponant
Ponant has sailed the polar regions from Marseille since 1988 and built the only passenger ship that reaches the North Pole. We have sailed her and her three Arctic sisters, we know the suites deck by deck, and we hold offers on many departures that are only available by talking to us.
Why we recommend Ponant
French ships, Paris charters and the only route to 90° North
Ponant is the line we recommend when the voyage itself has to be the finest thing about the journey. Le Commandant Charcot is the only passenger ship in the world with a Polar Class 2 hull, built to reach the Geographic North Pole and the winter coasts of Greenland, with two helicopters, a science laboratory and restaurants under Alain Ducasse. Her three Arctic sisters, Le Lyrial, L’Austral and Le Boréal, are 142-metre yachts of 122 to 132 staterooms, every one with a balcony, that sail Svalbard, Greenland, the Northwest Passage and the coast of Canada from June to October. Fares include Ponant’s charter flights from Paris, the open bar, Wi-Fi and gratuities.
We have sailed Ponant in both polar regions and we know which suites on Le Commandant Charcot face the ice and which decks on the sister ships are quietest in a swell. Tell us the month and the kind of Arctic you want, and one Australian specialist chooses the sailing and the stateroom with you, books the flights from Australia to Paris and the nights either side of the charter, brings in the offers we hold for Arctic Cruise guests, and stays with you until you are home.
- 4 ships in the Arctic
- Svalbard, Greenland, the Pole, Canada
- 7 to 19 nights
On board
What you notice in the first day
The French ships feel different from the moment you board. Champagne at embarkation, a dining room where the menus change with the latitude, a crew that speaks to you in English and to each other in French. On Le Commandant Charcot, the hum of the hybrid engines fades to nothing in the ice, the bridge is open to guests and the helicopters fly scenic flights over the floes when the weather allows.
Two helicopters over the ice
Restaurants under Alain Ducasse
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Eleven Zodiacs on the sister ships
The indoor pool at midnight
From the rail
The fleet
The four ships we send north
One polar icebreaker and three sister yachts, all French-flagged and all sailing the Arctic between April and October. We tell you honestly which one suits the voyage you have in mind.
The only passenger ship rated Polar Class 2, launched in 2021 with 123 suites and staterooms for 245 guests, hybrid electric and LNG propulsion, two helicopters and sixteen Zodiacs. The ship of the North Pole, Northeast Greenland and the spring sea ice of Baffin Bay.
Her Arctic season
Arctic expeditions aboard Ponant
The Geographic North Pole and the sea ice of Greenland aboard Le Commandant Charcot, Spitsbergen in a week, Greenland from the east coast to Disko Bay, the Northwest Passage and the autumn coast of Canada aboard the sister ships. Tell us the month you have in mind and we tell you which sailing suits it, which stateroom, and what we can do on the fare.
All expeditions
Questions
Ponant in the Arctic, your questions answered
Seasons, ships, what is included and how to get there from Australia. If your question is not here, we are a call away.
Svalbard, Greenland, Iceland, the Canadian High Arctic and, aboard Le Commandant Charcot, the Geographic North Pole. The routes we sell run from Longyearbyen around Spitsbergen, between Reykjavík and Greenland, from Kangerlussuaq to the Thule region and through the Northwest Passage, and from Nuuk down the coast of Canada.
April to October. Le Commandant Charcot opens the season in April in the sea ice of Baffin Bay, the sister ships sail Svalbard from June and Greenland from July, the North Pole sailings run from July to September, and the Canada voyages close the season in late September.
Le Commandant Charcot, the Polar Class 2 icebreaker, and three of the four sister ships: Le Lyrial, L’Austral and Le Boréal. All four have a balcony or terrace on every stateroom, French restaurants with an open bar, a spa and a fleet of Zodiacs.
Ponant’s Arctic voyages start in Longyearbyen, Reykjavík, Kangerlussuaq or Nuuk, and the fare includes the charter or scheduled flight from Paris to the ship and, on most routes, home again. We arrange your flights from Australia to Paris and the nights in Paris either side.
The stateroom, all meals and 24-hour room service, the open bar and minibar, Zodiac outings, landings and guided hikes, lectures, the polar parka to keep, Wi-Fi, gratuities, port taxes and the flights between Paris and the ship where they are part of the route. Kayaking is booked on selected outings. We confirm the exact inclusions of your sailing in the proposal we write for you.
Polar bears, walrus, Arctic fox and reindeer in Svalbard. Musk oxen, humpback and fin whales and, in spring, the seals of the sea ice in Greenland. Bears and beluga in the Northwest Passage. Sightings depend on the season, the ice and the route, and no one can promise them. What we can promise is a team that knows where to look.
We have sailed the ships and we know them. You get one Australian specialist who chooses the sailing and the stateroom with you, books the flights from home, the hotels and the insurance, brings in the offers we hold for Arctic Cruise guests, and stays with you until you are home.
Made to measure
Tell us your Arctic, we build the rest
Every guest sails differently. Tell us what you are hoping for, the ice, the wildlife, the light, who you are travelling with, and we match it to the right sailing, the right stateroom and the right year, with flights from Australia and our own offers included. One Arctic Cruise specialist stays with you from the first call until you are home.