Cruise Description

With featured guests Ian Dawson and Sue Flood, British Photo Ambassadors.

Explore the expanse of the Arctic world during extraordinary polar odyssey from Iceland to Alaska, via the mythical Northwest Passage. The greatest explorers long coveted travelling from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean via the Far North route before Roald Amundsen accomplished the feat during his expedition from 1903 to 1906. Although this crossing is now legendary, PONANT invites you to go even further, aboard Le Commandant Charcot, by sailing along a virtually unexplored maritime route.

Like a perfect prelude to your discovery of the polar world, the latest addition to the PONANT fleet will first take you on a magnificent ascent up the west coast of Greenland to the majestic Disko Bay. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, it will reveal itself to you between its mythical glacier and the graceful dance of monumental icebergs.

Next, you will enter the Northwest Passage via Lancaster Sound then through the ice of McClure Strait. Following in the wake of one of the most mythical sagas in polar exploration, the ship will progress through to Banks Island, and gradually immerse you in a constantly changing world of ice. The infinity of the ice floe will unveil itself, moving, treating the eyes to beauties sculpted by nature and enhanced by the changing light. Aboard Le Commandant Charcot, a luxurious setting designed to navigate in extreme zones, you will continue into the Beaufort Sea and explore landscapes that are inaccessible to traditional ships. The ice covering reshapes the relief and reveals an incredible sensorial experience for the modern-day explorers.

Your immersion in the northern world will also lead you to encounter the Inuit people for special moments of sharing based on their traditions. In the heart of the ice or at the confluence of the currents, there where all is pristine and wild, nature reigns supreme and an encounter with a polar bear is always a wonderful experience.

Beyond the Arctic Circle, your senses will further be ignited as the sight of the glistening ice floes, blue-tinged glaciers, rugged mountain chains and rolling tundra captivates you. Long fantasised about before being discovered at the beginning of the 20th century, the Northwest Passage promises you a trip that is synonymous with going back to basics.

Find out more about the world of Le Commandant Charcot here!

We are privileged guests in these extreme lands where we are at the mercy of weather and ice conditions. Our navigation, mainly in the fjords, will be determined by the type of ice we come across; as the fast ice must be preserved, we will take this factor into account from day to day in our itineraries. The sailing programme, outings, activities and observation of fauna cannot be guaranteed and are subject to weather and ice conditions. The experiences are unique and vary from day to day and for each departure. The Captain and the Expedition Leader will make every effort to ensure that your experience is as rich as possible, while respecting safety instructions and regulations imposed by the AECO.