Polar Expedition 
No single supplement 
Prestige Stateroom Deck 6
25% Ponant Bonus
215 ft2
2
Exploring the Northeast Greenland National Park
Reykjavík - Reykjavík
Dates:
08/06/2023
to
22/06/2023
Other available dates
days
nights on board
Welcome to the world’s largest national park, in the heart of the splendid north-east coast of Greenland! Aboard Le Commandant Charcot, you will experience the joys of pure discovery. Let yourself be guided and surprised by the opportunities for navigation and exploration that these wild and unknown ice-covered shores provide. The ship will enable you to explore one of the most difficult regions to access in the Far North, at the end of spring.
As summer begins, the snow and the ice still envelop the landscapes of these northern lands. On your journey, you will discover the extreme climate of the Ittoqqortoormiit region. This territory shelters the northernmost community of Greenland, among which are the pole’s last hunters.
You will then set sail towards Northeast Greenland National Park, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and a dreamlike world where coloured alpine landscapes mingle with immense glaciers and astonishing icebergs revealing their immerged presence and blue-tinged volumes beneath the surface of the dark waters.
At the start of summer, the solid and powerful sea ice dictates how visitors can venture out to it. It is the perfect time to observe the exceptional Arctic wildlife that inhabits the region. The polar bear is king here. You might witness, roaming this white desert, a solitary male in search of the ideal hunting or fishing spot, or a mother teaching her cub the secrets of survival.
Before returning to the Icelandic coastlines, Le Commandant Charcot will attempt to reach, with respect to the environment, the north of the national park and the remote shores of Ile-de-France. Discovered in 1905 by the Duke of Orléans, Ile-de-France is characterised by the thick ice pack that covers it, which comes from the North Pole as a result of the Transpolar Drift. This is a voyage in search of meaning, at the boundaries of the known world.
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.
Ref : CC080623
Your itinerary
Discover the largest national park in the world – a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve – at the magical moment when nature wakes up. Outings and shore visits in a zodiac inflatable or hovercraft*...
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Your trip in detail
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LE COMMANDANT CHARCOT
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09/11/2022 to the 23/11/2022
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*Price is per person, based on double occupancy, based on availability, and subject to change at any time. The category of stateroom to which this price applies may no longer be available.
Services provided
- Glazed private balcony for all our staterooms and suites
- Terrace for the Duplex suites and the Owner's suite
- 24hr room service
- Inclusive Internet access Wi-Fi (availability dependent on navigation and latitude)
- Individually-controlled air conditioning
- Dressing room with shelves and closet
- Dressing table and hairdryer
- Dyptique Paris top-of-the-line bath products
- Minibar included
- Nespresso coffee maker and boiler
- Electronic safe
- Direct line telephone
- Bose Bluetooth speaker
- Flat screen TV, international channels (availability dependent on navigation) and videos on demand
- 110V American (two flat pins)/220V European (round sockets with two round pins)
- 3 ADA staterooms
Select your stateroom category
Expedition programmes include activities such as Zodiac® outings and landings (sometimes with "wet landing"), moderate walks to more active hikes, all accompanied by your expedition team of naturalist guides.
Ports of call, visited sites, outings and landings will depend on weather conditions, position of ice, winds and the state of the sea. These can force a change of plans at any time. The Captain and the Expedition Leader may at any time cancel or stop any activity, or even modify the itinerary. The final itinerary will be confirmed by the Captain, who will take into account the touristic quality of the sites and above all, the safety of the passengers. His decision will be based on advice from experts and authorities.
Travelling to polar/isolated regions is an exhilarating experience in remote areas: please remember that you are far from modern hospitals with full medical facilities, thus evacuation is extremely expensive. Without adequate medical coverage, all expenses will have to be immediately paid with your personal funds. We urge you to subscribe to full coverage insurance, choose your insurance company very carefully, be extremely vigilant and ensure your insurance is fully comprehensive, especially if you are insured by your credit card. PONANT offers an insurance contract with extensive guarantees, please contact us for more information.
Clothing tips:
- A PONANT polar water-resistant parka is offered on board for all departures with an Expedition programme (no children sizes, in case of consecutive cruises, only one complimentary parka).
- Half calf rubber boots with non-slip soles, which will allow you to go ashore in 20 cm of cold water, keeping your feet dry for walks and visits on steep paths. Boot rental will be offered onboard (for adults only) on Expedition cruises.
- Comfortable trousers: classic Winter trousers, warm cotton tracksuit, wool leggings
- Waterproof and windproof over-trousers – MANDATORY
- Winter trousers with waterproof over trousers are the ideal combination: water-resistance and comfort of trousers are essential
- Pullover, sweat-shirt or fleece jacket
- Woollen or thermolactyl Thermal underwear
- A warm hat, woollen ear muffs or fleece ear muffs, fleece or woollen neck warmer (avoid scarves that do not stay in place)- MANDATORY
- Wool or silk glove liners, water-resistant and supple gloves
- Thick warm socks (ideally woollen)
Accessories:
- Small waterproof backpack (to protect your camera from water).
- Binoculars (strongly recommended for wildlife viewing).
- Highly protective sunglasses.
- Walking poles (highly recommended).
Ideal clothes for life on board:
During the days spent on board, you are advised to wear comfortable clothes or casual outfits. The entire ship is air-conditioned, so a light sweater, a light jacket or a shawl may be necessary. When moving about in the public areas of the ship and the decks, light but comfortable shoes are recommended.
Informal evening:
In the evening, you are advised to wear smart-casual attire, especially when dining in our restaurants where wearing shorts and tee-shirts is not allowed.
For women:
- Simple dress
- Skirt or trousers
- Blouse
- Polo
For men:
- Pleated trousers or chinos
- Sports jacket
- Shirt
- Polo
Officer’s evening:
Depending on the itinerary and the program of your cruise, an Officer’s Evening with a white dress code may be organized. Therefore, we encourage you to bring a stylish white outfit for the occasion (otherwise black and white).
Gala evening:
During the cruise, two gala evenings will be organised on board. Thus, we recommend that you bring one or two formal outfits.
For women:
- Cocktail attire
- Evening dress (if you wish to)
For men:
- Dark suit
- Tie recommended, possibly bow tie (if you wish to)
SHOP:
A small shop is available on board offering a wide range of outfits, jewellery, leather goods and many accessories.
A laundry service (washing/ironing) is available on board, but unfortunately there are no dry cleaning services. For safety reasons, your cabin is not equipped with an iron.
INSULATED BASE LAYER:
- Wool or thermolactyl technical underwear
- Polar or technical jacket
- Polar sweater or sweatshirt
- Silk or wool glove liners
- Wool leggings
- Warm hiking socks
WATERPROOF OUTER LAYER:
- Waterproof over-trousers - Mandatory
- Waterproof parka - Offered on board (not available in children’s sizes)
- Windbreaker – Mandatory
- A warm woollen hat covering your ears
- Polar or woollen neck warmer
- Waterproof technical gloves
HEALTH CARE:
- Sunscreen
- Lip protection balm
- Mosquito repellent, anti-itch balm and mosquito head net (Greenland)
- Medications and prescriptions
OUTFITS ON BOARD:
- Casual outfits for the day
- Smarter outfits for dinners
- Elegant outfits for Gala evenings
- White or black and white outfit
ACCESSORIES:
- Highly protective sunglasses
- Binoculars
- Walking poles
- Small waterproof backpack
- Swimsuit (for the spa on board)
- Gym wear (fitness)
- Battery charger and memory cards for your camera
- Mobile phone charger
PONANT activities
Polar water activities
Experience the unrivalled sensations of immersion in cold water. Whether you take a polar plunge in a swimsuit or a dip in a dry-suit* that allows you to float, you will enjoy a unique experience in an exceptional setting, surrounded by ice. Feel intense thrills and enjoy the energy boost you get as your body warms back up after the swim!
*with limited places available
Kayaking - Le Commandant Charcot
Glide on the clear waters or between the ice floes and get as close as possible to the immaculate nature of the poles. Supervised by licenced expert guides, you will try your hand in a kayak, a boat that has been favoured by the Inuits for at least 4,000 years. The kayak was initially used for hunting and fishing; for you, it will be a means of making the very most of your adventure on the White Continent or in the Far North.*
*with limited places available
Ice fishing
What better place than the icy Arctic regions to practice ice fishing? Assisted by the naturalist guides, you will look for the perfect spot to cut your hole on the ice floe or on frozen lakes and try to catch fish using an ancestral method. This activity off the beaten path will equally delight fans of sports fishing and those who are curious for new discoveries.*
*with limited places available
Hiking or snowshoeing
During each shore landing, depending on the ecological resilience of the biome encountered, we will propose hikes at different levels, in the company of your experienced naturalist guides: from a simple stroll along the coast to walks lasting several hours to reach particular viewpoints or historical sites. When the itineraries allow it, you’ll put on snowshoes* to set off, like the explorers of old, to discover areas that have barely known Man.
*with limited places available
Participative science
Le Commandant Charcot is fitted with the most modern oceanographic equipment and all the facilities necessary to accompany a scientific team in its research. Guided by naturalists trained in participatory science, you will thus have the opportunity to make a direct contribution to the global scientific effort. Assist research by taking part in a turbidity study using a Secchi disk, counting wildlife, studying the state of the pack ice or taking water samples: thanks to simple protocols, you’ll be able to discover part of the scientific adventure in the polar regions and contribute to improving the knowledge of biodiversity, marine mammals or glaciology and better understand Climate/Ecosystem/Man interactions.
Highlights
- Discover the largest national park in the world – a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve – at the magical moment when nature wakes up.
- Outings and shore visits in a zodiac inflatable or hovercraft* with a reinforced team of naturalist-guides.
- Visit the old Norwegian trapper cabins that added a special flavour and richness to Jørn Riel’s series of Arctic tales about the people of Greenland.
- The landscapes: mountains striped with multi-coloured strata, fjords, jagged mountains, glaciers, icebergs, ice floes, hummocks, wild tundra, sheer cliffs, polar ice
- The wildlife: polar bears, narwhals, seals, musk oxen, Arctic foxes and hares, orcas, sea birds.
- Many brand-new activities: kayaking, hiking or snowshoeing, ice fishing, polar plunge, ice floating, dog sledding, participative science.
*Subject to the regulations in force.
Ports of Call & Excursions
8 June 2023 - Reykjavík
Embarkation 08/06/2023 from 20:00 to 21:00
Departure 08/06/2023 at 22:00
Iceland’s capital stretches along the edge of a vast bay in the west of the country. Perlan, the “Pearl of Reykjavík”, a museum located on ’Oskjuhlið hill, offers a panoramic view of the lush, green landscapes. A little further, one can easily spot the signpost showing the way to the evangelical Hallgrímskirkja church, and to the historical centre where one can stroll along the Skólavördustígur and the Laugavegur, two lively streets with charming small shops. For some relaxation just outside of the city, visitors have the opportunity to visit the Reykjanes peninsula and its famous thermal lagoons of the Blue Lagoon.
9 June 2023 10 June 2023 - At sea aboard Le Commandant Charcot
Arrival 09/06/2023
Departure 10/06/2023
Spend exceptional moments sailing aboard Le Commandant Charcot, the world’s first luxury polar exploration vessel and the first PC2-class polar cruise ship capable of sailing into the very heart of the ice, on seas and oceans which the frozen conditions render inaccessible to ordinary ships. Le Commandant Charcot is fitted with oceanographic and scientific equipment selected by a committee of experts. Take advantage of the on-board lectures and opportunities for discussion with these specialists to learn more about the poles. Participate in furthering scientific research with PONANT and let us discover together what these fascinating destinations have yet to reveal to us.
11 June 2023 13 June 2023 - Ittoqqortoormiit Region
Arrival 11/06/2023
Departure 13/06/2023
Located between the largest national park and the longest system of fjords in the world, the town of Ittoqqortoormiit, whose name means “great house” in Greenlandic, is one of the remotest inhabited places in the world. Covered with ice and snow for nine months of the year, you will be able to discover the ancestral way of life of the last hunters of the polar region. As soon as the thickness of the ice floe allows, they set out on the trail of walruses, seals, narwhals, musk ox and polar bears, travelling by traditional dog sleds.
14 June 2023 - Dodmansbugten
Arrival 14/06/2023
Departure 14/06/2023
In Gael Hamke Bay, you will sail towards Dodmansbugten, or “dead man’s bay”, in the south of Clavering Island. This is where the last Inuit settlement of Northeast Greenland was discovered around 1823. Here, you can still find typical trapper cabins like those described by the Danish explorer and writer Jørn Riel in his stories of the Arctic, humoristic accounts drawn from the dozens of years he spent exploring the fascinating lands of what is now the Northeast Greenland National Park. Further west, you will be able to discover the vestiges of the former Eskimonaes radio and weather station, captured by German troops during World War II to achieve control of the meteorological intelligence for the region.
15 June 2023 - Danmarkshavn
Arrival 15/06/2023
Departure 15/06/2023
Sailing through the fascinating landscapes of the Northeast Greenland National Park, you will make your way to Danmarkshavn on the southern coast of Germania Land. Built in 1948, to this day Danmarkshavn remains a station of prime importance for determining meteorological conditions in Europe and North America. Despite the difficulty in accessing this coast often covered by ice, the spot was chosen during the wintering of the Danmark in 1906 as the base for an important scientific expedition through the region by dog sled. The north of this bay that is only free of ice for a very short time each year in August can only be reached by ships built to sail through ice.
16 June 2023 17 June 2023 - Exploration of Northeast Greenland National Park
Arrival 16/06/2023
Departure 17/06/2023
With a craggy coastline formed by gigantic fjords, magnificent alpine mountains looming over them, the shores of north-east Greenland offer breathtaking landscapes and are home to the largest national park in the world. Covering an area of around one million square kilometres, almost half the island, the North-East Greenland National Park, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, is a particularly isolated region. Cut off for many months of the year by the ice floe, it is renowned for its pristine nature and rich wildlife.
18 June 2023 - Île-de-France
Arrival 18/06/2023
Departure 18/06/2023
In the Northeast Greenland National Park, we are humbled by the changing and extreme ice conditions in this site where we are privileged guests. We will try to go as far north as possible to land on the coast of the famous Île-de-France, a mythical site of French polar expeditions discovered on 28 July 1905 during a polar exploration campaign led by Philippe of Orléans, Duke of Orléans (1869-1926). A little-known polar explorer, in 1905, 1907 and 1909 Duke Philippe of Orléans organised three Arctic expeditions aboard La Belgica, led by Captain Adrien de Gerlache de Gomery and his crew, thus entering the closed circle of the heroes of the Far North. During the 1905 expedition that led him to Spitsbergen in Greenland, he was accompanied by his friend the doctor Joseph Récamier and by the nature artist Edouard Mérite.
19 June 2023 - Myggbukta
Arrival 19/06/2023
Departure 19/06/2023
To the south of the Northeast Greenland National Park, near the Hold with Hope Peninsula, in the King Christian X Land region, you will visit Myggbukta, a former Norwegian whaling, meteorological and radio station established in 1922 by Johan A. Olsen. It was he who gave this site its name meaning “mosquito bay” in Norwegian. This large bay situated at more than 73° latitude north is covered in superb arctic tundra extending as far as the eye can see. This rich vegetation cover allows a large population of musk oxen to thrive. If you are lucky, you may get to spot a few.
20 June 2023 21 June 2023 - At sea aboard Le Commandant Charcot
Arrival 20/06/2023
Departure 21/06/2023
Spend exceptional moments sailing aboard Le Commandant Charcot, the world’s first luxury polar exploration vessel and the first PC2-class polar cruise ship capable of sailing into the very heart of the ice, on seas and oceans which the frozen conditions render inaccessible to ordinary ships. Le Commandant Charcot is fitted with oceanographic and scientific equipment selected by a committee of experts. Take advantage of the on-board lectures and opportunities for discussion with these specialists to learn more about the poles. Participate in furthering scientific research with PONANT and let us discover together what these fascinating destinations have yet to reveal to us.
22 June 2023 - Reykjavík
Arrival 22/06/2023 early morning
Disembarkation 22/06/2023 at 07:00
Iceland’s capital stretches along the edge of a vast bay in the west of the country. Perlan, the “Pearl of Reykjavík”, a museum located on ’Oskjuhlið hill, offers a panoramic view of the lush, green landscapes. A little further, one can easily spot the signpost showing the way to the evangelical Hallgrímskirkja church, and to the historical centre where one can stroll along the Skólavördustígur and the Laugavegur, two lively streets with charming small shops. For some relaxation just outside of the city, visitors have the opportunity to visit the Reykjanes peninsula and its famous thermal lagoons of the Blue Lagoon.
Le Commandant Charcot
With Le Commandant Charcot, PONANT has imagined and envisaged the cruise voyage of tomorrow. The latest addition to the fleet will take you following in the footsteps of the great polar explorers in refined surroundings complete with the kind of luxury services never before offered in the farthest reaches of the southern and northern hemispheres.
The indoor swimming pool, the conservatory, the panoramic restaurant, the Blue Lagoon outdoor restaurant, the Main Lounge, the Observation Lounge, the lobby… Each of the common areas has been designed to both convey French-style discreet luxury and arouse wonder and amazement. The common thread running through all their designs is the desire to allow the light to penetrate and open everything up the extraordinary polar landscapes and scenery.
This very first hybrid-electric polar exploration ship powered by LNG has been designed with the greatest attention to detail in terms of safety and respect for the environment.
Up to 245 Guests
123 staterooms & suites
215 crew members
Spa
2 restaurants
Decks
Polar Expedition
Realise your dream of adventure in the polar regions ! From your ship’s deck, aboard a Zodiac® inflatable or from land, discover the icy vastness and the fauna of Antarctica (humpback whales, seals, penguins and more) or the Arctic's fjords, glaciers and icebergs in shifting colours, not to mention the polar bears, the variety of wildlife and the special moments shared with the locals. Our team of naturalist guides share their knowledge with you during varied lectures about the fauna, the flora, the history of great explorations, geology and climatology. Thanks to its conscientiousness and to the responsible approach that is its hallmark, PONANT has been a leader and expert in cruises to these destinations for more than 20 years.
No single supplement
FREE SINGLE SUPPLEMENT *
*The supplement for single usage of a double cabin is waived, according to availability and staterooms categories.