WORLD'S ONLY LUXURY POLAR ICEBREAKER
Deep Polar Exploration
- Includes
- Itinerary
- Tour Highlights
- Gallery
- Price & Dates
- Hotels
What's included
from July 25, 2024 till September 25, 2024
- 15 nights shipboard on Ponant Cruise
- Return air ticket Paris/Longyearbyen v.v
- 24 hour room service (special selection)
- Butler service (special selection)
- Free unlimited WIFI onboard
- Evening entertainment and events
- All meals and beverages included wines
- International air ticket
- Airport transfer
- Gratuities
- Personal expenses.
- Any other service not mentioned in the programme
Luxury cruise aboard to experience a truly exceptional sea voyage with a difference. Discover expeditions to the majestic landscapes of the Artic and the Antarctic. Great choice for couples, solo travelers and those who love small-ship cruising. Ponant Cruises offers exceptional bilingual service, world-class dining and elegantly-appointed accommodation and public areas in terms of the onboard experience. Choose a cruise on an Explorer Class vessel, you will benefit from several expedition-style features. Relaxing in the Blue Eye Lounge, an underwater multi-sensory environment that boasts comfortable seating and privileged views of life beneath the waves. Ponant’s expedition ships also carry a fleet of Zodiacs deployed frequently throughout each itinerary for sightseeing excursions and trips ashore.
Cancellation Policy
~ Postpone or cancel free of charge up to 10 days after the booking is confirmed
~ From 10 days after the booking is confirmed to 365 days prior to departure: EUR 150 plus RM100 refund admin fees per guest per cruise for the cruise service only
~ From 364 to 211 days prior to departure: 10% of total price
~ From 210 – 91 days prior to departure: 25% of total price
~ Cancellation within 90 days prior to departure: 100% of total price
Payment Terms
~ Deposit payment of 25% must be received within 10 days after the booking is confirmed.
~ Balance payment must be made 90 days prior to departure
~ Booking made within 90 days prior to departure require full payment at the time of booking
- Day 1
- Day 2
- Day 3
- Day 4
- Day 5
- Day 6
- Day 7
- Day 8
- Day 9
- Day 10
- Day 11
- Day 12
- Day 13
- Day 14
- Day 15
- Day 16
- Day 17
- Day 18
ARRIVE PARIS
- Make your own way to hotel and meet & greet with welcome drink at hotel.
- Check in at 4pm.
- The rest of the evening at own leisure
PARIS - LONGYEARBYEN, SPITSBERGEN
- Breakfast on own expense.
- Group transfer to the airport terminal, check-in of flight selected by PONANT.
- Longyearbyen is the capital of the Norwegian Svalbard archipelago, located on Svalbard’s main island, and is the northernmost territorial capital on the planet. With winter temperatures dropping to below 40°C, the landscapes of this mining town are simply breathtaking.
- The glaciers, the mountains stretching as far as the eye can see and the untouched nature, make you feel like you’re in completely unexplored territory.
- Embarkation from 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm
AT SEA ALONG SPITSBERGEN
- The largest island in the Svalbard archipelago, its name meaning “pointed mountains” in German, Spitsbergen is the last piece of land before the Arctic ice floe.
- Aboard your ship, you will sail along the extremely spectacular coastline of this icy land.
- Between millennial glaciers and rugged mountains, you will discover a jagged coastline, hollowed-out by fjords.
- A unique setting, the refuge of a particularly rich avifauna, offering you the possibility of taking fabulous photographs from the deck of your ship.
NAVIGATING THROUGH THE SEA ICE
- Enjoy the absolutely unique experience of sailing to the heart of the ice floe, this vast expanse of virgin, immaculate ice.
- The landscapes are constantly changing, shifting from a smooth, flat wilderness to a chaos of ice, then to channels of open water.
- Your ship will sail along these naturally open channels and through the areas where the frozen layer is thinnest, offering you the chance to experience magic maritime moments in the midst of drifting sea ice.
- It will also often be an opportunity to see a particular kind of fauna, totally dependent on the ice floe.
NAVIGATING THROUGH THE SEA ICE
- Second day sailing through the sea ice.
- Sea Day. Enjoy the personalized services on board Le Commandant Charcot,
- Indulge in the exquisite world of French-style luxury gastronomy curated by the renowned Michelin-starred chef Alain Ducasse
- Let yourself be tempted by a dip in the Blue Lagoon while you enjoy the light over the sea.
- Or spend time in our indoor pool, the gym and the fitness classes,
- Or visit the Biologique Recherche spa, with its treatment rooms, massages
- Or go for a sauna, snow room and the hair salon will also allow you to unwind without a care in the world.
NAVIGATING THROUGH THE SEA ICE
- Third day sailing through the sea ice.
- Sea Day. Enjoy the personalize service on board Le Commandant Charcot,
- Indulge in the exquisite world of French-style luxury gastronomy curated by the renowned Michelin-starred chef Alain Ducasse
- Let yourself be tempted by a dip in the Blue Lagoon while you enjoy the light over the sea.
- Or spend time in our indoor pool, the gym and the fitness classes,
- Or visit the Biologique Recherche spa, with its treatment rooms, massages
- Or go for a sauna, snow room and the hair salon will also allow you to unwind without a care in the world.
NAVIGATING THROUGH THE SEA ICE
- Fourth day sailing through the sea ice.
- Sea Day. Enjoy the personalized service on board Le Commandant Charcot,
- Indulge in the exquisite world of French-style luxury gastronomy curated by the renowned Michelin-starred chef Alain Ducasse
- Let yourself be tempted by a dip in the Blue Lagoon while you enjoy the light over the sea.
- Or spend time in our indoor pool, the gym and the fitness classes,
- Or visit the Biologique Recherche spa, with its treatment rooms, massages
- Or go for a sauna, snow room and the hair salon will also allow you to unwind without a care in the world.
NAVIGATING THROUGH THE SEA ICE
- Fifth day sailing through the sea ice.
- Sea Day. Enjoy the personalized service on board Le Commandant Charcot,
- Indulge in the exquisite world of French-style luxury gastronomy curated by the renowned Michelin-starred chef Alain Ducasse
- Let yourself be tempted by a dip in the Blue Lagoon while you enjoy the light over the sea.
- Or spend time in our indoor pool, the gym and the fitness classes,
- Or visit the Biologique Recherche spa, with its treatment rooms, massages
- Or go for a sauna, snow room and the hair salon will also allow you to unwind without a care in the world.
GEOGRAPHIC NORTH POLE
- Defined by a 90° North latitude, the Geographic North Pole lies on the Earth’s rotational axis, at the intersection of all meridians.
- Plunged into darkness for six months of the year, then lit by the sun for the following six months, this mythical site, permanently covered in ice and remote from any land, has fascinated generations of explorers.
- So far, only a very few people have ever reached it: an exploit which is now accessible to you aboard Le Commandant Charcot.
NAVIGATING THROUGH THE SEA ICE
- Enjoy the absolutely unique experience of sailing to the heart of the ice floe, this vast expanse of virgin, immaculate ice.
- The landscapes are constantly changing, shifting from a smooth, flat wilderness to a chaos of ice, then to channels of open water.
- Your ship will sail along these naturally open channels and through the areas where the frozen layer is thinnest, offering you the chance to experience magic maritime moments in the midst of drifting sea ice.
- It will also often be an opportunity to see a particular kind of fauna, totally dependent on the ice floe.
NAVIGATING THROUGH THE SEA ICE
- Second day sailing through the sea ice
AT SEA ABOARD LE COMMANDANT CHARCOT
- 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.
SAILING ICE FLOES ALONG GREENLAND
- The north-east of Greenland is renowned for being home to one of the oldest and thickest layers of ice on the planet.
- Aboard your ship, you will have the unique opportunity of sailing to the heart of this icy wilderness, many thousands of years old, and will travel along one of the world's most isolated coasts, between drifting ice and blue icebergs.
SCORESBY SOUND
- Covering an area of 13,700 km2 (5,290 mi2), Scoresby Sound is the largest and deepest fjord system in the world. Named after the explorer and whale hunter William Scoresby, who mapped the region in 1822, it opens onto the Greenland Sea to the north of the Blosseville Coast.
- This wild and desert region offers untouched panoramas of infinite beauty, with high snow-capped peaks rising tall alongside icebergs immersed in clear, blue-tinged waters. Rode Fjord and its cliffs coloured red by iron ore provide a fascinating setting you will not want to miss.
- Discovering these stunning places in the wake of great explorers like Captain Charcot, who was deeply attached to the land of the Inuit, inspires a profound reverence.
ITTOQQORTOORMIIT REGION
- On the East coast of Greenland, in the Ittoqqortoormiit region, you will have the rare opportunity of immersing yourself in the heart of isolated scenery and exploring the beauty of its landscapes.
- The high alpine mountains stand out in the sky, revealing dark rock edges.
- The region is home to the longest fjord system in the world, Scoresby Sound. On the edge of the fjord, the eponymous village is considered one of the most remote inhabited places in the world.
- The colourful houses, so typical of Greenland, dot the landscape with small red, yellow and blue patches that stand out against the surrounding arid landscape. Immersing yourself in this region will allow you to discover the ancestral way of life of the last hunters of the polar region.
- This will be a veritable deep-dive into the lives of the Arctic’s inhabitants.
AT SEA ABOARD LE COMMANDANT CHARCOT
- 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.
SAILING THROUGH THE DENMARK STRAIT
- Lying between Greenland and Iceland, the Denmark Strait was crossed for the first time by the Vikings in the late 10th century, during Erik the Red’s expeditions. In the Second World War, its waters were the theatre of a battle between the Kriegsmarine and the Royal Navy, on 24 May 1941.
- In the wintertime, extremely dense pack ice forms along the Greenlandic coasts and, while the Transpolar Drift sweeps icebergs along throughout the year, the strait is generally clear of ice during the summer.
- In the depths of the strait lies the world’s largest waterfall, an undersea cataract formed by the difference in temperature between the cold waters of the Greenland Sea and the warmer waters of the Irminger Sea. Numerous cetacean species thrive in this rich ecosystem.
REYKJAVÍK
- Disembarkation at 8:00 am.
- Explore Reykjavik, Iceland on own leisure
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.
~ Be among the few people in the world to go in search of the Geographic North Pole!
~ Outings and shore visits in a zodiac dinghy or hovercraft* with an reinforced team of naturalist-guides.
~ The discovery of the features of the ice floes.
~ Landscapes: ice floes. In Spitsbergen, jagged mountains, steep-sided valleys, sheer cliffs.
~ Wildlife: polar bears, Northern fulmar, ivory gull, seals, whales.
~ Many activities: kayaking, hiking or snowshoeing, ice fishing, polar plunge without suit, polar swim with drysuit, participative science. Discover all the activities in the “PONANT Activities” tab.
Heading for 90 degrees North! The North Pole has been a source of inspiration, fascination and attraction since the dawn of time. This impossible and mythical ‘elsewhere’ begs to be admired.
What if Le Commandant Charcot achieved this absolute pinnacle adventure, by enabling you, perhaps, to tread on this virtually unattainable point?
Following in the footsteps of the explorers who once tried to approach these elusive parts, where the infinite ice floes unfold and 700 kilometres (435 miles) from any land, you are part of the chosen few to attempt the odyssey.
From Spitsbergen, you will sail the northern waters, at the edges of the Earth, where the landscapes change constantly depending on the ice and the plays of light.
Nature reigns supreme here, sheltering abundant wildlife: polar bears, seals or even whales will be your hosts. Your discovery of this silent world, frozen by the cold, will continue as you attempt to reach the Grail of all polar explorers: the North Pole!
Swept by the winds and the currents, the ice floe is constantly drifting and the master of your ship will have to manoeuvre carefully and with great humility in an attempt to reach the northernmost point of our planet.
| Tour price included Add-On 1 Night in Paris (Price shown subject to exchange rate fluctuation) | Prestige Stateroom (pperson) | Deluxe Suite (pperson) | Prestige Suite (pperson) | Privilege Suite Suite |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| [2024] 25 Jul - 11 Aug (18Days in Paris/Out Reykjavík) | RM200,200 | RM213,688 | RM305,588 | RM334,776 |
| [2024] 25 Sep - 12 Oct (18Days In Paris/Out Reykjavik) | RM188,396 | RM201,032 | RM278,512 | FULLY BOOKED |
