Ponant, the Commandant Charcot between Spitsbergen and Greenland

The major stages of your cruise at the heart of a majestic setting:

– Northeast Greenland
Heading northeast to Greenland, immerse yourself ever further and higher into the Arctic, exploring the unsuspected riches of the pack ice, inaccessible to conventional ships at this time of year. The shifting states of the ice and the infinite diversity of its textures reveal, through changes in light and sky, a spectacle of extraordinary splendour. With patience and humility, you will sail through the transpolar drift ice and its floating cathedrals of iridescent white. Along the way, an iceberg trapped in the ice seems to have paused mid-course, while pressure ridges reveal their sharp edges. Amid this frozen expanse, beauty lies in the details and in the magic of the moment. In the realm of polar bears, the Commandant Charcot, a reassuring cocoon built for polar exploration, offers remarkable sightings along the way.
With luck, you may witness the moving sight of a mother and her cub following in her tracks across the immaculate expanse.

– The South-East Svalbard Nature Reserve is Norway’s second-largest protected area. Established in 1973, this conservation area of over 21,000 km2 offers sweeping panoramas spanning coastal landscapes, rocky islets, mountain plateaus, vast tundra plains and ice caps. With a bit of luck, you may observe a wide variety of seabirds — the site is classified as an important bird conservation area — as well as cetaceans, Svalbard reindeer, or Arctic foxes. Edgeøya island is also known for hosting a number of polar bears during the breeding season.

Following the pack ice further north, the Northwest Spitsbergen National Park. The remains of former whaling stations have today given way to various cetacean species and walruses that have recolonised their territory.

At the end of the journey, you will discover the glaciers of Kongsfjorden, an international scientific station and former mining town, which served as the starting point for numerous expeditions to the North Pole.

Numerous unusual activities: kayaking, hiking or snowshoeing, ice fishing, polar plunge without a wetsuit, polar swim in a dry suit, citizen science.