(photo credit – Servane Roy Berton)
PONANT has opened sales for Le Commandant-Charcot’s summer 2021 Arctic itineraries.
The hybrid electric ship will be powered by Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and the first luxury passenger vessel to travel to the Geographic North Pole at 90° north latitude. Winter 2021-2022 cruises in Antarctica will open for bookings on Dec. 5 and are currently available for pre-bookings.
Aboard Le Commandant-Charcot, guests will discover new itineraries to the geographic North Pole, the eastern coast of Greenland, the Northwest Passage, the Ross Sea, and the Charcot and Peter I Islands.
Usually inaccessible to a classically designed ship at this time of the year because of the ice floe, the vessel’s innovative routing software makes it possible to slip through the naturally formed channels in the ice and the ship’s powerful engines are able it to free itself when necessary from denser sea ice.
The vessel will take passengers to the most southern and northern latitudes of the planet in unrivalled comfort.
Designed to be a new type of cruise ship, it incorporates all the latest innovations in environmental protection, making PONANT a model of excellence in responsible tourism. With its hybrid propulsion combining liquefied natural gas and electric generators, Le Commandant-Charcot has been designed to minimize its environmental impact.
It also hosts a scientific research laboratory equipped to study the ecosystems and biodiversity of this polar setting. In fact, Le Commandant-Charcot is the first exploration vessel to surpass the ecological standards set out in international regulations.
The inaugural cruise of Le Commandant-Charcot sails between Iceland and Greenland. Highlights include a stop where the Pourquoi Pas? IV sunk off the coast of the Alftanes Peninsula for a small ceremony in memoriam, an excursion on Jan Mayen Island to explore the volcanic rock and wild tundra, and a journey through the Scoresby Sund, the world’s largest fjord network.
