By
Laura Hyde |
French cruise operator, Ponant, is to offer eight itineraries to the Antarctic from October 2025 to March 2026.
Ponant will offer 34 sailings taking in the Antarctic Peninsula, the Falklands, South Georgia, the Ross Sea, Chilian fjords and Valdés Peninsula across its eight itineraries.
Two itineraries, the 12-night ‘The Emperor Penguins of Weddell Sea’ and the 14-night ‘In the wake of Jean-Baptiste Charcot’, will be available onboard Le Commandant Charcot, the latest addition to Ponant’s fleet. This ship is a luxury hybrid electric polar exploration ship and the only ship in Ponant’s fleet able to sail in the heart of the pack ice. A team of onboard naturalist guides will supervise every activity, including snowshoe hikes, polar diving and Zodiac landings, as well as leading an informative programme of talks.
This vessel will be joined in the region by sister ships, L’Austral, Le Boréal, Le Lyrial, and Le Soléal. L’Austral and Le Boréal will sail the 18-night ‘Journey to Austral Lands and Valdes Peninsula’, the 10-night ‘Emblematic Antarctica’, and the 17-night ‘The Great Austral Loop’. Le Lyrial will offer these three itineraries plus the 14-night ‘The best of Chilean Fjords’. Le Soléal will sail the 14-night ‘Expedition to New Zealand’s Subantarctic Islands’.
Ponant’s Antarctic itineraries offer passengers the opportunity to observe Adélie penguins
“In the Antarctic, the only masters of our movements are ice and time, hence why we operate in the humblest manner, in all humility,” said José Sarica, Ponant’s expedition experience research and development director. “Every voyage is a unique distillation of emotions. It can be a contemplative or sometimes almost evangelical adventure, but one that is always full of surprises. We experience so many magical moments.”